Chapter 27: Ping Ling

Sensei Itsuki showed no compassion for my plight. I could almost swear that he even took some devilish delight in his torture as he resumed teaching me how to fall. After about thirty minutes, he finally took pity on me and sitting beside me on the mat, began to talk of the spiritual side of what we were doing. I must say that it was beginning to make sense.

Then he began to demonstrate what he called forms, or katas before finally having me try to duplicate his moves.

“From now on, Alex, we will begin each session with these. You will arrive here tomorrow at six-thirty and begin,” he instructed as he handed me another bottled water. “Rest and drink plenty of water.” Then he bowed and disappeared back into the pagoda.

When I got back to the house, I had to ask someone where my room was. There, I showered and shaved and pulled out my last pair of clean jeans from my bag. As I looked around for a shirt, I happened to glance in the closet. It was full of clothes. I recognized the clothes I had worn yesterday when I jumped in the lake. They were now cleaned and pressed and on hangers alongside many more.

I selected a white shirt with dark grey slacks. When I slipped them on, I was pleased to see they fit me exactly. But I was surprised when I noticed the monogrammed initials on the cuffs of the shirt. I found shoes that fit along with socks and a belt. Placing my thin wallet in my back pocket, I felt kind of spiffy as I made my way back downstairs.

Breakfast this morning was in the atrium, at a round patio table surrounded by all the lush greenery. I suspected it had gotten too cold for the outdoor patio this morning.

Cynthiana was there, along with another young woman and so I asked if I might join them.

“Where did you learn such manners, Alex?” Cynthiana asked when I sat down.

“My parents were big on them when I was growing up,” I explained.

“I’ll have to thank them when I see them,” she replied. “Alex, this is Ingrid. She is my nutritionist.”

“Ingrid, this is Alex. He is the young man I am grooming to take my place one day. Would you help me see that he lives to do so?”

And so began my next odyssey. I guessed that Ingrid was mid-to-late twenties, with dark blonde hair that she wore in a bun on the back of her head, and the longest, sexiest neck I had ever seen. She was slender and had a complexion that was flawless. She simply radiated wholesome vitality.

We talked for almost two hours while she gathered background on my habits concerning eating, lifestyle, and exercise. I discovered that she had several degrees in the health sciences, including a PhD from the University of Munich. I also discovered that she was thirty-eight years old, married to a Swiss banker (naturally) and had a ten-year-old son. And she had been Cynthiana’s nutritionist for twelve years.

“I’ll review this and get back to you on Friday,” she said as she stood and gathered up her notes. “You seem to have a fairly healthy diet but we need to substitute the processed foods with a better selection of fruits and green vegetables. And cut out the potato chips and sugared drinks,” she said.

“Thank you for your time, Ingrid. I’ll look forward to seeing you on Friday,” I said as I saw her to the door. Then I wandered back through the house, searching for Cynthiana’s office. I found her speaking with a distinguished looking gentleman dressed in what I thought was formal attire. I don’t know fashion very well, but it looked formal to me.

“Oh, Alex. There you are. Did you finish with Ingrid?” she asked.

“Until Friday,” I replied.

“Then let me present you to Herr Schröder. He is from a long and distinguished line of financiers. Our families have worked together for almost two hundred years,”

“Herr Schröder, this is the young man I have selected to take my place one day,” she said.

“It is an honor, sir,” I told him.

“I’d say the honor is mine to meet the young man Cynthiana has finally chosen,” he said pleasantly.

Cynthiana went on to tell me how they had worked together and what that portended for my future as the heir to her position within the foundation. It sounded complex with lots of history, but they both assured me I would understand in time. I think I liked this guy. He talked neither up to me or down at me.

Herr Schröder had me sign a couple of documents and said they would have me a Foundation credit card soon, and then he bid us goodbye. After he left, a thought occurred to me and so I asked.

“Cynthiana, does my family know what is happening to me?” I asked.

“They are aware that you are in Zurich, with me. But unless Roland or Carina have said something, I believe that they are unaware of my decision at this time. We’ll sit down and discuss it with them when they get here,” she said. “Now why don’t you head to the kitchen and get yourself a bite to eat. Your next appointment will be here at one o’clock.”

The clock on the wall said it was ten minutes until twelve, so I took off to find the kitchen. Isabella was in the atrium and said she would show me the way.

