Shanghai Girl (19 page)

"Thanks so much for taking me here. It's so beautiful and sacred."

"I always tell my friends that this is a sure win for a first date. Cheap, too. Twenty-five cents gives you a round-trip."

"Did you say this is our first date?" I look up at him.

With a titter, Ed says, "What do you think?"

"I'd prefer to think of it as my maiden voyage in America," I reply, blushing scarlet.

"That sounds poetic. I have no problem with the maiden part. How about a sequel tomorrow night. I'll take you to see the Macy's Fourth of July fireworks display on the East Rivers."

"Oh, how fantastic!"

"We'll see how it turns out." At that, he flips his cigarette butt into the waters of the New York Harbor.

10 Sha-Fei Hong: Maiden Voyage Running Aground

With the deafening sound of "Stars and Stripes Forever" still resounding in my ears, I join Ed in the crowds leaving the bank of the East River. "This is my least favorite part of the whole thing. The mob scenes afterwards," Ed says.

"Compared to Shanghai's Huaihai Road during the day, this is nothing."

“You are telling me. Boy, do I know the crowd. I stayed at the Gascogne right on Huaihai Road Central when I was there. Well, at least somebody like you can put things into perspective when it comes to a mob scene. Good thing my apartment is just a few blocks away. I'm on lower Fifth Avenue."

"Where is the nearest subway station to Brooklyn?"

"Nobody can get onto the subway right now unless they are Rambo."

I know how strong Rambo is. I saw the translated movie in Shanghai just before I came, starring Shi Tai Long. In Chinese, it literally means: Shi, the Giant Dragon. "What can I do, then?"

"I can put you up in my place tonight."

I look up at him, our eyes meet. His irises emit a green light in this festive Manhattan night. Night of the Fourth of July.

"How many sections does your apartment have?" I ask.

"Sections? What do you mean? I have a one bedroom. You can sleep in the living room if you don't mind. It's decent in size."

"My friend will worry if I don't return. He said New York is very dangerous."

"It’s your call,” Ed emphasizes with his open palms. “If you really want to return to your friend, that's fine with me. I'm just trying to help."

"Oh, you got me wrong. I’m scared of returning at this hour myself. I'm just not sure whether it’s appropriate to go to your place."

"Well, you heard me. It’s your call."

Had Ed insisted on me going a little harder, I would have not gone along. But now I sense his sincerity. "I guess it's all right, then. Thank you. I can sleep anywhere. All I need is a little space on the floor."

"I said you could have the living room."

"Thank you very much, Ed. It's so kind of you."

Marble lobby. Circular stairs. Doorman-operated elevators.

"What a nice place," I exclaim in the hallway. Manhattan is truly wonderful.

"Yeah. I like it here myself. I just called to have a sauna installed in the walk-in closet. The hook up is already there. Ever been in a sauna?"

I smile. "You know the answer. What is it?"

"It's a Scandinavia-style bath. I'll show you once it's in. It's very relaxing. With this job, I'll need it."

"That sounds luxurious!" I say, recalling the bath I took at the Shanghai Plaza.

"It is."

The apartment is a steal, Ed explains. The building is rent-controlled. The landlord can only raise the rent so much every year. “One benefit to us native New Yorkers of the Ed Koch-era liberalism,” he says in a tongue-in-cheek fashion. Ed’s stepmother Michelle's realtor gave him the tip. I think to myself with secret mirth that Shanghai residents and New Yorkers are so similar when it comes to getting an apartment to stay in.

A wonderfully refreshing coolness hits me as I enter Ed’s apartment. The air conditioning has been on even when he’s out.

Ed seems to have read my mind and explains, "The thermostat is set at 70F for the summer."

“The thermostat,” I repeat to myself under my breath. When you are learning a foreign language, every new word helps.

"Can I use your phone to make a quick call to my friend in Brooklyn? It’s just a local call, right?"

