by B. L. Sauder
“Nah,” the young man said. “As long as you don’t order alcohol I can take you in with me. There are a couple of places that I go to all the time. They’ll let you guys in.”
Hong Mei stuffed her hand into her pocket and felt for her jade. Why hadn’t she talked to them in McDonald’s? Just when she thought she’d got a break, she had to deal with this guy.
“How are we going to get back over to Hong Kong Island?” Ryan asked.
Winston shrugged. “We can take the mtr – the train – for another half-hour or so, or take a taxi. We could even stay in a hotel.” He waved his hand vaguely in the air at the streets teeming with flashing neon lights. “There are plenty to choose from.”
“Come on,” Alex said to Ryan. “We’ll be okay with Winston. It’ll be cool!”
Ryan’s eyes blazed at the younger boy. “You are so incredibly thoughtless,” he said. “Yeye could be dying right now, and all you can think about is you.”
“Nothing’s wrong with Wai-gong,” Winston interjected. “He was just overexcited. I promise you, he’ll be fine.” He pointed to a 7–11 shop a few steps away. “Look, you two decide what you want to do. I’m going to get something to drink.”
Hong Mei watched the Winston-man disappear into the convenience store. She heard Ryan say to Alex, “As soon as Winston comes back, we’ll get him to take us to Yeye’s. Uncle Peter and Aunt Grace would freak if they knew we were even thinking of going to a bar.”
Her knees shook as she stood watching the two brothers. It was now or never. Hong Mei took a giant breath and stepped toward them.
“Oh, I am so happy to find you!”
Both boys frowned at Hong Mei, then glanced around to see if she was really speaking to them. “Are you talking to us?” Ryan asked.
“Yes, I’m sorry. I am Lily. Your cousin.”
“Cousin?” Ryan said, grabbing Alex’s arm and backing up toward the convenience store. “We don’t have a cousin named Lily.”
Alex looked nervously over his shoulder.
“Yes! I am from Beijing,” Hong Mei said. She was feeling way too hot. The new jacket she had bought was much heavier than the burnt one. She could feel tiny beads of sweat forming on her upper lip.
Ryan narrowed his eyes and studied her face.
Does he recognize me? This was not going well.
Hong Mei saw Winston inside the shop. He was coming toward the door. She needed to work fast or she was going to ruin this chance. Silently, she chanted an ancient memory charm.
Look deep into your mind,
bright new memories you will find.
Winston stepped out onto the sidewalk and took a swig of his beer. He looked at Hong Mei, then at Ryan and Alex. “Hey, who’s your –”
Hong Mei quickly recited the chant again, her gaze focused on Winston. She held her breath.
After a few seconds Alex said, “Are you our cousin from Beijing?”
“Yes.” Hong Mei said, looking back and forth between Ryan and Winston.
The two older boys slowly nodded their heads.
“Right,” Winston murmured. “I’d nearly forgotten about you.”
“I’m Lily,” she said, allowing herself to breathe again.
Winston took a slow drink before saying, “So, what are you doing here?”
“Oh,” Hong Mei stammered. She must not mess this up. Gripping her jade, she said slowly and deliberately, “We came to Hong Kong to celebrate with you. It was late and we could not find a hotel in Hong Kong, so we find – found – one here on Kowloon.”
She swallowed and pointed toward some buildings. “Mama and Baba and I were sleeping when the parents of Winston called. I came to tell you. They said Ryan and Alex should stay at hotel with us.”
“Stay with you?” Alex asked. “Why? We’re with Winston.”
“Yes.” Hong Mei gave Winston’s can of beer a long stare and said, “Your Uncle Peter and Aunt Grace said they did not want you going with Winston. They said it would be best if you come to our hotel.”
Ryan shook his head slightly as if his head was heavy. “Well, I can see them not wanting us to go to any bars, but I think we should just go to Nana and Yeye’s. Can’t we just take the mtr or whatever it’s called?”
