Total pages in book: 112
Estimated words: 112567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 563(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 112567 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 563(@200wpm)___ 450(@250wpm)___ 375(@300wpm)
I quirked my brows. “Where?”
“In the apartment building right across from Buddha Park.”
“That’s where my father lives now. At least I think so.”
“Well, I apologize for him. Those two-bedroom apartments weren’t nice then. My understanding is that the building has not improved.” He lifted his cup and studied the tea. “I should have bought the building long ago and fixed it up.”
Okay. If he can buy a building, then he can definitely give me $75,000.
Doubt about my getting the money remained within me. However, my gut said that I was in the right place and doing the right thing.
God, is this what you wanted?
I still didn’t try the tea. I wouldn’t until he did. Promise of money or not, I still didn’t know these people. In my mind, I still could get out of here, if things went crazy.
Leo put the cup to his mouth and drank. After he swallowed, he sighed in pleasure.
I assessed his reaction to it.
He drank more. “When my wife and I lived in Glory, we experienced rough times. Paradise was too expensive to live in back then, especially for poor immigrants.”
“Still is.”
“I guess it is.” He grinned. “My wife and I worked two and three jobs at a time. Anything to pay the bills.”
I nodded. “Me too.”
“Then, she became pregnant, and my entire existence shifted to fear. I was so scared.”
“I know that feeling.”
“My shit jobs barely got food on the table. Sometimes, I had to hunt.”
“Did you go to Serenity Forest?”
“I did.” He chuckled. “There was a wealth of fox and deer there.”
“I’ve never gotten a deer, but plenty of rabbit and birds.”
“What about squirrel?”
“I’m saving that level of desperation for last.”
“I understand.”
Feeling more comfortable, I finally sipped the tea.
Leo beamed with pride. “My wife and I raised two little babies here—a girl and a boy.”
Too intrigued by his story, I sipped some of the tea. The hot liquid stung my tongue a little but tasted sweet. I sighed in pleasure and sipped more.
I’d forgotten how thirsty and hungry I was. All this morning, I’d been running and walking fast, climbing stairs and yelling for my dad. Never had I stopped to get something to eat or catch my breath.
Leo spoke, “Every night, I returned home to the filth, the roaches, the mice scurrying under my baby’s crib. . .” He gave me a sad smile. “All I could do was focus on getting us out of there.”
“I understand the feeling.”
“I see the fire inside of you. The need to survive.” He lifted his cup and gently tapped it against mine. “To survival.”
“To survival.”
We both took a sip from our tea at the same time.
“This is delicious.” I took another sip and placed my cup on the table.
All around me the sounds of the garden relaxed my nerves—the birds chirping, the branches fluttering in the wind, the bubbling of dripping walls.
“Why did your father steal the money?” Leo sipped more of his tea. “Did he do it for the same desperation that we share—the need to survive?”
I shook my head. “I don’t know why he did it. I woke up this morning to these two guys—Dutch and Snow breaking into my apartment and demanding that I pay them back the money my father stole.”
“Hmmm.” Leo held the cup with both hands and leaned back in the chair. “Tell me more.”
“I have three sisters—20, 17, and 11. I take care of them—”
“By yourself?” Shock hit his face.
“Yes.”
“Why?”
“My mother passed from cancer and my father. . .he wasn’t around.”
Frowning, Leo finished the tea.
“Like I said the amount of money is $75,000. Of course I can’t give it to them. So, Dutch and Snow threatened to have my sisters and me work the money off through prostitution.”
Leo slammed the empty cup on the table.
I jumped a little.
He knitted his fingers. I thought he was going to ask me something, but he looked up at Song. “Dutch? Snow? Who are these men?”
Song shrugged. “They’re Kenny’s sons.”
“Not Kenny from back in the day?”
“Yes. Our old supervisor.” Song nodded. “His boys grew up to be small-time gangsters.”
You think Dutch and Snow are small time? How big are you all?
“Interesting.” Leo returned his attention to me. “And you’re scared of these men?”
“Yes.”
“Then, I’m glad God sent you to me.” Leo lifted the pot and poured more tea. “I know all the solutions.”
“You do?”
“I do.”
Two new women in white carried out wooden circular baskets with flat tops on them. The sides were beautifully woven panels. They placed them on the table and took off the tops. Savory steam rose from them.
My stomach growled.
I gazed in. Pink buns sat inside shaped into little piggies. They had two sesame seeds for the eyes. The dough had been formed to make their snouts and ears.
So. . .we eat these or what?
I looked at Leo.
He placed his hands together in prayer.