Ha Jin - A Free Life

"There's lake nearby," Pingping told Livia, "so you can find a lotta bird and animal around here."

Livia tried to lift the turtle, but Pingping stopped her, saying it might snap at her hand if she wasn't careful. Yet the girl feared that a passing car might crush it if it stayed in the middle of the road. Pingping stretched out her foot and gently pushed the creature all the way across the street into the roadside grass. The turtle began crawling away, its beak stretched out again and its eyes clear like a bird's.

As soon as Pingping and Livia got into the house, the girl went to the bathroom for a shower. Pingping put a change of clothes on the lid of the toilet beside the bathtub while the girl stood in the cone of spraying water, shielded by the screen of ground glass. "You can wear my clothing, okay?" Pingping said.

"Thanks a million," said Livia. "Oh, it's so nice to take a warm shower again! I must stink like a skunk."

"How many days you didn't wash?"

"Four."

"Take your time and wash yourself thoroughly. There are orange in refrigerator. You can eat as many you want." "Sure, I'll have one."

Pingping looked at Livia behind the semitransparent screen, but she could see only the contour of that pubertal body. Apparently Livia had grown into a fine, healthy girl, though she still seemed flighty and fragile. Pingping went out to call Nan to discuss what to do about Livia.

At the Gold Wok, Taotao was sitting in a booth and eating a pork bun. His father asked him, "Is Livia your girlfriend?"

"Nah, she's just a friend. Why? Why are you grinning like that?" the boy growled.

"I jahst asked. What's the difference between a girlfriend and a friend?"

"You date a girl, then she's your girlfriend. I don't date Livia, so she's just my friend."

"That's good. She's not suitable for you."

"None of your business! How can you tell if she suits me or not?"

"She's too big, almost like a woman. Look at yourself. You have no hair on your tawp lip yet."

The phone rang and Nan picked it up. Pingping asked him how they should handle Livia. They were both worried that something might happen between their son and the girl, so they had to figure out a way to prevent the two youngsters from being alone together.

Having talked briefly, they decided to let both Taotao and Livia work in the restaurant and would pay them each five dollars an hour. Although business was slow at present, this was the only way to keep the girl in line.

The moment Pingping hung up, Nan called Heidi. Heidi dissolved into sobs at the news. She implored Nan and Pingping not to disturb her daughter, saying she would come and pick her up without delay. "Don't wahrry yourself sick, Heidi," said Nan. "We'll take good care of her. In fact, we're going to hire her to work for us."

"Do you think she'll do that?" came Heidi's concerned voice, broken up by a burst of static.

"Here is not like in Boston, where you have a lawt of places to visit. Livia cannot go anywhere. Taotao will work wiz her too. We hire them as a team so zat we can keep watch on them."

"That's a great idea, Nan. I can't thank you and Pingping enough."

Nan wondered if he should invite Heidi to stay with them, but unsure if their home was too shabby for her, he said nothing, knowing she'd surely make arrangements for her lodging anyway. In the back of his mind lingered a touch of discomfort from having the two juvenile workers at the Gold Wok, because their wages might consume a good part of the profit the business could fetch in a slow season like now. Besides, he'd have to pay Niyan as well and might even lose money this week. He hoped Heidi would arrive within two or three days.

LIVIA and Taotao didn't mind being kept at the Gold Wok. Never paid five dollars an hour before, they followed Pingping's instructions with alacrity and worked zestfully, busing tables, taking plates and bowls out of the washer, peeling fruits, shelling nuts, picking vegetables. Livia did ask Nan what places in Atlanta were worth seeing; he told her that there was the Martin Luther King Center and also the World of Coca-Cola, where you could have a "Soda Safari" and partake of all kinds of soft drinks for free. The girl wasn't interested in either place, and said, "Coke just makes you fat. I quit drinking it long ago." To Nan's disquiet, Taotao mentioned Stone Mountain Park, saying a boat ride on the lake there could be fun, but Livia thought it was too hot to stay in the open air. Nan felt relieved that she didn't want to go sightseeing.

Compared with Livia, Taotao seemed much younger, like a little brother, so his parents weren't really worried about his being with the girl. Yet Nan noticed that with Livia around, Taotao had become more animated and talkative. The boy even tried to ingratiate himself with Livia, who he assumed had come all the way to see him. Nan was certain that if Taotao were a few years older and able to drive, he would have taken Livia to the movies, or Stone Mountain Park, or Lake Lanier, and wouldn't have been willing to work at the restaurant. Maybe it would do him good to have a girlfriend. At least that might teach him how to get along with girls and eventually make him relax when dating a woman. Nan always regretted that he had taken girls too seriously when he was young.

Livia reveled in the free food at the restaurant. She told the Wus that both her brother, Nathan, and she had missed Pingping's cooking. Now there were more choices here and everything was better made, no longer the homey fare Pingping used to cook. Livia kept asking Nan and Pingping, "Can I work here for the rest of the summer? I hate the fishy smell of the Cape."

"In fact, we can't hire you for long," said Nan. "You're underage, and I may get into trahble for exploiting children."

"Nobody will know, please!"

Pingping said, "We have to ask your mother."

As if she were a full-time employee here, Livia would mimic Niyan's manner and even asked the waitress how much she made. Niyan wouldn't tell her and just smiled, amused by the carefree girl. The truth was that there wasn't enough work for the youngsters to do. When idle, the two of them would settle in a booth, cracking spiced pumpkin seeds and roasted peanuts and talking about their schools and the kids they both knew. Now and again they would laugh, which drew attention to them.

Livia leaned forward in her seat and whispered to Taotao, "Do your parents get along?"

"Sure. They've worked very hard. My dad is a real chef now. You see, people like what he cooks."

"I mean, your parents don't fight anymore?"

"Very rarely."

"So Nan won't walk out on Pingping?"

"What makes you still think of that?" The boy stared at her and puckered his brows. "Never mind."

"C'mon, tell me why you said that."

"Are you sure your dad isn't seeing another woman?"

"You have a sick mind. He'll never abandon us."

"Then how come your dad and mom sleep in different rooms?"

"They always do."

"I don't get it."

"My dad reads and writes late at night. He doesn't want to disturb my mom."

"That's odd. So they don't go to bed together anymore?" "That's just your stupid way of thinking. Husband and wife must sleep in the same bed or the marriage is in trouble."

"My aunt stopped sharing her bed with Phil before they were divorced."

"But that doesn't apply to my parents!" the boy flared at her, his eyes sparking.

"There, there, don't be an asshole."

Indeed, Nan and Pingping hadn't slept in the same room since they moved to Marsh Drive. But contrary to Livia's assumption, they did make love from time to time, mostly when Nan sneaked into Pingping's bed early in the mornings, and the marital crisis Livia had intuited long ago had been eased considerably. The couple lived a stable life now, totally preoccupied with their business and their child. When Livia arrived, they had moved Taotao out of his room and let the girl use his bed. The boy stayed with his dad, sleeping on a futon next to the south-facing window. He didn't complain and had surrendered his room willingly, whereas Livia felt it bizarre that Nan would sleep in the same room with his son instead of staying with his wife. In fact, Pingping had asked Taotao to sleep in her master bedroom, but the boy wouldn't do that. Thanks to the girl's presence in the house, he adamantly insisted on staying with his father. Nan was pleased to have him in his room.