The first day at work.
He showed me the neighborhood. I was acting his buying assistant. He shopped for clothes. I needed to give him my advice. As a matter of fact, though I love fashion, I know little about men’s fashion. I only read fashion for women and sometimes I disagree with the so-called “fashion experts”.Besides, I don’t know his age and his preference. Though he explained to me that he’s a VC, I had no idea what a VC was. I thought he needed to look more fashionable, so I suggested the color purple. I meant dark purple, not that yellowish purple which made him look like a gay. Therefore, I was hesitant to give him any advice, but I did have an image for him. That was “Daniel” in “Ugly Betty.” When I was shopping with him, I felt wierd because some men looked at me all the time. I turned my head away, avoiding the eye contact. Then we went to one of his favorite stores named “Emily.” There I had a lovely conversation with the shop owner(maybe he’s the shop owner). When he got changed, I was blushed because I seldom saw a man change the shirt before. I said “You look sexy in this sweater.” I swear to God that at that time I didn’t know that I wasn’t supposed to say like that to someone I wasn’t interested in. I was new in this country and I didn’t know what was appropriate to say. Then he said oh yeah I looked sexy. After shopping for clothes, I did some grocery shopping and some ironing, too. Then I needed to leave because I didn’t want to stay late. He paid me 75 dollars which was a lot to me. I was really happy and I told him that I was happy and what happened to me for the past two weeks and I said I felt like I was in that luck bubble again. He said that he’s glad to make me happy. When I left, I asked him for a hug. It’s really strange. I’d never asked any men for hugs before. I guess I liked him, but not romantically.
Then it’s Nov.4. In the early morning I went to State House to support Barack Obama and Joe Biden. As a matter of fact, I didn’t know Barack’s policy, nor John Macain’s either. I went for Obama because I thought he representing American dream which I read a lot about when I was in China and I wanted to see with my own eyes that this could be true here in the U.S. I was very excited because I was told that John Kerry would be there, too. He’s the first one to vote. I watched him debate with George W. Bush in 2004 when I was still in China, and I couldn’t believe that I could see him in person. Then it came a commotion. John Kerry and his wife came to our direction. And people began to shout his name. I kept my mouth shut though because I was not used to that kind of public shouting. He started to shake hands with us. When he came to me, I didn’t know what to do until he gave out his hand. It was a firm handshake. He was tall and thin, and good-looking, too. That evening I went to the democratic party at Copley Hotel. There were many people there. I didn’t know why I called him out to be with me. Maybe because I was too excited, and he’s the first one I could think of. He answered the phone and said he could be out in 40 minutes. While I was waiting for him in the lobby, three strangers came to me and said I looked famaliar. Then they told me that I showed up in New5. I said no way because this was my first time in America and I’d been there only for 2 months. Then they reassured me by saying that I was shaking hands with John Kerry. I then asked them if I looked good on TV. I don’t care about John Kerry. Who care about John Kerry. They said I looked better in person. I knew it. I never look nice in pictures or on TV. I called my parents and friends telling them that I was on TV that day. They were excited, too. I brought my camera, and I interviewed people there asking them if they thought Barack Obama would win. Some of them were quite shy, and they wished he could win. People outside blew their horns from time to time.
Then he came. He wore that sweater which I said sexy. We went into the speech room. He explained the campaign to me. He also said John Kerry got married with rich wives. Then he pointed to a political figure and told me that he’s gay. He’s so funny. Then he said he would campaign for presidency in 20 years. I thought he was boasting and I could boast, too, so I said I would be vice president of China 20 years later because I clearly knew that I couldn’t make it to president. There is only one female king in China’s whole history and that was more than one thousand years ago. I didn’t take it seriously. But since then every time when we were together he would tell every person we met that he believed that I would be China’s president one day. I felt a little bit uncomfortable because I’m not that kind of person who like to show ambitious in public. I decided to make fun of him in front of other people if he dared to say that again. I made up a senario(I would act when there were many ladies present):
Me: Were you very sad when your boyfriend left you last week? Don’t be sad. I promise I’ll find you another boyfriend.
Then I would walk over to him and give him a big hug. I always wondered what would happen if I really did that. I’m still curious, but we’re not friends any more.
Later that day he suggested a drink at his apartment, and I told him I’d never come back home late. Before I left, I asked him if he had been in love before. I didn’t know why I asked that silly question and I didn’t even know how old he was. He laughed and said “Of I have.” and then he told me that he just broke up with his girlfriend two months before. I asked him if she cried, and he said women always cry. At that time I had no idea that this man would break my heart and make me cry one day.
(To Be Continued)
Zhang Li's World 
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