Tangled Vines (15 page)

H
ours later Li Jin ran the brush through her hair as she looked in the mirror. Did she really look so old? Erik said she did but she also knew that when she wanted to—and sometimes even when she didn’t—she could still turn heads. She just didn’t feel the need to look like a raving beauty anymore when nothing she did seemed to impress him. To keep him from nagging her, she’d applied light makeup and even a gloss to her lips. But she would not paint herself up like some of the other local girls hanging on the arms of his expat friends. If he wanted that, he was free to go find it elsewhere.

Erik had insisted they go out for the evening. Li Jin would rather stay home, as it was getting harder each day to pretend everything was normal. It wasn’t normal, and she was tired of living in what felt like a prison. These days Erik barely let her go anywhere; his insecurity was high and she knew he could feel her pulling away.

Jojo wasn’t happy, either, but he’d agreed to stay with the old woman in the downstairs unit. She heard him in the next room as he thumped out a beat on the coffee table, singing along to some boy band on the television. Recently he’d graduated from constantly watching cartoons to searching the channels for music videos.

She heard the door open and sighed. Erik was home. What used to be her favorite moment of the day now filled her with dread. She put the brush down and prepared to bribe Jojo to go on downstairs. She hoped they’d get home at a decent hour and Jojo could sleep in his own bed.

“Jojo! My main man—look what I got you!”

Li Jin walked in to see Erik hand Jojo a shiny new red yo-yo. Her son’s face lit up. It took so little to please him.

“Cool. Thanks, Erik,” he gushed as he tried to work the yo-yo.

Erik took it back from him. “Watch me. Do it just like this. Let go of it smoothly; then roll your wrist and bring it back up.”

He expertly dropped the yo-yo and brought it back up. Jojo watched him do it a few times. Li Jin stood back and watched from the doorway, not liking that Erik had gotten the yo-yo when she had told him she was going to get it. It was obvious he was trying to win her son over. But Li Jin was torn because she wanted Jojo to be happy, and every time Erik showed him any attention, he literally beamed.

“You try now, Jojo,” Li Jin said.

Erik turned around and saw her standing there. He handed Jojo the yo-yo again.

“Oh, hi babe. You about ready?” He rumpled Jojo’s head. “Me and your mom are going out on the town tonight, buddy. You gonna hold down the fort?”

Jojo nodded, even as he tried to shrug his way out from under Erik’s hand. “I guess.”

“He’s not staying here, Erik. He’s too young to stay alone. The lady downstairs is going to watch out for him.” Ironically, the apartment they rented used to be the old woman’s second floor of her own home until she sold it to a real estate mogul and he remodeled it into a separate apartment.

“Oh yeah. That’s right. Whatever.” He moved past her and headed for the bathroom. He’d be ready in a few minutes, so Li Jin needed to get Jojo out the door.

“Come on, Jojo. Let’s go down and talk to Ms. Jing.”

Jojo was still trying to get the yo-yo to work right and Li Jin could see he was getting frustrated. She stood at the door and waited for him. He tried a few more times but still couldn’t get the yo-yo to come back up.

“Jojo. Come on.” She was getting impatient. Erik would be annoyed if she wasn’t ready to jump in a taxi when he was.

“No! I can’t get this stupid thing to work!” Jojo stomped his foot and yelled at her. Li Jin cringed, hoping Erik didn’t hear him. She put her finger to her mouth, trying to shush him.

“Jojo, it will take you some time to learn how to do it. Be patient—you just got it.”

She heard the bathroom door open and watched Erik come through the bedroom doorway. He held on to the corner of a towel wrapped around his middle and he looked angry.

“Dammit, Jojo. Do what your mom says! We don’t have all night to fool around with you.”

Jojo used his fist to rub away the start of a tear. Li Jin knew it wasn’t just the yo-yo. He didn’t want to stay with the neighbor and he couldn’t stand Erik scolding him. She crossed the living room and put her arm around him.

Before she could say a word, Erik stomped across the room and shoved her away from Jojo. He snatched the yo-yo and threw it against the wall. The cheap plastic broke into a few pieces.

“Now you’ve got something to cry about, you little moffie. I should’ve known you were too much of a baby to have a yo-yo.”

Jojo really let the tears come then and Li Jin felt her anger soar.

“Erik! Why would you do something like that? He’s just upset because we’re leaving him home tonight. You didn’t have to break it.”

“I’ll break more than his damn yo-yo if I hear another freaking sniffle.” He turned to Li Jin. “He needs to grow up. And he’s ruining my night. You’d better be ready to go when I come out again, Li Jin. I don’t want to hear another damn word from either of you.”

With that he stomped back to the bathroom and slammed the door. Li Jin held Jojo to her and stroked his head as he cried. His little heart was broken.

“Jojo. I’m so sorry. I promise I’ll buy you another yo-yo,” she whispered softly.

“I don’t even care about the stupid yo-yo, Ma. Why’s he so mean to us?” He looked up at Li Jin, tears streaking his face.

