EXAMPLE PAGE - EBOOK - TEA GODS - Flipbook - Seite 25
the promise of the tea-gods
15
When he was finally done on the phone he stood up and took a step
forward, ready to plow through whatever stood between him and the
shoulder of his dreams. But as he did, Binnie scooped up the girl and
ran toward his office—the other girl running behind him. In seconds,
they were all in his car. Every window went down, and Binnie—like he
had a race to win—took off, leaving nothing but a trail of mystery behind him.
Soo-kang stood where he was for a few minutes trying to figure out
what Binnie was doing in the park so early in the morning, who he was
with, and why. What in the world, he wondered, had just happened right
before his eyes . . . Who was that girl? What was the matter with her?
And why was Binnie the one taking care of her?
Closing his eyes, he pictured Binnie picking her up and running to
his car with her in his arms . . . He must know her well. No stranger
would do that—they would call an ambulance or ask if there was a doctor in the crowd. They would certainly not do what Binnie had just done.
He made a mental note to ask about it later, then pulled his hood back
up over his head and finished his ten-mile run.
Shattering the speed limit as they flew down the highway, Binnie turned
his head and looked at Temma—in the backseat, holding onto K. “How
is she doing?” he asked.
“She’s freezing, Binnie—I put her sweater back on her, but she’s
still shivering from head to toe.”
Knowing she wouldn’t be able to breathe if he rolled the windows
up, he turned on the heater and handed Temma his coat. “Here,” he said,
“wrap this around her and see if it helps.”
Temma grabbed the coat and quickly bundled it around K.
“Better?” asked Binnie.
“A little,” said Temma, “but her eyes are still closed, and every
breath seems to be a struggle. How much longer?”
“Well, we’ve still got a long stretch of highway ahead of us—but I
think I can get us where we’re going in thirty minutes. Do you think she
can hang on that long?”