"I’m not complaining. Go right ahead. You have to dial 1 first, then 718, the area code, followed by the seven-digit number, okay?"

“Thanks a lot.”

I make the call in Shanghai dialect so that Ed can't understand. Lu Long’s roommate, also form Shanghai, tells me that Lu Long is still out. He has called the apartment earlier this evening to ask me to join him tonight for the fireworks display, apparently on impulse. Nor have I mentioned to him the existence of Ed for fear of making him jealous. I tell his roommate that I’m staying overnight at a friend’s in Manhattan and to tell Lu Long not to worry.

After I hang up, Ed walks out from the kitchen with a bottle of beer. “Ever tried a Sapporo?” he asks, flashing it before me.

“No. I never knew it’s also a brand of beer. I know Sapporo is a city in Japan.”

“That’s right. Some beers are named after the city in which they’re brewed.”

“Such as Tsingtao beer.”

“You just stole the line I was going to say. I wish they had a beer called Osaka.”

“That’s another Japanese city. Why? Do they have good mineral water?”

“No,” Ed laughs. “I happen to have a small fetish over Osaka. Here, try some.”

He pours a little Sapporo into a mug, then drinks the rest from the bottle. "Japanese silver bullet. My favorite. It's just as good as Tsingtao."

I stare at the mug. Its handle is a naked woman arching her curvaceous body backward in the shape of a bow. The mug reads "#1 Sex Instructor." My face reddens. “No beer, thanks. Just some water, please.”

Ed senses the need to explain. "A girl I know gave it to me as a joke."

I begin to feel chilly. Can he turn the air conditioner off, I request?

"You poor thing. Not accustomed to the good life. Come, let me show you my humble Asian collection. That'll warm you up."

There's no need for showing. Asian artifacts fill the place. A pair of ceramic lions guards the doorway to the bedroom. The bathroom has a life-size framed poster facing the toilet. Its caption: "Bang Kok!!!" The poster displays five bare buttocks. All lined up. All on heels. All tanned bronze. Bare buttocks coming out at you.

Track lights in the living room focus on paintings and Oriental artifacts. In a polished frame is an
Ukiyo-e
print of a beautiful courtesan in a colorful kimono with layered collars and sleeves, holding a landscape fan. A giant print of "Mao" by Andy Warhol towers over a cream-colored leather day bed. The "Mao," painted in 1972, wears a crooked half-smile on his light-brown lips, a matching Mao-tunic, all on a bright green background. How blasphemous! I can't help thinking. This rendition would have had the artist cut to pieces in China during the Cultural Revolution. The concept of
Qian Dao Wan Gua
comes to mind, the ancient capital punishment of dismembering a human being by applying a thousand knife wounds and ten thousand cuts.

I look away from "Mao" for the next attraction - a Chinese red lantern with a golden sash as chandelier. A Japanese
sho-ji
screen is a decorative partition. A red and white wall clock with the numbers one to twelve in Chinese characters. A painting titled "Yin-Yang Balance." It's supposedly part of the collection at "The Museum of Wanton Art/Paris/New York/Stockholm." The conventional black and white Yin-Yang sign is modified to depict a couple locked in a twisted position.

“You get it?” Ed asks from my side. “6, 9.”

“Meaning?”

“Want me to show you?”

My cheeks burn. "Oh! This is terrible!"

"'It's terrible!'" Ed imitates me in a shrieking voice. "I love the way you said that. You've got a lot of catching up to do in America, Sha-fei. Are you ready?"

"For what?"

"This!" Ed presses his moist tongue into my mouth. It tastes Sapporo and cigarettes. I try to push away, but he holds me tighter and tighter, his tongue rolling in my mouth. I feel drunk, my head reeling. Part dragging, part pushing, Ed leads me to the day bed and pins me there. "I'm not going to hurt you, I promise. You'll love this.”

Swiftly baring himself in front of me, he tears open a small paper square with his teeth and slides a filmy plastic bag onto himself. Thrilled and confused at the same time, I ask dreamily, “What’s that for?”

