Abelle- A Chinese Romance

The Truth Hurts (Part 12)

I stand very still as hands touch my shoulders, hips, and legs. "Keep the fabric smooth on top, but make it wrinkle more on the bottom," the cameraman orders. Hands pat down on the side of the light pink hanfu dress. (A hanfu is a traditional gown similar to what Japanese kimonos look like, but lighter and more graceful-looking.) "Alright stop there, that looks good enough." The fashion experts move away from me and I prepared myself for the shot. Flash. Flash. Flash. The cameraman looks at his pictures and smiles. All good. I see someone on the set staring at me. I turn my head and see Chelsie Fu, wearing a black dress with white pumps, she greets me with a little wave. Liu appears on the set wearing her traditional hanfu gown, she shoots a glance at Chelsie as she walks by. I excuse myself from the fashion experts as their hands reached out to touch me. "Hey, how'd you know I had a photo shoot today?" Chelsie laughs and then replies, "I have a few friends who work around this area. They knew who you were." I turn to look back on the set and watched as Liu posed in front of the camera. Her expressions were surprisingly humorous. All a show for everyone to see.

I hear Chelsie giggle behind me. "What?" Chelsie looks up at me and whispers, "That is Fang Liu, your friend? I just remembered reading an article with her picture on it a while ago. She's so tall and thin..." We both keep on staring at Liu as she does her poses. After the shots were taken, Liu leaves the set still wearing her hanfu. She doesn't even look in our direction as she walks away. Chelsie doesn't notice the tension happening between me and Liu and instead squeezes my shoulder. "I have something very important to tell you. I want you to hear it from me first before your family." One of the fashion experts walks over to me and kindly asks, "Can we take off the hanfu gown for you now, Li Abelle?" "Give me a minute please," I say to her. The expert glances at Chelsie before turning away. "What is it?" I hiss to Chelsie. Chelsie fumbles for something in her purse and shows me what seems to be an invitation. The cover is very pretty with lavender flowers and a lace outline. "You and Jack are invited to a bachelor/bachelorette party at my place. The address is in the letter, along with my phone number. James I and I decided to throw this party together." I hold the invitation in my hand, without saying anything. "This is not the reception?" Chelsie raises her eyebrows at me and says, "Not yet. This is just a small party for our friends to hangout at. But after this, Chan Teng will surely speed things along with our wedding plans. I'm afraid to tell you this Abelle....but James and I are still not sure on how to get out of this. We may be going in too deep."

I take a deep breath and then let it out. "Alright then....did you invite any family members?" Chelsie shakes her head and I feel relieved inside. With no seniors at the party, who'se going to stop me from talking with James? "Thanks Chelsie, I'll be glad to come. I'll talk to you later then." I turn around but feel her yank me back. "Fang Liu is your good friend, right?" "Yes...." Chelsie's face lights up and she chirps, "Oh! Invite her to the party too. Any friend of Abelle's is a friend of mine." I imagine Liu's expression in my head when she hears the news. Liu probably won't come along with me unless she has someone else with her. "Can she bring her boyfriend? They are really close." Chelsie winks at me. "That's great! There will only be about 15 to 20 people during the party. I want to keep it low-key. Bye Abelle, call me when you have time." Chelsie gives me a shoulder squeeze before walking off the set. I still stand in the same spot that she left me in. Holding the invitation tightly in my hands, I start to plan ahead of my actions.

I called Liu many times that day, but my call would always go to her voice mail. I thought about visiting her apartment...would she even answer the door? With no choice left, I place myself at risk of visiting Shu at his office. I knock twice in front of a tall door that had Shu's name plate on it. What surprises me is to see a young woman's face appear in the doorway. "Yes? Oh....Li Abelle?!?" The woman opens the door wider and stares at me with a shocked look on her face. I see a desk behind her with stacks of papers, and also a door that probably led to Shu's office. This woman is the secretary of Shu. (Should Liu be jealous?) "I have an interview with Din Shu." The woman tells me to stay where I am, then she runs to Shu's door and it opens. I hear some quiet chatter before the secretary comes back out telling me that Shu was ready to see me. I walk into Shu's office, a little taken back by how unneat it was with books cluttered randomly on the shelves, and papers scattered everywhere.