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“Li-Mei.”
“He’s also not Chinese.”
I frowned at that. “What’s wrong with being Chinese?”
“Nothing! But it will annoy my mother! And spare me from seeing the smug look that she would have plastered on her face for the rest of her life if I end up marrying and I quote ‘nice Chinese doctor or lawyer with a good family.’…”
“So you’re in love with Malachi Lord because he’s the perfect way to spite your mother?”
“Exactly! With Malachi I can rebel, but she won’t be able to reject him because he’s her savior!”
“You are a terrible person.”
“You have no idea how crazy a mother can make you---shit, I’m so sorry!”
“No.” I laughed though it wasn’t that funny. However, I didn’t want to make her feel bad and changed the subject. “I like your plan. Plus, it’s great story Li-Mei. The beautiful woman who searches for love in a modern world. The mother who wishes that love to come from their own history. The man, who saves them both, one in body, the other in heart.”
I’d definitely read that.
MALACHI
“Yes, Alfred?” I answered as I placed the phone on the bronzed granite countertop of the kitchen and grabbed the box cutter to open the final box.
“Normally I’d scold you…” He coughed and it wasn’t a normal cough, it was the type of cough that made people flinch because you were sure it was painful. “Ah…this gosh darn cough. Sorry, what was I saying?”
I put the box cutter down and lifted the phone instead of taking it off speaker.
“I’d forewent scoldment?”
“You do realize that neither of those words are used in common vernacular. In fact, I’m not sure scoldment is a word at all.”
There were many things I liked about Alfred Noëlle and until this very moment I assumed his directness was evenly distributed among all aspects of his life. But I now realized that he, like everyone else, was well equipped to be bold and direct towards others yet unable to do the same with himself. I was unsure of what to say so decided to say nothing at all.
“Who would have known your silence would be more annoying than your actual comebacks.”
I smirked at that and walked towards the window. “I’ve finally finished moving.”
“Finally? It’s only been three days. And I hired the movers. Did you even unpack anything?”
“I’m not an invalid, Alfred. I’ll have you know that I unpacked the coffee maker all by myself.” Well, I was technically in the process of doing so, but he didn’t need to know that. I glanced out at the green trees that surrounded the house on all sides and found myself somewhat disappointed by the lack of colors despite the fact that it was nearly fall.
“Of all places, why Montana?”
“It was the last state that came to my mind,” I told him. “And now that I know who and where she is…I’m freer to roam around more on a different time zone.”
“Are you sure Li-Mei is her?”
“Yes.” I didn’t have to think about it. The connection I felt as we nearly touched. It was her. “It all makes sense…the way we met again. The impractical story of it all which could start a whole new romance, and I, in a moment of weakness—”
“Humanity,” he corrected.
“Still weakness.” Humanity may be why we kept making the same mistakes over and over again. “The cliché of it all—I save the mother of the woman who not only works in the same publishing house that I write under, but is on the team that manages my work and as such is able to find out where I am. And in rushing to her mother’s side, we coincidentally and serendipitously met at the doors of the local hospital just as I was attempting to leave and she was attempting to enter…and thus the tragedy begins.”
“Unless you move to Montana?”
I nodded even though he couldn’t see me. “Unless I make an effort not to fall in love with her this time, to put forest, rivers, and mountains between us.”
“You do realize we have planes now?”