“We are to…” Hong Mei stuttered, tripping over her words. Madam Ching’s instructions had been very exact. She had to get them alone and tell them about the jade. Ryan stared hard at her. She steeled herself. “No, your aunt and uncle were happy to know my family is close to Star Ferry. Your aunt and uncle do not want you out after such a long trip.”
She saw Alex roll his eyes and sigh. “They’re worried about the jet lag thing,” he said to Ryan.
Hong Mei cleared her throat and spoke very carefully. “Hotel is very close. Just there,” she said, pointing to one of the many buildings surrounding them. “We have two rooms. We can telephone them when we get to hotel.”
She could tell she nearly had them convinced.
“I know you are worried about your grandfather,” she continued, facing Ryan. “You can telephone him. Okay?” She forced a smile to her lips.
Hong Mei wondered how she was going to get them to Beijing if she couldn’t even get them to a hotel.
“Well,” Ryan said slowly as he looked worriedly over at Winston, who was taking another giant gulp of beer.
A red taxi suddenly pulled up just beside where they stood. Three people about Winston’s age jumped out.
“Wei, Win!” A young man said.
“Wei!” Winston exclaimed back, smiling widely at them. “What’s going on?”
“We’re going to karaoke. You coming?” the young man asked.
“Nah, I can’t,” Winston said, nodding toward Ryan, Alex and her. “My cousins are here. I’ve got to take care of them.”
Hong Mei saw one of the girls run her fingers through her long wavy hair and pout at Winston. Hong Mei turned to see if Alex and Ryan had seen the same thing. Ryan obviously had since he turned to her and rolled his eyes before his expression turned into disappointment.
Hong Mei felt relieved, but sad for Ryan. She glanced at Alex. He seemed curious about the newcomers as he looked them up and down, but pretended not to. She watched as Ryan pulled his shoulders back and moved towards Winston.
Ryan said, “Look, Winston, I guess Alex and I better go with Lily. Alex’s pretty tired. You know what I mean.”
“Oh,” Winston said, not even trying to hide the smile he flashed at the pouting girl. “Are you sure you don’t mind?”
“No,” Ryan said, shrugging. He turned to Alex and lowered his voice. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice.”
Hong Mei relaxed, but only a little bit.
A moment later, all seven of them started walking, with the older foursome in front. Hong Mei, Ryan and Alex followed behind them.
After only a few steps, Winston and his friends stopped at a small door. A few people were mingling about outside. Through the doorway was a narrow staircase leading down. The thump of music flowed up the staircase and through the concrete.
Winston looked over at Hong Mei. “Well, we’ll see you there tomorrow then. You’ll take good care of them, hey?”
“Oh, yes. Very good care.”
Chapter 10
The Kowloon Conspiracy
Ryan watched Winston disappear down the stairs into the karaoke club.
He felt weird.
One cousin, who he’d met only once before, had just left him alone with another cousin they’d met only a few minutes ago. Ryan kind of remembered a cousin who lived in Beijing. He thought that she was perhaps an only daughter, which wasn’t surprising. He knew about China’s one-child policy. But the really weird thing was that he wasn’t worried. He didn’t feel scared or nervous or anything. Somehow, he trusted her and he really had no idea why.
“Come,” Lily said. “You must be tired.”
Ryan turned towards her and saw that Alex was already standing beside Lily.
“Let�
�s go this way.” She pointed toward a narrow side street. “It’s a shortcut to hotel.”
“The hotel,” Ryan said.
He watched her instantly turn red. “Sorry,” he said. “I didn’t mean to embarrass you.”
“No,” Lily said. “My English is very bad.”
Ryan regretted correcting her. Why did he do that? She was only trying to be nice.
“No, it’s not. Your English is good,” Ryan said. “It’s better than my Mandarin.”
“You can speak Mandarin?” she asked. Ryan watched her face break into a smile.
“Yeah,” Alex said. “His Mandarin is pretty good.”
Now Ryan felt himself blush. “No, it’s not. I can barely speak it at all. I only understand a few phrases and I can read a couple of characters.”
“Maybe we can teach one another,” Lily said.
