Читать книгу Sumalee - Javier Salazar Calle - Страница 14

Singapore 7

When I got home Josele and Damaso jumped on me with questions about the date. We sat in the living room and told them what we did, where we went and, above all, what happened in the end on the beach. The two stopped to think about it for a moment. Josele was the first to speak.

“Sure, it's a paranoia of yours. She only wanted to take things slower.”

“I don’t know, Josele. You were not there. It was something else. It seemed that we would continue kissing and then something crossed her mind and she pulled back. I'm sure of what she wanted, but I cannot imagine what made her stop. Maybe she has some kind of disease that can infect, I don’t know what to think.”

“Don’t be silly. Sure is something much simpler than that. Things tend to be simpler than we think, it is us who complicate them. Sure, it's what you say about the customs in her country or something like that.”

“I'm with Josele,” said Damaso. “Ask her out this week and you will see how things turn around.”

“I hope you are right. I only know her for two days, but this girl has something special that makes me crazy.”

“Are you falling in love...” Josele said.

“No way! How can I be in love if I just met her yesterday? All I wanted was a girl to have fun with.”

“Well now you tell me,” Josele said. “The first night nothing, yesterday a little kiss and today you are eating coals ... My friend you have a problem.”

“Yes, you do,” whispered Damaso mockingly. “I also noticed it when you introduced her to us yesterday ... He has a point.” He said bursting in laughter.

“What a jerk you are!”

We all laughed hard. I could use a little nonsense. It was true that she was a lovely girl with an amazing body. It was clear that it was the first thing I noticed when I saw her at the bar. But as we talked during the party, Saturday, I began to realize that almost certainly she was even prettier on the inside than on the outside and that she could enrich my life. I heard myself saying those sappy things and I laughed thinking I could have not fallen in love in just two days. Maybe it was due to the low mood I brought with me from Spain with the recent break up. Damaso then surprised me with the story of a girl from Singapore which Josele had been with.

“And, are you going to see her again?” I asked.

“With her? Not only I don’t have her phone number, but I don’t even know her name. With these names so different ...” Josele could not stop laughing.

We laughed hard again. Josele was an incurable Casanova. Damaso did not dismiss a good chance if it crossed his path, but what attracted him more was the party, any sports on which he could bet, tanning and golf.

I went to bed early because next day was Monday and I had to work, but I could not sleep the entire night. I tossed and turned in bed looking at the phone to see if she wrote a message and wondering if I should write one. I decided not to do it because I did not want to overwhelm her, but I did not lack the desire.

When the time came to wake up, I had barely slept a couple of hours in short periods of time. Every time I woke up, I looked at the phone for a message from her. I tried to convince myself that it was not so bad, but it didn’t work. We went to the office and had breakfast in the cafeteria with Diego, Tere, Jérôme and a very shy girl named Aileen Beijing Meng. Knowing that Diego and Tere were together I could not look at them as before. Now everything seemed to me gestures of complicity between them. I could not help smiling when I saw them together. Envy, perhaps.

Jerome and Diego told a story that seemed very funny from the way they all laughed, about the look on the face when an American tourist was fined a thousand dollars for chewing gum. Gum was prohibited in Singapore. He tried to argue with the police about the meaning of discrimination bringing up individual liberties and lots more typical movie ideas than the reality of Singapore. I struggled to smile when I noticed that the others were doing it, but I was too distracted. I thought it was a good time to talk to Sumalee. I distanced myself a bit from the rest and I wrote her a message to which she responded almost immediately.

“Good morning.”

“Hey!”

“Can I call you?”

“Yes, of course.”

I got out from the cafeteria and called her while walking through the halls.

“How are you?”

“Fine. And you?”

“Very tired, I couldn’t sleep much.”

“How come?”

“I was thinking about yesterday.”

“It was good, right?”

“Yes, I had a blast, but you left me a little puzzled.”

“How come?”

All right, here it goes. The moment of truth. My motto in these cases was, sincerity takes you where you should be or where you'll end up being, so the sooner the better. With all the consequences.

“I don’t know, I loved kissing you, I really wanted it, but then I got the impression that something stopped you. Maybe I rushed and I shouldn’t have done it so soon. We only know each other for two days ...

“No, no, no. I loved it.”

“Then why the face later?”

“Nothing ... I was tired and it was getting late and we had to get out of the park while there was still light. That's all.”

“Are you sure? Sumalee, I don’t want to pressure you. We can go at the pace you want, but I need you to be honest. I hate lies, for better or for worse.”

For a moment she didn’t say anything. The wait drove me crazy.

“Sumalee?”

"Yes, yes. Honestly, it was nothing. I loved the kiss.” It was a very fun day with a very special ending.”

“I really liked it too. I mean everything. Not only the kiss. The market, the delicious meal at your friend’s, Kai-Mook, restaurant and the bike ride through the park ... and of course the kiss. That was the best part. Would you like to meet again?”

