Another Invitation...

"Can't you practice softly?" Mrs. Wu asked, peering over the news section of the Sunday paper. "I'm trying to read."

"Mother," GuiGui replied impatiently, "there's no way to practice a saxophone softly." She shuffled the music sheets.

"Maybe you could remove the mouthpiece," her mother said, her face disappearing behind the newspaper.

"Why are you always making jokes about my saxophone playing?" GuiGui asked, staring across the living room at her mother.

"I don't want you to get a swelled head," Mrs. Wu replied from behind the newspaper.

"Why don't you ever encourage me?" GuiGui asked, her voice rising.

"I don't want to encourage you," her mother said. "I hate the saxophone!"

GuiGui raised the instrument to her lips and deliberately made it honk as loud as she could.

Her mother jumped in her seat, nearly dropping the paper. She lowered the paper to glare at GuiGui. Then they both burst out laughing.

"Okay. Truce," Mrs. Wu said.

"Truce." GuiGui raised the instrument to and wet the reed, preparing to launch into her part, when the phone rang.

Startled, she lowered the instrument to the floor and walked over to the phone. "Save by the bell!" Mrs. Wu exclaimed gratefully.

"Hey, that was a short truce!" GuiGui exclaimed and picked up the receiver.

"Hi, GuiGui. Is this too early to call?"

It took her a moment to realize it was Wang Zi. "Hi. No. We've been up for hours."

"Who is it?" her mother called from the other end of the room.

"It's for me," GuiGui told her. She turned to the wall for a little privacy. "Hey, where'd you disappear to last night?" she demanded of Wang Zi.

"Huh?" her question seemed to surprise him.

"Come on, Wang Zi," she said impatiently. "When I came back to the kitchen, you were gone. What happened?"

"What? Didn't you hear me yell good night?"

"No," GuiGui said.

"I called to you, I said I had to go. I thought I heard you answer me. Don't you remember? I said I'd call this morning?"

GuiGui didn't remember any of it. Was it possible tha she just hadn't heard him? "Well..." She didn't know what to say.

She had been so hurt when she had found him gone. Hurt and confused. Finally she'd decided that he was feeling too shy to meet Hebe. Or maybe he was so romantic, he really wanted to keep their secret date a secret.

"Well, I'm glad you called," she said finally.

"Who is it?" her mother called from behind her newspaper. "Is it a boy?"

"Mom--- please!" GuiGui pleaded, holding her hand over the mouthpiece.

"Excuuuuuuse me!" her mother cried sarcastically, loud enough so GuiGui missed what wang Zi was saying.

"I'm sorry, Wang Zi," she said. "What did you say?"

"I asked if you wanted to go out tonight. You know, sort of finish our first date."

He's really sweet, GuiGui thought. She started to say yes, but then remembered she couldn't. "I can't," she told him. "I have to visit my dad in the hospital, and I've got tons of homework. I haven't even started my writing assignment for the class."

"Oh. Too bad." Wang Zi sounded very disappointed.

This had the opposite effect on GuiGui. Hearing the disappointment in his voice made her feel great.

"Uh--- maybe you could come meet me after work tomorrow night," she suggested, surprising herself with her newfound boldness.

"Yeah. Okay," Wang Zi replied. "That sounds good."

She told him where the restaurant was and that it closed at seven. She warned him that she would smell of french fries when he picked her up. She always smelled like french fries after work. The grease smell seemed to stick to her hair.

"That's okay. I like french fries," Wang Zi replied.

They chatted a while longer, about the movie they had seen in the night before, about their short, chilly walk high above the river, about school. He seemed reluctant to get off the phone, which pleased GuiGui.

When she finally hung up and turned around, she was surprised to see that her mother had lowered the newspaper to the table and was staring at her from across the room.

"You've got a boyfriend?" Mrs. Wu asked.

"Mom, you don't have to sound so amazed!" GuiGui exclaimed angrily. "It is possible that a boy might like me, you know."

"I'm sorry," Mrs. Wu said quickly. "Is he the same boy you went out on a date with? What's his name?"

"Yes. Wang Zi," GuiGui replied. "He's new in school too."

"That's great," he mother said sincerely. "When can I meet him?" Glancing at her watch, she tossed down the paper and stood up. "Oh, no. I've got to get going. I'm taking an extra shift this morning," she said before GuiGui could answer her question. A few minutes later she was out the door.

Listening to he mother drive off, GuiGui bent to pick up her saxophone. But her eye was caught by something out the window. It was snowing.

What a strange October, she thought.

Forgetting the saxophone, she stood up and took a few steps toward the big picture window that looked out on the front yard. An early snow with fluffy white flakes as big as feathers.

How beautiful, GuiGui thought. It's so soft and pretty, it doesn' t look real.

Deciding to get a better view, she ran to the front door and yanked it open.

"Oh!"

She gasped when she saw a tall young man in a dark trench coat. His face was nearly pressed against the glass of the storm door, staring down at her with the coldest eyes she had ever been.