When Cynthiana said to get myself some lunch, I assumed she meant for me to fix myself a sandwich. After all, that’s what I would have done had I been at home. But no, what that meant here was that Isabella and I were shown to a small table in front of a big window in a room next to the kitchen and lunch was served by a young lady in a starched maid’s uniform. The table was spread with a white tablecloth and held a full complement of utensils, cutlery, china, and crystal.

As we enjoyed our salads, Isabella asked me what I had done to her sister.

“I’ve told you before that a gentleman doesn’t discuss things of that nature,” I told her. “If you must know, ask Sofía.”

“But I can’t,” she whined. “She’s still in bed!”

“You can’t what because who’s still in bed?” asked a sleepy Sofía from the doorway. She was wearing a man’s dress shirt, only partially buttoned, and apparently little else as she slinked her way around the table and climbed onto my lap. Then placing her hand over mine she smiled.

“Oh, gawd! Not my sister too!” she whined again.

“Oh yes,” I replied. “And Sofía? Would you see about borrowing that young lady’s uniform sometime? You see, I have this fantasy...”

It’s a good thing I was finished because I had to run for my life.

My one o’clock was a proctor. Never heard his name. I was sent with him to an unused office and then given a quick review of the rules and a time limit. Then he handed me two pencils and placed a booklet on the desk in front of me and said simply, “Begin.”

As I completed each booklet (or ran out of time) another was placed in front of me. Finally, as I was completing the fourth booklet, he said, “Time. Pencil down.” Then he gathered up the four booklets and his stuff, put them in his briefcase and left the room. The clock on the wall said four-thirty. My bladder said it was full. So I went in search of a bathroom.

“There you are,” Isabella said when she found me wandering back to the atrium. One thing about the way this house was built, everything eventually led back here. “Here’s your coat. We’re late!”

I didn’t ask, I just followed her out the front door and around to a multicar garage. She hopped behind the wheel of a late model four-door BMW and started it up. “C’mon. Get in.”

Then she wheeled us out on the street headed away from town. We only drove two blocks before she turned left into a small shopping center. When she got out, I looked at her incredulously. “We could have walked here faster!”

“Quit your bellyaching and come on,” she said as she lead me in the door to what looked like a beauty parlor.

I was the only guy in the place. Isabella went over and spoke with an older woman and then turned to me. “Alex, this is Berniece and she’s going to fix your hair.”

I started to object and then thought better of it. I knew that it had gotten pretty shaggy in the last couple of months. So I hopped up in the chair and closed my eyes to better ignore them as Isabella and Berniece began running their fingers through my hair and discussing (in French) what she was going to do to me.

Half an hour later, Isabella said, “Open your eyes, Alex, and let us look at you.”

“What do you think?” Berniece asked in perfect English. I did a double take and they both laughed.

“Paybacks are hell,” I warned them but they just laughed again. I hated to admit it, but it did look pretty good.

When we got back to the house, Isabella left me at the door saying, “Dinner is at eight. Go get cleaned up and wear a suit. The tan one with the dark salmon shirt and an appropriate tie would be good.” And with that she disappeared. I was beginning to have doubts about someone else running my life all the time. But it was just the second day, so I’d wait and see.

I did as instructed and was in the dining room before eight o’clock. Our guests this evening were Roger and Penelope Caruthers and their daughter, Tabitha. Roger was a banker (naturally) and Penelope was on a Foundation committee on hunger and homelessness. However, I was to discover that it was Tabitha who was on display.

Tabitha was my age and had just finished her senior level high school requirement for what I would call Liberal Arts college prep. She spoke three languages, including English, and was planning on going to the Paris-Sorbonne University to major in sociology in the spring.

Five-foot-six (in heels) she had wavy brown hair that seemed to cascade down her shoulders and back in the current popular style. She wore too much makeup and too many pieces of jewelry on her hands and wrists (seven rings and ten bangles are too much). The bright and shining eyes behind her glasses gave away her intelligence which became even more obvious as she listened and responded to the adults’ questions with well-thought-out answers, even contributing a few questions and opinions of her on. It was so casually pat that it almost seemed rehearsed.

Then the conversational topic rolled around to me and it was my turn to answer the adult’s questions concerning my family and growing up in America. Finally, Cynthiana mentioned the lightning strike.

“Oh, dear! Are you okay?” Tabitha asked.

“Yeah,” I replied lazily. “Exceptin’ whens the feelin’ starts creepin’ overs me ... and then I get really strange!” I cried as I made a scary face.

