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CHEERS & TEARS
by ZuoZhou
1.
They are both divorced. He is 53; she is 29. They live in a moderate American city where there is a small Chinatown established by businessmen from Taiwan about half a century ago.
She was born and raised in Shanghai by her proud parents who love her as ‘a precious pearl in their hands,’ as the saying goes. Her father is a retired schoolteacher; her mother is still working for the government as a counselor at the Political Bureau. Both of her parents are party members, but they are no longer to feel the pride for being so.
Lisa is the only daughter of her parents. She has been close to her father ever since she was a little girl. She went to the same school where her father taught. Her father carried her on his bicycle everyday until she was too big for that old bike of his. For her, her father was the symbol of all men, handsome, masculine with a tender heart.
Her mother was more ‘manly’ than her father, she thought. Her mother talks loud and fast in her typical Shanghai dialect. Her father seems to be under his wife’s scrutiny all his life. Maybe that’s why Lisa feels some kind of sympathy towards her father. She remembers that her father used to bath her when she was little, not her mother. Her mother has heavy hands.
Lisa has a good memory. After coming to the U.S., she seems to have more memories of her childhood, fragments she would never think she’d remember. For example, when she was six or seven, she was sleeping in the same bed with her parents and she would pretend she was sleeping when her parents made love.
She didn’t understand the things between a man and a woman, but she was curious and she found his father’s heavy breathing extremely exciting, not sexually though. One night, she heard her mother ask about money right after her father reached climax. She could see in the darkness with her eyes closed how disappointed her father must have felt. He got up to pee besides the bed and went back to sleep.
Besides her father, her ex-husband was the second man who has touched her intimately. But she always remembers her father’s hands, gentle, loving and warm. She seldom felt comfortable under her husband’s touch. His hands were cold and wet. He didn’t have what her father has.
Her marriage with the man who had cold and wet hands lasted three years. After her first marriage, she experienced a period of ‘aimless self-indulgence,’ which was not the same as ‘self destruction.’ No, she still had expectations in life, her life (!) that has been the whole content and hope of her parents’ life. Like most of Chinese parents, they have high hope of their daughter who has always been the best at schools, work, etc.. She missed her parents terribly during those dark hours, days, even months, until she met Joe Wu.
2.
Joe Wu definitely deserves the word ‘successful’ among his fellow Chinese and Chinese-Americans. He has become the most powerful figure in the Chinatown because of his own venture in seafood wholesale business as well as his ties with both Chinese and non-Chinese communities here in the U.S.
Some say that he made his fortune because of his easy-going personality, except the inconsolable breakups with his three wives before he married Lisa Zhou. He almost gave up the idea of remarrying until he saw Lisa, the young and energetic lady from Shanghai. Her youthful face and sweet talks left a strong impression on his mind long after the Chinese Commercial Association conference they both attended.
Lisa was impressed by Joe Wu’s wealth and wisdom when she learned about him though she could not say what exactly that kind of ‘wisdom’ is. His mature manners and composure in public made her ex seem like a little boy who has no idea what the ‘real world’ is about.
Joe Wu is a man of few words with small eyes and a moderate fat body. At his age, he looks fine as a rich Chinese business-man, moving and talking slow as if the world is at his fingertips.
He has gotten rid of that fishy smell in his body. He uses perfumes sometimes. His suits are all custom made now. He even whitened his teeth because he has become a ‘public figure’ now.
Money makes a man like Joe Wu look attractive in Lisa’s eyes. She doesn’t give much thought to Joe Wu’s ex-wives. One time, at a business dinner, looking at Joe’s soused face and animated eyes, she secretly thought that a man who had such an impact on Chinatown’s fate deserves better women. Soon she became his secretary at his spacious office on top of a seafood restaurant overlooking the river. She soon picked up some Cantonese and Taiwan dialect from Joe’s partners and friends.
Another thing that won her heart immediately was Joe Wu’s generosity. He bought her gold and diamond. He seemed to know what a woman like Lisa wants. Later, after she agreed to marry her during sex on the sofa at his office, he even gave her money to help her parents in Shanghai buy a new apartment. He was like a heavy animal bearing down on her petite body and she was glad their lovemaking was no more than 10 minutes. That night, Joe Wu spoke more words to her than all the words combined he had said to his three ex-wives.
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to be continued...
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