White Tiger

happy, Leo. I’m with him. That’s all that’s important.’
    He stroked my arm. ‘I understand.’ ‘Does he know?’
    He chuckled and his arm shook on my back. ‘Of course he does. He just puts up with me.’
    ‘No, I don’t think he puts up with you, Leo. I think he loves you like a son.’
    He stared at me, then his face lit up with genuine delight. ‘Maybe you’re right.’ He turned back to watch the water. ‘You’re really wise sometimes, Emma.’
    ‘Wise? I think we’ve just established exactly how stupid I am.’
    ‘Both of us.’
    ‘Yeah.’
    Simone dragged her grinning father up the beach towards us. ‘I’m hungry !’ she yelled.

CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
    A fter I’d put Simone to bed I went out to the living room. Leo was sprawled on the sofa, sleeping. Monica was wiping the kitchen benchtops. I wandered into the kitchen and saw Mr Chen sitting at the large table on the balcony, watching the waves.
    ‘You should be having a holiday as well, Monica,’ I said. ‘There are some excellent Chinese restaurants around here. If you like, we can take him out and give you a couple of nights off.’
    Monica stared at me with horror. ‘Not cook?’ ‘You should have a break.’
    She continued to wipe the cabinets. ‘This is a break. This apartment is very small. But if I didn’t have to cook, I wouldn’t have anything to do. Please don’t take him out, Emma.’
    ‘You would have preferred to stay in Hong Kong, wouldn’t you?’
    She wiped over the cupboards without looking up. ‘This is a strange place. Everything is so far away from everything else. How do you find your way around? And it’s so quiet .’
    ‘I know,’ I said. ‘Some of my Chinese friends don’t like Australia; they say it’s so quiet they can’t sleep.’
    She busily rinsed the cloth in the sink. ‘We look after him. I look after him.’ She smiled at me. ‘We care for Simone. That makes me happy.’
    I patted her shoulder. ‘Me too.’
    She removed her apron. ‘Goodnight, Emma.’
    “Night, Monica.’
    She went to her room, smiling contentedly.
    I knelt by the couch, next to Leo’s head. ‘Leo.’
    He grunted and grimaced.
    I patted his shoulder. ‘Wake up, Leo.’
    His huge fist lashed out towards my head and I dodged it. ‘Hey, Leo, it’s me!’
    He pulled himself upright and wiped his hands over his face. ‘Sorry, Emma. Don’t do that again. If you wake me suddenly I can attack you.’
    ‘I moved out of the way in time.’
    ‘Don’t take the risk. Ask Mr Chen to wake me, or just leave me where I am. Gold once woke me in the middle of the night and I broke his neck.’
    ‘You should have warned me.’
    He looked sheepish. ‘Yeah, I know. But I didn’t think we’d ever be in that sort of situation.’
    ‘Me either, I suppose.’ Then I heard what he’d said. ‘You and Gold were attacked in the middle of the night?’
    He smiled gently and I understood. ‘But Gold said you were just good friends.’
    ‘We are now. That was a long time ago.’
    ‘I’m sure breaking his neck put a slight damper on the relationship.’
    ‘Nope. He thought it was hilarious. He kept waking me to try and get me to do it again.’
    I nodded towards Mr Chen where he sat on the balcony. ‘What did he think?’
    ‘He hoped it would become something more permanent. He wanted me to be happy. Same as he wants you to be happy, Emma.’
    ‘I am happy, Leo.’
    I stood, took his hand and raised him to stand in front of me. He pulled me into his arms and held me tight. I stretched up to kiss him on the cheek. ‘Go to bed, Leo. You’re buggered.’
    He stared at me, speechless, then shook his head, released me and went out.
    ‘It just means “tired” in Australia,’ I said to his back.
    He raised one hand and went into his room, still shaking his head.
    I took a teacup from the cupboard in the kitchen and joined Mr Chen. The cloudy sky merged with the dark sea. The waves were a dull roar below. The warm humid breeze blew strongly over the balcony and lifted the loose strands of his long hair.
    He poured some tea for me and I tapped the table next to the cup in thanks.
    ‘Do you know the origin of that gesture?’ he said.
    ‘No, do you?’
    ‘Of course I do. I was there.’ He rested his chin on his hand. ‘Once an Emperor went out incognito, just with a couple of guards. He wanted to see what life was like outside his palace, without the layers of formality that separated him from the ordinary