Bitter Winds (3 page)

Their moment was interrupted when Sky walked into the room holding a small red horn. In the few months since Sky had been introduced to her by Linnea as a close friend, Li Jin had come to realize how kind he really was. Jojo obviously agreed, as he jumped up and ran to him, giving him a high five. Li Jin felt her cheeks turn red when Sky looked over Jojo’s head and waved to her. For some reason, her stomach fluttered a little every time he looked at her. Even with his strange sunset-orange flared pants and green shirt, he looked well put-together, and she wondered how he had such good style. She gave him a slight wave and then turned her attention to Jojo. From the corner of her eye she saw Sami sit up straighter and knowing the girl like she did, Li Jin could bet the sour look had been replaced with a seductive smile.

“Jojo! Happy birthday, little fellow.” Sky handed him the horn. “Sorry I’m late. I had a hard time finding just the right gift for you.”

Li Jin watched as Jojo looked at the horn, confusion clouding his face.

“This is what you found? A horn? Um . . . thanks, I guess. What’s it for, Sky?”

Sky put his hand on Jojo’s shoulder and guided him toward the door. “You’ll see. Come out here with me.”

Li Jin and the rest of the girls followed, with her parents bringing up the rear. Jasmine found her way to the front of the pack and held her arms up for Li Jin to hold her. She did, though the girl was really too big to be held, and they all gathered outside. They waited as Sky disappeared around the front gate, then reappeared pushing a blue bicycle.

“Well, I’ll be,” her Baba muttered beside her. “I should’ve thought of that myself.”

“A bike?” Jojo happily squealed as he ran to Sky. “Really?”

The bike was obviously brand-new and Li Jin couldn’t believe Sky had spent so much on her son’s birthday. She and Sky had hit it off when they’d met, but a bicycle was a bit extravagant when they weren’t even related.

“Sky, you shouldn’t have done that,” she said over Jojo’s excited babbling.

He winked at Li Jin, acknowledging her concern, then held the bike for Jojo as he climbed on.

Li Jin felt her face warm and looked away from Sky. She peeked over at Sami to see if she’d noticed Sky’s wink. If she had, it hadn’t affected her, because she was now staring at the ground, her face emotionless.

Jojo straddled the seat. “Let me go. I want to try it!”

Sky beckoned Li Jin over. “We need to let your mama decide who is going to teach you to ride this thing. Hold on a minute, little buddy.”

Li Jin put Jasmine down and started toward Jojo, then stopped. She turned back around and looked at her father. “Baba, I think this one falls under a grandfather’s job title. You show him.”

A big smile worked its way across Benfu’s face and Calli gave him a gentle shove. “Go on, Benfu. Help your grandson. And don’t you get hurt, you crazy old man.”

Li Jin and her mother watched as Benfu took Sky’s place behind Jojo and supported the back of the bike while the boy pedaled. The other girls called out directions, each of them offering their own advice on the best way for him to learn.

“Faster, Jojo—you need to keep up your speed,” her Baba said, already panting from the exertion.

Sky clapped his hands and Li Jin could tell he was proud that Jojo loved his gift so much. He turned and caught her looking at him and smiled.

“That was really nice of you.
Xie xie,
” she said, reaching up to put a hand over her scar. She wished he wouldn’t look at her so intently. She used to be pretty. Before Erik’s last beating.

“Li Jin, you don’t have to thank me. Just being included in the family gathering is thanks enough. And Linnea and Jet paid half—they were really upset they couldn’t make it.”

“I’ll call her after the party.” Li Jin already knew ahead of time it was unlikely her sister Linnea could make it, as Jojo’s birthday fell the same week as the town festival and her shop was hopping from all the tourists. Jet had even been roped into working for her to help the customers with their purchases and arranging deliveries when needed. Li Jin understood completely and thought it nice Linnea still wanted to be a part of the celebration by helping with the bike. They were all spoiling Jojo.

“Benfu, you need to stop!” Calli called out. “You’re going to wear out your lungs!”

