Luck of the Titanic by Stacey Lee

Author:Stacey Lee [Lee, Stacey]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers Group
Published: 2021-05-04T00:00:00+00:00

21

Dressed in sea slops, I pace Room 14, waiting for Jamie. With each step, I start to worry that I may have misread Mr. Stewart. Perhaps Captain Smith told him no, and his elated face was only a trick of the light.

The doorknob turns, and Bo steps into the room, blinking when he sees me. “You found your circus man?”

“Yes. I think we might have a shot at performing for him.”

He smiles. “I wish you luck.” Stooping, he rummages through his seabag. His hair tapers to a curve at the nape of his neck, like a hook waiting for a wriggly finger to bait it. I watch the cliffs of Dover cord under his simple jacket, knowing I misjudged him but unsure how to express my remorse.

After locating a small tin of green willow salve, he catches me watching him. I feign interest in the porthole, listening to the papery sounds of his hands as he rubs them together.

“Bo? I’m sorry, well, for presuming that you—”

“Forget it. Jamie is a good friend.” A frown puts a dent in his cheek. “But family should be together.” His gaze drifts away and floats light as a feather to the floor. “I had a brother.”

“Do you mean have? Had is for the past.”

He nods. “Past.”

“Oh, I’m sorry.”

The moment rolls gently along like the Titanic. He leans back against the door and switches to Cantonese so he can more easily express himself. “He was like you, a dog who nips at the heels.” He crooks an eyebrow at me. “Once we made enough money, An wanted us to return to the island where we grew up and build our own fishing boat—not a sampan, but a forty-footer, large enough to house our wives and all our sons.”

“Sounds like a good life.”

He snorts and returns to English. “You do not really think that.”

“You’re right. How do you stand living on the water?”

“I like the motion. Makes me feel I am going somewhere.”

“Aren’t you?”

He doesn’t answer but instead fiddles with his ring. I realize the circle design is actually two teardrop shapes forming a perfect yin-yang symbol.

“Are those koi?” I ask. Koi represent harmony, as is created when positive energy balances negative.

He takes off his ring and hands it to me. Though I’m no expert, I can tell the artist employed a deft hand with his needle. The image is detailed enough to see fish scales.

“Where did you get it?” I slip the ring over my thumb, where it hangs loosely.

“This was An’s. I made it for him.”

“You made it?” I glance at his rough hands.

A wry smile crests his face. “Even a rock has its points. Sometimes men ask me to sketch their wives so they can remember them at sea.”

Well, I never pegged Wagtail as an artist. Imagining his strong hands creating something so tiny and perfect fills me with a giddy sense of wonder. “How did you cut the shell without breaking it?”

“Rubbed it against a stone. It takes patience, and sometimes they break.

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