Chapter 24: Come Away with Me
The day Dan proposed to Mei had been living so vividly in Jessie’s memory despite how hard he tried to forget it. He actually went straight home that day from the party because of disappointment, anger, and jealousy – all the feelings that he knew very well he should not, and had no right of having.
His heart was filled with bitterness when Mei asked if they were OK on the plane, and the only response he could gather up was to fight back. Then he saw her tears and realized he was really the selfish one. They were both adults and had made their choices in life; no one was at blame.
Since then Jesse had been telling himself that all the feelings and affections he had towards Mei were nothing but infatuation. And he almost convinced himself that his real destiny belonged with Elaina until just now.
Jesse did not expect to hear Mei giving him a lecture on good morals and God, now he had no idea how to respond to her question. In his mind she was always as ambitious as he, had big goals in life and was willing to pursue them despite cost. Today he saw a different side of her, the word “Cleanly” hit his core hard, and reminded him of the very reason that he moved to Raleigh in the first place. At the same time, he understood that this was what had been pulling him towards her all along – her persistence in pursuing the goodness in life.
“Jessie,” Mei didn’t hear an answer from him and became a little concerned, “tell me you didn’t do anything illegal.”
It almost seemed ironic that this was the circumstance under which she called him by first name for the first time. Jesse smiled at her and said: “Wow, what an honor! If I promise you that I honestly was not involved in whatever Troy did, would you keep calling me Jesse from now on?”
Mei wasn’t sure if he was joking, but decided to trust him, she smiled back: “OK, deal.”
They spent the whole night at the bar, eating chicken wings, drinking beer and chatting. The earlier conversation had completely eased the tension and brought back a friendlier and more relaxed feel. They talked about China, and where Mei grew up; he shared silly little tall tales of his childhood. They laughed so hard at times that she almost believed nothing ever went wrong between them.
Just as Jesse was telling Mei about the bike racing stunts he attempted in junior high, she saw an elderly couple, probably in their 70’s walked over toward them. Looked like they had just finished dinner and were on their way out of the restaurant. The lady gently tabbed Mei on the shoulder and said: “Excuse me, young lady… We just wanted to say what a beautiful couple you guys are, you reminded me when we were your age, so much in love… and Congratulations!” Then she gave Mei and big smile, put her hand around her husband’s arm and left before Mei could respond.
Mei looked down at her hand and realized she was wearing her engagement ring. The misunderstanding brought stiffness back in the air just like that. Mei couldn’t help but to feel guilty and sad at the same time. Jesse was just as uncomfortable as she; he stopped whatever he was saying and looked away to focus on his beer.
They sat in silence for a while. It was getting late, and the restaurant started to empty out. Instead of the loud rock and roll songs, now the owner had put on some soft bluesy music. The atmosphere around suddenly became intimate and Mei noticed a few people started dancing in the empty area between the bar and the booth seats.
“Come on, let’s dance.” Jesse suddenly turned back, reached out his hand and looked at Mei like he’s not taking no for an answer.
“Jesse, we shouldn’t…” Mei didn’t want to do anything to complicate the situation even more.
“Just this once, please…” Jesse’s voice was quiet yet firm.
It maybe the alcohol or maybe that she saw this as her only chance to ever get close to him again; without any more hesitation, Mei put her hand in his and walked with him to the floor.
Norah Jones’ “Come away with me” was playing tenderly in the background:
“Come away with me in the night, Come away with me, and I will write you a song… I want to walk with you, on a cloudy day, in fields where the yellow grass grows knee-high… And I want to wake up with the rain, Falling on a tin roof, While I'm safe there in your arms, So all I ask is for you, To come away with me in the night, Come away with me…”
The lyrics of the song spoke softly of every word Mei wanted to say to Jesse as she felt completely lost in his arms. Apart from the night he visited her apartment, they had never been so close. Her face was gently pressed on his collar with her hair tickling his face. Her fingers were caressing his hair the way only lovers do. Their bodies were touching just gently enough that they could hear each other’s heartbeats. Her breath bushed over his neck like silk, he felt dizzy and lost in her touch. She smelled ocean breeze on him and felt the world around them slowly melt away.
They danced like no one’s around until the end of the song. When the music stopped, they stayed in each other’s arms, neither was willing to let go first.
“Mei, I…” Jesse tried to say something but Mei’s quickly tipped on her toes and whisper in his ear before he could finish: “Jessie, thank you for everything… and I, wish you a happily ever after with Elaina.” With that she grabbed her purse and walked out without taking another look back.
Jesse didn’t go after Mei; instead he ordered a few shots of Scotch and stayed until closing. The liquor ran down his throat slowly leaving a slight burning sensation and clouded his mind more than ever. Finally he took out his phone, after many rings, it was picked up on the other end: “Hello?”
“Elaina...”
“Jesse? Is everything OK? It’s almost midnight.” Elaina’s sleepy voice was quickly filled with concern.
“Ye… yes. I just wanted to say… Hi, and see how are you doing.” He had no idea why he called; he felt like he needed to confirm something, and maybe seeing Elaina face to face would help.
“Baby Are you drunk? What’s going on? Where are you?”Elaina always asked her questions in a sequence.
“No, I am fine…” Hearing Elaina’s voice so clearly suddenly brought clarity or maybe more confusion into Jesse’s mind. He hesitated at what he wanted to say. After a short pause, instead of telling her he was in DC right now, he said: “Actually Troy got Andy Lopez all wrapped around his fingers… we should be getting the contract in no time, I am just out celebrating.”
“That’s great…” Elaina’s voice now sounded sleepier than before, “Congratulations. Hey don’t stay up too late all right, baby? Let’s talk tomorrow, got to catch my beauty sleep. Love ya!”
Jesse had the phone next to his ear for a while after the dialing tone finally disappeared. Then, he finished his last drink, and walked out the restaurant into the cold dark night.
