Dreams of Joy by Lisa See
Author:Lisa See
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Tags: Fiction
ISBN: 140006712X
Publisher: Random House
Published: 2011-05-31T00:00:00+00:00
AS A GIRL, I dreamed of my wedding—the dress, the veil, the banquet, the gifts—and none of it turned out the way I imagined. As a mother, I’ve dreamed of my daughter’s wedding—a ceremony in the Methodist church in Chinatown attended by all our friends, Joy’s dress, my dress, the flowers, the reception at Soochow Restaurant—but this is nothing like that either. Joy was right that there isn’t supposed to be any kind of ceremony or celebration, but as a stranger and as someone who has some money to spend, I can bend the rules. Brigade Leader Lai is more than happy to take a bribe—some of my special Overseas Chinese certificates, worth less than twenty dollars—so I can give my daughter a wedding that pays homage to the past and is still true to the New China.
The ceremony takes place two days later at dusk on a hillside overlooking Green Dragon’s verdant fields. Scent from tea bushes planted on terraces wafts on the breeze. The bride is in wedding red—an outfit Yong found in a dowry chest in the villa. She wears the pouch May gave her, and I wear mine—symbols of the ways that Joy is linked to my sister and me and the three of us to my mother. Joy’s hair, which has grown a good six inches this year, hangs in two braids just past her shoulders. Strips of red wool have been woven through the plaits and are tied in heavy bows. Her cheeks shine with happiness and the heat. Her nails have been stained a reddish color with balsam juice. The groom is as dressed up as I’ve ever seen him—a blue tunic, loose blue pants, and sandals. His hair has been combed and he looks clean.
Brigade Leader Lai says a few words: “Communism is paradise. The people’s communes will take us to it. Tao and Joy—comrades first and always—will help the country climb to the highest heights. If Tao sails the seas, then Joy will row in the same boat. If Joy climbs a mountain, then Tao will be at her heels.”
Z.G. takes my hand. His touch—his kindness—at this moment makes me want to weep. Until now, I had thought that my daughter had made the greatest mistake possible in coming to China, but that was nothing compared with this marriage. Mothers suffer; children do what they want. I look over at Tao’s family. They don’t look particularly happy either. The mother must be about my age, although she looks closer to sixty or even older. That happens when you have nine living children, who knows how many dead children, and are as poor as can be. The father is just an older version of his son—thin, wiry, but as dried out and wrinkled as my father-in-law was just before the cancer took him.
Brigade Leader Lai comes to the end of the ceremony. Tao turns to everyone and announces, “Comrades, I am happy.”
“I too am happy,” Joy echoes.
“In hard times, we will share the same piece of pickled turnip,” Tao promises.
Download
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.
In Control (The City Series) by Crystal Serowka(35775)
The Wolf Sea (The Oathsworn Series, Book 2) by Low Robert(34665)
We Ride Upon Sticks by Quan Barry(33976)
Crowbone (The Oathsworn Series, Book 5) by Low Robert(33033)
The Book of Dreams (Saxon Series) by Severin Tim(32891)
The Daughters of Foxcote Manor by Eve Chase(23012)
Trainspotting by Irvine Welsh(20969)
Call Me by Your Name by André Aciman(19871)
Shot Through The Heart (Supernature Book 1) by Edwin James(18412)
The Secret History by Donna Tartt(18083)
The Girl from the Opera House by Nancy Carson(15368)
American King (New Camelot #3) by Sierra Simone(14751)
All the Missing Girls by Megan Miranda(14591)
Sad Girls by Lang Leav(13877)
Pimp by Iceberg Slim(13717)
The Betrayed by Graham Heather(12275)
The Betrayed by David Hosp(12187)
4 3 2 1: A Novel by Paul Auster(11754)
Still Me by Jojo Moyes(10744)
