Nanjing Road, Shanghai (Photo: M. Griffiths)
Read Love at First Flight (Part 1) - Broken English here.
Love at First Flight
(Part 3 of 5)
Sad Songs
A few weeks after Julia’s cousin saw her with
Malcolm and dobbed her in to her parents she announced that she could start
studying English with him again. The summer holidays had just started and he
had no university teaching classes so they could meet up whenever she wasn’t rostered
on as cabin crew at the airline.
Unfortunately it was still not possible to be
seen together in public places where they might bump into her cousin or some of
her flight attendant colleagues. When Malcolm asked her out it was only to
out of the way places.
One day when they were having lunch
in a restaurant near the university she announced that her uncle from
America was coming to Shanghai to visit her Grandmother. She planned to go to
Shanghai for several days to see them both and help her Grandmother move house.
Malcolm thought it over. “Hey. I’m
holiday now. I could come to Shanghai too. I’ve never been there, well, apart
from the airports. We could have some time together without having to worry
about your cousin or anyone else seeing us.”
Julia thought about it for a while.
Eventually she nodded. “Ok. But I must spend time with my Uncle and
Grandmother.”
He smiled. “Ok. Any time together
will be great.” He danced in his seat. “I’m going to Shanghai. Yee haa.”
She grinned at him and shook her head. “Crazy
boy.”
“Where
will you stay?” said Malcolm.
“The airline has hotel for flight crew in the
west of the city, near my grandmother’s house. I can stay for free. My friend
in the office will book.”
“Is there another hotel close by?”
“Yes. Right across the road. It is very comfortable.”
“Really? Have you stayed there too?” his
voice trailed off.
Julia turned her head away. He saw her neck
flush.
He quickly filled the silence. “I’m sure it
will be fine. And very convenient too, especially being close to your Grandmother.”
He clenched his teeth and stirred the bowl of noodles with his chopsticks,
feeling his own face redden.
When
they checked in he stood behind her in the queue. Julia chose a check–in
operator she didn’t know. He put his small suitcase on the weighing conveyor
and leaned forward and spoke in Chinese. He had practised the phrase. “Please,
can I sit next to that lady?” He nodded towards Julia standing just a little away
from the counter intently examining her boarding pass.
The operator nodded suppressing a small
grin. “No problem. She already asked me.”
Julia did not have friends on the flight crew
that day but just in case they pretended not to know each other whenever a
flight attendant passed by. The rest of the time they chatted and held hands surreptitiously
under the tray tables.
When they arrived in Shanghai they rode
the underground to the stop near the hotels and checked-in. Then they went to
dinner a few blocks from away.
“It’s so good to be able to relax.” said
Malcolm. “Your cousin is three hours flying time away.”
“Yes.” said Julia, but her eyes were
still cautious, watching the people who came in the door. At 9pm she said she
had to get back, one of her colleagues was staying in the hotel and had asked
her to meet up when she finished her shift. “If I don’t go she will ask why.”
Malcolm reluctantly kissed her goodnight a safe
distance from the hotel and strolled back to get an early night. Tomorrow they
were going shopping and he had a feeling it would be long day.
The next morning they exhausted themselves
wandering along the main shopping street, Nanjing Road. After lunch they window
shopped a bit more. It was hot so Malcolm suggested ice cream. They perused the
Häagen-Dazs menu at the shop in the middle of the mall and both decided that
ice cream shouldn’t cost that much, even foreign ice cream in Shanghai. They
went to another shop. They were sitting in the shade of a street tree in the
mall eating when Julia’s phone rang.
“Hello Uncle…Yes. Of course. I will see you
soon.”
Malcolm’s eyebrow rose in
“My Uncle is here. I have to go and meet him
at my Grandmother’s house. Then we will go to dinner.”
They rode the underground together back to
stop near the hotels.
M texted her later and she phone back.
“Uncle says that tomorrow we will
help grandmother pack her things, and then the next day help her move to the
new apartment.”
“When can I see you?”
“Maybe tomorrow night.”
The next day Julia phoned to say she had to
stay with her uncle and Grandmother all day, and for dinner. He occupied
himself with some sightseeing, the huge towers of Pudong, and the Bund along
the river. He checked his phone constantly.
The next morning wandered around some more
sights of Shanghai, alone again. He visited the house of Chinese leader Sun
Yatsen and the Ming era Yu Yuan gardens.
After lunch in small restaurant in Nanjing
Road he walked up the mall toward the museum. An attractive young woman walked
up beside him.
“Hello. Where are you from?” she asked.
“Taiyuan.” he said, only half looking at her.
“Taiyuan?” she asked, frowning.
“In Shanxi Province.”
“Oh. You live in China.” She smiled broadly.
“Very good. I am student. Would you like to drink tea and help me practise
English?”
He stopped and looked at her. She wore tight casual
pants and a white shirt, her hair was tied up in a girlish pony tail. For a second
he was tempted. It would be some company at least. He started to reply. Then he
kicked himself. Dumb schmuck. Only two
days apart and you’re ready to fall for that old trick. He turned back toward
the museum. “Sorry. I’m going to meet my friend now.” He walked away quickly, and
waved his hand to swat away her repeated entreaties.
That evening while Julia’s grandmother had
dinner with her old friends from the street one last time, her uncle took Julia
to dinner near Nanjing Road. Then they walked to the Bund along the Huangpu River
that runs through Shanghai and enjoyed the lights of the sky scrapers in Pudong
across the river. Malcom watched from a distance. Julia had texted him and told
him where they were, so they could met up as soon as her Uncle let her go.
