However, if Li could accompany me, then I would be fine. Would it be a chance for us? Perhaps he would come to see me differently if we were somewhere new without the influences of my family and the close-knit community of Emerson Pass.
“Yes, thank you, Papa. I’d like to go, but only if you send Li with me.” Lying made my stomach hurt, but there were times it was necessary. I could do anything for a few months, I told myself. In addition, I should be happy for the chance to grow as a singer. There were things I didn’t even know I didn’t know. I would have to be brave. “He could look after me, as he does here.”
“I agree that it’s a good idea,” Mama said. “Alexander? Will he be safe there? What if he runs into the trouble he had in Chicago?”
I burned with anger thinking of what Li had to endure during his time at university in Chicago. The awful people who had mocked him and worse, abused him, for his Chinese ancestry. He was an American, just like any of the immigrants who had arrived here from Europe not so very long ago. Like Papa, Lizzie, and Jasper, who had come from England.
“He would certainly benefit from Paris,” Papa said. “He does a superb job of looking after you here during your nights at the club. If he would like to go, I would be happy to pay his way in exchange for keeping you safe.”
It didn’t occur to them that Li was a man. A young man. One my siblings and I considered a contemporary. Was it because of his ethnicity? Would he feel the same way about some of the other young men in our set? I hated to admit it, but I didn’t think so. He would not think of Li as a threat to my virtue because he was of Chinese descent.
“There will be parties and young men,” Mama said. “It would do my heart good to know Li was there to watch out for you. I’ll be nervous for you, but you must not let this opportunity pass you by. Step off the train,” Mama said this last part under her breath.
“Step off the train?” I asked.
“Pay me no mind. It’s only a sentimental notion of mine.” Mama brushed her hands together. “Now, have some tea. We’ll start to make arrangements tomorrow.”
Please, God, let Li say yes.