37 Decision (1/2)

Wang Yang drove across town to a street in Hollywood and pulled over at a parking spot by the curb. Dashing out of his car and going along the crowded road, he came before a boutique where he and Jessica had agreed to meet. Amid the hustle and bustle, he saw Jessica standing in the distance, carrying a light blue handbag that shone like a beacon in a mass of blacks and greys. He slowed to a halt, called her on her cellphone, and said, ”I see you. Look to your right.”

Jessica twisted her head abruptly and found Wang Yang. She smiled and waved. ”I see you, too.” Then, she ended the call and went over to Wang Yang.

”Hi, Jessica,” Wang Yang greeted as they came to each other. He pointed at the store sign that hung vertically along the front of the boutique with his eyes and asked, ”Did you buy anything?”

Jessica shook her head and answered with a smile, ”No. I tried a few skirts but didn't find anything I liked. I think I'm more of a jeans person.” Wang Yang expressed his lack of opinion with a shrug. ”So Yang, why did you want to see me so urgently? Is there something you want to tell me?” Jessica enquired.

”There's something I want to tell you, all right. Something good…” Wang Yang thought gleefully. Having just recalled their sweet childhood a few minutes ago and seeing Jessica in the flesh now, he felt at once sentimental and playful. Putting on a straight face, he replied, ”Um, maybe…” He looked around them. The street was full of people coming and going. ”Come with me,” he said, taking her down the busy lane. They turned off to a place covered with trees and greenery. It was quiet there.

Jessica caught glimpses of Wang Yang's face as she followed behind him. His solemn expression and quiet demeanor filled her with terrible premonition. What if it was bad news? Forcing a smile with a furrow across her forehead, she asked, ”Yang, is something the matter?”

”Jessica, it's about the casting of High School Musical's leading lady.” Wang Yang looked at her gravely and added, ”I hope you're ready for this.” Smiling strenuously and feeling tight around her face, she moaned, ”Okay.” Then Wang Yang took a deep breath, looked into her eyes, and said gently, ”Jessica…” After a pause that seemed like ages, he burst out joyfully, ”You're the leading lady!”

Jessica stood there looking dumbstruck. Her eyes were so wide open that white showed all around the iris. ”Really?” she asked eagerly, ”I got the part?” Wang Yang nodded smilingly, ”You heard that right!”

”Oh, my God! Oh, my God!” Jessica screamed in amazement. Her breaths were ragged gasps, and her face was frozen with shock. Suddenly, she threw herself into Wang Yang's arms, dropping her handbag. Flushed, she said, ”Yang, we're going to make a movie together! This is wonderful!”

”Yep! That's right!” Wang Yang, caught off-guard and almost tipping over from the force of her hug, wrapped his arms around her by reflex. He picked her up and spun her around in a boisterous celebration. ”My God, you're heavy!” he cried with a smile, as passersby turned her heads to look at them. After a few heady revolutions, he put her down.

Jessica stared into his eyes joyfully. Her heart was beating like an engine. She put her hand to her hair, which was loose and half-falling after their roughhousing. Then, suddenly, she smote Wang Yang on the shoulder with her clenched hand. ”Jeez, Yang! Why did you have to scare me like that? I almost died. I thought you're going to tell me I didn't get the part,” she chuckled.

”Scaring people is my specialty!” Wang Yang guffawed. He got a good deal of satisfaction in watching her shocked reaction.

Jessica rolled her eyes, fighting the smile on her face. Then, she smiled outright. She could not conceal her exultation. ”Oh, my God, I can't believe I'm the leading lady! This is the best thing that's ever happened to me.” She had been waiting for that moment for too long. Ever since she was little, her desire to become a leading lady in Wang Yang's movie burned in her heart with a gem-like glow that grew only brighter with time. When she'd joined acting school, she'd been certain that her dream was coming within her grasp. But as the days had gone by without hearing from Wang Yang, she had begun to feel restless and desperate. Now, reunited with Wang Yang and crowned as the leading lady of High School Musical, her destiny was at last fulfilled!

Looking back at her journey, she was overcome by a sense of gratitude and felicity. ”My God, am I dreaming?” she sighed.

”No, seriously,” Wang Yang chuckled, stooping over to pick up Jessica's blue handbag from the ground. As he handed it to her, he said sincerely, ”Jessica, thanks for your reaction. You've made me so happy.” He added smilingly, ”At least there's someone who cares about being the leading lady, am I right?”

Jessica took the handbag and glared at Wang Yang with her dark brown eyes. Then, she broke into a smile and said, ”Yang, I hate you! I'm so excited that I don't think I'll be able to sleep tonight. I'm going to wake up tomorrow morning with circles under my eyes.”

”You mean like a panda?” Wang Yang laughed, then reminisced, ”On the night of the day I was awarded that publication contract by Lionsgate, I was so excited that I couldn't sleep in that motel in Santa Monica. So, I went to the balcony to get some fresh air. I stood there looking at the moon in the night sky for a while, and my mind quieted down.” He looked up at the sky just like he had the other night and felt the salty sea breeze and the gentle moonlight on his face. ”So beautiful,” he said softly.

Jessica's eyes lighted up suddenly. ”Yang, let's go to Santa Monica!”

Wang Yang froze for a second. ”Now?”

