That Was Then... (17 page)

For the first time, this woman is beginning to sound more like a real person to me. I feel relieved that she’s not comfortable with this new relationship either. It actually gives me hope. And so I write her once more.

I’m almost ready to go to bed now. I’m concerned that I may have offended Jin with my last e-mail. I guess I just wanted to be honest. Hopefully she won’t misread it and think that I’m blowing her off.

Maybe it’s the comment about my photograph reminding me of her mother, but even though I am determined to go to bed since it’s nearly midnight now, I decide to write one last note.

I am eighteen today! To celebrate, Dad took Nat and me to a new French restaurant that opened last month. Really swanky. Nat and I both got dressed up, and Dad even put on a tie and sports coat for the occasion.

“We make a pretty impressive trio,” I told him as he escorted us into the restaurant, a girl on each arm.

He glanced around, looking slightly uncomfortable. “Goodness, I hope people don’t think you beautiful girls are actually my dates.”

“Why not?” I teased.

“Because all the men will be pea green with envy, and the women will think that I’m robbing the cradle.”

Nat and I laughed at his joke, and soon we were seated at a very choice table. Then in honor of my birthday, my dad ordered a bottle of sparkling cider.
“With champagne glasses,” he instructed the waiter. “Since we“re celebrating my daughters eighteenth birthday.”

The waiter seemed to get into the festivities and treated me like I was a celebrity. So much so that another party at a nearby table kept looking at us like they were trying to figure out who we were. Pretty cool. Not to mention that the food was awesome.

“Do you think we should bring Jin here when she comes?” I asked Dad as we were having dessert—some amazing chocolate confection with a name I can’t even begin to pronounce, let alone spell. Maybe I should’ve taken French instead of Spanish.

“I wonder what she’d think of it,” he said. “Being Korean and all. It might not appeal to her.”

“She sounds pretty well traveled to me. I’m guessing she’s had French food before.”

“Then, by all means,” he said. “Let’s bring her here.”

Nat frowned. “I hope I get to meet her. Is she really only going to be here a couple of days?”

“Sounds like it,” I told her. “But I’ll try to make sure you at least get to meet her once. Maybe if we like her, we’ll invite her over to the house.”

Dad laughed. “And if we don’t like her?”

“We’ll tell her that we moved.”

Of course, I’m sure that won’t be the case. In fact, in just the past couple of weeks of correspondence, I’ve started to think that I actually do like her. Okay, I don’t really know her that well, and her writing tends to be a
bit formal at times, but then she“ll show a glimpse of who she really is, or how she feels about something, and then she comes across as fairly human and actually pretty nice.

I still have a lot of questions. And I’m actually starting to compile a list, although the list keeps changing. But I figure by the time Jin gets here, I’ll have it mostly figured out. I mean, I don’t want to assault her with everything at once. And I realize I can still ask her questions through e-mail later on. But at least I’ll have something to say if the conversation stalls at all.

She sent me a birthday card and a gift that came just a couple of days before my birthday. I could tell by the box that it was jewelry, but I was surprised at the quality of the necklace, a very large oval-shaped pearl, set in what looked like really nice gold. I showed it to Dad, and he let out a low whistle. “That must’ve been expensive.”

“I hope it didn’t set her back too much,” I told him. “I mean, I get the feeling she’s comfortable and everything, but she does work pretty hard too.”

“I wouldn’t worry about it. She gave this to you because she wanted to, Kim. Even if it did set her back…well, you just never know, it might be a good thing for her.”

So I’m not going to worry about it. But I did send her a thank-you through e-mail. I figured she’d want to know that I’d received it. And then I wore it for my birthday dinner tonight, and I must say I felt like a million
bucks. Although I did worry that I might lose it. That would be sad.

I know that Jin was supposed to arrive in town today. But she explained that her flight would get in fairly late and that she’d just settle into her downtown hotel and then meet us for dinner the following evening. And here’s what’s funny—I was the one who was all worried about her coming, and whether or not I even wanted to see her—and now I’m feeling all impatient, like I can’t believe she’s in the same town and I don’t even get to see her until tomorrow night. I’m halfway tempted to go over to her hotel tomorrow, but I won’t do that. I will respect her privacy and wait. Even if the anticipation is killing me!

“You’d think this was a big date or something,” I say to Nat, who has come over to lend me her moral support as well as fashion expertise.

I change my outfit about six times before we finally decide on a simple black skirt and a pale gray turtleneck sweater.

“It’s simple but sophisticated,” Nat assures me.

“Not boring but blah?” I ask as she latches my pearl necklace around my neck.

“Cashmere is not boring, Kim.” She runs her hand down the sleeve. “Your dad sure has good taste for an old dude.”

I laugh as I check out my image in the mirror again. “And this necklace actually looks pretty good against the gray.”

“I wish I could be a mouse in your pocket,” Natalie says as I tug on a tall black boot. Nat insisted that this was a boot outfit.

“I don’t have any pockets,” I point out.

“You know what I mean.”

“I promise to tell you everything,” I say as I pull on the other boot. “How’s that?”

“Very glamorous.” She nods with approval.

I check myself out one more time and decide she’s right. “Sometimes simple really is better.”

