answer. graced. they grew at once closer and lonelier,like colors that,when knit near-arguments,each did her part never to let that show;so that tionship.Things in common,that made it easier to talk to each some old rope-their overlapping history,their parents'rela- was strange,learning to make decisions together.Years later, having gotten along in China,but as the simplest of friends.It explained:also it sounded like Hailan,her real name,Sea Blue. The mail foundered with the government;they received no abroad,on a student visa.What to do with Theresa? a few connections they'd found a way to send their daughter friends wrote,urgently.With tremendous good fortune and not for a few months.She was not allowed to bring her cat.When an invalid daughter;Theresa was to keep that daughter company Finally she was sent to Shanghai,to some close friends with Her parents consulted,debated. clearing again,again.A perverse tropism spine twisted;in her dreams she twisted,turning toward that there?What loss of face?It was his family who had been dis- had run off with his father's concubine.So what shame was fact,Theresa found out,well before their date in the park,he front. so the light washed everything out. No elaboration.It was just before sunset,a time of day when lost them all,"she answered. Helen handed her a dish."So many family members,I already prideless friendship belonged to a realm past conversation."You promise so basic neither one would talk about it,as though such together,gleam all the more distinct.Every day brought com-
"Aargh!" Auntie say!" Mona giggled."Like this!"She banged her fist into her chest. "Mona!You're not suppored to say,you're supposed to let try.And one day,finally I find Xiao Lou!Only he won't say this Xiao Low is just as hard to find as this Ralph.Anyway,I that's it,Ralph.So every day after class,I call every boarding this name?But I ask Lao Chao"'-Old Chao- think,if Ralph's his name,how come no one has ever heard of is right,this name,Ralph."Everyone in the room laughed."I CONTINUED DELIVERANCE, THE "and he says Sister! Good heart." "Really sad." jector;and in front of Ralph shone private splendor.Flocked doors.Clatt!They opened again,like the shutter of a slide pro- waved his thanks to the lady at the desk.Clatt!-the elevator residence-under the circumstances,Ralph was allowed in.He Though it was after hours in Theresa's building-a women's on crutches,looking like a veteran. perfectly white room;he was ushered in after her.She emerged himself dazedly.At the hospital,Theresa was whisked into a sponsive that Ralph was thrown against the seat.He straightened syllables were out of his mouth,the car lurched ahead,so re- up;instantly one pulled over,in a rolling wave of black slush. hail a cab,which he'd never done before.He put a tentative arm First there was Theresa's ankle to take care of.Ralph tried to And,of course,next came the black coat-and then,Older "We were just lucky like that,"said Theresa. Ralph.She thinks she saw him go out for a walk." "Oh,so sad."Mona sighed heavily. "Sad,"said Callie. "Was in the Chinese newspaper."Helen shook her head. "It's not funny,"said Theresa.Mona stopped
woman. openers that rolled easily around a lid,never sticking.Not too (he was right),and cartons of eggs-and,as it happened,can the guest did,expressed herself by filling his cup,thought in else.Attentive.She sensed when a guest needed more tea before But Helen was not a listener either,so much as something The considering type.Not a talker. seemed,for his beat-up shoes.Shy,Ralph concluded hopefully. chin,seemed to tilt forward.She had large eyes,but mostly,it with its large forehead,and small mouth,and slightly receding length black,curly hair (a permanent).A heart-shaped face that, instinctively careful not to take up too much space.Shoulder- Slight figure overall.A contained way of moving;she seemed he began to register some specifics.Delicate feet.Sturdy calves. by the door,the calendar,the lidded cups of tea,as if they were And around her,China.Ralph took in the scrolls,the shoes change purse,maybe some paper clips.Here instead stood But just as he fathomed the bag's knot-shaped clasp,the apart- matter-Theresa handed him her pocketbook.She had keys. Flame-shaped bulbs spiralled up from gold-tone leaves.Ralph a matching moss-green carpet;and on the walls,electric torches wallpaper,moss green with gold,in a pattern of sinewy trellises; Ralph didn't mind,though. ranks,they'd be laid off again test for her? He was grateful enough to have at another firm,where,just as they were beginning to rise in the project,they would all get laid off,and have to find new work be abundantly clear in another decade- that at the end of every prospects?Already they were beginning to discern what would papers their draftsmen came with;and just like that,Ralph had white gold.Not that he couldn't have afforded a new ring by had brought over,a single piece of spinach-green jade set in cooked carp too.Ralph proposed with a family ring Theresa One day,she had her crystal chicken just right,and her red- coached.Less vinegar.More soy sauce. resemblance,even as his mouth thrilled.More ginger,he his family's old cook that his stomach fairly ached with the too spicy-hot.Her cooking was so agonizingly close to that of nounce,after some prodding,that it was too salty,too sweet, abated his homesickness to try a mouthful of a dish and pro- He would,although,paradoxically,it inflamed more than were no servants,Helen was learning to cook.Would he taste- soup,she made him,steamed fish with scallions.Now that there He spoke her dialect,that's to say;and she,certainly,his.Oxtail displayed,wore,not once in a while,but every day,blushing. hairbrush,hand mirror,and comb.All of these Helen used, found a tam-o'-shanter;socks;booties;a pen-and-pencil set;a Then it was belts,circle pins.Ransacking his trunk,Ralph Theresa reported this back to Ralph. Helen opened every can in the cupboard. model on the kitchen counter,with a red bow. much later,a clean Ralph,with all-new clothes,left a deluxe
good likeness,she agreed,a fine family portrait. "Whaaa?" To save money,Helen rented a Western-style,white gown with So much to celebrate! The volunteer let it go "Say again,please?" way,"English not so good,excuse please?" no less),and every week,a paycheck. a place to go in the morning (with a doughnut shop on the way, 的 House Holds The PART II
herself. a fall and an exile.And for Helen,the general was particularly like to move around,the Chinese love to hold still;removal is bition was to stay home forever.The way Americans in general stairs,sang her songs.She was a family pastime.Her life am- in their efforts to please.They carried her up and down the and three brothers,who might have resented her,instead vied Still she was content,so sweet-natured that her two sisters the sort that involved her grandfather firing doctors;her mother breath;and in later life,she'd been blessed by just enough lin- that her own touch-and-go start was cheered breath by halting FAR FROM HOME HZL王NU