“Yeah, sure,” Ryan said, noticing her dark freckles and trendy haircut for the first time. He suddenly felt even stranger than before. They’d only just met, but somehow he got the feeling he’d met his cousin before. Maybe he’d seen her picture in a photo album back home.
The street was dark and quiet compared to the one with the nightclubs. They dodged mounds of plastic garbage bags and soggy cardboard boxes.
“I guess garbage men work extra hard this time of year, huh?” Ryan asked.
“Garbage men?” Lily asked.
“Yeah – the guys who collect the garbage – trash. Whatever you call it here.”
“Oh, yes,” Lily said. “We call it rubbish.”
“And we call it garbage. And it looks like you guys have lots of it,” Ryan said.
“It is because everyone is preparing for Lunar New Year. Don’t you also throw old things out to get ready?” she asked.
“No,” Alex said, laughing a little. “Is that what everyone does here?”
Ryan watched Lily frown. “Don’t Chinese do this in Canada?”
“Hey,” Ryan said. “Alex is the least Chinese Chinese you’ll ever meet. He doesn’t like the food. He knows nothing about the culture. And he won’t speak one word.”
“That’s such a lie!” Alex said, but he laughed harder now. “I know what this New Year is all about.”
“Oh, yeah?” Ryan said, feeling himself smile. “Why don’t you tell us, O Wise One?”
“It’s like when the millennium and Year of the Dragon happen at the same time.”
“And? What’s the really important part?” Ryan asked.
Alex puffed out his chest and smacked his lips. “Well, my dears,” he drawled, “they meet only once every three thousand years.” He clasped his hands behind his back and strutted forward as if he were an old, pompous man. “And that, my minions, is why we are here in this mighty city of Kong – to celebrate this extraordinary event.”
Ryan couldn’t help but laugh at Alex. He could be very funny – sometimes.
“Plus the fact that our darling Aunt Grace loves shopping,” Alex added.
Ryan was about to add something when he saw a red car coming their way.
“Hey, there’s a taxi,” Ryan said, waving for it to come over. “We’ll get him to take us to Yeye’s. Do you know their address, Lily?”
“No!” Lily said.
Ryan watched her wave the taxi away.
“What are you doing?” he said as he stepped in front of her.
“It will cost much money,” she said.
“So what? Alex has money!”
Ryan continued to flag the taxi down. When it pulled up beside them, the driver leaned across to the passenger side and rolled down the window. He looked up and said something Ryan couldn’t understand.
“M’goi?” Ryan asked the driver in Cantonese. “Could you please take us to Hong Kong –” but the man cut him off.
“Aiyeeah!” the driver said, shaking his head hard. “No go Hong Kong. Too late!” Then he rolled the window back up and sped off.
Ryan sighed loudly as he watched the red lights on the back of the vehicle fade as it drove up the street. He suddenly felt very, very tired.
“I know you must be – what is it called – ‘jet-lagged’?” Lily asked. “Let us go to the hotel.”
He could see she was trying to be helpful.
“Do you think your parents can take us to Nana and Yeye’s first thing tomorrow morning?” Ryan asked.
“Yes. Mei-you-wen-ti,” Lily said softly.
Ryan smiled. No problem – that was one phrase he knew well.
Lily smiled back with a faint pink colouring her cheeks.
“Come on you guys. I’m getting cold,” Alex said.
The lovely warm feeling inside Ryan vanished. He turned on his brother. “All you ever think about is you, Alex!”
Sometimes Ryan really hated his brother. And he didn’t care if Uncle Peter thought the word was too strong.
Stomping ahead of Alex and Lily, Ryan continued the walk up the street alone.
Chapter 11
The End of the Jade’s Slumber
Hong Mei knocked on Ryan and Alex’s hotel room door. She had left them alone and pretended she was going to see if her parents were awake. After waiting a few minutes in the stairwell, long enough for them to think she’d actually gone to another room, she had come back. When Alex opened it, Hong Mei saw Ryan was standing at the window. He turned to look at her as she walked in. When he realized she was alone, she saw his face drop.
“I’m sorry,” she said. “My parents are sleeping.”
