A Love Letter from Lhasa 17

Chapter 16: The Young Couple’s New Life in Berkeley

90

Plans often fail to keep up with changes in circumstances. The original plan was for Annie and the young couple to return to Tibet and settle in Lhasa after she earned her doctorate, where they would work in the Cultural Relics Bureau organizing and researching cultural artifacts. However, Annie accepted Li Jianhua’s suggestion and decided to stay at the University of California, Berkeley as a lecturer. Her main consideration, though, was that Huaimin would be able to study at the university’s graduate art program nearby. Although this was somewhat different from Huaimin’s original intention of studying at an art university in Paris, it was still a solution that would work well for both of them.

“Huaimin, once you finish your studies and earn your degree, we’ll return to Tibet together.”

“Annie, I understand how much thought you’ve put into this for my sake! I’ll work hard and do my best.” Huaimin made a suggestion. “But on weekends and holidays, I’d like to set up a portrait-drawing stall at nearby markets and parks to earn a little money toward our living expenses. Although my savings from before are still enough to support us for a while, we can’t just keep spending without earning anything!”

“That sounds reasonable. Our finances will indeed be a little tighter for a while.” Considering their practical circumstances, Annie agreed with Huaimin’s idea.

“Tomorrow, I’ll go with you to look around the nearby markets and parks. I remember there’s a designated area for street performers near one of the parks.”

Huaimin asked, “Do I need to take an examination to get a street performer’s permit?”

“Of course! Local street performers must obtain a permit issued by the Cultural Affairs Bureau.”

“Then I’ll have to email Aiyu and ask her to pack up my street performer’s permit from Taiwan, along with my artwork and painting supplies, and send them here.”

Annie reminded him, “The Cultural Affairs Bureau here probably won’t recognize your street performer’s permit from Taiwan!”

Huaimin said optimistically, “No problem. I’ll just take the examination and get another permit!”

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Annie accompanied Huaimin to the designated street performance area near the market and park. After evaluating the available locations, they decided to choose the one where police officers were stationed. They then went to the local municipal government’s Cultural Affairs Bureau to learn about the eligibility requirements, regulations, and procedures for obtaining a street performer’s permit, and purchased a copy of the application guidelines.

After the two of them left the Cultural Affairs Bureau, Huaimin said in their car, “The staff member who explained the regulations just told us that applicants must be U.S. citizens or have permanent residency in the United States. I don't meet either of those requirements!”

Annie calmly replied, “That’s easy enough! We can go register our marriage, and then you’ll be eligible for permanent residency.”

“Should we notify your father and my family?”

“Let’s keep it simple. We can just notify them by email.”

“But that wouldn’t be fair to you! Every girl dreams of wearing a beautiful wedding dress and walking down the aisle...”

“Let’s save the money, Huaimin. Once I have my degree and an appointment letter from the university, and a stable lecturer’s salary, our financial situation will be more settled. When we have some time to return to Taiwan, we can hold a wedding ceremony then.”

“All... all right!” Huaimin understood Annie’s concerns.

“Besides, once I earn my degree, I want to get pregnant as soon as possible. So we need to cut back on expenses and start setting aside money to raise a child,” Annie reasoned.

Huaimin asked, “Do we really need to rush into having children?”

Annie pulled over to the side of the road and looked earnestly at Huaimin in the passenger seat. “Raising children has always been a woman’s duty! Besides, I’m two years older than you. If we keep putting it off, it will only increase the physical and emotional pressure on me.”

“All right!” Huaimin was persuaded by Annie. “Keep driving, Annie!”

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In the sunny corner of the garden, the millet and highland barley growing in the plot of farmland were thriving. Annie carried a watering can and carefully watered the seedlings.

A delivery truck arrived with two wooden crates, one large and one small. Annie went to the front door and signed the delivery receipt. Two delivery workers carried the crates inside and placed them in a corner of the house.

Annie opened the smaller crate and took out the colored pencils, charcoal pencils, watercolors, and oil paints stored in a wooden box. Then she opened the larger crate. Several framed color caricature portraits and pencil sketches were stacked on top. Annie took them out one by one and laid them on the floor to admire them. At the bottom were two paintings of Buddhist figures. She picked up the portrait of Songtsen Gampo and carefully studied the facial features of the figure in the painting.

