Crystal Eyes

2. The Morning After

I spent the rest of that night staring into the darkness, not daring to believe that the events of the evening had been real. I was afraid to go to sleep in case I would wake up in the morning and find out it was all just a vivid dream. But I eventually did sleep, on my living room floor. I'd gotten used to hard beds in China so I was much more comfortable on the floor than I would have been on my dilapidated couch.

The major downside of sleeping on the living room floor? Sunlight. In my nice cozy bedroom I had thick curtains up to keep out the evil morning sunlight. In the living room I had gauzy breezy curtains meant to let in the light. So, at an ungodly early hour, I found myself torn from the loveliness of sleep and thrust into the blindingly bright world of morning.

With a groan I levered myself off the floor and made my shuffling way to the kitchen. After such a sleepless night, I knew I needed something strong to help me wake up, so I flipped the switch on the coffee maker and sighed as the precious scent of hot coffee wafted across the room. I then set about making a breakfast that would be tasty for me and for a probably hung over Jimmy Crystal.

I pondered my decision from last night while I waited for the eggs to cook. I had a very famous celebrity asleep in my bed who didn't want me to know he was a famous celebrity, why else would he introduce himself as Ben instead of Jimmy Crystal? So, since he didn't want to be a famous celebrity, I wouldn't treat him like a famous celebrity. I would just treat him like Ben, a handsome man I met in a bar. A handsome man who just happened to be a filthy rich celebrity that I had a major celebrity crush on.

I sighed, this was going to be hard, and moved the eggs in a basket to two plates, setting another plate over the top of Jimmy's to keep it warm while I took my plate and a delicious cup of coffee to the table. I slowly sipped the hot coffee as I checked the news on my phone. I checked major events in my city and internationally, then I googled Jimmy Crystal to see if I could figure out why in the world he would come to middle-of-nowhere China.

Well, maybe not quite middle-of-nowhere. Hefei is the capital of the province so it's one of the biggest cities in Anhui. But compared to the big tourist attractions like Shanghai and Beijing, Hefei was nothing. But as I researched, I realized Hefei was a little more prominent than I thought. I'd been unusually busy lately with midterms and preparing my students for their TOEFL and SAT tests so I hadn't been keeping up with the news. So, I was both surprised and yet not surprised to see that there was a science fiction convention in downtown Hefei that I hadn't known about. And the star guest? Jimmy Crystal.

My favorite celebrity was in town for one weekend and I missed it. I mean, I missed it until he walked into my local bar and passed out in my bed.

Go figure.

But here and now in the present, I was going to treat him like Ben, even if that meant letting him leave without even a single signature. He wanted a normal night, I'd give him a normal night. Maybe even a weekend if he were up to it. We could go to the amusement park downtown. Or the temples. See some of the impressive sights that Hefei had to offer. It could be an adventure.

That was my motto, since moving to China. I stole it directly from a Disney movie. "Adventure is out there!" and boy was I living it. Everything in China is different and every day is a new adventure. It helped me to cope to think of this part of my life like a grand adventure.

Just like this weekend might turn out to be.

I was debating putting Jimmy's eggs in a basket in the fridge to keep when I heard movement coming from my bedroom. Slow, shuffling steps sounded on the wood floor as my bedroom door creaked open and a disheveled Jimmy Crystal stumbled dazedly into the sunlight.