While Mike helped Ren, Sarah found me and whispered, “Kelsey, when did you two meet? For a minute there, I thought I was finally meeting Li. What’s going on?”
I stared straight at the Christmas tree as I mumbled, “That’s what I’d like to know.”
The men entered the living room, where Ren removed his charcoal herringbone trench coat and draped it over a chair. He was wearing jeans and a long-sleeved gray zip polo shirt that clung to his chest and arms.
“Who’s Li?” Ren asked.
My mouth dropped open. “How did you—” I snapped my mouth shut quickly. I’d forgotten about his tiger hearing. “Li is . . . umm . . . a guy . . . that I know.”
Sarah raised her eyebrows but didn’t say anything.
Ren watched me closely, politely waited for me to sit, and then sat down on the couch next to me. The minute he sat, the kids were all over him.
“I have presents for the two of you,” he said conspiratorially to Rebecca and Sammy. “Can you open them together?”
The kids nodded their heads seriously, and he laughed and shoved a large box over to them. They frantically opened it and pulled out a set of Dr. Seuss books. The books looked strange to me at first. I took one out of the set and figured out why.
I whispered to him, “You got first editions! For kids? Those are worth probably thousands of dollars each!”
He tucked some hair behind my ear and leaned over to whisper, “I got you a set just like it at home. Don’t be jealous.”
My face turned bright red. “That’s not what I meant.”
He laughed and picked up the next gift. Mike kept stealing glances out the window at Ren’s car.
“So, Ren, I see you have a Hummer out there.”
Ren looked up at Mike. “Yes, I do.”
“Do you think you could take me for a ride some time? I mean, I’ve always wanted to ride in one of those.”
Ren rubbed his jaw. “Sure, but I can’t do it today. I have to get settled in at my new residence.”
“Oh . . . you’ll be staying here for a while?”
“That’s the plan, at least for the term. I’ve signed up to take a few classes at Western Oregon University.”
“Well, that’s great. You’ll be going to school with Kelsey.”
Ren grinned. “Yes, that’s right. Perhaps we’ll bump into each other there.”
Mike turned his attention to the car again with a big smile on his face. Sarah was watching me closely. I tried to maintain a neutral expression, but, inside, I was a mass of questions.
What is he thinking? Staying here? Where? Going to school with me? What am I going to do? Why is he here?
Ren slid a large gift over to Sarah and Mike. “This is for you two.”
Mike helped Sarah open it, and they pulled out a brand new red mixer with every attachment known to mankind. I wouldn’t be surprised if she could create an ice sculpture with the thing. Sarah began talking excitedly about all the organic wheat-free baked goods she would now be making.
Ren picked up a smaller package and handed it to me. “This is from Mr. Kadam.”
I opened it and found leather-bound copies of from India, Romance of the Three Kingdoms from China, and The Tale of Genji from Japan, all translated into English. There was also a short letter wishing me a merry Christmas.
I stroked my hand over the leather covers and made a mental note to call him and thank him later.
Ren handed me another gift. “This one’s from Kishan.”
Sarah looked up from her mixer and asked, “Who’s Kishan?”
Ren replied, “Kishan is my younger brother.”
Sarah gave me a motherly look of exasperation, to which I shrugged sheepishly in response. I’d never mentioned Ren or Kishan to her, and she was probably wondering how I could fail to remember someone like him. I’d be wondering why I’d been so close-mouthed too.
I opened the box and found a small jewelry case from Tiffany’s. Inside was a thin, white-gold necklace. The card was very carefully handwritten:
Hey, Kells,
Miss you.
Come home soon.
I figured you’d like something more girlish to wear with my amulet.
There’s also an extra gift in the box, just in case you need it.
Kishan
I set the necklace aside and dug through the box. A small cylinder was wrapped in tissue paper. Unrolling it, a cold, metal canister fell into my palm. It was a can of pepper-spray. On it, Kishan had taped a picture of a