Part IV
September was a great time to be in Brisbane. The winds of Spring
gently coerced the chills of winter away, making way for a gentle
sun that seemed to smile upon our love. She was effervescent. Was
she never?
"Dear," I said, as we walked towards the cab stand. "You excited
about meeting my parents?"
"Not really, I just wanna get that part out of the way so we can
enjoy the rest of the holiday."
I was taken aback. "I thought you were dying to meet them? You
should've told me!"
She stared giggling. "You goondoo! I'm joking! Geez, trust you to
take that seriously."
Ooooh, she got me that time. My face held the expression of an
incredulous loser. I pulled the cabin luggage I was dragging to an
upright position before getting in behind her and lifting her up by
the waist. She was wearing one of those thin summer dresses with
speghetti straps that was most probably lifted up accidentally from
the boisterous attack.
"BUNNY! Put me down, you just lifted my skirt! We're in public, you
know!"
"Doesn't matter, this is Australia, no one knows you here anyway!"
I grinned and put her down. she turned around and gave me a punch
in the chest. "That's what you get for bluffing me." I reasoned.
She wasn't angry with me, and smiled to show it. I had my arms
around her waist, and continued, "Oh and I put you down only
because I didn't want to share with everyone what only I could ever
have access to." My sly grin exuded enough charm to warm a cup of
coffee on a cold winter's day.
"Yeah right, you're still a goondoo though!" Her attempt to hide
her blushes were futile.
The ride to my parents place seemed short, only because I couldn't
stop telling her about the landmarks as we passed them by in the
cab. I felt invigorated, like my life has come one circle, only in
this circle I found what I never knew was missing in my life:
happiness. All the memories came flooding back when I saw familiar
sights, except I couldn't remember the heartaches. She was leaning
against me in the cab, the air-conditioning possibly a little cold
for her, so I put her cardigan around her, only to find her
sleeping sweetly, terribly tired from the flight. I stroked her
hair gently, while she murmured something incoherently. Almost
everything she does is so angelic. I am indeed a lucky man. I
sighed contentedly and succumbed to slumber.
I woke to the voice of our cab driver. "Hey mate, which street in
Middle Park?" Arr, the familiar, authentic aussie accent invoked
lukewarm nostalgia within me. I never did think that it was
particularly charming.
"Cara Close, you know it?"
"Yeah mate, like the back of my hand. My folks live in Westlake,
just down further."
"Fair dinkum!" I sucked at sounding aussie, but what other place do
I get to use that phrase? "Might wanna pay them a visit after
dropping us off then, hey?"
"Yeah, good one mate, just in time for the scones, I reckon!" His
smile shone through the rear-view mirror.
"Rightio, we're here!" said he, as I pointed to a house with cream
bricks and a red roof. The paved driveway was long and in yet a
deeper red, maroon. A double garage stood at the end of the
driveway, while the rest of the house angled out, giving way to a
well-kept garden with a numerous palm trees. Rose bushes crowded
against the brick wall, but were devoid of flowers since winter had
just passed. The lush green grass was basking in the gorgeous sun,
while our dog, Pepper, was resting in the cool of the shade
provided graciously by the trees. I woke Chloe up, paid the man and
proceeded to unload our luggage from the boot.
"Ta, mate," the cabbie almost yelled as he sped off. Even the sound
of a Falcon sounded astoundingly familiar!
"Wow, you used to live here?" She rubbed her eyes, as if not
believing them, but really from the sweet slumber she had just
risen from. "It's so beautiful! I'm not going back to Singapore, I
don't care what you say!"
"Well, who says you could live here permanently with me? Unless you
wanna marry my brother. But he's already married. Then how?" I
teased. "My mum won't let me live with a girl unless I marry her."
That was, of course, plain bullsh[/i]it, since my mum knew she was
living with me, and highly encouraged it because "at least there's
someone to take care of your lazy bum", in her exact words.
I had hardly finished my sentence when my mum opened the front
door. "Boy ar!! You're finally here! Alamak, we've been waiting so
long for you to come and visit. You ar, must wait until Chloe
suggest then will come right?" My eyes rolled, either due to her
Singlish that she never managed to get rid off despite being here
15 years, or her reverence for Chloe, someone whom she'd never met,
possibly both.
She looked at Chloe and smiled. "You must be Chloe. Wah so pretty.
Boy ar, much better than your other one, wat's her name ar? Andree,
or something..."
"Mum! Aiyoh can don't mention anot? So long ago already, and the
name's Andrea, by the way." My annoyance at my mum's tactlessness
was also fueled by the fact that I had to stoop to speaking
contrived singlish to bring myself to her level. Thank God I had
told Chloe about Andrea, I thought to myself.
Chloe beamed. "Hello aunty!" She exclaimed. This is where she shone
best. The first impression she gives anyone is second to none. I
had no qualms about my mum accepting her, but I slightly feared for
the contrary. "Thanks for letting us put up here on our
holiday!"
"Aiyoh, so hak hei for wat, almost family lar. Come come, let's go
inside. Daddy's doing his stock market dunno what thing on the net
as usual." My eyes couldn't roll anymore, for goodness' sakes!
Although I had to admit, I was smiling inwardly. I did miss my
parents terribly.
I needed no directions once I got into the house. Everything was
pretty much the same, and I didn't really bother to look around
much, as I ushered Chloe up the stairs, through a long landing, and
into my room, which was brilliantly clean. The queen-sized bed
looked small compared to the rest of the room, like I almost forgot
that this used to be where my wonder years were spent. Well, at
least now, I thought to myself, this bed would come to good use.
I'd always slept on this bed alone.
"Sorry about before dear, my mum's like that."
"Your mum's cute! I think I'm really going to like her."
I laughed. "You better not eat your words!"