“Never seen a rubber? It’s for your protection, honey. I wouldn’t dare impregnate a civilized vestal virgin with my barbarian seeds, would I? Your ‘Uncle Gordon’ would kill me.” He pulls me over and takes off my clothes vigorously. Before I can fully orient myself, Ed penetrates me with a grunt. It happens so quickly, all I can do is to react physically. My limbs feel heavy. All my sensations are in the groin. In the crotch. I close my eyes and scream. When I open my eyes, I see "Mao" squinting down at me in a ghastly angle. "Mao" is not pleased. There is a flash of thought of Lu Long as well. He will be devastated.

But I can’t think straight at this moment. Ed has flipped me over, my weight on his hairy, sweaty torso. He situates me in a squatting position and shakes me until I cry out involuntarily, ecstatic. I can feel him loving me. Ed loves me!

The thermostat should have been at an even lower setting.

A-ahhhhh!

“
Where did you spend the night?” bellows Lu Long.

Eyes downcast, I reply quietly, “With a friend.”

"What friend? Male friend?"

I can tell that Lu Long’s worst fears are confirmed. He waves his fist in the air and yells, "You. You! You ungrateful woman! How can you do this to me the third day you’re here? Who is he?"

I can’t stand looking at Lu Long‘s pain-filled eyes. Collecting myself, I tell him, “He’s an American I met in Shanghai. I’m afraid I’m in love with him.”

Lu Long's face turns purple. He shouts in disbelief, "Oh,
Lao Tian Ye
, my grand old heavens! In love! In love! And you never even mentioned him to me! You shameless cheap bones!"

“Stop using such harsh language, please, Lu Long. I know you’ve been good to me and I’m sorry for what happened. I don’t even know how it happened. But … but I think I’m attracted to him and … and he is very interested in China and Asian culture.”

“Nonsense! You’re not attracted to him because of his so-called interest in Asia. You’re attracted to him because he’s American. You think I’m just a poor, struggling student who’s not going to make it!”

“What are you talking about? Who thinks you’re not going to make it? We both are going to make it, Lu Long! And we knew it back when we were in China. This thing … this thing has nothing to do with how I see you. I have full confidence in you, Lu Long. This has to do with emotions. I’m just swept away. I suppose American men are aggressive and Chinese men are more patient and subtle. I’m very, very fond of you, and I want to be your best friend. But I’m sorry that’s all I can say right now!”

Lu Long pounds his fist on the table and asks, “Sorry? What’s the use for saying sorry? I’m sorrier than you are that you just want to get your Green Card the easy way. I must have been blind to be so infatuated by you! Guess what? As long as I stay alive, one day, I’m going to prove to the world that I am a real man, a worthy man. Just wait and see!”

“I never doubted that you are one, Lu Long. And please don’t be mistaken. I’m not trying to get a Green Card. I’m just … “

He interrupts me. “You know what? Two can play the game. Don’t think you’re the only one who can attract Americans. Sooner or later, I’ll have a Green Card of my own. I hope you don’t regret it then!”

I find it hard to talk to him. “Listen, this isn’t about Green Cards, Lu Long. Why can’t you understand? Anyway, I think it’s best that I leave here. Thank you for putting me up for several days. I have to go now!"

Lu Long is suddenly in tears. "Fine! Fine!” he sobs, “Go to your American boyfriend. From this point onward,
Ni Zou Ni De Yang Guan Dao, Wo Zou Wo De Du Mu Qiao
-- 'You stride on your thoroughfare, and I’ll cross my single-plank bridge.' Let our relationship be ‘cut into two by the knife at one stroke!’ --
Yi Dao Liang Duan
. Let us go our separate ways." In the height of his emotions, he uses a string of Chinese idioms.

“Okay, ‘My well water will not intrude into your river water!’” I shoot one of my own back at him. I drag my suitcase and the duffel and storm out without looking back.