Tabitha and her mother both jerked back a little and Cynthiana frowned as both Isabella and Sofía laughed out loud.

“Sorry! Just goofing off a little,” I said by way of an apology. Tabitha was smiling but her mom still looked concerned.

“Alex has a tendency to do the unexpected. That’s one of the reasons that Roland says he will probably be one of the world’s foremost psychologist someday,” Cynthiana explained to Penelope. “That is unless the university professors mess him up.

Penelope perked up on hearing this and wanted to know more.

“You would have to talk to Roland for more specifics, but he says that Alex is better at getting to the root of a women’s problems and helping her find solutions than anyone he’s ever seen,” Cynthiana continued. She was beginning to embarrass me now.

“Women’s problems?” Penelope asked.

“It started when he helped my niece, Mischa, with her menstrual pain. And then it grew from there. Like mother said, you’ll have to get Roland to tell you the details because it embarrasses Alex too much to talk about it,” Isabella supplied. “But he’s done it for most of us now. He even healed my coccyx that I hurt in a training exercise.”

“But how?” Penelope started to ask. But Cynthiana interrupted her.

“Alex? Why don’t you show Tabitha the baby panda in the atrium?”

“Baby panda? Was she kidding?” I thought to myself. But I knew when I had been dismissed, so I stood and held the back of Tabitha chair for her to stand. Then offering her my arm, we left the dining room.

“I had no idea that there was a baby panda in here somewhere,” I told her as we reached the atrium.

“Oh, c’mon,” she said, pulling me by the hand. “I’ll show you”.

I went back later in the daylight and measured. It was forty-seven feet from where we stood to the panda. But I promise, it seemed like we hiked through the jungle for miles that night to find it. And when we came to the small clearing, there was a teak bench, a small water feature, and a life sized statue of a panda with an engraved plaque.

Ping Ling

Giant Panda

Ailuropoda melanoleuca

To Cynthiana Rappeneau with our deepest appreciation for all your efforts and unwavering support for our Panda Bear habitat for the last twenty-five years.

The Berlin Zoological Garden 2016

I sat down on the bench and laughed. I think I had almost expected to see a real, live panda. Tabitha looked at me and giggled. I held out my hand and she came and sat beside me, holding my hand.

“Do you have any idea what is going on?” I asked her.

“What do you mean,” she asked cautiously.

“It just seems like we’re being set up. That your parents are here to evaluate me for something,” I said.

“Duh!” she said. “Of course they are. This whole thing was to see if we might be compatible.”

“Compatible?” I asked.

She laughed. “I’m sorry. I forgot that you didn’t grow up around old families with old money. This is how they determine if we would make a good couple. You know ... dating, engagement, marriage, kids, and so on.”

“Oh! I wasn’t told,” I replied. I couldn’t decide if I was flattered or mad. I was feeling manipulated though and I didn’t like it.

“Before you get angry, just remember that they are doing this because that’s what was done to them when they were our age. It’s better than the arranged marriages they used to do. But not much. Still, we do get some say in the whole process,” she explained.

“So, how do you think we’re doing?” I asked.

“I don’t know...” she sighed. I knew then, instinctively, what she needed so I leaned over and kissed her softly on the lips. She tasted of stale lipstick, but I didn’t say anything. This was for her after all.

Tabitha opened her eyes and looked at me. “I’d say that we’re doing okay,” she purred.

“Just okay?”

“Why don’t you try that again? I think I need more input.”

This time I reached in my pocket and produced a handkerchief, and then softly wiped the lipstick from her mouth. Then turning her to face me on the bench, I leaned forward and kissed her again, this time I added just a little passion. Tabitha wasn’t totally inexperienced, she just didn’t have a lot of experience kissing. But she was sharp and a quick learner and soon we were clutched in an embrace as we devoured each other. I realized that Tabitha’s passions might just be a match for my own.

“OH MY GOD!” Penelope screamed.

“Oh, no!” Isabella said at the same time.

“Alex!” Cynthiana said sternly. “Where are you?”

“They’re right there, Mom. That bright light is them,” Sofía told her. Then Sofía walked straight into the light and disappeared. Sofía’s action caused us to break the spell and suddenly, we were back. But now, Sofía was sitting between us.

“Cool!” Sofía said.

Penelope’s mouth was gaping, no words would come out. Roger just stared at his daughter and me. Cynthiana’s brain was churning as she tried to process what she had seen. She had heard about it, but seeing it was an entirely different proposition.