Jade Moon by Sianna Lah

Author:Sianna Lah [Lah, Sianna]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Sianna Lah
Published: 2019-12-15T08:20:54+00:00

Chapter 12

Heaven Has No Heart

My work phone rings at exactly one minute past six, and I know that it’s Biao Ge. The time difference between Portland and Taipei is such that when he calls me from his office right at the start of his work day, I’m wrapping up my day here. We don’t usually correspond via email, since I can’t type Chinese and his English is worse than my Chinese. Because I don’t ever want to miss his call, I find myself staying an extra five or ten minutes on some evenings, especially if I haven’t heard from him for a while.

It has been roughly ten months since our short meeting at the airport. We initially gave Skype a shot. However, opposite time zones and inappropriate usage of company resources curtailed that option. Hence, we fell back to voice communication only. His phone calls came rather frequently during the first few months. We didn’t talk about anything important, and the calls seldom lasted more than ten minutes. Always at the end of our conversations, he would ask whether I had bought my plane ticket yet.

Then in March, Biao Ge went to China as a personal favor for a Chinese tycoon who is a very important client of his firm. After that, his “check in” calls were fewer and far between. His last call was almost four months ago, and I’m a bit miffed. I stare at the ringing phone until it stops and wait for it to start again. Biao Ge always calls twice. But the phone doesn’t ring again.

I stopped making an effort to call Biao Ge because the time always seemed inconvenient for him. More often than not, he was either on the phone with a client, sitting in a status meeting, or driving to a job site with a fellow architect. Although he always answered my calls (one time during a staff meeting), we barely exchanged ten words before we had to hang up. The very last call I made to his cell was answered by his assistant. I took it as a hint that he didn’t want me to call him, and I have not since.

The clock reads 6:13, and I know it’s unlikely the phone will ring any time soon. Since Biao Ge has never called me at any other time or on weekends, this means I won’t hear from him until Monday evening. Growing peeved with him for not trying again, I dial his number. It goes straight to his voice mail, and there’s an automated voice recording saying the voice mailbox is full. “What? I can’t leave a message!” I spit out the words with frustration. Feeling disappointed, I sling my purse over my shoulder and start walking.

Biao Ge has been very busy after his trip to China. Being a partner, he oversees the development of several projects as well as mentors younger architects in the firm. Although he still sometimes dives into designs and sketches his renderings by hand, he is spending a lot more time actively pursuing new business opportunities, particularly in China.

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