“The resemblance to Gesang is remarkable. Well, I should say Huaimin...” Annie murmured to herself.

Then she took out the portrait of Princess Wencheng and walked over to the dressing mirror. Comparing the painting with her own reflection, she murmured, “So this is reincarnation, isn't it? There’s no more reasonable explanation for it...”

Annie stood there studying the two portraits for quite a while. Suddenly, an idea came to her: these two paintings could serve as substitutes for wedding portraits. But where should she hang them—in the living room or the bedroom? She seemed a little undecided. “Maybe I should discuss it with Huaimin when he gets home.”

Just then, Huaimin rode his bicycle up to the front of the house. A small briefcase was hanging from the handlebars. Through the large window, Annie watched him walk his bicycle up several stone steps and park it beneath the covered porch. Huaimin carried the briefcase inside and saw the painting supplies and caricatures spread across the floor.

“Your things have arrived!” Annie came out of the bedroom carrying the portrait of Princess Wencheng.

“That was fast! I just went to the university to pick up the graduate admissions booklet. I ran into Professor Li and chatted with him for a while.” Huaimin set his briefcase down on the long table in the living room.

“What did you two talk about?”

Huaimin said happily, “The professor was very pleased that you accepted his suggestion. When I told him I planned to apply to the university’s graduate art program, he was very enthusiastic and offered to introduce me to two renowned artists.”

“Did Uncle say anything else?”

“Yes! He said he really enjoyed the dishes we cooked.”

Annie smiled. “Uncle has already given you a hint. You know what to do! After all, we need his help.”

“Of course I understand his hint! He’s just like Beggar So...”

Annie asked, “Who’s Beggar So? Why haven’t I heard of him?”

Huaimin smiled. “Beggar So is the leader of the Beggars’ Guild in the martial arts novels written by Jin Yong, the master of the wuxia genre!”

“The leader of the Beggars’ Guild? I’ve heard of Jin Yong, but I’ve never read his martial arts novels.” Annie continued, “Anyway, back to the point. Help me decide: should we hang your portrait of Princess Wencheng and the one of Songtsen Gampo on the living room wall or in the bedroom?”

Without hesitation, Huaimin replied, “Of course they belong in the living room! Those are portraits of Buddhist figures!”

“But I think they’d be fine in the bedroom, as our wedding portraits!”

Huaimin burst out laughing. “How can you hang paintings of Buddhist figures in the bedroom? That would be disrespectful to the deities! If you want something in the bedroom, we can rent formal outfits and have a set of beautiful studio portraits taken. We can choose a few we like, enlarge them, and have them framed. The Buddhist portraits belong in the living room, on the wall directly facing the entrance.”

“Is it really not okay? Besides, outsiders wouldn’t know whether those two portraits were wedding pictures or not.”

Huaimin found the idea both amusing and exasperating. “My dear wife, I think renting formal outfits and having studio portraits taken is an expense worth making!”

Annie thought for a moment and said, “All right! Once we’ve completed the marriage registration, we’ll rent formal outfits and have a set of studio portraits taken.”

“Let’s clean up the floor together, shall we?” Huaimin said. “After that, I need to study this graduate admissions booklet.”

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Tang Huaimin and Annie completed their marriage registration and walked hand in hand out of the courthouse.

Annie reminded him, “Starting tonight, you’re going to sleep with me!”

Huaimin teased her. “But I snore. You’ll have to put up with that!”

Annie said casually, “I know! We’re going to spend the rest of our lives together. We’ll just have to learn to tolerate each other’s habits.”

The two of them walked to the parking lot and got into the car. The car left the courthouse and headed back toward the university district.

Annie parked her car in a space along the street. The young couple got out and walked hand in hand to the nearest bridal shop.

Annie smiled. “A year ago, I never imagined I’d be getting married this year!”

Huaimin said, “I met an old lama who was traveling to Sun Moon Lake. It was through his teachings that I traveled all the way to Tibet and waited for you to appear in Lhasa. And sure enough, the old lama’s prophecy came true. You appeared right before my eyes. How could I not believe it?”

