The Paper Daughters of Chinatown - Heather B. Moore Page 0,127

own people . . . or else.

Officer Cook had taken the threats seriously and had made a few of his own threats toward the higher ranks of the tong. He hoped the message would trickle down, yet on the weekends, when most activity seemed to take place, he frequently posted an officer to keep an eye on the mission home through the night.

Tien didn’t seem fazed. She kept going on rescues, even as she was preparing for college. Dolly deeply admired her for this, but she also wanted the young interpreter to be safe.

The mission home was no longer a fable or a whispered secret in Chinatown. Unlike during the first years she had worked there, now it seemed more girls and women showed up at the mission home for help. They were no longer afraid of the missionary women. Even babies were dropped off on their doorstep. There were currently three babies at 920. These babies and younger girls were hard to manage in a household of women who had been through extreme trauma and weren’t always on their best behavior.

Dolly mulled over one of the requests she wanted to make to the board about opening a second home for the younger children. This way, the younger children’s needs could be fully met, and they wouldn’t be exposed to some of the language or stories that came with mixing all the ages. She planned to involve Mei Lien, who was now married to Huan Sun. They lived in Oakland and ran a tailoring shop there. Mei Lien was pregnant again, and Dolly loved the idea of including the young woman in the organization of the new home for babies.

Mei Lien’s forgiveness of Ah-Peen Oie had been perhaps the most tender moment Dolly had ever witnessed. The former slave owner had recovered from her surgery, then had declared that she wanted to study Christianity. Dolly remained skeptical for months and kept Ah-Peen Oie separated from the girls at the mission home. It wasn’t until an acquaintance had agreed to tutor Ah-Peen Oie that Dolly began to fully trust in the woman’s change of heart.

The weeks had turned into months, and Ah-Peen Oie became one of the most devoted women Dolly had ever met. She was humble, she was a hard worker, and she made it her new mission to serve others. Perhaps it had been a leap of faith to let her begin working on the looms in the industrial department, but Ah-Peen Oie continued to prove herself over and over. She went from being a hard worker at the looms to being suggested by Tien to fill in a vacancy at the mission home kitchen.

After Ah-Peen Oie sought and gained forgiveness from Mei Lien, the former slave owner had repeated her plea for forgiveness to each and every girl in the mission home who had been afflicted by her. For some of the girls, their healing finally became complete as they were able to forgive their former slave owner.

Ah-Peen Oie worked in the kitchen, serving those who had once been her slaves. She had married a Christian Chinese man three weeks ago, but she still came several mornings a week to the mission home to help prepare breakfast.

The soft glow of dawn finally dispelled the gray in her room, and Dolly’s memories faded like a fine mist. She heard a few sounds coming from below, likely in the kitchen. She wouldn’t be surprised if Tien was awake and already ordering breakfast to be started, with Ah-Peen Oie at her side fulfilling those orders.

Dolly stifled a yawn. She looked forward to this evening, when much would be accomplished, and she hoped that meant she would be able to tumble into bed with a satisfied heart. After today, she would be able to help with the upcoming wedding for Yuen Kum, one of their residents whose life had undergone a remarkable change. In three days’ time, she would be marrying her sweetheart. The glow about the young woman after escaping her life of abuse was such a joy to see. Dolly’s heart could only be full at such a time as this.

A deep rumble interrupted her thoughts. If Dolly had lived closer to the train station, she might have thought the sound was an approaching train—it was too deep for it to be an early morning streetcar. Then her bedroom seemed to shift, and Dolly’s stomach dropped like a stone. Before she could comprehend what was happening, she had tumbled off