The wild fluttering of her heart told her that being brave was as frightening as being afraid.

Daniel brought the car to a stop in front of a small park, where a group of men in traditional costumes practiced the ancient art of swordplay. Leslie waited at the curb; he had to do Nola's makeup before she arrived at the airport to face a mission of Beijing dignitaries and their long-winded farewell speeches. Lulu babbled against Nola's shoulder as she looked at the view outside. Holding her close restored something in Nola. In a paradoxical way, it assuaged her anxiety over the high stakes of showing up in public.

Nola regarded Leslie, attempting to read his body language as he lifted his bag off the ground and glided into the car. He must be cross with her.

“My, my. The prodigal daughter returns.” He placed his hand over his heart. “You gave me a fright.” His eyes were deep and troubled. He kissed Lulu.

“What’s this on your face?” Nola asked. His upper lip was sprinkled with stubs of reddish hairs, like crystallized brown sugar. The color was different from the brown hair that grew on his head, still closely shaven. “You’re growing a mustache?”

“I’ll be the only young one in China wearing one. This is a nation of mustache-less men.”

“I’ve only been gone for one night.” She giggled with a minute relief. “And look at you.”

“Next time take me with you.” He fingered the ends of her hair. “Everybody’s hysterical. Jean-Claude is already in Shanghai, staging a grand dress rehearsal with that Australian extravaganza. Your backup singers and the musicians are there, too. And we’re still here! We’ll be so-o-o late for the concert, and you must warm up before dancing on stage.”

How sure they had been that she would capitulate and come out of hiding. What would Mauriello’s proposal be? The false ring of everything associated with him blared in her head like a foghorn. But there was no other choice. Instead of feeling triumphant for having stared them all down and won her battle to keep Lulu, she felt empty. Empty and tired. She longed to sleep for days.

“I don’t know how I can get through this evening, let alone the coming week,” she said.

Leslie touched her middle. “You need to unleash your spirituality right here from your gut.” He called over to Daniel, “What’s the Chinese name for what the Japanese call ‘hara?’ ”

“Tan Tien?”

“Yup. That’s it. Tan Tien.”

Nola smiled. “How does one go about acquiring it?”

“You’ve got plenty of it. Just release it. It’s a center of energy physically located in the human body that manifests itself spiritually and psychologically. Right, Daniel?”

Daniel met Nola's eyes in the rearview mirror. “Absolutely.”