Bianhua Ch. 08

Taking a pause, she went out to the patio to check if the water in the pond was still warm enough to swim nude in. it was a touch cold so she knew she would need time for her body to adjust to it. A quick dive into it was the quickest way to deal with it. Hopefully when she did that, he would be chasing her. Suling wondered if when she stepped out of her dress as she headed to the pond if Dirk would be so turned on that he would be helping her remove her undergarments. The natural polished stone floor of the main floor of the house she knew had to remind Dirk of the temple he had grown up in. She wondered if he had designed it that way because it gave him a sense of security.

Just before six she sent Dirk a text. It read 'ne de di er ren gi zi qi dai ni zai ni jia" which said your second wife to be expects you at your home. With everything ready she dimmed the lights, lit the scent candles she had purchased, and started to play some of the romantic instrumental Chinese music that she had downloaded into her cellphone. Then began setting the table for their romantic dinner knowing she had set the mood for the night. The last thing she placed on the table were two sets of bamboo chop sticks her father had created for such an occasion.

David and I were taking a few minutes to review the progress of things before calling it a day when Suling's text came through. I pulled my cellphone out while I was listening to him. Noting that it was sent with Chinese spelling he asked, "Who would text you like that over here?"

I replied, "Suling, she's letting me know that's she's at my house waiting for me. I guess I best head over there and find out what's going on."

David laughed and said, "If I don't see you bright and early, I will know that the plans that others have put in effect will have come together." I guess I gave him a dirty look because he added, "Alana told me yesterday not to expect you to be focused on work this weekend because they had planned for Suling to have some needed quality time with you. I guess their trying to give you a taste of what it might be like when they become sister wives. Makes me wonder what it would be like to have two wives trying to wear me out. That honey do list is long enough with one."

"Nice save my friend," I replied in laughter, "I know you well enough to know what you were thinking. I'm not going to do anything this weekend that might make my life more complicated than it already is."

"You say that now," David said as if he was speaking with knowledge. "But don't be too hard on yourself when life gets in the way."

"You forget that throughout my life I have been challenged by things a lot of things stronger than the scent of a woman," I said with conviction.

"Sampson got taken down by Delilah, and he was the strongest man in the world," David said with a wink. "All it took was a sweet voice, soft tender words, and time."

I had expected the girls to do something to further implant their determination for me to make both of them my wives but had not seen this coming. As I drove up the hill, I could see some lights on, so I knew that Alana had provided her a key. Using a garage door remote I opened the side doors to the back side of the cave and discovered Suling's car parked in my usual spot. After pulling beside her I shut the truck down and headed in wondering what was coming. Part of the problem I was having with making a decision was that I just could not see how it could possibly work. Most females would actually be demanding that I give the other one up. Alana and Suling were doing the exact opposite which was puzzling because it was like they were speaking with one voice. It was made even more complex because I had finally admitted to myself that I was in love with both.

********

La Chey as his daughter was driving up to spend time with the man, they both hoped would become the newest member of their family was sitting in a strange independent coffee shop waiting for his brother. Both he and his wife in their own way were hoping that this weekend would help both Dirk and Suling to either commit to a relationship or end it. He had called asking for a meeting, so La Chey had picked this spot because it had been in the neighborhood within a short walking distance of his home. An added plus was that it was a very public and busy spot which would force both of them to be on their best behavior. He wondered if it to work out the details of the purchase of his half of the restaurant.

La Chey watched as his brother walk towards the entrance of the shop. His brother looked like a man who had aged years in weeks as his steps appeared slow and deliberate making it appear that he was carrying a lot of weight. He knew his brother had to be dealing with the collapse of his family because of the truth about his true walk in life finally coming out. Fen's mother had informed them all that she had filed for divorce after kicking him out of their house. It had to be even harder on him having his son disappear so suddenly within those first few days. For a man who had to be in complete control the failures staring him the face had to eating at him, so La Chey said quietly to himself, "zheng yi jiang lin dao xie deng dai de ren shen shang" which means justice comes to those that wait.

His brother saw him as soon as he came through the door and started walking to his booth. As he took a seat the first thing, he said in Chinese was "your nephew has been forced to run because I think one that we both know has put him a situation where there is no way he can win. If what was told to him is true and he passed it on they would demand answers to questions he didn't have because of what it revealed. Both of us know what the mother country will do to ensure that even the tiniest bit of information has been forced from you."

"If you are referring to my adopted grandson and I believe that you are. Let me make it perfectly clear I have never caught him in a lie nor has anyone that I know." La Chey explained in their native tongue. "Anything he does is driven because he feels it is his responsibility to protect those ones closest to him. Your son's livelong fixation on my daughter brought this current situation down on him just as your own conduct has given you what you deserve. His trying to regain control of his own sister's conduct was the final straw as far as Dirk was concerned because we both know that it's considered the ultimate insult to disrespect one's consorts. We were all warned that day when I discovered he was alive what his view was. Don't blame him, your son was warned and refused to honor his requests. I don't know what was said but it looks like I can tell the Wuming that his mission was accomplished."