“Of course!” She said with the jovial voice that I liked so much to hear, “but I can’t until Wednesday. I have a lot of work.”

“Until Wednesday! Alright, alright. I'll try to hold out until then. If you want, I invite you to dinner.”

“I think it’s a very good idea. Where?”

“Well, I'll let you know tomorrow or Wednesday morning. I have to find a nice place to live up to your friend’s restaurant.”

“Sounds good, we’ll talk. I have to go because there are customers entering the agency. Kisses.”

“And one for you.”

I heard the sound of the kiss through the phone. Although it was virtual it tasted like glory. I was not sure what to make of the conversation because at first, she seemed reserved and cautious, but then she turned into the giggly Sumalee. In the end, one believes what they want to believe. I put the phone in the pocket and walked toward my desk with a smile from ear to ear thinking that the time passes as quickly as possible to see her on Wednesday. When I told my roommates how the conversation went, immediately they congratulated me that nothing was wrong and Josele took it upon himself to find a different kind of restaurant where I can take her.

The day flew by. I felt as if I was floating on a cloud. Every time I closed my eyes, I relived the kiss, the soft touch of her lips between mine. Just thinking about it I gave me goose bumps.

Jerome, Damaso and other co-workers were going to grab a drink after work. As there was not much else to do, I went with them. We went to a pub that looked just like any pub on the street corner of London, with the difference that half the clientele was Asian. And that the alcohol was very expensive. Many people drank in the streets, which was legal and happened mostly on one of the bridges connecting the Clark Quay area, area of choice for tourists, or going to a street vendor to buy Tiger beer. Afterwards they went to the nightclubs once they had enough alcohol in the system, like I used to do in Madrid when I was young. In our case, since the apartment was paid for, money was not a problem.

We played some pool and darts, which kept me entertained until I went home. There I picked at some food from the fridge and soon went to bed. With no sleep the night before and such party, the body was collapsing. Just before getting into bed I wrote to Sumalee to wish her good night. She sent me a drawing of an oriental girl blowing a kiss that caused me euphoria and warmth on the inside and I sent her one as well. I slept like a baby.

Next day I woke up full of energy. We left for work, but I got off a couple of stops before. I felt like moving a little. I needed it. Besides, this way I could see a little more of the city. The street was full of Westerners going to work. That was not surprising considering that 40% of Singapore's population was made up of expatriates.

I spent the day working nonstop and dragging along poor Jerome with my energy, who had not gone to bed as early as me and had a hangover. When I finished work, I was still hyperactive, but I couldn’t convince anyone to do something interesting except Damaso to play tennis, so we went home, and we ran over an hour around the court. Damaso beat me, but I did not care. All I needed was a little relief. However, he reminded me about his victory several days, regretting that he did not bet before we started.

An American colleague, Sam, told me about a place that seemed great for my date with Sumalee the next day. With the issue of the place solved and since I had nothing else to do, I called my mother, told her how the last few days had been, but said nothing about Sumalee so that she didn’t begin with a fantasy movie wedding and many grandchildren, and spent the rest of the afternoon and night playing poker, Texas hold'em, in the living room, the three of us with Shen, a very nice Singaporean neighbour, of Chinese origin. I was able to do better than in the tennis match and, while at it, won enough to pay part of the next day´s dinner. Damaso did not take it very well, he was quite competitive. He kept saying that for weeks now he’s been going through a rough patch, although we did not know what he was talking about since it was our first game. Yes, he paid what he owed.

I felt like hearing Sumalee before going to bed, so I called her.

“Good evening, Sumalee.”

“Hello Davichu!”

“How do you know about Davichu?” That does not come in books.

“What do you think, I can’t investigate?” She said putting a face as if she had never broken a plate. “I have told my Portuguese co-worker about you and she speaks Spanish and has lived many years in Spain.”

“Oh, yeah, and what else has she told you?”

“Things about Spaniards. And I will tell you when we meet. She has also taught me how to say hello in Spanish: Houla.”

“Almost, almost,” I said smiling. “Tell her to correct your pronunciation and let’s see if tomorrow you can say it well.”

“Do you know where you are taking me?”

“Yes, I don’t know if you've been there, but I found a very original place that reminds me of my country.”

“Where?”

“It's a surprise, or at least I hope so. Tomorrow you’ll know.”

“Don't leave me this way! Give me a clue at least ...”

“Okay. You'll have to earn your food.”

“What?”

“That's the clue beautiful. If I make it too easy the surprise is ruined.”

“Alright, alright. Where do we meet?”

“How about at 7:30 p.m. at the Seng Kang subway stop?”

“So far north? The curiosity is killing me, but I will endure until tomorrow. Sounds good! I'll come right after work.”

“Me too. See you tomorrow then. A big kiss.”

“Kisses David.”

Sweet dreams Sumalee, I thought as I hung off the phone. Sweet dreams.