Chinaman's Chance

"Good thinking," a voice said behind me. I whirled and assumed a defensive stance. It was Sammy. "You are more athletic than I had hoped. Let's go. I know a safe place nearby." I nodded and followed. We turned a corner and ran straight into Sarah, apparently out for a stroll. We all gasped and stared at each other. I about peed in my pants.

"How did you-" Sarah began then said, "Never mind. I don't want to know. I just hope I don't get any of the blame."

"Blame me," said Sammy. "Sammy not go back."

Sarah nodded and smiled. "They'll be looking for you both. Just don't get caught. Good luck."

"Thank you, Sarah," I said. "I won't forget your kindness."

"Just don't get caught," the young prostitute repeated and then walked on without looking back.

"Stop gawking," Sammy urged me. "We are in a hurry. Our lives are in danger." I nodded, but continued gawking. The San Francisco I knew was gone. No skyscrapers. No Golden Gate Bridge. The fog had cleared so I could see the harbor: three-masted schooners, steamships blasting black smoke out of their stacks, side paddle wheelers. Most of the streets were dirt, or mud I should say, since it had recently rained. Still, the streets were crowded with people on foot, horseback and horse drawn carriages. Freight wagons with workmen loading and unloading goods added to the chaos around us. I was hopeful I could get lost and forgotten in this chaos. I was less hopeful of ever returning home to my own time. We ducked into a narrow alley behind a livery stable and entered a barn through some loosened boards in the back. Once I got used to the dim light, I could tell it was used to store a couple of carriages. There was a small pile of hay with a sleeping mat on it.

"We'll be safe here and then we'll have to move again after dark," Sammy said.

"What happens after that?"

"I get you out of San Francisco and then you get yourself as far away from here as possible, preferably where there are no tongs."

"No thanks," I said. "I have unfinished business here."

"May I ask what unfinished business you have that is so important you would risk your freedom and possibly your life?"

"I am going to kill Madame Bordeaux and those men who raped me." Sammy stared at me goggled-eyed and uttered something in Chinese.

"A little girl is going to kill a brothel owner, three policemen, a judge and two prominent businessmen." He shook his head in disbelief. "Not that you do not have reason to seek vengeance, but I think it's more likely you will get yourself killed going after just one of them."

"It's possible," I conceded. "But I'll do it or die trying."

"I risked my life and ruined my plans for a lunatic."

"You don't even know the half of it," I responded. "I am from the twenty-first century, the year 2013 to be exact. I don't know how, but I got sent back in time to 1882. I was in an old hotel that was scheduled to be demolished. I believe the hotel is or will be in the exact location where that brothel now stands. The floor collapsed and I fell. Apparently, there was a time anomaly that I fell through and I landed in Sarah's bed."

Sammy stared hard at me. I think he was tired of shaking his head. "You belong in an asylum."

"You think so? You might be right. I'm finding it hard to believe. I certainly don't expect you to believe any of it." I fully expected the man to cut his losses and walk away. He started pacing up and down the small space we were in.

"Perhaps the fall injured your brain and you are imagining all this."

"I have thought of that," I said. "I have also thought that I might be experiencing a vivid nightmare. But the nightmare part is being 131 years in the past, not knowing how it happened and not knowing how to get back."

"I don't like being in your nightmare."

"I don't blame you," I responded and giggled. Sammy responded with his own smile.

"Would you agree that you and I are in the present?"

"I do agree with you."

"Would you also agree the future is yet to be seen and unforeseeable?"

"That's true as far as I know."

"Then you would have to agree that no one can travel to the future and take a look around." Sammy nodded his head as if prompting me to agree with him.

"Except your present is my past and my present is your future," I said.

"That statement makes absolutely no sense."

"You're right and I know I can't prove it to you. I'm still going to kill that bitch and those rapists." Sammy was back to shaking his head. I was afraid he was going to strain his neck muscles if he kept on doing that.

"Very well, miss."

"My name is Jennifer. Please call me Jennifer. Please don't call me Jenny. I don't like that name. May I call you Sammy?" The man shook his head. "Sammy must disappear forever. I must choose a different English name soon. My Chinese name is Lee Chen. Please call me Chen when we are alone."