La Chey watched as his brother digested what he had said. He had said them in such a way that it showed him that there was conviction to his believes. "Dirk Blackstone the moment he returned the cross to me proved beyond a doubt the kind of man he had become. He also allowed me to stop doubting the path I chose for myself because he was living proof that the things I choose to do had being proved to be just and right. If he said he would do something because he was forced to by the conduct of others believe that he would."

"I came to inform you that I won't be buying the restaurant. Your sister-in-law wants to run it in a partnership with you," La Dong explained. "That way she will have an income to live off of. You will have to work the details out with her besides with what I must do I really have no other choice. As soon as the divorce is done, I will be disappearing too because it has become apparent that those, I answer to feel that my usefulness to the party is done. I was so loyal to the system that I could not see that the moment my effectiveness was lost that there was no longer a need for me because we both know at our age, we are most likely too old to be retrainable."

"The only question I have yet to have answered is how were you able to find me with the new name our family took upon our arrival in America," La Chey asked?

"The Chinese Communist Party has staff inside of the Department of Immigration in Washington," La Dong said. "After you were settled, all it took was a few strokes on a keyboard and we had what we needed to know. After all we both know that our mother country has a constant need to know what their disrupters are doing. I was instructed to move to the west coast and reconnect with you in a way that would seem normal and play the role our culture had designed. If the truth be known, I have always respected and looked up to you because you're a better man than I ever could be."

With that said La Chey watched his brother stand up before saying, "Please watch out for my ex-wife and my daughter as long as your alive as per tradition as if I were dead. If my son and I are to have any kind of life going forward to all who know us, we are dead because we both know the government of our mother country will never stop trying to find us. What I have never figured out is why the Wuming is so important."

"His father before his death had complied a file linking those in China with their representatives within the United States, "La Chey said quietly. "Until it is found none of those related to the Wuming will have peace."

La Dong appeared to look shocked as if he did not know what to say. If the information still existed, the government structure they had both grown up would have its rottenness exposed in such a way that it could bring down what had taken years to build. No wonder the resources spent over the years that accomplished nothing were considered to be just a drop in a bucket. Those whose conduct was open for exposure because of their age were part of the upper elite in the Chinese political. The repercussions of that coming out in Chinese society would hit the party itself in ways that could change everything because it would awaken a society that would realize they had been lied to all their lives.

La Chey watched his brother head out the door knowing it would be one of the last times he would see him. Both he and his son were now locked into a box of their own creation. For the rest of their days, they would be faced with the consequences of their conduct while wondering if this would be the day the Chinese Communist Party found them. As active agents their running from the Party political was an automatic sentence of death. They both knew it and would wonder each day they woke up if it would be their last.

*******

Ian and Bonnie Conner were looking over the horses being put up for sale by the state. They had picked out fourteen to twenty young adults that they would purchase if they could get them for the right price. Hopefully because of the lateness of the season not many would actually show up at the advertised auction. Alana was off to the side busy on the phone is a deep conversation that had been going on for quite a few minutes. They didn't know that she was talking to Fen who was telling her how excited her cousin was about spending the weekend with Dirk. Fen had called because she had just learned from her uncle that her mother was going to be able to keep possession of her family's half of the restaurant that her father and uncle owned because her father had agreed to give to her as part of their divorce settlement.

"You know Alanna feels deep in her heart that we are robbing her of time she could have with Dirk if they were married," Bonnie said. "Although she is not pushing the issue directly, she is getting her thoughts about the matter across quite consistently. I just don't want her growing resentment because of her believing we are hold her back pushing her to do something she might regret later. Its forcing me to look at their situation all over again. With them having their first home paid for and furnished it makes what we did when we first started out look young and foolish. How much longer do you think we will be able to hold them back?"

"If you remember dear both our parents felt that we hadn't figured it all out and that we were pushing it because the hormones of our youth were working overtime," Ian said. "They were right but that did not stop us from moving forward. Yet I think we were more persistence than Alana is. Do you think that we are holding her back from her life because of the difficulties we had when we first started out?"

"Losing the wedding ring you had given me to hold because you were so nervous started our wedding day with a touch of fear. The last thing I wanted to admit that I had lost the rings," Bonnie said. "After searching for it and not finding it we went ahead knowing we were already going to be arriving late. Thankfully, we discovered our flower girl had taken it out of its case and was still wearing it when we got into the car."

"Having pastor Robbins asking me if I wanted to call off the wedding because you were about a half an hour late calmed me down because I told him that you were on Indian time and would most likely show up in a few minutes. He admitted that he had some second thoughts about marrying us until my words showed him how well I knew my future wife. Sure, enough your father at that moment started walking towards the best man to give him your wedding band," Ian stated.

"If we are honest about them, we have to admit that with what they have been going through since they first met if they had of been anyone else it would have broken them up," Bonnie disclosed, "it's only drawn the two of them closer because its taught them things in months that took us years to learn. That's why I'm finding it difficult to keep coming up with excuses to keep them apart."