“Couldn’t we go in quietly and use their phone? We won’t wake them up.”
“I’m sorry,” Hong Mei said. “My father would be angry. I don’t think it is a good idea.”
“I guess we’ll have to wait until morning then,” Ryan said. He reached up with both hands and rubbed his temples with his fingertips.
“Yes,” Hong Mei said, relieved that Ryan wasn’t going to insist she wake up two people who didn’t exist. She wanted to change the subject. “Is the room okay?”
Ryan shrugged as he glanced around the small space. There were two narrow beds with a small night table pushed between them. Across the room, just beyond the foot of the beds, was a wobbly stand where the television sat. The only other piece of furniture was a stool, pushed into the corner of the room by the window.
“It’s okay,” Ryan said. “I wish it had a phone.”
Motioning to the window, Alex said, “I guess your parents didn’t book a room with a view, huh?”
Hong Mei wasn’t entirely sure what a room with a view was, but she guessed it was one with a better sight than this one had. Outside the window was another large building just a few metres away. An alley was several stories below.
“No,” Hong Mei said. “But we are lucky to have a room. Chinese New Year is a very busy time of year. And it’s good that our room has a private toilet.”
“Well,” Ryan frowned as he sat on the bed, “Most hotel rooms do have a bathroom, you know.”
Hong Mei blushed. She was glad Ryan wasn’t looking at her. He’d taken off his shoes and placed them neatly beside the bed closest to the window. She’d watched him pull back the covers on one of the beds and now he was lying back with a pillow behind his head. He was still rubbing his head.
“I checked in the bathroom for a toothbrush,” Ryan said. “There wasn’t one.”
Did he think she had one for him?
“There isn’t any shampoo either,” he added.
“Perhaps we can buy these things tomorrow,” Hong Mei said.
“Why don’t we just call housekeeping?” Alex offered. “They always have things like that.”
Ryan said, “There isn’t a phone, remember?”
“Oh, yeah.” Alex tossed his jacket and ball cap down on the floor beside the other bed. “We can go down to the front desk and ask them in the morning. I’m sure you’ll survive not brushing your teeth this once, Ryan,” he said.
Hong Mei watched Alex plop down onto the bed, ignoring the look Ryan gave him.
“Are you tired?” Hong Mei asked.
“No,” Ryan said, stifling a yawn and taking off his glasses. “I just have a headache. Have a seat,” he said, motioning to the stool in the corner. “What time do you think we can go to Nana and Yeye’s tomorrow?” he asked as he stretched out. He undid the top buttons of his shirt and rested his head on the pillow.
With Ryan’s collar undone, Hong Mei could see a cord around his neck.
“What?” he asked when he caught her looking at him. “Did I spill something on my shirt?”
“No,” she said. “I see you wear a necklace.”
“It’s not a necklace,” Ryan said as he reached into his shirt to pull his jade out. He held it forward a bit for her to see. “It’s a jade pendant. You’re Chinese. You should know all about jade.”
Hong Mei felt her heart skip a beat. The jade was in the shape of a small, open fan. It looked like hers. “What is carved on it?” Hong Mei whispered, trying to sound nonchalant.
“It’s the top half of a dragon,” Ryan said. “Alex’s got one, too, with the head of a phoenix.”
“May I see it?” Hong Mei asked Ryan as she reached a trembling hand in his direction.
“You mean, take it off and show you?” Alex asked. “No. Sorry, it’s nothing personal. I just don’t like to show it to too many people.”
“I understand,” Hong Mei said. “It must be very valuable – perhaps more valuable than you know.”
Ryan left the top two buttons undone, but tucked his jade back into his shirt. He pushed on his forehead with the palm of his hand and narrowed his eyes at her. “You look a bit young to be a jade expert.”
Hong Mei glanced over at Alex. He was curled on his side, already asleep. “It is only that I think I know where your jade comes from.”
Ryan yawned. “Oh, yeah?”
“Yes, it looks like a part of the one that belonged to Black Dragon.”
“Black Dragon, eh? We heard it was an emperor,” Ryan said, closing his eyes.
