Chapter Twenty-Eight
Malee texted her sister from the alley behind Thai Garden.
A moment later, the back door opened and her sister’s head poked out. When she spotted Malee, she slipped outside, hurrying over to her.
Where did you run off to?
Aunt Tan’s.
Are you coming inside?
Malee shook her head. Can I borrow your car?
Of course, but where are you going?
I need to think. I’m going to drive up to the ridge, to the spot Max took me—our spot.
Lawan looked to the sky. Don’t stay up there too long, Malee. Please. Be home before the sun goes down.
I will.
Lawan dug the keys out of her hip pocket and then pulled her in for a hug.
***
Twenty minutes later, Malee parked her car on the side of the dirt road and picked the tin box up off the seat. She carried it with her as she walked to their spot. Her eyes lifted to the top branches of the tall tree. They swayed in the wind. She set her palm on the heart Max had carved into the bark, and her fingers moved over the letters. Malee + Max.
They’d been so happy that day.
Turning to look out over the valley, she let her hand drop. It really was quite beautiful up here. She looked toward the ridge, to the grassy spot where they’d had their picnic.
Sitting on the cold grass beneath the tree and leaning back against it, she opened the box and read every note and letter. Some were sweet, some were silly, and some were urgently imploring her to meet him. But they all had one thing in common—they were the letters of a man in love with a girl. She folded them back up, always careful to keep them in the order in which she received them, then returned them to the box and set it aside.
Her eyes lifted to the horizon, and she scanned the view as memories flooded through her from the first time he’d brought her up here. She remembered how they’d lain on a blanket, and she’d fed him grapes, how they’d laughed and told each other all their hopes and dreams, and how they’d told each other those three little words: I love you.
There was a chill in the air as the wind whipped over her, and she pulled her jacket more tightly around herself.
She thought of what had set this ball in motion today to bring her to this spot. The actions of her father, whether there were good intensions behind them or not, were wrong. Could he truly not see that? Could he not understand how it made her feel? Like she was some kind of damaged goods who had to be bartered off to some old widower? She loved her father, but today she was as angry as she had ever been. She wasn’t sure she could even bring herself to talk to him now, not with respect, because inside her there was none of that—just rebellion, anger, and resentment.
Why did she keep trying to please him and do things his way? He never even stopped to consider her feelings. There were things she wanted. She had hopes and dreams just like everyone else. She was no different. Couldn’t he see that?
Up here, she could almost forget all of it.
It felt so good—so good—to be away and free like this. The March wind brushed against her face, carrying the scent of nature. Malee breathed in the fresh, clean air and turned her face up to the rays of the early spring sun, closing her eyes to the brightness.
Her father wanted her to marry a good Thai, but even if he found someone her own age, it wouldn’t matter. None of them would ever make her twist and turn in the darkness of her room, remembering the feel of his lips, the caress of his hands.
Not like Max had.
He’d listened to her, believed in her, wanted to protect her. He’d set her free. He’d given her freedom to talk, to pour out her problems, even to dare to dream.
He’d opened her world up to new experiences. He was freedom from all the expectations and limitations. He was all that she craved alone at night in her bedroom. He made her heart beat in her throat and her hands long to touch him. He was everything to her. And damn it, she wasn’t going to let him go.
A shadow crossed her face, and she opened her eyes to see a dove fly overhead, white against the blue sky. It circled and dipped, almost as if to signal her.
She put her hand up to shade her eyes as she watched it, and right then everything her aunt said made sense to her. It wasn’t complicated; it was simple. Max and her, they loved each other, and nothing else mattered.
Those realizations hit Malee hard, and the sense of freedom it gave her was suddenly so exuberant, so bright, that she laughed. The dove flew toward the sun until she couldn’t see it anymore.
Her hand dropped.
Max. He’s the one I love, she thought. He’s where I belong.
She wanted to live the life she wanted, for herself, not for anyone else, and she was going to, in spite of her parents.
It wouldn’t be easy going against them, but she had no choice. And she realized something else, too. She was going to have to take responsibility for her own happiness, and to protect it fiercely from anyone who tried to take it from her.
She saw the big house across the valley—the O’Rourke’s property.
Today was as good a day as any to beg for forgiveness and maybe start a new life.
She stood, brushed her hands off, and felt the vibration in her pocket, her cell phone notifying her of an incoming text.
She pulled it out and opened the message from Lawan.
Come quick. It’s Aunt Tan.