"There's the fact that I gave my word to Dirk that I would not give our daughter an answer until the problems were behind them," Ian stated. "I wish he had told Alana his feelings on that matter because it would help to make our decisions a lot easier."

"He's doing that out of love because he wants to spare her of the burdens, she would carry becoming a widow at such a young age," Bonnie pointed out. "He did that because if anything happened, he thought she would find it easier to move forward with her life. I don't think he realizes that the writing of his will made sure that was impossible. If he dies our daughter may be like my great aunt who never got married but lived her life in remembrance of him. Is that the role we want our daughter playing?"

Ian paused, leaned on the side of the fence, and gave himself some time to look at things as they now stood before speaking, "If we are both being honest, I think part of the problem is us. Dirk and Alanna have done nothing but prove time and time again that they are more than ready to deal with what life throws at them. They showed us their maturity numerous times and I think we just refused to see it. The problem is that you and I are finding it difficult to accept the fact that our daughter and Dirk are far more mature than we were at their age."

"I guess it boils down to whether or not we will sign the papers that will allow them to get married before she reaches the age of eighteen," Bonnie pointed out. "Could it be a bit of jealousy on our part because they have accomplished so much and are way ahead of many a lot older than them.

Ian looked at his wife and said, "Whether we like it or not it's their lives to live. I guess that's what our parents were finally forced to accept. Do you think that it's time we stopped our resistance?"

Bonnie got quiet as she thought things out. The fact that she still wanted Dirk to knock her up was playing on her mind. She'd just turned twenty when they married, and Alana had come into the world just under a year later. She knew her mother had gone through the second change in her early forties, and she had to ask herself if that was pushing her desire to get on with things. Realizing that if she encouraged it, she would always be wondering if it was her fault if things went terribly wrong, she said "It would make it easier for all of us and perhaps give us time to accept the changes coming into our lives, but the decision is yours. Are you ready to let go of your little girl?"

Ian stood their looking at the corralled horses noticing a mother and its colt. The mother was trying to encourage her young to start the road towards self-reliance. Perhaps she may have felt it was not progressing fast enough and wanted to edge him on. He had to ask himself if he had agreed to Dirk's request because of his own refusal to accept what he could not stop. Alanna was a strong independent woman who had always trusted her insights and had a good clue of how things of how things would turn out. From their first meeting she had known where they would end up even though he was finding it hard to understand. He turned towards his daughter Alanna who was still talking into the cellphone with his wife at his side and asked, "Where do you see yourself in ten years?"

"Dad, you know the answer to that just as much as I do," Alana responded. "The only thing I'm not sure is the number of children we will have."

Ian when he heard those words coming from her daughter knew he had been told that her plans had never changed since the day Dirk had come into their lives. Dirk was the type of man who spoke more by his actions than by voice. Nothing he had ever seen from Dirk could give him cause to question how he thought about his daughter. He was reminded of when she had told him that they would have their timshell moment which she clearly saw themselves making it through it. Looking at her through sentimental eyes he dug down deep to find the inner strength then said, "If that's Dirk, you can tell him we will sign the papers that will legally allow you to get married if you can convince him to go ahead you can start planning the wedding."

Both of them were not expecting their daughter to scream out in joy but she did. Dropping the call, she ran into their arms to hug them both.

Later in a private moment Ian asked his wife Bonnie if she thought their daughter could get him to the alter before she turned eighteen. Her response was a look that made it clear there was no doubt in her mind.

********

Ju Lee had watched Lui Tu's plane ascend into the darkness of night from the airport heading nonstop to Seattle Washington. They had just spent twenty-one days together in a multi layered sexual and non-sexual relationship. Lui was not going to have a problem accomplishing the first part of her new assignment because she was more than prepared for it. Wu Wing had indeed turned a wall flower into a very sensual lady. It had been a long time since her flower had bloomed as much as it had during these few weeks. By the end of her intensive training Lui Tu had found a way into her heart. It now appeared that Lui Tu had a sexual appetite that may not be quenched. She would have to monitored for a while in case it became a problem. This was normal because they had to make sure that new agents in the field didn't fall victim to the various excesses allowed in the free world because the culture catered to all sorts of devious behavior. Before loading Ju Lee had passed an envelope telling her it contained background information on those who would be part of her new life while reminding her that she would see her in three months.

Sleep had come fast for Lui Tu once she took the sleeping pill. She had awakened to discover she had about two hours left in the flight. Being in first class it gave her some privacy because the plane had not been sold out. There was no one behind her and the other two passengers in the section were still asleep. After a small breakfast and a tea, she had taken out the envelope to get her first peak. Inside was a stick that would fit into the laptop that she had boarded with and a special enclosed envelope. Inside of the envelope was a note and a small jewelry box which when opened contained a small diamond double hearted pendant. Looking at it closely she discovered that it was 24 carat gold. After putting it on she read the handwritten personal note. It said, to my sister who made my flower bloom. Thinking of you always. Ju.