”Now!” Jessica nodded, smiling intensely. ”I want tonight to be special. Let's go to the beach now. We might be able to catch the sunset!”

”Okay, let's go. I do miss Santa Monica,” Wang Yang said, not wanting to dampen the girl's enthusiasm.

The two walked a little way up the street to the curb where their car was parked. They raced against the sun to the beach and to the little town of Santa Monica.

The sun was going down, and the day was cooling off when they arrived at the beach in Santa Monica. There were few people by the seaside. Wang Yang and Jessica waded across the sands to a spot that was quiet. The sand yielded as they sat on it. The sea breeze was blowing across their noses, and the sun was slowly setting into the sea. They looked face to face and smiled. There was an unspoken feeling of serenity and comfort between them.

”What a view!” Jessica exclaimed, squinting at the sunset and overtaken by its beauty. Suddenly, she lifted her right hand and made the sign of the cross and said with beatitude, ”Thank you, Lord. Thank you for bestowing such beauty and good fortune upon us.”

With her eyes closed, her hands clasped to her chest and the sun casting a glow above her head, Jessica was a paragon of faith and spirituality. Wang Yang saw it for the first time. Intrigued, he shut his eyes and uttered the words, ”Thank you, Lord.”

The pair sat smiling at each other. Jessica let her eyes wander from Wang Yang, to the sea and the sun sinking into it, to the sky and the gulls soaring in it. At that moment, memories of their childhood came flooding back. She whispered smilingly, ”Yang, do you remember the time when we were little? You said you'd become a director and I said I'd become an actress? Here we are now, you as a director, and I as an actress.”

”Yeah, I remember. I'm a director and you're an actress.” Wang Yang smiled at her. ”Hey, Jessica. Come on!” he prompted, holding out a fist. Jessica's eyes lit up and she smiled with her shining teeth. This time, there were no bracers. She held out her fist and touched it against Wang Yang's. Then, they laughed and said in one voice, ”It's a deal!”

After their fist-bump, the two fell into a silent gaze. Their hearts went pit-a-pat as though in synchrony, and before long, they were both beating like pigeons in a trap—beating with their wings. Wang Yang stared into Jessica's eyes unblinking, but it only seemed to heighten Jessica's self-consciousness. In her shyness, she looked away and asked gently, ”What's the matter?”

”Oh, nothing,” replied Wang Yang, shaking his head and looking into the distance. The sun was gone and there was only the sea. ”I was just thinking about how your eyes are like little gems.” He laughed.

Jessica breathed a sigh of relief without Wang Yang noticing. ”God, what's wrong with me just now?” she thought with dismay. But then, she looked back fondly on Wang Yang's compliment, and her lips curled into a smile. ”Look at your eyes. They're like gems, Those are the eyes of a beauty!” Wang Yang used to say to her. It was a memory she would take to her grave. That was the first time someone of her age had complimented her on her looks. From that moment on, she'd started to believe in herself, and the world had started to believe in her. She glanced sidelong at Wang Yang and said in self-deprecating humor, ”Yang, I just remembered how I used to wear braces.”

”I think they were kind of cool,” Wang Yang said with a shrug. He looked at her smile, then asked out of the blue, ”Say, Jessica, how's Jack doing these days?”

She gave a vacant stare. ”Jack? Which Jack?”

Wang Yang clarified with a smile, ”Oh, I mean Jack Frank.”

She paused for a moment or two, looking about him in a perplexed way with her head on one side. ”Jack Frank? He's still studying at UCLA, I guess. I'm not sure.” Confused, she let out a laugh and asked, ”Yang, why do you ask?” Could he be thinking that she was dating Jack Frank?

”Nothing,” Wang Yang smiled and wagged his head, ”It's just that Joshua… Oh, never mind. He just popped into my head, that's all. It was probably just a joke.”

But Wang Yang seemed to arouse Jessica's interest even further. She looked at him curiously. Joshua? Joke? Josh… Joshua! What did that little rascal say to him? She was about to speak when she heard Wang Yang call out her name. There was a curious tremor in her heart, and her eyes grew hot with anticipation.

”Jessica!” Wang Yang cried with all his heart. He felt a strong urge to confess and was opening his mouth to do so, but at that moment, a face flickered vividly across his mind's eyes. He felt a lump in his throat. Gripping the soft sand tightly as he clenched his fists, he closed his mouth on it. It was not the right time. Then, in one fell swoop, he threw the sand at Jessica in jest. He sprang up laughing and ran off along the beach.

Wang Yang's playful act caught Jessica with such surprise that her anxieties vanished, leaving her with an empty feeling. Was she thinking too much? Jessica looked at Wang Yang as he bolted off into the distance, shaking her head. She stood up and ran after him. ”Yang, stop! You little rascal…” she yelled cheerily.

After watching the sunset, the pair went into a restaurant by the seaside for dinner. Afterward, they drove back to Los Angeles.

It was past nine o'clock when Jessica came home. Clutching her handbag and humming a tune, she opened the door. Danny crossed the floor to the doorway and circled between her legs happily. Jessica stooped down with a smile and gave Danny a rub on the neck. ”Hi, Danny. Good evening.” Danny's tongue was very long. He was very cute the way he seemed to be smiling. Patting Danny vigorously, she said with a smile, ”Danny, are you happy for me? Hmm?”