The Pearl Ch. 07

Please stay. It read, in a neat but pretty handwriting. I told the ladies I would catch them tomorrow and remained in my chair as they departed.

Shortly after they left, one of the waitresses came over with a pot of tea and two cups. She placed them in front of me and while bowing asked if she could please join me. I rose up and returned her bow, indicating she could.

She sat and poured both of us a cup of tea from the pot. She then seemed to gather her thoughts before speaking.

"I am Mingzhu," she started. Her voice was soft and pleasant, and she spoke perfect English. "I am Qiang's favorite. If I understand correctly, you are the favorite of the new dragon Sebastian. Do you mind if I ask you some questions?"

"Not at all," I said. This entire time she had kept her head down. When I agreed to speak with her she looked up. She had a very sweet face, a perfect oval with almond shaped eyes, and flawless Asian skin tone. Her black hair was worn up in braids, and was lustrous as a raven's wing. She gave me a shy smile. "My name is Dakota," I added.

"I am pleased to meet you." She bowed her head. "How did you come to meet him?" Her eyes brimmed with curiosity. "Did you know him before he was a dragon?"

"No, actually, I didn't. We meet about a week after he'd been changed. He saved me from an attacker on his river."

Mingzhu considered that for a moment. "That was very noble of him."

"Yes, it was."

"But were you not frightened? Or did you know about dragons?"

"No, that was news to me. And yes, I was frightened," I confirmed.

"But you obviously got over it. How?"

"Well, kind of on a spur of the moment thing I asked him if there was anything I could get for him. And he asked for food from a local Mexican fast food place. At this point I had no idea he'd been human. I thought it was the strangest thing, a Chinese dragon wanting Mexican food. And I almost didn't go back, you know. Because I was frightened. But I asked him what he wanted, and I thought the least I could do was follow through. And part of him seemed so gentle. I mean, he was all teeth and claws when dealing with my assailant. But afterward, he was just so quiet and benign that I went back. With the food. It was while we were talking over the food that I found out he'd been human and turned into a dragon." I paused to take a sip of my tea. Mingzhu was paying rapt attention.

"After that, I couldn't stay away. The favorite thing, that's new. I don't know that much about it. What about you? How did you end up with Qiang?"

"He and my ancestor came to America together. My family has been with him ever since," she explained.

I was a bit taken aback by that, though I suppose I shouldn't have been. I thought I should clarify, just to be sure. "Is this an arranged marriage sort of thing?" I asked, managing to sound as though I was just curious.

"Oh, no." She smiled. "We are together out of mutual choice, and will stay together only so long as we both chose."

"Oh, that's cool." I didn't know what else to say. I felt relieved for her, but chagrined to feel that way at the same time. Who was I to judge? Still, I was glad she had a say in the matter.

She smiled again, then looked down into her tea cup. She shifted in her seat and the smile slowly faded before a look of uncertainty.

"Is everything all right?" I asked.

She looked back up and smiled, but it was still uncertain. She looked around the restaurant, but we were the only ones in this section. She leaned in.

"There are other things I would like to ask," she said in a surreptitious whisper. "But I do not want to appear unseemly asking what amounts to a stranger, or to presume on a possible but very limited acquaintanceship. But you are the only other person who is even remotely in the same situation I am."

I gave her a reassuring smile. "I don't mind. What else would you like to know?"

"You love him," she said. It was a statement, not a question.

"Shows that badly, huh?" I asked.

She nodded. "In your eyes when you talk about him. But it's not a bad thing." She returned my smile while patting my hand. "But my question is this, what is his love like?"

I was perplexed by the question. It must have shown on my face, because Mingzhu looked suddenly chagrined.

"I am sorry," she said.

"No, it's all right. I'm just not sure how to answer the question." I paused for a moment to gather my thoughts. "He's very sweet and gentle, and I feel safe with him." I stopped again, trying to put into words things I had barely thought about myself. "He went through this really strange situation that he was in no way prepared for. And instead of feeling sorry for himself, or getting angry and lashing out, he adjusted. So many people use any reason to be just horrible, it's nice to meet somebody who can look at a disruption in their life and say 'worse things have happened.'"

Mingzhu was looking at me again. "So his love is sweet and gentle and safe."

"That's part of it." I nodded. "But there's much more to it, but I don't have the words. What is it like with Qiang, if I may ask?"

She ducked her head away, then looked back at me. "It would be wrong of my to ask you such personal questions and to not answer them myself. I do love him, but his love is like a thing apart. It is like loving a force of nature, majestic but unapproachable. I believe he loves me, but it always seems to come from afar, as though it travels a great distance to reach me and is exhausted by its journey."

I felt bad for her. I wanted to reassure her, but didn't have a clue how. So I returned the pat on the hand. She laid her other hand on top of mine. There was a moment of wordless kindred between us. After all, we were both the only women we knew in our circumstance.

Mingzhu looked down and noticed her watch. She looked at it in alarm.

"Aiiee!" she exclaimed. "I didn't know it had gotten this late. The others must have been taking up my work." She looked at me apologetically. "I am sorry, I must go."

"No problem," I said.

As we both stood up I took, on impulse, both of her hands into mine.

"You know," I said, looking at her earnestly. "We don't have to be strangers. I think we could be friends, allies even."

"I would like that." She squeezed my hands in thanks.

I released her hands and pulled out a note pad. I wrote out my number and gave it back to her.

"Here is my cell phone number and my home number. Give me a call anytime you want to talk."

She smiled as she tucked the paper into a pocket. I hurried out of the restaurant so they could close. As I walked to my car in the empty lot I reflected on the differences between Sebastian and Qiang. Some of them were because Sebastian was born human, and I couldn't help wondering in what ways he might change. I shook my head. Que-sera-sera.

As I reached my car, I had the feeling I was being watched. I looked around and saw no one. I looked back to the restaurant and wondered if Qiang was watching. I suppose he might not appreciate my talking with Mingzhu. At that thought I stuck my tongue out at the restaurant, and felt a little silly. Not only was it not a terribly mature way to deal with our potential differences, it didn't solve anything. If a friendship developed, I would deal with Qiang. It's not like a boyfriend not liking his significant other's friends was somehow new or novel.

God, I thought as I climbed into the car.I'm in a chick flick with dragons. Laughing, I drove away.