In the Crossfire

On Monday morning Tian went to Bill Nangy’s office. The manager looked puzzled when Tian sat down in front of him. ‘Well, what can I do for you, Tian?’ Bill asked in an amiable voice. He waved his large hand over the steaming coffee his secretary, Jackie, had just put on the desk. His florid face relaxed some as he saw Tian still in a gentle mood.

Tian said, ‘I know our company has been laying off people. Can you let me go, like Tracy Malloy?’ He looked his boss full in the face.

‘Are you telling me you got an offer from elsewhere?’

‘No. In fact, I will appreciate it if you can write me a good recommendation. I’ll have to look for a job soon.’

‘Then why do you want to leave us?’

‘For family reasons.’

‘Well, what can I say, Tian? You’ve done a crack job here, but if that’s what you want, we can let you go. Keep in mind, you’re not among those we plan to discharge. We’ll pay you an extra month’s salary and I hope that will tide you over until you find something.’

‘Thanks very much.’

Tian liked his job but never felt attached to the company. He was pretty sure that he could find similar work elsewhere but might not get paid as much as he made now. Yet this was a step he must take. Before the noon break Jackie put a letter of recommendation on Tian’s desk, together with a card from his boss that wished him good luck.

Tian’s departure was a quiet affair, unnoticed by others. He was reluctant to talk about it, afraid he might have to explain why he had quit. He ate lunch and crunched some potato chips in the lounge with his colleagues as though he’d resume working in the afternoon, but before the break was over, he walked out with his stuffed bag and without saying goodbye to anyone.

He didn’t go home directly. Instead, he went to a KTV joint and had a few drinks – a lager, a martini, a rye whiskey on the rocks. A young woman, heavily made up and with her hair bleached blonde, slid her hips on to the bar stool beside him. He ordered her a daiquiri but was too glum to converse with her. Meanwhile, two other men were chattering about Uncle Benshan, the most popular comedian in China, who was coming to visit New York, but the tickets for his show were too expensive for the local immigrants – as a result, his sponsors had been calling around to drum up an audience for him. When the woman placed her thin hand on Tian’s forearm and suggested they spend some time in a private room where she could cheer him up, he declined, saying he had to attend a meeting.

Afterwards, he roamed downtown for a while, then went to a pedicure place to have his feet bathed and scraped. Not until the streets turned noisier and the sky darkened to indigo did he head home. But today he returned without any groceries. He went to bed directly and drew the comforter up to his chin. When his mother came in and asked what he’d like for dinner, he merely grunted, ‘Whatever.’

‘Are you ill?’ She felt his forehead.

‘Leave me alone,’ he groaned.

‘You’re burning hot. What happened?’

Without answering, he pulled the comforter over his head. If only he could sleep a few days in a row. He felt sorry for himself and sick of everything.

Around six his wife came back. The two women talked in the living room. Tian overheard the words ‘drunk’, ‘so gruff’, ‘terrible’. Then his mother whined, ‘Something is wrong. He looks like he’s in a daze.’

A few moments later Connie came in and patted his chest. He sat up slowly. ‘What happened?’ she asked.

‘I got fired.’

‘What? They didn’t tell you anything beforehand?’

‘No. They’ve been issuing pink slips right and left.’

‘But they should’ve given you a warning or something, shouldn’t they?’

‘Come on, this is America. People lose jobs all the time.’

‘What are you going to do?’

‘I’ve no clue, I’m so tired.’

They continued talking for a while. Then he got out of bed and together they went up to Meifen in the living room. His mother started weeping after hearing the bad news, while he sprawled on a sofa, his face vacant. She asked, ‘So you have no job any more?’ He grimaced without answering. She went on, ‘What does this mean? You won’t have any income from now on?’

‘No. We might lose the house, the car, the TV, everything. I might not even have the money for the plane fare for your return trip.’

His mother shuffled away to the bathroom, wiping her eyes. Connie observed him as if in disbelief. Then she smiled, showing her tiny, well-kept teeth, and asked in an undertone,

‘Do you think I should look for a job?’

‘Sure,’ he whispered. ‘But I shouldn’t work for the time being. You know what I mean?’ He winked at her, thin rays fanning out at the corners of his eyes.

She nodded and took the hint. Then she went into the kitchen to cook dinner. She treated her mother-in-law politely at the table that evening and kept sighing, saying this disaster would ruin their life. It looked like Tian and she might have to file for Chapter Eleven if neither of them could land a job soon.

Meifen was shaken and could hardly eat anything. After dinner, they didn’t leave the table. Connie brewed tea and they resumed talking. Tian complained that he hadn’t been able to stay on top of his job because his wife and his mother quarrelled all the time. That was the root of his trouble and made him too frazzled to focus on anything. In fact, he had felt the disaster befalling him and mentioned it to them several times, but they’d paid no attention.

‘Can you find another job?’ his mother asked.

‘Unlikely. There’re more accountants than pets in New York – this is the world’s financial centre. Probably Connie can find work before I can.’

‘I won’t do that until I finish my training,’ his wife said, poker-faced.

‘Please, do it as a favour for me,’ Meifen begged her.

‘No, I want to finish nursing school first. I still have two months to go.’

‘You’ll just let this family go to pieces without lifting a finger to help?’ her mother-in-law asked.

‘Don’t question me like that. You’ve been damaging this family ever since you came.’ Connie glanced at Tian, who showed no response. She went on, ‘Now your son’s career is headed for a dead end. Who’s to blame but yourself?’

‘Is that true, Tian?’ his mother asked. ‘I mean, your career’s over?’

‘Sort of. I’ll have to figure out how to restart.’

Meifen heaved a deep sigh. ‘I told your sister I shouldn’t come to America, but she was greedy and wanted me to get you to finance her son’s college in Canada. She even managed to have the boy’s last name changed to Chu so he could appear as your son on the papers. Now it’s over. I’ll call her and your father tomorrow morning and let them know I’m heading back.’

Connie peered at Tian’s face, which remained wooden. He stood and said, ‘I’m dog tired.’ He left for the study.

Meifen wrapped Connie’s hand in both of hers and begged, ‘Please help him survive this crisis! Don’t you love him? Believe me, he’ll do everything to make you happy if you help him get on his feet again. Connie, you’re my good daughter-in-law, please do something to save your family!’

‘Well, I can’t promise anything. I’ve never been on the job market before.’

Tian smiled and shook his head as he was listening in on them from the study. He was sure that his wife knew how to seize this opportunity to send his mother home.