"Chen," I said. I liked his name.

"Very well, Jennifer. Let's assume I accept everything you just told me. You're from some time in the future. You were thrust into the past by unknown means and you have no idea how to get back. For all you know, you're going to be staying in this time period for the rest of your life. Am I correct so far?"

"It's fair to say that," I responded. Contemplating that possibility made me feel sad that I wouldn't be seeing my family and friends any more.

"Given that possibility, shouldn't you learn how to live in this present?"

"You're absolutely right, Chen," I declared.

"Yes, I am right." Chen put on a big grin. I think he was happy because I was agreeing with him.

"I'll do that just as soon as those bastards are dead." He stopped grinning.

"Jennifer, I don't know where you come from, but in California it is a very bad idea for a Chinese to even defend himself much less seek revenge for wrongs done to him. It is impossible for a Chinese to obtain justice in either the criminal or civil courts when the adversary is a white man. You will only succeed in getting yourself hanged if you insist on carrying through with your plans. You will also give people an excuse to retaliate against other Chinese people. Is that what you want?"

"Of course I don't want that," I responded. "That just means I'll have to be very careful to not get caught and make sure there are no witnesses."

Chen started mumbling in Chinese again. He sounded exasperated. "Why don't you listen to the advice I give you? It is very good advice. It will help to keep you safe and among the living."

"I have been listening to your advice," I said. "And I agree that it's very good advice. You have given me much food for thought. And speaking of food, it has been about 24 hours since I last ate, give or take 131 years. I'm very hungry and thirsty. Is there any place nearby where we can grab something to eat?"

"It will be safer to wait until after dark," Chen said. I nodded. I had been thinking with my stomach and not my brain. I didn't think it was even noon yet. I don't think I had ever missed a meal in my entire life before yesterday. My stomach growled, or rather roared, in complaint causing the man to smile.

"I need to go out and listen to gossip and rumors. Some of that idle talk might be about us. I need to find out how badly we are wanted. I suppose I could purchase a small meal for you while I am out."

"When?"

"Right now."

"You said it won't be safe until after dark," I protested. "You might be recognized if you go out now." All of a sudden I was feeling rather foolish and guilty for asking this man to risk his life so that I might not miss another meal.

"You are right, of course." He pulled aside a loose board, reached in and pulled out a small carpet bag. He applied a fluid from a bottle he had uncorked to a rag and began removing makeup from his face? He was wearing a disguise! It was fascinating to watch as Chen removed lines and years from his face. His mustache came off, and even the pockmarks on his cheeks disappeared. He removed a bit of padding from around his waist and his paunch disappeared. He even seemed to gain a couple inches in height even though still being short at around 5'5". That still towered over me.

"How do I look?"

"I'm impressed," I said. Even his tone of voice was different. I realized he wasn't much older than me and handsome to boot.

"Pretty good for a slant-eyed motherfucker?"

I felt my cheeks heat up. "When I called you that, you were on my list of people I was going to do horrible things to like break your arms off or something like that. You're safe from me now."

"I feel relieved," he responded with a smile. It was such a charming smile, I felt myself moistening up between my legs. Yeah, I can think slutty thoughts just as much as any woman. I just don't like sex forced on me, okay?

"I'm also sorry I messed up your plans, whatever those were." That was an invitation for him to tell me what those plans were, but he ignored it.

"It doesn't matter." He told me to stay put and he was gone in the next minute promising only that he would be back as soon as possible and he would have something for me to eat.

There wasn't anything to do hiding in the dim light of my 'den' except think. I spent the time waiting for Chen by doing exactly that. Mostly my thoughts were about the talk I just had with my new friend. I decided he was right and I was wrong. I mean, what did I have to gain by risking my life by seeking revenge? I would most likely get caught or killed. When Chen returned, he brought with him a couple of metal containers full of rice and tea. He handed me a pair of chopsticks and I started gobbling the rice down without so much as a thank you to him.

"It is as I feared," the man said after watching me eat for a bit. "Madame Bordeaux wants me dead and she wants you returned to her. She has backed up her words with money. The tongs know about your escape and any one of them would love to get their hands on you without having to pay the Madame anything. They are also offering money for you to be delivered to one of them."

