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.As Iris watched Mai and Minh help the other girls, she smiled, stepping inside the center.She still couldn’t believe it was complete.Though they’d missed their Christmas deadline, no one seemed to care.More than thirty adults were present for the grand opening, and Iris had spoken to all of them.Many had made donations of money, time, or materials; and expressions of support and encouragement were unanimous and abundant.These people were helping her plan for the center’s future, providing her with the expertise and resources that she’d once dreamed of possessing.Iris moved into the kitchen, wanting to see the entire center, to revel in what had been accomplished.Tables seemed to sag beneath the weight of the food that Thien had prepared.There was nothing extravagant, just piles of fruit and croissants that rose between bouquets of fresh flowers.Music played from a small radio that Thien had purchased with her own money.The stairwell had been completely painted, and images of colorful parrots on tree limbs graced the walls.Iris climbed higher into the tree, noting patches of sky above.She entered the classroom next, surprised at how quickly it had come together.A painted map of the world dominated the largest wall.Tables and chairs were abundant.In the far corner, a pair of tall bookshelves comprised her library.She’d gathered almost five hundred books, many purchased by the sale of her signed first-edition novels.Several publishing companies where Iris had friends had also made donations.The books were new and written in either Vietnamese or English.The children had opened them with what Iris believed to be awe.For their whole lives, they had seen other children go to school.They’d dreamed of going, of being normal.But they’d never had the chance until now.The dormitory looked as she would always remember it.The clouds that she and Thien had painted were as wondrous as ever.Qui and Tam’s rainbow brought tears to her eyes, as did the sight of Tam’s bed, which Mai now used.The previous night was the girls’ first in the room, and Iris had been surprised to find several sleeping on the floor.Apparently their beds were too soft.Iris climbed the ladder leading to the roof.She smiled at the sight of the garden that Noah and Thien were building.Noah, Sahn, and several volunteers had tied a chain to a wooden rowboat and, standing at the side of the roof, had pulled the boat to the top of the building.Noah and Sahn had filled it with dirt, and Thien had planted row upon row of seeds.Tender sprouts now emerged from the dark soil.Thien planned on teaching the children how to nurture the young plants.Moving to the edge of the roof, to where she could see the playground, Iris watched the scene below.As the children hurried about, she recalled scattering her father’s ashes around the playground and, later, repeating the process alongside Noah, Thien, Sahn, Mai, and Minh as they spread the ashes of Qui and Tam beneath the banyan tree that Noah had planted.Tears had been plentiful at that moment, just as they’d been when a portrait of Tam had been hung beneath her name on the front of the building.A child laughed below, and Iris smiled.She realized then that she had never felt as fulfilled as she did at that very moment—not when she’d graduated from college, or when she first fell in love, or when she’d seen her byline in major newspapers.Of course, those were important moments, moments she’d cherish.But they were nothing like what she felt now.The laughter that found her ears, the sights that she so readily consumed, were gifts piled at her feet.Footsteps sounded from behind her and Iris turned.Mai stood alone, smiling.“Why you here?” Mai asked, lifting up her foot to pluck a small stone from between her toes and her sandal.“Oh, I just.I needed to see it all,” Iris replied.“Me think you just tired of talking with so many people.”“Well, that’s true too.”“Why do big people just stand and talk, while children play? Sure, sure, big people have more fun if they play too.”Iris shook her head.“We can play too, Mai.Just wait.We’ll rent a bus, and we’ll all go to the beach.Then you’ll see us play.”Mai smiled.“Do you know what I call you? When I speak with Minh?”“I have no idea.What?”“Iris the Great.”“Oh, I’m not great.Just ask my old boyfriend.He’d tell you a story or two.”“He must be so foolish, Miss Iris.Like an elephant who worries about a fly.But I glad that you no go with him.Because then you come to us.”Iris took Mai’s hand.“I’m glad too.”Noah’s voice rose from below.Mai and Iris watched as he pushed a girl high on a swing.She laughed and shrieked, and some of the other children paused to see her soar.Iris noticed that most of the adults had also turned in the girl’s direction.Many seemed to be momentarily entranced by her glee, perhaps reminded of their own childhoods.Next to the fence, not too far from the swing, Iris saw a girl sitting by herself.“Mai,” she asked, “is that Long?”“Yes, I think so.”“How is she doing?”“Just okay.”“That’s all?”Mai took Iris’s hand.“We go down and cheer her up.Sure, sure?”Iris smiled.“Sure, sure.Let’s do that.”And so Mai and Iris descended the many stairs.Soon they were outside.Several other city officials complimented Iris on the center.She also passed Sahn and greeted him in Vietnamese, pronouncing the words just right, as he’d taught her.He nodded and said something that she didn’t understand.But I’ll learn, she thought, moving ahead.The girl—eight years old, if Iris remembered correctly—sat next to the fence and looked at her feet.Iris and Mai moved to each side of her.“Would you mind if we sat down?” Iris asked, speaking slowly, trying to recall how well Long understood English.“No [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]