Lei and her mother Ling worked in their flower bed. It may have been because they were Chinese and had knowledge of such things, or maybe it was because they were women, or maybe just because they loved flowers, but whatever the reason or mixture of reasons, the two had the showplace of the neighborhood. Delicate flowers covered their yard. A mix of plants, fountains and statues drew your eye and assaulted your senses. People from all over the city came to view their work.
Lei had been married, but when he had beaten her she had divorced him. She came back to live with her mom and dad.
Dave lived next door, and would sit on his porch and watch them work. He never got tired of it. He became friends with Ling's husband. The two would talk over their shared fence all summer. Chen had introduced Dave to Chinese philosophy and Dave had introduced Chen to Budweiser.
Chen was away on business a lot, so Dave made sure he checked on the two women when Chen was away. When Chen was there he would have Dave come over and be their handyman if something broke, and Dave just continued to do it when he was away as well. Dave did it to be nice; Chen did it because he could see his daughter liked Dave.
Lei reached in to get a weed that was trying to hide, and whispered, "Mother, why does he not see?"
Ling didn't need to be told who the 'He' was she was referring to, "What do you mean?"
"I work out here because I love our flowers and the joy they bring to others. I also work out here because I know he will be watching."
"Maybe he doesn't like you, the way you mean."
"I don't know if he likes me any way. He's polite to me, but never pursues any openings I hint at."
"Perhaps he is shy."
Lei was getting more aggressive pulling at the weeds, "Perhaps he is an idiot."
"Well you aren't going to find out anything talking to me. I think I will go inside and take a break, just in case you want to do some weeding over near where he is."
As she worked her way towards him, Lei's temper was focused on Dave and the situation he had put her in. The more she thought about it the more ticked off she got. All right, okay, she didn't look like a model, but she was still nice to look at. She kept trying to send him the message that she was interested in him, but it was no good. They hadn't done anything except exchange a simple "Hi".
"Remind me not to piss you off." Lei jumped, she was so intent on her problems she hadn't realized how close she had gotten to him. "Those weeds don't stand a chance."
She smiled, in spite of herself. "Hi, I didn't know you were there." She liked her neighbor, and even though he was much older than her, she found him attractive. He had always treated her and her entire family respectably.
"Lei is something bothering you?"
Her brain shouted at her that this was her chance, and she froze, "Oh, it's nothing."
"Bullshit."
Lei just looked at him in shock, and did a slow boil, but was still reluctant to say anything.
"If I noticed it, it must be pretty obvious. You're out here and mad as hell, something has had to cause it."
She went from slow to fast boil, "How do you know that?"
Dave smiled, "Been there, done that." When she was still not telling him anything, he smarted off to her, "Oh for Pete's sake, what's up?"
The Chinese volcano "Lei" erupted, "You are what's up," she knew her mother would be concerned at her public display of anger, but Lei had been raised in America, "I've tried to approach you several times, because I feel you are attracted to me. Yet each time you reject my friendship but continue giving me the same feelings. I'm confused, why are you avoiding me?" She saw him get sad.
"I won't lie, I am attracted to you, but it is something that can't happen. I don't think I should come around you anymore."
Lei watched him walk away and mumbled to herself, "Well I certainly handled that well."
