The Song of the Jade Lily by Kirsty Manning

Author:Kirsty Manning
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins
Published: 2019-03-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 34

SHANGHAI, JULY 1, 2016

Alexandra stepped into the humidity and weaved her way through crowds spilling out of office towers for lunch. The buildings in the center of Lujiazui were connected with walkways that threaded between skyscrapers and shopping malls like silver ribbons.

She rode the outdoor escalator, making a beeline for the little garden tucked between a silver high-rise, a giant TV screen, and the five-story curved golden wave of the Gucci store. Zhang mentioned he would try to meet her at this park today between meetings and she hurried so as not to miss him.

There were only three other people in the park when she reached it: a gardener sweeping leaves with a willow broom, a second gardener squatting on a square of raised lawn and plucking weeds from the turf with a tiny fork, and a man meditating on yellow river stones. Beyond the overpass was the shimmering pink disco ball of the Pearl Tower. A rustic stone wall blocked the chaos of the city. Avenues of trees were softened with lush dark ground cover, burgundy shrubs were pruned into perfect spheres. Loose grasses rippled with the wind.

The contrasting textures and explosion of flowers made her think of Oma. She took her phone out of her tote bag and sent a message and photo to Oma.

My local lunch spot.

Sitting in this strange garden, she realized that she’d come to value cities for their gardens, not their commodities exchanges. Perhaps she was more like her grandmother than she’d imagined.

Her phone pinged.

Glad you are enjoying the gardens. They tell me Suzhou gardens are very special. I never got the chance to visit. Perhaps you can.

Suzhou . . . Nearly ten years ago, some idiot at Oxford with too many lagers under his belt had ripped her pendant off her neck and she’d had to get the clasp repaired. The jeweler specialized in antiquities and he asked if he could keep the pendant for a few days. His verdict was that Alexandra’s pendant was hundreds of years old. Early Qing dynasty. He thought it might have come from Suzhou.

She’d asked the jeweler about tracing its origin and he’d laughed. “People have been trading there for centuries. In a word: no chance, love.” He must have sensed her disappointment. “If you’re ever in that part of the world, there are some extraordinary gardens. Might be worth a look.”

That’s just what she was going to do.

* * *

Zhang stepped off the escalator and walked toward her, smiling. With his briefcase slung over his shoulder, he was carrying a baguette and an apple juice. Alexandra had mentioned to Zhang on their food tour that she came to this park for twenty minutes over lunch. It was one he’d designed, so he’d arranged to meet her here today.

“Hello.” He looked around the park. “Do you like it?” he asked as he sat on a grassy mound beside Alexandra.

“Love it,” she responded as she broke off the end of his baguette and stuffed it into her mouth.

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