Hopefully soon. She had made up a story that she wanted to visit an old friend
in the evening.
Her uncle pulled out a camera and
began to take some photos of Julia with the lights in the background. He
stopped and studied the camera intently. Julia came over and they talked
quickly to each other. Her Uncle was turning the camera over in his hands. Malcolm
was just about to walk up and offer to help when he saw her uncle approach
another foreigner taking photos nearby. They talked at length, The guy moved
his tripod over and took some photos of them both, and then Julia alone, with
his own camera.
M leaned against a tree, stuffed his hands in
his pockets and stared across the paving tiles. A hawker came over carrying a
big bag over his shoulder and waved some piece of plastic junk in his face.
“Bu yao.” he said, too loudly. The man
scurried away.
Eventually the photos stopped and
they talked together again. Then Malcolm watched the three of them walk along
the Bund and through the pedestrian tunel under Zhongshan Road back to Nanjing Road.
They walked several blocks, stopped to talk,
and then went into a jewellery shop. Soon after Julia came out. Malcolm waited
a few seconds watching her Uncle through the glass. He seemed to be staying
inside with the foreigner. He followed Julia. He checked behind him for her Uncle,
then caught up to her.
“Hi.”
“She jumped at his voice. “What are
you doing?”
“I was watching. I want to spend
time with you.”
“I am buying something for my uncle
then I have to go back.”
He walked with her. “How is your grandmother?
“She is good, but sad to leave her house.”
He nodded.
“Where did you go today?”
“Just some boring sightseeing. I miss you.”
She nodded and they chatted while she found
what she was looking for. When she had completed her errand she said. “I have
to go back now. Uncle is waiting.”
“Please just a bit longer. It’s a warm night.
Do you want an ice cream or a drink?”
She shook her head. “My uncle will be worry.”
“Worried.” He corrected her. “I haven’t spent
any time with you at all today.”
She tried to smile. “My uncle only comes back
every two years. Last time I did not see him. He says he wants to see me as
much as he can. Go and have some fun. Maybe we have dinner tomorrow night,
after my Grandmother move.”
She began to walk back to the jewellery shop.
He watched her go then turned to walk away, then reversed and followed her.
He watched them come out of the shop and walk
down the street with the foreigner. They went into a McDonalds. Julia and the
foreigner sat at a table while her uncle ordered at the counter. He followed a
little while after and ordered.
He sat in the window watching her out of the
corner of his eye. He saw a steady stream of couples coming in and out of the front
doors. His stomach churned and he didn’t touch the food in front of him. So close and yet so far.
He heard Julia laughing at something the guy
said. He glanced over at her table and his eyes moistened. He dabbed his face
with a tissue. He tried to take a breath but it stuck in his throat. His body
trembled as he got up and walked out of the restaurant casting one last look in
her direction. She glanced up, her face expressionless, as he opened the door.
He walked, not sure who or what exactly he
was crying about, and kept walking, music drumming in his earphones, until his stomach settled and he was
exhausted. He went back to the hotel. and sent a text message: ‘Miss you. See
you at the airport tomorrow morning. Xox.’
Then he turned off the phone and slept.
********
Read Love at First Flight (Part 1) - Broken English here.
Read Love at First Flight (Part 2) - Life is A Roller coaster here
Read Love at First Flight (Part 4) – Freeze Frame, here.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
********
There are plenty more stories on this site:
Beijing Private Eyes - Drama, Romance, Karaoke, Kidnap! A foreign teacher in Beijing meets an attractive stranger and offers to help, then things get complicated. (A long story in 8 parts)
Tell him he's dreaming - An engineer has an environmental epiphany but things don't work out as planned.
Trial by Fire - When a woman in Tibet self-immolates two witnesses face a dangerous dilemma. (4 parts)
Arrested Development - A development consultant in China finds life getting out of control. [Rated R]
Entries in the post-industrial / peak oil short story competition:
NEWSFLASH - My story 'Promised Land' has been selected for the forthcoming anthology "After Oil 2: The Years of Crisis". You can read the other entries here.
A previous set of stories was published in 2012 in a book entitled After Oil: SF Visions of a Post-Petroleum World, available from Amazon (Amazon) or in Australia from Fishpond (Fishpond).
Stories set in China:
Winds of Change – In 2022 a migrant worker struggles to realise his dreams and fulfil his family obligations.
Outside In – It's 2050, the country and economy have changed. A recycler studies for an exam to improve his prospects, and an indentured servant plans her escape.
Seeds of Time – (Sequel to Outside In). In 2055 rural China prospers again after a period of dramatic changes, then things are complicated by a strange visitor and a hidden object.
Stories set in Australia: A North Queensland Trilogy
Robots on Mars – 2025. A space-mad city boy adjusts to life in the country and tries to solve a mystery. (Note: no actual robots or Martians involved)
Promised Land – (Sequel to Robots on Mars). It’s 2050 and development threatens the rural district. Is it what they really need and if not, how can they stop it?
Heart of Glass - (Sequel to Promised Land). The year is 2099, high school graduates prepare to step into adulthood and the community prepares to celebrate the turn of a new century.
Tell me what you think. Constructive comments welcome.
If you like the story share with it with your friends.
No comments:
Post a Comment