Annie said, “I felt the same way! First, I saw the two portraits you had drawn by hand. Then came the prophecy from the old lama at Ramoche Temple, followed by the explicit confirmation from your great-uncle, Dorje Tenzin. Only then did I gradually come to believe that these miracles were not merely a series of coincidences.”

The two entered the bridal shop. After trying on different outfits, they selected two formal ensembles, one for each of them. The shop then arranged for a photographer and a makeup artist to take studio portraits of the young couple.

The two left the bridal shop hand in hand and walked back toward their parking space.

Huaimin smiled. “Now this feels like getting married!”

Annie suggested, “For our wedding night tonight, I’d love to have a romantic candlelit dinner.”

“Of course! We’ll go shopping for red wine, champagne, pork, and lamb chops, then prepare a few delicious dishes ourselves.”

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On the dining table in the living room stood two red candles, two bottles of red wine, and two bottles of champagne. There was a dish of salted pork marinated with mountain pepper, another of grilled lamb chops seasoned with cumin, and a large bowl of lemon aiyu jelly. The young couple sat around the small square table, raising their glasses to each other.

Annie gazed at Huaimin affectionately and said, “From today on, we are husband and wife. We will support each other and share the rest of our lives together. I raise my glass to you, my husband!”

Annie and Huaimin drank their nuptial cup of wine together.

Huaimin said reflectively, “Annie, the truth is, I don’t have much ambition at all. I don’t resemble Songtsen Gampo in the slightest!”

Annie smiled. “I never expected you to have great ambitions or extraordinary leadership abilities! If you really were like Songtsen Gampo, I might not have let you get close to me!”

Huaimin said with relief, “Meeting you finally helped me understand what kind of life I want in the future.”

“Tell me, exactly what is it about me that attracts you?”

Huaimin thought for a moment. “Your temperament, I guess. You’re so refined and otherworldly, like a blue lotus.”

“You’ve only got half the answer,” Annie said softly. “When I was barely old enough to understand the world, my father left home. I grew up in a single-parent family. Every day, the only ones keeping me company were my grandmother, my mother, a whole house full of books, and a piano. Unlike other children, who had happy and colorful childhoods, mine was very quiet—or perhaps I should say, rather uneventful. Both my grandmother and my mother were gentle, refined ladies. They raised me in exactly the same way. Reading, playing the piano, and going to church made up my entire life.”

Huaimin smiled. “I can imagine. My upbringing was the opposite of yours. I did a lot of household chores and took part in school clubs and all kinds of active pursuits, such as track and field and camping. But painting has always been my passion and my spiritual refuge.”

Annie wondered aloud, “How did two people with such different temperaments ever end up together?”

“Have you heard of the Taoist concept of yin and yang, the union of opposites?”

“Of course! Are you trying to tell me that we complement each other?”

Huaimin summoned his courage. “Annie, actually, there's something I need to be honest with you about. Before I met you, I had a childhood sweetheart. She had always treated me very well...”

“And then?” Annie asked calmly.

“But I felt I wasn't right for her. She’s a very career-driven woman, and one day she’ll take over her father’s hotel business. I didn’t want to become a man who lived in her shadow. Deep down, I had always resisted that prospect.”

“So you went all the way to Tibet by yourself?”

“Yes. At the time, I only half-believed the lama’s prophecy. But after I met you, I gradually realized that you were the woman I could spend the rest of my life with. What I want is a simple, peaceful married life.”

Annie asked calmly, “Why did you wait until today to tell me about this?”

“I didn't want you to think I was keeping one woman as a backup while looking for someone else, or that I was a womanizer.”

“But as far as that girl is concerned, your falling in love with someone else hurt her.”

Huaimin looked at her earnestly. “There was never anything improper between us, Annie.”

“All right! I believe you're not the kind of man who goes around making romantic advances toward every woman he meets. But how do you intend to face her?”

“She’s currently studying art in Paris. If I get the chance to see her, I’ll explain everything to her in person and ask for her understanding.”

Annie immediately pressed him. “What if she can't accept it?”

“I...” Huaimin was momentarily at a loss for words. After a while, he lowered his head and said, “All I can do is apologize.”

“Huaimin, my heart aches for you!” Annie reached out and took both of his hands in hers. “Let’s face this together!”