I sipped some tea. "How many tongs are there in San Francisco?"

"There are four main tongs in the city plus several minor ones," Chen said. "All of them have their eyes and ears open both day and night so now you understand the necessity of getting you out of the city."

"So, I leave San Francisco," I said. "What then? I don't have family or friends. I don't have any money. I would rather take my chances here with you. The city is plenty large. I think I could get lost here quite easy."

"The city is indeed large," the man said. "In fact, it is one of the largest cities in the United States with about a quarter million inhabitants. But the Chinese make up only about 10% of that total with the vast majority of them males. U.S. authorities suspended Chinese immigration a couple of years ago and the only ones getting in are smuggled in at great expense. Can you see why a young and pretty Chinese girl generates so much interest?"

"I guess so," I allowed.

"I am not certain when legal immigration will be resumed."

"It won't be," I said remembering the Chinese experience in the U.S. from a history text I read. "The Chinese Exclusion Act was...uh...will be passed by Congress and signed into law this year, I think." I had to remind myself I was speaking of future history.

"You know this for certain?" Chen seemed skeptical.

"Uh huh." I took another sip of tea. "The Chinese Exclusion Act is supposed to be effective for ten years. But it will be renewed in 1892 and made permanent in 1902. It won't be repealed until World War Two when the U.S. and China are allies in a war against Japan and her allies."

Anti-Chinese feelings among the white settlers were very strong in California from their first arrival during gold rush days. Various laws were passed aimed directly against the Chinese immigrant. They were forced from their mining claims, their homes and businesses. Those who chose to remain in California were required to live in specified areas of the city otherwise known as ghettos. The ghettos eventually came to be known as Chinatowns, the largest being in San Francisco. Comparisons could be made with the persecution of the Jews in Europe and the freed slaves with the Jim Crow laws in the former Confederate states.

Big business had no problem tapping this labor source when it was to their advantage. The Chinese were a source of cheap labor during the building of the transcontinental railroad and were blamed for taking away jobs from more deserving white people and for holding wages down during a post Civil War economic recession.

"World War Two? There will be a World War One?"

"Yes," I said. "That will last from 1914 to 1918. The people at the time will call it the 'Great War' or 'The war to end all wars'. They didn't know what they were talking about. Millions will die and just set the stage for an even bigger war twenty years later."

"I find myself starting to believe your story," Chen said, "even as the rational part of my mind says I should not. And yet, nothing you say can help me protect you from those who would prey upon you. I have a little money saved, but it won't last long if I remain jobless."

"I'll get a job and help contribute," I offered.

"Jobs are not easy to come by even if you're not Chinese," Chen said. "Also, you would be spotted in a matter of minutes by a tong agent or one of the madame's people."

"I guess I'll just have to become a boy."

"A boy?"

"That's right. I've done plenty of acting, as boys as well as girls." That was an outright lie, but I didn't want the man to abandon me. "A little of your makeup magic and no one will recognize me and everyone will think I'm a boy. I can even pee standing up."

Chen laughed and then looked long and hard at me. He started frowning.

"What? Is there a problem?"

"Your hair," Chen said. "It's too feminine even cut short as it is."

"Let's cut it off," I responded.

"We might have to shave it off."

"Not a problem." I'm not without vanity, but that would have to take a back seat to survival.

Chen told me he was from a coastal Chinese city and the dialect he spoke was closely related to Cantonese. His father had purchased passage to San Francisco, but he died suddenly and Chen took his place even though he was just twelve years old. Much to his surprise, the job Chen was counting on didn't exist. It was just a scam to collect fees without getting anything in return. Eventually he got a job as 'Monkey Boy' in a traveling carnival. That's where he learned makeup. He already knew English from a missionary school he attended in China, but one of the carnies helped him improve his reading and writing in English. The carnival folded a couple of years later somewhere near Sacramento and that was the end of that career. Chen worked his way back to San Francisco and had been doing various odd jobs over the years, which he admitted included some criminal activity, but never wanted to get involved with the tongs.

"I'm glad for that!"

