Chapter 6: Fancy Meeting You Again

The train finally reached Portland. The city had just had heavy snow. Workers were cleaning the city with snow removal trucks and spreading salt in the middle of the roads, which were noisy and jammed. The melted snow and salt made the road dirty. The temperature was -13 degrees Fahrenheit, and all of Kate's limbs were numb by the time she got to the hospital. She wasn't aware of the cold because her heart was eaten by her deep worry. Portland Mercy Hospital, 13th floor. She finally saw her father, lying on a bed with pipes connected to his body. She had not seen him for a year, and he looked totally different. His face was dry and gray, his cheekbones protruded, and his skin stretched over the bones like a tent. Her tears gushed out immediately. Her father became skinny in the past year, and he had stomach aches from time to time. He didn't take it seriously and bought some medicine at the drugstore to kill the pain. It was not until a few days ago, when he coughed up blood, that he went to the hospital for a checkup. The doctor informed him that he was in the middle stages of stomach cancer and recommended him to get to Portland Mercy Hospital. Her father was not insured, and they ran out of the five thousand dollars they brought with them quickly. The doctor told them that surgery and after-treatment would cost about $100,000. It was an astronomical figure for a family like them. Her father wanted to go back home and save the money so that his son could go to college. Kate's mother and elder sister, of course, did not agree with this. Her elder sister had asked her husband to try to borrow some money from his parents, but it was not going smoothly. Kate's younger sister was in college, and her little brother was in high school. They didn't know about their father's illness yet. Kate sat by the bed and listened to her mother, telling her about her father's condition. She drank a mug of hot water and warmed up. She said, "Father cannot leave the hospital now. I have three thousand dollars here. We can hold on for a few more days with this. And we will think about what to do next." It was not easy to think of any solutions; Kate knew that this would take some thinking. Without insurance, staying in the hospital was like burning money. Kate's three thousand lasted only three more days before the hospital started to urge them to pay the bills. Her mother and two sisters were anxious and sad, but they had to conceal their feelings in front of their father. When Kate sat on a bench downstairs in the inpatient building, she stared blankly at the bank outside the hospital gate. She imagined herself wearing a mask and rushing into the bank for a robbery. A shadow blocked the sun, and a flat voice asked from above, "Kate?" She looked up and was surprised to see a middle-aged man with sunglasses and a dark coat, showing a mild smile on his face, "Our boss wants to see you." She was startled and wanted to stand up. She composed herself and said, "Your boss? Do I know him?" The man chuckled and said, "Our boss is Mr. Fox." He paused and then added, "You saw him a few days ago." Kate's heart was seized. She had fallen into the icy river again. Kate followed the man mechanically, about one step behind him. The man looked amiable and chatted with her, "Don't you feel cold? Portland is quite different from Los Angeles. Probably negative 20 F degrees?" As he mentioned the temperature, he shrank his neck into his collar. The man led her to a fancy coffee shop. When they entered the shop, she saw Curly-hair immediately. He raised the corners of his eyebrows and said, "Fancy meeting you again." And then she saw that man. He sat at a table by the window, wearing a dark sweater and a shirt under it. He looked handsome and refined, which she knew was but a disguise. The room was warm, probably 70 degrees higher than outdoors. Not knowing if it was because of the abrupt temperature change or her anxiety, Kate sneezed suddenly. The man smirked and pointed to the seat opposite him and said mildly, "Sit down, please." Kate walked over and sat down. There were four chairs, but the other two men just stood respectfully. It looked strange, but they behaved naturally. They kept silent and seemed to melt into the background. In the center of the table, there was a small vase with a perfume lily. The tender and broad pink petals spread at ease, not feeling the cold from outside at all. Out of the tinted window, Kate saw the hospital building in the distance. The layers of drapes separated this world from the outside. She felt a little discomfort in this confined space. The table between her and the man could not block the domineering air she felt from him. She didn't dare to look his way, but she still could feel he was looking at her. She didn't know what his intentions were. He was probably trying to put some pressure on her. His silent stare made her nervous, and she pretended to look away. When she looked back, she met his gaze accidentally. They were clear and deep, like a vortex that could suck a person into it.