Li Jin smiled at her parents. It was endearing to watch her mother constantly hover over the man she still called
her sweetheart
. Her baba’s tuberculosis was under control, but her mother still watched him carefully to keep him from exerting himself. The two never wavered; they were the happily-ever-after story she knew she’d probably never find in her own love life.

“He looks just like he did at sixteen,” Lao Zheng said, shaking his head and chuckling as he leaned on his cane and squinted through his glasses.

Li Jin and the others laughed and watched her father running behind Jojo, a proud grin on his face while his old legs struggled to keep up and his ever-rounded belly jiggled up and down. Even Sami let a few giggles slip at the funny scene they created moving recklessly down the sidewalk. Jojo’s squeals of laughter could still be heard as the two disappeared around the corner.

“Lily, play something happy,” Ivy said.

Lily sat on the curb and held her violin against her, then began to play a lively song. Poppy, the first to feel the music, started hopping up and down. Peony ran to her and took both her hands to help her dance. Jasmine joined in, twirling round and round them. Even Lao Zheng caught the excitement, and he made his way to Jasmine, slowly kicking out a jig with one hand on his hip and one on his cane.

“Lao Zheng, don’t hurt yourself,” her mother called out as she stood behind Maggi’s chair, patting the little girl’s shoulders.

Li Jin looked at Maggi and her heart lurched. Maggi sat watching, a small smile playing on her lips as she clapped her hands to the beat. Li Jin wished Maggi could shed the chair and, just once, be as mobile as her sisters. Suddenly Sky stood and covered the distance to Maggi’s chair, then bent down and scooped her up.

“Let’s dance, Maggi Mei,” he said, cradling her in his arms as he moved to the center of the lane, then whirled her around in the midst of her sisters, causing her to erupt in a fit of giggles.

The sound of Maggi’s infectious laughter filled the air, and Li Jin looked over at her mother, only to see the glistening in her eyes as she watched her daughters.
This is what I was missing in my life for so many years—love and laughter,
Li Jin thought as she jumped up and ran to Sami, pulling her up to make her join in the fun.

Three hours later, Li Jin sat on the curb under the dim, flickering streetlamp and dangled her hand in the dirt beside her. The silence, broken only by the song of the cicadas and the whir of Jojo’s bike wheels, settled around them. Sami and Sky kept her company watching Jojo, while everyone else had gone in at dark to get ready for bed.

“ ‘Scattered petals, withered leaves, a foolish man gives his heart to thee
.
’ ” Sami stood and stretched her arms over her head, then looked down at Li Jin.

“That’s beautiful, Sami. What is it?” Over the last year Li Jin had gotten accustomed to Sami quoting poetry, but she still found herself impressed at how much she had memorized. She was truly a smart girl. She’d also heard Sky quote poetry before—suddenly it hit her how much Sami and Sky had in common.

“It’s appropriate, that’s what it is,” Sami answered, snickering. “It means the party is over for all you flower children.”

She looked knowingly at Li Jin, then turned her attention to Sky. “Do you want to take a walk?”

Li Jin knew Sami was making fun of their names besides trying to make Sky uncomfortable with her sarcastic remark about a foolish man. Even though Li Jin had decided to continue being called by the name she’d always known, her parents still slipped occasionally and called her Dahlia. Sami told her it was silly to have a house full of flower names and a man who referred to them all as his beautiful garden. Li Jin disagreed; she thought it was a sweet gesture by her parents.

Sky looked to Li Jin. “If you’ll come along, Li Jin?”

Li Jin glanced over at Sky, then looked back at her feet. “No, you two go on. Jojo and I are going in shortly.”

Sky looked back to Sami and shook his head. “No thanks, Sami. I think I’ll stay here and watch Jojo a bit longer.”

Sami shrugged her shoulders and walked away, but instead of going for a walk, she went directly into the house. Li Jin didn’t comment on it, only continued to draw circles in the soft dirt.

“What are you thinking of, Li Jin?” Sky asked, his voice barely loud enough to hear.

