Chapter 22

It was dark by the time Robert arrived in Dennis’s town car. She was mildly disappointed that Dennis himself hadn’t come down, but kept it to herself. She allowed the chauffeur to load her things into the trunk and as she watched the last bag go in, she realized that her life was incredibly small, that all of it could fit into one snug place like that. She was suddenly seized with a sense of disappointment about herself. Since her car was out of gas, yet again, Marqi left it in the student lot, intending to come get it at some point in the uncertain future she hoped would turn out well.

As the car rolled away from the school, Marqi resisted one last look back. It was over for her there, and she felt a sense of less, like part of her had been left behind. She took a deep breath, telling herself silently that it wasn’t a part of her, just a dream she had had, and that there would be other dreams.

She turned her attention to the road and realized what a long journey she had ahead of her. She laid her head on the window and closed her eyes.

She startled awake when the car came to a stop at the mansion. Marqi looked up, only slightly intimidated by its grandeur. She inhaled deeply and tried to stop her mind from racing. What would Dennis say when she told him? She couldn’t wait for his response.

As it happened, she would be waiting for his response for a very long time. Robert had neglected to mention that Dennis had flown to Tokyo on business that morning, and that he wouldn’t be back for several days. Marqi was miffed that he’d leave the country without telling her, but she thought that perhaps it had been urgent, and that he would call when he could. That thought bolstered her as she unpacked in the guest room.

The room here had its own private bath, and was slightly larger than the room she’d had to share at the college dorm. Plus, she thought, she wouldn’t have to pay rent here, and as soon as she got a job, she could save up to…

Well, she couldn’t quite think that far ahead, but she was certain that having money meant having power, and having power meant she could control things—chiefly, her destiny. The maid had given her a cold look when she’d had her things toted in, icily telling her that Mr. Braxton had failed to inform her that Marqi was coming to stay. She assured the woman it was a harmless surprise, but the housekeeper looked unconvinced. Although she was starving, Marqi was reluctant to ask Mei for anything to eat. She finished stacking her books on the low shelf under the window and decided to skip downstairs and raid the refrigerator.

Unfortunately, Marqi was in for a shock with her wedge of cheese. She came around the corner, hearing two voices conversing very quickly in an Asian language she didn’t entirely recognize.

“Oh, my God!” she said, scaring the two identical women standing at the sink. For a moment, none of them moved. Then Marqi forced herself to blink and said, “You’re twins!”

The sister on the left gave the sister on the right a hard shove, and said, “Yes, my sister come to visit me. Okay, no big deal, right?”

“Um, sure,” Marqi said. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to interrupt. I just came down for a sandwich or something.”

“Oh, yeah, yeah,” the woman she thought was Mei said. “Sit, sit, I’ll fix it for you. You want cheese? Turkey?”

“Thanks, but you don’t have to do that,” the college drop out said, “I can get it.”

“No, no, please, it’s my job!” the woman replied, bustling over to the fridge. “I know where everything is; I can do it very fast for you. Really!”

“… Okay,” Marqi agreed with a grateful smile. She went to the cupboard in search of a glass, but found Mei insisting that she get that, too.

Marqi watched the short housekeeper with a suspicious eye. Why was she suddenly being so nice?

“Dennis doesn’t know your sister is visiting?” she guessed aloud.

Mei Bo froze at the refrigerator, her hand on a bottle of cold soda pop. “You like ginger ale?”

“Sure,” Marqi said, “but listen, it’s no big deal. I won’t say a word to him about it, okay? I mean, he wouldn’t really care, anyway, would he? You should enjoy your family while they’re around.”

She smiled warmly and got a small smile in return from the woman.

“Okay, you sit, here you go.” She whipped up a beautiful, thick sandwich piled with turkey, cheese, mayonnaise, lettuce and tomato, and added some kettle-cooked chips without being asked.

Marqi perched on a seat at the counter and took an enormous bite of her food. “It’s delicious,” she said through her mouthful.

“Okay, we’ll go now,” Mei Bo said, pushing her sister off toward the room Marqi had always assumed was a laundry. She now realized it was likely to be servants’ quarters, which struck her as extremely odd. She watched the sisters make their exit and sat alone at the vast granite counter, eating her tasty sandwich. For not the first time, she thought about the strange turns her life had taken. She was eating a meal prepared by a servant who lived in quarters in a huge mansion she was now living in. She thought about the apartment she’d shared with her mother, the crappy one she’d largely grown up in. It wasn’t anything like this. She thought their entire two bedroom place would probably fit in his formal living and dining rooms. She wondered what stop she would have after this, if she would ever end up back in humble beginnings, or if she, too, could carve out a life of luxury with nothing more than brains and creativity.

She finished her sandwich, rinsed her plate in the sink, and headed off in search of a television. She felt a pang when she realized she had no homework and why, but she quickly brushed it off.

“Things are going to be great,” she told herself out loud. She wished her voice wouldn’t wobble when she spoke the words; she tried again. “Things are going to be great.”