I'll Look Out for You

"Date? Ha!" Don Quixote scoffed. "I'm done wasting my time on women, kid."

"Today's a big day for you," he continued. "I'm taking you somewhere to meet someone."

"Who?"

"A former classmate and colleague of mine. He owes me a big favor."

Li Wei wasn't quite sure why Don Quixote was bringing him along to meet his old classmate. But Don Quixote must have had a good reason, so Li Wei didn't object.

As they drove out of Brooklyn and closer to the city center, the surrounding buildings grew taller and the roads narrower. Li Wei suddenly felt the noise around them getting louder and louder.

Manhattan was a true concrete jungle. The gaps between buildings and the distances between cars were narrow, while towering structures a hundred stories tall or more blotted out the sky. Voices, traffic, and gusts of wind echoed between the walls, growing louder until they became an inescapable din.

After weaving through the crowds and traffic, the battered Toyota finally stopped in front of a skyscraper on Park Avenue in Midtown Manhattan.

"JPMorgan Chase?" Li Wei looked up in surprise at the steel behemoth before them. "Your classmate's doing pretty well for himself."

"It might sound glamorous, but it's nothing special," Don Quixote said. He took a deep breath and gave his slightly worn suit one last adjustment in the rearview mirror. "But he's done well. I hear he's made partner at JPMorgan Chase."

He took a small black gift bag from the back seat, with the Montblanc logo printed on it.

They got out of the car and joined the busy stream of people in tailored suits hurrying through the lobby of JPMorgan Chase's headquarters.

When the impeccably made-up receptionist saw Li Wei's face, her eyes brightened slightly. Then she glanced down at his clothes, and disappointment showed in her expression.

"Hello!" Don Quixote rapped on the counter and said in his deep voice, "I'm here to see Julian Wagner."

The receptionist reluctantly tore her gaze away and put on a sweet, professional smile.

"Do you have an appointment?"

"No," Don Quixote replied with a shake of his head. "Tell him Don Quixote Cervantes is here. He'll see me."

A few minutes later, they were taken to the 48th floor.

The air was thick with the mingled scents of coffee, cologne, and money. The setting sun poured through the enormous floor-to-ceiling windows, bathing Central Park below in gold. The green jewel in the heart of New York City looked like a tiny rug beneath the feet of financial titans.

In an office so spacious it seemed excessive, Li Wei met Julian.

He looked at least ten years younger than Don Quixote. His deep blue suit was perfectly tailored, and not a hair was out of place. Though middle-aged, he was remarkably well-preserved.

"Good God!" Julian stepped out from behind his desk and stared at Don Quixote for a few seconds. "Is it really you? How many years has it been? Ten? Nine?"

"Twelve, Julian," Don Quixote said. "Oh... I brought you a gift."

Julian took the bag Don Quixote handed him and opened it. Inside was an exquisitely crafted Montblanc fountain pen.

"Thanks, Don." He casually stuck the pen in a holder on his desk, already packed with other pens inlaid with gold and diamonds. "Have a seat. What would you like to drink? I recently picked up a collection of rare Macallan single malts at Christie's..."

"No thanks," Don Quixote waved him off. "Look at me. Drinking Macallan would be a waste."

"Back when we were both at JPMorgan Chase, we went to the bar next door every night," Julian said, taking a seat across from Don Quixote. "And this is...?"

He glanced at Li Wei, who was sitting beside Don Quixote. His eyes swept over him more quickly than the receptionist's had, but he showed no reaction.

"This is my nephew, Li Wei. I'm his guardian now," Don Quixote said briefly. "Julian, I'd like to ask you for a letter of recommendation."

"A recommendation? From me?" Julian looked at Li Wei. "For Li Wei? Where does he want to go to school?"

"He wants to go to Yale," Don Quixote said. "I remember you graduated from Yale..."

Li Wei noticed that when Julian heard he wanted to go to Yale, he gave him another look.

This time, a trace of something showed in Julian's expression that reminded Li Wei of the Latino man from earlier that day.

"Yale, huh?" Julian stroked his chin. "That might be tricky..."

"After I took the fall for you back then, Julian," Don Quixote said, "surely writing a recommendation letter isn't that hard?"

Seeing that Don Quixote was about to lose his temper, Julian quickly raised both hands. "All right, all right. I understand. I understand. I only meant that my recommendation alone probably won't be enough to get him into Yale, right?"

"That's our problem, Julian," Don Quixote said stiffly. "I'll figure out the rest."

Li Wei was about to say something, but Don Quixote stopped him with a look.

"Don, I know I owe you. I've been waiting for you to ask," Julian said. "I just thought you'd ask me for money or something."

He glanced at Don Quixote's pale face and the arm hidden beneath his suit jacket. "I heard a bit about your situation. You sold blood to buy me that pen, didn't you? Even if he gets into Yale, are you going to pay his tuition? Or make him take out student loans? We're both in finance. You know that's a bad deal."

"I told you, that's our problem." Don Quixote rubbed his face, then fixed Julian with an unblinking stare. "Fuck, Julian. Are you writing the letter or not?"

"I'll write it, I'll write it. I'll get it done today," Julian sighed. "I'll have my assistant mail it to you tomorrow. All right?"

After giving Julian his address, Don Quixote left JPMorgan Chase's building with Li Wei.

On the way back, Li Wei finally couldn't hold back. "You sold blood? Just to buy that pen?"

"Before you came along, I sold blood now and then to get by. That's how it is in New York." Don Quixote drove with one hand and casually opened a pack of cheap cigarettes with the other. "Don't think I did it just for you."

"And that wasn't just some ordinary pen, kid." He puffed on a crumpled, cheap cigarette and spoke indistinctly. "It was a Montblanc Meisterstück 146, with an 18-karat gold-plated nib. Costs over eight hundred bucks."

"You didn't have to do so much for me," Li Wei said. "I already told you, I'll get into Yale through football."

"Sure, sure," Don Quixote said dismissively, clearly not believing Li Wei could pull it off. "I believe you."

Li Wei looked at Don Quixote's pale lips and bloodless face. He opened his mouth, suddenly wanting to say something.

"I know you want to say thanks, but we don't need to get all mushy with each other, kid." Don Quixote seemed to anticipate what Li Wei was about to do. He turned to look at him and said:

"If you've made up your mind about going to Yale, then we'll figure out a way together."

"I'm your elder. I'll look out for you."