[Twenty-Somewhere] Episode 13: The go-to

[ Need to catch up on 20SW? See a list of all episodes. ]

When you’re a kid, you go to your parents. When you’re a teenager, you go to your best friend or your boyfriend. When you’re in college, you don’t go to anyone, because you can take care of yourself, thankyouverymuch.

But who do you go to when you’re twenty-something?

# # #

Every year Sophie and X celebrate Chinese New Year together. They go to their favorite restaurant, Golden Palace, and order a whole fish for good luck. Then they watch the restaurant’s fireworks show and dragon dance, and they sponsor a hong bao (red envelope) for the local Chinese church.

But this year, X is on the West Coast studying for his Ph.D., and Sophie is alone in Texas. Well, not entirely alone. There’s Diego. But Diego’s from Venezuela. Could he possibly care about Chinese New Year? And even if he did want to celebrate, wouldn’t that sort of betray X? These are the questions Sophie asks herself as the Year of the Ox begins.

# # #

Claudia almost doesn’t hear the call, since she always has her phone set on vibrate. But the cell buzzes violently, insistently against the coffee table, and eventually it clatters to the floor. Max starts barking at it.

“Shh!” Claudia picks up the phone. “Hello?” She winces as Max continues to bark in the background.

“Hello, may I please speak with Claudia Bradford?”

“This is she.”

“Hello, Miss Bradford. I’m calling from the Big City Review. We received your short story submission and are interested in publication.”

Claudia swats at Max. “I’m sorry, what did you say? I heard something about a big review and donation?”

The woman pauses, confused. “Uh, no. I’m with Big City Review, the literary magazine? We’d like to publish your short story.”

Claudia drops the phone.

# # #

Meanwhile in England, MJ checks her email before she goes to bed. She is surprised to see one from her mother, a woman who still hangs her clothes to dry, washes dishes by hand, and doesn’t believe in credit cards.

Intrigued, MJ opens the email. As she reads, her eyes widen, then start to brim with tears. She quickly shuts her laptop and grabs her coat. She’s going for a walk and she doesn’t know where. She doesn’t even care.

# # #

When Sophie asks X what he’s doing to celebrate Chinese New Year, he sounds surprised. “Um, nothing.”

“Really? But we always celebrate.”

“Sure, because you wanted to.” He notices her silence. “Didn’t you?”

“Yes, yes,” Sophie answers quickly. “I just thought you did too.”

“Sorry, I hope you’re not too disappointed. I mean, I always enjoyed it. But… I’m not Chinese.”

She laughs. “I can’t argue with that.”

When they hang up, she isn’t upset, but she feels a little… untethered. The way anyone would after learning that something they long held to be true, isn’t. Sophie looks around her apartment, which is beautifully decorated and clean and… empty. And she decides that maybe this is a year for new traditions.

When Diego answers his door, it’s clear he has just finished a workout. He’s wearing gym shorts, no shirt, and has a towel around his neck. “Sophie,” he says with a smile. He leans in to kiss each cheek, as is his custom. “What are you doing here?”

Even after knowing him for several weeks, she finds his Latin accent charming.

“Gong xi fa cai!”

He gives her a perplexed look but motions for her to come in. “Eh, pardon?”

“It means ‘congratulations and be prosperous’ in Chinese. For the lunar new year.”

“Ah, is that today? Well, próspero año nuevo a ti, también.” For a moment they smile at each other, both unsure, waiting for the other to continue. “You want to celebrate?”

Sophie nods, happy that he can interpret her. “If we hurry, Golden Palace should still have some tables.”

“Ah, so you have a tradition?”

“Well… yes.” She bites her lip, then decides to just tell him the truth. “My ex-boyfriend and I always celebrated this way.”

Diego smiles. “Well, if you don’t mind, I would rather we start our own tradition.”

She hesitates. But isn’t that exactly what she decided too? To start something new? “Um… Sure. What did you have in mind?”

“Give me ten minutes to shower, then we can pick up some things and I will cook for you. Fish, noodles, fruit, and anything else you want.”

Sophie smiles. How could she refuse such an offer? “That sounds lovely. But how did you know what we should eat?”

“There is much you do not know about me.” He grins and winks. “I worked in China for two years. Gong xi fa cai,” he says, without any hint of an accent.

# # #

Claudia gets off the phone and shrieks with excitement. Big City Review, one of the top literary publications in the nation, wants to publish her story! She begins to dance around the room, and an alarmed Max follows at her heels.

Dying to tell Eli, she starts to dial his number, then remembers he’s on a business trip in Germany. She glances at the clock and realizes her parents are probably asleep as well. MJ too. And Sophie mentioned going out. Which leaves Claudia no one to share her news with.

Drumming up what’s left of her enthusiasm, she looks down at Max. “Hey buddy, guess what? I’m going to be published!”

Max tilts his head and stares back at her, clearly uncomprehending.

She sighs. “Sure, now you’re quiet.”

# # #

Contrary to Claudia’s assumption, MJ is not asleep. She’s wandering the streets of her campus, wishing she’d changed into thicker pants. Her thin pajama bottoms are not only embarrassing, with their pattern of bunny rabbits and clouds, but also poor protection from the chilly night air. The wind whips her long hair into her face, but she doesn’t care. She’s numb inside and out.

“MJ? MJ, what on earth are you doing?”

She glances up and realizes she’s outside her research lab. Felix is leaning out a window on the second floor. “I… I don’t know.”

When she continues to stand there, Felix slams the window down and hurries outside. “Are you crazy?” He wraps a long lab coat around her. “You’ll catch a cold.”

Before he can say anything else, MJ collapses against him and begins to cry. “Hey, hey.” His tone changes instantly, from scolding to soothing. “Hey, you’re okay. Everything’s okay,” he says, holding her and stroking her hair.

“No, it’s not,” she sobs into his shoulder. “My dad…”

Felix holds his breath, terrified–for her sake–of what she’s going to say next.

“My dad had a heart attack. He’s okay, but… but what if he wasn’t? What if he’d died and I wasn’t there? I’m so far away. There’s nothing I can do to help.”

Felix blows out a stream of tense air. “Don’t think like that. You’re following your dreams. That’s what he’d want you to do.”

MJ pulls away slowly, wiping her tears with the sleeve of the lab coat. “Actually he wanted me to be an investment banker.”

“Oh. Well, he should be glad you didn’t, given that there are no investment banks in the US anymore.”

She can’t help laughing a little at that.

“There’s that smile.” Felix puts an arm around her shoulders and leads her inside. “I’m almost done here. Let me shut things down and take you home, okay?”

MJ nods.

As they trudge up the stairs, Felix asks, “What made you come out here anyway? The lab’s usually empty this time of night.”

MJ shrugs. “I didn’t know where else to go. I’m all alone over here.”

Felix shakes his head. “No, you’re not.”

She smiles at him. “Thanks.”

# # #

So where do you go? Wherever you can.