Simone was still sleeping when I headed to the kitchen for breakfast on Monday morning. Monica was busily frying eggs for Leo as he sat at the small kitchen table nursing his coffee. He didn’t look up from his coffee as I walked in, but the expression on his face was priceless.
I found a mug in the cupboard and poured myself a cup of tea from the urn on the kitchen bench. ‘Can I make you anything, Miss Donahoe?’ Monica said. ‘Just Emma, Monica, and I can make my own toast, thanks. Does Mr Chen have peanut butter?’
‘Yeah, in the pantry,’ Leo mumbled into his coffee. ‘But no bread, nobody eats bread here. Monica will have to buy it for you.’
‘I’ll buy you bread, Emma,’ Monica said. ‘Milk bread?’
‘No, wholemeal if you can get it, please.’
Monica nodded. ‘I’ll see if I can find it in the Western supermarket when I buy food for Leo.’
‘Yeah, Leo has exotic tastes,’ I said, then sat at the table next to him and grinned. He looked as if he’d like to climb into his coffee cup. ‘Does Mr Chen know about your nocturnal activities?’ I asked.
He studied his coffee carefully. ‘He’s caught me too.’
‘And he’s okay with it?’ Sometimes Chinese tradition wasn’t very accepting.
‘Yeah, he’s okay.’ He smiled up at me. ‘Actually, he’s great.’
‘Does Rob have a brother?’
Leo shoved me playfully. Then he became more serious. ‘He’s okay with you bringing people home, but you have to check with me first. Call me on my cell phone and I’ll clear them before they come in.’
I stared at him.
‘I have to, you know?’
I shrugged. ‘Yeah, okay. But the way my social life is right now, I’d be lucky to bring home a stray dog.’
‘That is way too much information.’
I leaned over the table. ‘So tell me, what’s the big secret?’
He looked piercingly at me for a moment, then down at his coffee again. ‘Can we wait a while before we talk about it? Until you’ve decided that you really want to stay?’
‘Okay. So what does Mr Chen do for a living?’
He turned the coffee cup in his hands, then nodded thanks to Monica as she put a huge plate of greasy eggs and ham in front of him. ‘That’s part of the “later” thing too.’
‘What’s the thing he has with Xuan Tian Shang Di?’
Monica dropped the frying pan into the sink and froze completely.
Leo looked sharply at me and opened his mouth to say something, then relaxed when Simone came in. She was still in her little Hello Kitty pink nightshirt, her hair mussed from sleep. She hugged Leo and kissed him on the cheek, and he wrapped one huge arm around her and kissed her back.
She came to me and kissed me too. ‘Good morning, Emma.’
‘Good morning, sweetheart.’
‘What are we going to do today?’
‘Well, yesterday I bought some paints and paper and scissors and glue and stuff, so I thought we might make things today.’
Simone lit up as she pulled herself onto her chair. ‘Really? We can make things? And paint?’
I nodded. ‘And then if Leo doesn’t have to go anywhere, we’re going to teach him how to play snap.’
Simone squealed with delight. ‘Are you going anywhere today, Leo?’
‘I’m taking Monica to the market this morning, but after that I can play while Mr Chen goes out to a meeting,’ Leo said, his deep voice warm with pleasure.
‘Mr Chen’s going to a meeting?’ I said.
Leo nodded. ‘He’ll be back after that and he’ll spend the afternoon in the training room.’
‘Guarding his energy?’ Simone said.
Leo frowned and shook his head.
Simone’s little face fell. ‘Sorry.’
Leo took her hand and squeezed it. ‘Yes. Then he’ll teach you at three o’clock, and Emma can take a break.’
Simone lit up again, and turned to me with a broad smile. ‘It’s going to be so fun having you here, Emma.’
‘I think so too, sweetheart,’ I said.
‘Gin,’ Simone said triumphantly and laid her cards on the table.
Leo threw his cards down. ‘Not fair, you keep beating me.’
‘Leo.’ Simone bent forward, her little face intense. ‘Please stop letting me win, it’s not fair. It’s not fair on you and it’s not fair on me. I don’t want to win all the time, and it makes you sad when you lose.’
Leo grinned broadly. ‘You know what, Simone?’
‘What?’
He bent to look mischievously at her. ‘I’m not letting you win at all.’
Her little eyes unfocused for a second, then went wide. ‘You’re telling the truth!’
He leaned back, still grinning. ‘That’s right. You’re winning fair and square.’
Simone giggled and patted his arm. ‘Then I have to let you win sometimes, silly Leo.’
I gathered the cards together. ‘Didn’t you just say that it’s not fair to let someone win, Simone?’
Simone’s eyes unfocused again for a moment. ‘Miss Lee is here.’
I checked my watch. ‘No, she isn’t due for another ten minutes or so.’
Monica tapped on the door and opened it. ‘Piano teacher’s here, Emma. She’s in the music room waiting for Simone.’
Simone sighed. ‘I’d rather play with you and Leo.’
I looked at her. ‘Remember what I said, Simone. If you ever want to give up piano or violin because it’s not fun any more, you just say so. Your dad doesn’t want you doing anything you don’t enjoy.’
Simone pulled herself to her feet. ‘No, I like playing the piano, it’s fun. It’s just that the practice gets a bit boring sometimes.’
‘I have a session with Mr Chen in the training room,’ Leo said, and rose to tower above me.
Simone’s eyes unfocused again. ‘Yep, he’s waiting for you, doing katas.’
‘Wait.’ I raised one hand. ‘You know where your dad is without looking, Simone? And you knew Miss Lee had arrived?’
‘I have to go to piano lesson, Emma,’ Simone said cheekily. ‘Ask Leo.’
Leo moved to the doorway. ‘Ask me about it later, Emma.’
I snorted with exasperation. ‘When later?’
‘Oh…’ He waved one hand airily. ‘In about three weeks?’ He turned and went out, still grinning.
I slapped my forehead with the deck of cards and put them back into the box.
After I’d tidied the rest of Simone’s toys I went up the hall to the kitchen to get a cup of tea.
The door to the training room was ajar and I stopped to peer in without being seen. Leo and Mr Chen were there