That was another thing she liked about him. He was always quiet and calm, despite the flamboyant outfits he wore. She couldn’t help but compare him to Erik, and she was amazed that with Sky she could relax and know she didn’t have to watch his every move. In just a short time, he’d become a good friend. And she hadn’t had a lot of those.

“I was thinking about how much our life has changed. This is the first birthday Jojo has been able to celebrate with someone besides me.”

If it was anyone else, she wouldn’t talk about her past. But Sky was the most nonjudgmental person she’d ever met. Over the last few weeks, she’d shared more with him than perhaps she should have. He probably thought she was a terrible person since other than a few places, she’d basically lived on the street for years. But even if he did think badly of her, she couldn’t change the past.

“He looks happy, doesn’t he?” Sky said.

Looking up, Li Jin watched as Jojo rode in circles on the pavement, and she felt a swell of contentment. Since their new home used to be a factory, they also now owned a parking lot. Her father had roped off half for public use to bring in additional revenue—and some of the residents made great parking attendants—but the half near their building was all theirs, and Jojo loved having a place to ride his new bike.

“Yes, he is happy. And I can’t believe how fast he was able to learn to ride that thing!”

Sky chuckled. “You know what they say—the Chinese were born knowing how to ride a bike. And your father wasn’t about to quit until he knew Jojo had caught on.”

Li Jin looked at Sky. “I’m sorry you brought the bike but didn’t get to be the one to show him how to use it.”

Sky shook his head. “Li Jin, I didn’t think a thing about that. I was just glad to see Jojo bonding with his grandfather. As much as I love being here with all of you, I’m not really family.”

“Don’t say that, Sky. From what I hear, you practically are family. And you should have brought your mother and grandfather with you. We would have enjoyed their company.”

“Bai Ling doesn’t socialize much these days. And my grandfather is set in his ways—he rarely leaves the shop. But thank you, I appreciate you inviting them. That means a lot.”

“Linnea says under the grouchy act he puts on, your grandfather’s no fiercer than a sleeping panda bear.”

Sky laughed. “I don’t know about that. I do know he took a shine to Linnea and treats her like his own. But they still battle it out with
xiangqi
and cards. Your sister is kind to take time out to keep him company, especially since she’s so busy planning her wedding now.”

That was true. Linnea had come by several times in the last month and delegated duties to the rest of them, things to get off her own list. The girl was amazing—her career as a designer was soaring, she was keeping up her own apartment, and she’d even declined her future mother-in-law’s offer of hiring a wedding planner so she could do it all in her own style. It was a year away but there was a lot to do. Li Jin didn’t know how Linnea kept it all under control but she was happy for her and Jet.

Because her parents’ old house was so tiny, Li Jin, Sami, and Jojo had stayed with Linnea in her apartment until they’d all moved into the new place. While there, she’d come to realize what a cute couple she and Jet were. It was amusing and even a little inspiring how they appeared to be completely in love on the evenings that Jet visited and stayed for dinner. She wondered if Sky had originally liked Linnea—maybe romantically. After all, they saw each other frequently since her store was located across from the store that Sky managed for his grandfather.

That was an interesting thought. One that led to Sami. Li Jin would love to know what he thought about her best friend. “Sky, now that we’re alone, can I ask you something?”

“Sure.”

“What do you think of Sami?”

Sky didn’t look at her. Instead he used his foot to kick at the small pebbles at his feet. “I’m not sure. She’s hard to figure out. I don’t know that I’ve heard her speak more than a few words. And I can’t gauge her moods. She never shows any sort of emotion.”

“True. But she’s just been hurt a lot in the past. It makes her wary of people but she’s different under that hard shell—a lot more human than she lets others see. She just needs someone to make her trust again. And you have to admit—she’s gorgeous.”

He nodded but he didn’t look up. “
Dui,
gotta give her that. She’s really pretty.”

She wished Sky would say more. Did he like Sami? Because Li Jin was starting to get the feeling that Sami had her eye on him. Maybe he’d be good for her. If Li Jin could get Sami to open up and allow someone in, she just knew it would completely transform her. All Sami needed was someone to love her.