Li Jin was surprised. So far other than just now, she’d thought Erik had kept his temper focused only on her. She thought he and Jojo were getting along great lately. He’d even been taking Jojo out on a few afternoon excursions lately. To do
boy things,
he said, telling her Jojo needed alone time with a father figure to teach him right from wrong and make him tough. Li Jin thought he was probably an unlikely candidate for the job, given his unsavory choice of livelihood, but Jojo had been acting more mature and better behaved since their outings.

“What do you mean, Jojo? Has Erik been mad at you before?”

Jojo shrugged and Li Jin moved him toward the door.

“Yeah, yesterday he said I didn’t do the drop fast enough and I talked too much. And I did it just like he said but when I finished, he shoved me down the sidewalk and Obi kicked me right here.” He pointed at his side. “He was mad at me all the way home.”

Li Jin felt a shiver of foreboding. “Drop? What do you mean, Jojo? Where did you go?”

She’d assumed Erik was taking Jojo for ice cream or to the park to hang out. At least that was what he’d led her to believe the few times she’d asked questions. And he had never mentioned Obi being a part of the outings. He knew she didn’t like Obi and didn’t want him anywhere near her son.

Jojo looked up at her and Li Jin knew that expression. It was his
Uh oh, I’m caught
look.

“Nothing. I’m not supposed to tell you what me and Erik do when we’re on our walks. He’ll be really mad at me if he finds out.” He skirted out the front door and down the steps.

“Jojo, wait!” Li Jin rushed to catch up with him. At the bottom step he waited and turned, looking behind her as if he thought Erik would pop out at any second.

“No, Ma. Let’s just go to Ms. Jing’s. Please.”

Li Jin put her hands on his shoulders and bent down in front of him. She had never seen him look so scared.

“Jojo, you are
not
in trouble. But you have to tell me the truth.”

He shook his head from side to side and Li Jin saw his face turn stubborn. She knew she wasn’t going to get anything out of him until he’d calmed down.

“Just tell me this, Jojo. Did your drop have anything to do with Erik’s yellow Nike bag?”

She felt her heart fall when Jojo nodded solemnly, then turned and quickly went to Ms. Jing’s door.

This was trouble—serious trouble. She felt a mother’s fury enter her and breathed deeply to bring it under control so she could think logically what to do. Erik had crossed the line this time. He’d endangered the only thing in this world that Li Jin cared about. He had some explaining to do.

Li Jin struggled under his weight as Erik leaned against her, his arm draped around her shoulders. Staggering slightly, she led him toward the line of taxis. The first one waved her away, telling her he didn’t want their business. She couldn’t blame him, as he was afraid Erik would vomit in his car. She was finally able to reach and wave the one-hundred-reminbi bill that Erik had given her, and the next driver beckoned her over. Just in time, too, as a string of beggar children dashed over to try to pilfer a few coins. Li Jin didn’t need them to deal with on top of her drunken boyfriend.

“Li…Jin…I’m sorry,” he slurred, and a string of saliva hung from his chin.

He was so plastered that he didn’t even know which way to go. She should just leave him but she couldn’t do that. In his state he’d be robbed or even arrested, and even though he’d been nothing less than cruel to her, she couldn’t do that to him. But she was disgusted. Not just from his behavior all night, but also from that of his circle of friends she’d been forced to socialize with, including Obi who had been making moves on her for hours. Once they’d brought out the
bai jiu
and Erik had lost all sensibilities, it was all she could do to keep Obi’s hands off her. He acted like she was fair game since his best bud was out of commission. To make it worse, every time she looked at Obi, she wondered exactly what he and Erik had made her son a part of, and she wanted to tear him to pieces.

“What are you sorry for, Erik?” She wanted to keep him talking. If he passed out, she’d never get him home. The taxi driver opened the car door and she pushed Erik toward it.

“Duck.” She said it a moment too late, when Erik struck his head on the metal door frame.
Oops,
too bad,
she thought, shoving him in. She climbed in beside him and shut the door. The driver scurried around the car and got behind the wheel.

Erik grabbed his head and moaned, then leaned his cheek on the glass of the window.

“I’m sorrrrry.…I love you baby.…” He closed his eyes.

Li Jin told the driver their address, then leaned back and took a deep breath. She was exhausted and infuriated. Erik had tried to make her perform for his buddies as if she were some kind of whore. He’d even picked her up and put her on the stage with the singers! Told her to dance! Li Jin had never been so humiliated as his friends had surrounded her and shoved bills down her shirt and into the waistband of her jeans, copping a feel as she tried to push their hands away. She’d finally gotten out of the circle and run into the bathroom. Once she’d calmed down, she took all the bills off her and threw them into the sink. But then she’d remembered she and Jojo needed that money. It sickened her to have to use it, but she picked it up and folded it neatly, then stuck it down in her purse. It was more money than she’d ever had in her hands at one time and it would be a huge help when she found the guts to run.