Read Online Chenxi and the Foreigner by Sally Rippin - Free Book Online

‘So. You want to come?’
    â€˜Maybe.’
    â€˜What’s that supposed to mean?’
    Chenxi flicked through the small worn dictionary he carried in his pocket. ‘Maybe: perhaps, possibly…’
    â€˜Ha, ha, ha!’ Anna said and went back to her drawing. ‘Come if you want. I don’t care. I’m going anyway. It’s too hot. I’ll meet you at the Australian consulate at four.’
    Four o’clock came and went. Anna waited until ten past before diving into the pool. If he comes, he comes, she thought. I’m not going to hang around all day waiting for him again!
    The cool, rippled turquoise closed over her. Underwater she could have been anywhere. But, when she rolled onto her back and looked up at the grey polluted sky, she was unmistakably in Shanghai. Anna swam and dived and twisted through the water. Her pores were cleansed of the soot and silt but she could not rid her mind of Chenxi. Occasionally she felt sure of his presence and would flip over, certain he would be at the side of the pool, watching. But only the lush consulate palms waved back at her and Anna tried to ignore her own disappointment.
    After an hour, she got out of the pool and dressed, refreshed enough to feel herself again. She walked her bike out the front gate and was just about to mount when she heard Chenxi’s call from behind.
    â€˜Chenxi! What are you doing here?’
    â€˜I wait for you!’
    â€˜But I’ve been here for ages! Why didn’t you come in?’
    â€˜You tell me meet you at consulate. I wait here, outside.’
    â€˜Oh, Chenxi! I feel terrible! I thought you weren’t coming.’
    â€˜I say only maybe. Maybe no. Maybe yes, too.’
    â€˜Oh, I’m so sorry. Have you been waiting all this time? Come on, let’s go for a swim now. I’ll go in again.’
    â€˜I must go help my mother cook dinner. She is home from work very tired.’
    â€˜Chenxi, I really feel awful. How can I make up for it?’ Anna searched his face to see if he was annoyed but she couldn’t tell. ‘Look, I know. On Friday night they have drinks here, at the consulate. Would you come? At six?’
    Chenxi stared across the road. ‘Maybe.’
    â€˜Chenxi! Maybe yes, or maybe no!’
    Chenxi winked. ‘Maybe. Perhaps. Possibly.’

10
    Lights sparkled and bobbed in the consulate pool. The sounds of forced laughter and the chinking of glasses wafted around the back porch of the old two-storey mansion, along with the musky odour of perfume and sweat. Anna looked for Chenxi in case he had arrived early, but there were no Chinese in sight. The only Asian-looking man had a very strong American accent. Although it was evening and a breeze had lifted, all the foreigners had a sweaty sheen about them, as if they were in a state of constant anxiety. Some of the balding men carried monogrammed handkerchiefs, which they drew out of their top pockets from time to time to dab at their foreheads. Women slapped at mosquitoes around their bare ankles.
    Anna was bored. She shifted from foot to foot half listening to the chatter around her. Why were they all here? What brought them to China? Living as an expatriate must be a bit like movie stardom in Hollywood. It was an unreal existence. Even though she complained about being stared at and touched in the streets, it was like being famous. A constant ego trip. Was that why all these foreigners were here? Were they nobodies in their own countries?
    â€˜Well hello!’ A woman in a cocktail dress and glittery nails floated towards her. ‘You must be Anna. Your father told me you were visiting. How are you enjoying it here?’
    Anna didn’t feel in the mood to play the good daughter. Her father spoke for her anyway, as she had expected he would, explaining that she was in China to ‘broaden her horizons’ and to pick up a bit of Mandarin ‘to help her future career options’. As