Take a Chance

by Wong, Alison

• ISBN13: 9781466926721
• ISBN10: 1466926724
• Format: Paperback
• Copyright: 2012-05-08
• Publisher: Trafford on Demand Pub

Summary

Alison Wong was born in Hong Kong but grew up in England. She is a graduate of Lancaster University, England and has a Masters Degree in T.E.S.L. from Hong Kong. Having taught English for 14 years she left teaching to become a housewife and writer. Alison now divides her time between home and writing novels. She lives in Hong Kong with her husband and son.

Excerpts

At the end of the street was a row of neatly tree-lined terraces that curved into the opposite path down a hundred yards of the middle of the street. They strolled without talking which made Hannah uneasy. She stole a glance at Julian's face noting his long lashes, and was surprised by the few wrinkles that lined the corners of his eyes, and then quickly looked away as his mouth parted. Sensing her gaze, Julian turned to look at her and Hannah almost screamed with fright. "I'm not going to kiss you Hannah," Julian said. Hannah could have sworn he was mocking her but gained her composure. "I wasn't expecting you to." Julian's eyes lit and he raised an eyebrow. "Would you like me to?" Hannah's heart missed a beat. He was teasing her and she wasn't going to fall for his hypnotizing gaze. They had reached the terraces and were taken aback by a small pebbled fountain and garden with evergreen trees that cornered off a small car-park and cul-de-sac, offering privacy to the tiny houses that nestled there. A child's play area with swings, climbing rail and slide flanked the edge of the garden, where a narrow path with wooden fencing veered away from the houses. "Very convenient," Julian said scratching his head and flashing a grin at Hannah, half expecting her to reach for him. She smiled shyly and in an effort to avoid his closeness she charged towards the swings. "These remind me of when I was nine or ten," she began, sitting on one of the swings. Julian sat on the swing next to her. "I had spent the whole morning in the children's library and as I was leaving, some of my friends from school saw me and threw snowballs at me. It was winter you see and it had been snowing for days. Well, I didn't let them off. I chased them round the library playground and attacked them with my own snowballs. It was hilarious! My mittens got soaked but I didn't care if my fingers were cold. I was having too much fun." Julian got up behind her. "So, you were feisty and rebellious even when you were young," Julian said, smelling Hannah's hair as he leant down and pushed her forwards on the swing. Hannah didn't hear him. Her mind was locked on the snowy playground. "We scraped off the snow on the slide and my friends dared me to go down it because they knew I had a fear of tall slides." "Did you go down it?" Julian asked. Hannah abruptly turned round and glared at Julian then grinned. "I had to! I wasn't going to let them snowball me if I didn't! I can remember climbing up the steel ladder and raking the snow off each step with my hands. When I got to the top, I threw my woolly hat off to see how far it slid down the slide... and it seemed to take forever. My friends were laughing at me and I could see they wanted me to go down. They kept shouting I could do it. I'd never had anyone tell me that, not even my parents or teachers, and I wanted to prove I could do it. So there I was, straddling over the top of the slide, and I couldn't make up my mind whether to go face down or face up." "How did you finally do it?" "I slipped. One foot went first followed by the other and I ended up doing the splits down the slide," Hannah said, half laughing. Julian laughed with her, staring into her eyes as he saw them suddenly welling with tears. He sensed she had shared a poignant moment with him and she seemed to be trying to tell him something about her childhood. She had never mentioned anything about it before. Hannah stared into the ground. "My Dad was furious when I got home though. He shouted at me for not coming home earlier and he accused me of playing with boys." Julian pulled the swing to a halt and walked round to Hannah's side so he could see her face. She looked up and he was surprised by the anger that flickered in her glistening eyes. "Why would he do that?" he asked. Hannah stared ahead of her. "Oh he didn't like me playing with boys or girls from my school for that matter. They were different you see. They didn't have the same culture and values as our very different, ethnic family." "But that's absurd," Julian interjected. He took her hand. "How could you have a proper childhood without play?" "I didn't have a proper childhood, not when Rosalyn disappeared," Hannah quickly added. She sprang from her swing, realizing she had shared a piece of her childhood with Julian. In a way, she secretly hoped he understood her. Why she behaved the way she did; why she left him. Julian seemed to sense her regret. He clasped her elbow and pulled her towards him, grasping her hands in his and was shocked by how cold her hands felt. Then swept her hair over her forehead and stared into her eyes. "Why did you really leave me, Hannah?" Hannah held his gaze, allowing him to study her face for a moment. He knew. He had to, she thought. Sighing, she said, "It's complicated." "You mean Elizabeth is complicated?" Julian coaxed, his voice hoarse. Hannah could feel his breath on her hair. She bit her lip and muttered, "Elizabeth...?" "Was she the real reason for you breaking off your engagement?" "Yes! She and..." Hannah's voice trailed off. She wanted to tell him everything there and then but she couldn't because she didn't know how to. How could she tell him she had lied to him all along that she hadn't told him the truth about her family not wanting her to marry a non-Chinese. How they always wanted her to marry a respectable man who fitted their ideal, someone who was rich and of the same culture? Julian would laugh in her face and call her a coward. Julian studied Hannah's features. Her eyes glistened and her cheeks were glowing red while her lips quivered He had always believed she was courageous, but from her story she seemed to have struggled with her confidence or self-esteem. And she seemed to have had an over-protective father who didn't like her to play with the neighbor-hood's children, not even her school-friends. What kind of father would dominate his child like that? At this moment, Hannah looked vulnerable yet sensuous with a child-like innocence. He felt suddenly protective. Keeping his voice steady, he said, "Hannah, can we start over? I mean, can we forget what's happened between us? I promise I won't ravish you again." He threw up three index fingers and made Hannah do the same. Hannah sniffed and withdrew her hand but quickly put them up again while staring into his eyes. She couldn't believe his gall. But something had happened in the brief time they had walked to the park. She had shared an intimate memory and he appeared to have understood. She breathed in a sigh and smiled, "If you keep your promise, I promise I won't run away from you again." "Aren't promises meant to be made, not broken?" Julian replied. "Not anymore," Hannah said, getting up, not looking at Julian, afraid he might mention that she had broken their engagement promise, but he didn't. "Hannah," Julian pulled her towards him and smoothed her hair back with both hands. Hannah tipped her chin and waited for him to continue, "Come with me to York. Rosalyn said you used to go there with her and Jo when you were younger. You could say some prayers for Jo at the cathedral." "What about Janice Putten?" "Oh, we'll see if we can locate her. We'll worry about her when we're in York." Hannah noted a glint in Julian's eyes as he led her away from the park and into the narrow path at its edge. And it occurred to Hannah that Julian hadn't waited for her reply but her heart felt calm when he held her. She decided if destiny wanted her to follow her heart, then she had better learn to trust it again.