“Told you so.”

“Here.” She hands me my trench coat. “It’s coming down in buckets out there. And you might want an umbrella too.”

“Dad always has one in his car.”

Then Nat hugs me. “Well, have a good time, okay? And call me as soon as you get home.”

I nod. “And if I really like Jin, I’ll invite her to come to the house tomorrow. If she’s not already going home, that is.”

Nat crosses her fingers. “Let’s hope not.”

“And Dad’s taking the camera. At the very least we’ll have some pics to show you.”

I’m a bundle of nerves as Dad drives us downtown. It does feel like a date. Like what if she doesn’t like me? What if I don’t like her? What if we can’t think of anything to say? What if I spill soup in my lap or talk all night with spinach in my teeth?

“Just relax,” Dad says as I fidget with the belt of my coat. “This is going to be fun, Kim. Just take it easy and remember to breathe.”

“Breathe…” I say, taking in a slow deep breath. “Yes, that’s good.”

He laughs. “If it makes you feel any better, I’ll bet that Jin is even more nervous than you right now.”

“Why aren’t you nervous?”

He shrugs. “Me? Why, I’m just an old newspaperman, Kim. It takes a lot to get me nervous.”

Because it’s still pouring outside, my dad actually splurges for valet parking, and we dash in under the awning to avoid getting drenched. A man takes our dripping coats, and Dad gives our names to the hostess. We wait for a minute or so, until we’re led to a table that’s in a quiet corner on the far side of the restaurant. The table is set for three, but Jin isn’t here yet.

“We’re a couple minutes early.” Dad reaches for the menu. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon.”

But nearly fifteen minutes pass, and I’m getting worried. “What if I told her the wrong place?” I glance at my watch for like the hundredth time.

“Didn’t you give her your cell phone number?”

“What if I gave her the wrong number?”

Dad just laughs now. “Yes, that sounds so much like you, Kim. Getting your numbers all mixed up.” Then he nods toward the entrance. “Do you think that’s her?”

I see a petite Asian woman talking to the hostess, and now she’s being led toward us. I start to stand up, but realize it’s too soon, as she’s still just walking across the room. She’s very stylish—I can see that even from a distance. She walks with confidence and grace. She has on a pale blue suit with a belted jacket and a scarf tucked loosely around her neck. Her shiny black hair is cut in chic layers and goes just below her shoulders, swaying as she walks. As she gets closer, I can see that everything about her is absolute perfection. And I feel like I’m going to faint.

“Breathe,” my dad says under his breath.

And then we are standing, introducing ourselves, and I can tell right away that I like her. She seems a little shy and unsure of herself. And yet her eyes sparkle with intelligence, and her English is actually quite good. Almost more natural sounding than the way she writes.

“It is so good to finally meet you, Kim,” she tells me as she continues to clasp my hand. “You are even more beautiful than your photograph.”

“Thanks. So are you.”

She smiles. “For an old woman, you mean?”

“You don’t look that old.”

She nods. “Oh, you know how we modern women are. We like to stay young for as long as we can.”

We all laugh and sit down. Dad asks about her flight
and the hotel, and she says that everything is fine. Then she turns to me. “I just want to keep looking at you. You are really so beautiful, Kim.”

Okay, as much as I love compliments, this attention is making me a little uncomfortable. “I’m wearing the necklace you sent.” I hold it up as if she can’t see.

“It is perfect on you.”

“I really love it.”

“It was my mother’s,” she says. “It’s not very old. I think it was given to her in the 1930s.”

“A family piece?”

She smiles. “Yes…”

Now I’m remembering some of my questions. I do have them with me, neatly printed out and in my purse, but I don’t want to look like I’m doing a newspaper interview.

“Are your parents still alive?”

“No. They have both passed.”

“Do you have brothers and sisters?”

She nods. “Yes. I have two brothers. One sister. I am the baby.”

“Do you see them much?”

She shakes her head sadly. “Oh, no…we are not close. Not anymore.”

So I decide not to ask about nieces and nephews. “I studied the South Korean map. It looks like your hometown isn’t too far from Puson.”

“Yes. That’s right.”

“So do you have family who still live there? In Po’hang?”

“Yes. They all live there. It is a beautiful place by the Sea of Japan.”

Okay, now I’m faced with a tough question. Jin seems to be estranged from her family, and I want to know why. But the waiter is here to tell us about this evening’s specials.

“Oh,” says Jin, “that sounds lovely.” And then she actually translates some of it for us.

“You speak French?” the waiter asks, impressed.

“Oh, just a little.”

Since we’ve already pretty much decided what we want, we place our order and he leaves.

“I’m curious,” I begin, deciding to go ahead with my questions. “If your family lives so nearby…why don’t you see them?”

She nods again slowly, as if she’s considering a response. “Yes, I knew you would want to know about my family, Kim. You see they are a family of influence, a family with considerable wealth. Do you understand?”

I nod, thinking, Hey, she really is royalty.

“And I was the baby of the family.” She smiles. “And I was, as I’ve heard Americans say in the movies, the apple of their eye. I was their precious little pearl. Their darling.” She glances at Dad. “I’m sure you must understand.”