"I'm glad, too," Chen responded. I found myself being more and more attracted to this man, but he was nothing if not traditional. I shouldn't have been surprised by that observation with me being in the 19th century. But this 21st century woman wanted to let him know I wanted him without pussyfooting around. I wasn't interested in acting shy and demure and just hoped he might feel the same way about me. But I was afraid of showing my feelings for fear of seeming too forward, which would definitely scare him away or make him think I was a loose woman. Well, I guess I was a loose woman by 19th century standards.

I told him about my job as a stunt double, which he found amusing, but I had the hardest time explaining motion pictures. Those hadn't been invented yet.

"I knew you were very athletic from the way you climbed out of the window," Chen said. "You didn't show a bit of apprehension when you dropped to the ground. I did many of the same things you describe learning how to become a decent 'Monkey Boy'."

"Perhaps we can team up and become a monkey duo?"

"Perhaps," Chen responded. "It is dark enough now with the fog rolling in. It is time to leave." We made our way to the Chinatown area, giving everyone along our path a wide berth while trying not to be obvious about it. Chen's room was a small room attached to a restaurant. It had a measure of privacy for which he paid a little higher rent to the landlord. It hosted a small bed, table and chair. It was lighted with a kerosene lamp.

"I am afraid I only have this small bed. I don't recommend sleeping on the floor. A rodent and a cockroach or two might crawl in with you during the night. At least I don't have bedbugs." I think Chen blushed when he told me this, but I couldn't really tell because of the poor light. He must not have been certain on how I would react.

I smiled and bowed low. "If that is the case, I hope you don't mind me sharing your bed with you. I'm bigger than a bed bug, but at least I won't bite. I pray that I will be pleasing to you tonight and for many nights to come." That statement took Chen by surprise. I wasn't being shy or reticent. I was offering to be the man's fuck buddy in return for his protection; a stone age marriage proposal so to speak. Chen didn't speak right away and I was beginning to wonder if I'd blown it. I think he was weighing the risks and benefits of having me around on a permanent basis. I only thing I had to offer was my body. Was it enough? I didn't want to be an albatross around the man's neck and I did have some bad people looking for me. Looking for him, too, for that matter. I sighed with relief when Chen smiled and nodded.

I was conscious of our gender roles and waited passively while Chen straightened the bed. It didn't need straightening, but I think he was as nervous as I was. The lamp was turned down and we were plunged into darkness. I could hear the rustle of clothing and so I stripped down to my birthday suit.

"Are you ready?" Chen was trying to be considerate and I loved him for it.

"Yes, my husband," I responded. I was trying to play on Chen's emotions. I was sending the message that I was fully committed to him and I wanted him fully committed to me. He stepped forward and we embraced. I heard a small gasp when he felt my nakedness against his. I felt myself getting excited and I'm afraid I tried to hurry things along, stepping past the man and lying down on the thin mattress. I was on my back with my legs spread in presentation position. If he didn't like missionary style, I was more than willing to adjust to his preferences. The bed groaned with the extra weight, but it held.

"Yes!" I gasped as I felt Chen enter me. I wrapped my arms and legs around him and held him tight. I was still a little sore from being raped the night before and Chen was being gentle with me, but I wanted some measure of control without seeming obvious. Once I was comfortable, I relaxed my grip on my man and he took it as a signal to begin fucking me.

"My darling," I cooed as he claimed me. I relaxed completely and let him have his way with me. Chen didn't last more than a couple of minutes the first time, but he stayed hard inside me and I squeaked with pleasure the second time he sprayed my womb with his seed. I realized I was risking pregnancy now that I no longer had access to my birth control pills and I had to accept that possibility. "I am yours forever."

"I love you, dearest Jennifer," Chen whispered. "I will protect you with my very life."

"My Chinese name is Lihua." (It's pronounced like 'leewaa', dear reader.)

"Lihua," Chen repeated and kissed me. We made love once more before falling asleep in each other's arms. I felt safe and slept soundly.

I awoke refreshed. Chen was already moving around. He looked different and I realized he was already assuming a new disguise. "Good morning, husband," I said. It felt natural saying that, not strange at all considering he was a man I met less than two days before.