"Han, I home!" Life was good. It was 7pm and home I was. In all
my life, I have never felt being treated like royalty. I lived in a
very beautiful 2 storey home with a pool and the place was kept
beautifully spick and span by my lovely housemaid, Han.
She was a young lady, on a waiting list at a local marriage agency
for a potential suitor to arrange to meet her. One of these days, I
thought, she is going to leave me and get married. I think I might
be a little heartbroken then. My thoughts flew back to about a week
back, when I was at the agency, scrutinizing the photo album,
looking out for someone who will not mind being my housemaid while
I was stationed here, in Ha Noi.
"Sir, sit please."
We go through the same ritual everytime I come back home. She would
drop whatever she was occupied with and immediately attend to
me.
First would be taking off my shoes and placing it neatly beside the
other shoes I have at the shoe rack.
Second, she will lay food at the dining table for my meal. And
while I was having my meal, she would be preparing the bath as well
as to get ready my after-bath clothings.
Lastly, due to a daily ritual, she would have turned on my computer
and prepare a notepad with a sharpened pencil just in case I need
to take notes. Of course, a glass of warm tea would be there
too.
Life is good, very good.
"Han, sir don't want you to wear Ao Dai anymore in house,
ok?"
The Ao Dai is the traditional dress worn by women in Vietnam. I was
just told by my colleague today that it is worn on formal occasions
only. It's a long gown with slits on both sides and I have caught
myself on many occasions trying to look beyond the slit just trying
to see if I could.
"Sir, my parents say I work here. So only wear Ao Dai is good for
work." She replied before she turned to the kitchen to bring out
dinner.
I stared at her as she brought the dishes out one by one. It's the
same everyday. 4 or 5 main dishes with rice or noodles. She's not a
bad cook, I must say. Some lucky chap is going to have a good life
with her.
"Do you wear Ao Dai at your parent's home, Han?" I asked her as she
moved in and out of the kitchen.
As she placed the last dish on the table, she said, "At home I wear
Tshirts and bermudas, very hot in home. Sir house is cold of the
air-con."
"Hmm, sir turn off air con, Han take off Ao Dai?"
She must have interpreted it in the wrong way. She smiled in a very
shy manner and quickly mumbled a "No" before she turned and went
back to the kitchen to get a beverage for me.
I thought I have already kept my english simple and easy to
understand. But I realised that she must have thought I wanted to
see her naked.
There was an uneasy quiet after that. I ate dinner while she stood
a ways behind me awaiting any instruction. Normally, we would chat
a bit and she would ask me about people and life in other countries
and how is it different from Ha Noi.
"Han, sir is sorry. Sir no more talk about Ao Dai ok?" I turned
apologized to her. I would not want her going back to her parents
and telling them I made a pass at her. Although she is an adult but
the culture here is one of purity and decency.
"No no sir. Please no sorry. Sir want Han take off Ao Dai, Han will
follow." She looked down meekly as she said these words. Man, I
felt like I was hurting her feelings. She can be so sweet at times
that my heart will melt. Is this why Singaporean men love Viet
women?
We left the conversation at that. I felt really bad about what I
said and went up to take a bath. While I was soaking my tired body
in the bathtub, my mind went back to what transpired earlier. I
never thought of having any other relationship with her and I
thought about how I could rephase my words next time to prevent an
encounter like that again.
I turned the tap and adjusted for more hot water. I love being in a
bathtub. Alone and quiet, I can smoke and make use of the time to
think.
This time, when I got out of the tub and towelled dry, I
accidentally dropped my boxers and bermudas into the tub and wet
them. I called for her and asked her to get me new "sleeping
clothes". Wearing only a T-shirt, I started shaving at the mirror.
It was another mistake. I left the door unlocked and in she came
carrying a complete set of tshirt, boxers and pants and saw me half
naked from the waist below.
We stood there looking at each other for what seemed like an
eternity. She was transfixed at my brother and looked extremely
shocked. Whilst I, usually used to the fact that someone would
knock before coming in, never expected something like that to
happen.
I composed myself and quickly took the clothes from her and turned
her around and pushed her out of the bathroom. My heart was
pounding so hard I could hear it in my ears. I dressed as fast as I
could and went down to look for her. Although she has only been
with me for about a week, I don't want to make her think that she's
living with a pervert.
She was in the kitchen. When she saw me coming down the steps, she
looked away and started to wash the dishes. She had long, straight,
jet black hair tied up in a very high ponytail. Her traditional Ao
Dai, blue today was worn tightly and you could see her small waist
and lithe figure. A figure many men would die to hug. As she
worked, the slits on her dress opened and closed and you could see
the white pants that are worn inside as part of the traditional
dress.
"Han, sit please. Sir want to talk to you". I wanted to iron out
any misunderstandings that we have. I would very much like to have
the old Han back again. Always smiling, always cheerful and always
asking me questions that half the time, I don't have an
answer.
She sat down quietly. What happened earlier must have been had a
crazy effect on her.
"Han, sir very sorry just now. Will not happen again. Please no sad
ok?"
She nodded to show that she understood and I turned and started to
leave her to her own work.
"Sir?"
"Yes?"
"Sir, please no sorry. Han working here. What sir wants, Han will
give." I guess she must be thinking that I want her to have sex
with me. And the problem is how do I convince her that it is not
what I intended.
"Han, do you know what is f uck?" I know now how difficult it is
for a parent to sex educate their child. It is the exact same
feeling that is plaguing me right now. As soon as the words, came
out of my mouth and seeing the reaction on her face, I knew I
screwed up big time once more.
- End of Part 1 -
