Thank god for different cultures

Yesterday morning I was listening, over the internet, to a Cape Town based radio station, KFM, and heard “Bodyrockers – I like the way”. Just what I needed as a pick-me up.

I downloaded the song and listened to it over and over again and it really lifted my spirits, like I had forgotten music can do. So the worries with Lara, although not out of my mind, were filed securely towards the back.

I was feeling so confident that I took the pants, which I bought a week or so ago, but was too long to wear, to the tailor I had discovered in Wuyan. I hadn’t had the guts to do this before, as it would require a level of Chinese which I do not poses.

Taking the trusty No.5 Bus I settled down and saw on the clock it was 13:20 and knew it would be time for Lara to take her break. I had barely finished this thought when my phone rang. It was someone phoning from The Restaurant’s phone and could really only be one person. I played it cool.

“Hi”, I said, chirpy as if nothing was wrong and I was unsure of who it was. “Hi”, she said, voice crackling as she has a bit of cold. I said “Oh, hi, how are you”, cool as Mr. Cucumber. She said “fine, and you? Where are you”. “On my way to Wuyan, on the bus”, I replied, offering no more than that. A brief pregnant pause followed. “Oh” she said. I offered nothing else. “You want come here?”, she asked after another few grating seconds. “Why?” I replied, not in the mood to make things easy.

“I want to see you.” And if my heart was a cookie, there would be crumbs all over the bus. Few things in life feel as good as knowing that someone wants you, even if it is only to see you. So I dropped the act and said sure, I’m on the bus already, I could be there in 10 minutes.

15 Minutes later I walked into the restaurant and it was great to see her. That smile of hers instantly disarming me.

I did frown a bit and asked her what the previous night was about. So she pointed out that my phone had no money, because she did try to phone me when she realised I had turned around, and then she did run outside to see where I was. By then my long legs and anger-fueled pace had already carried me across the busy road and out of sight.

So I felt better. I would like to say we embraced, kissed and made up, alas, we barely touch and thus the preceding is hardly likely. In light of what happened this year, I see this as an excellent test of my substance.

A question of ‘why are you with this woman’. Just of one thing? Am I really the dirty bastard that this year perhaps it might have looked like I am? Or am I the decent gentleman my mother raised who strayed a little bit off the path?

Anyway, it was good to spend a few hours with her. We had some lunch and afterwards we returned to The Restaurant and I taught her some more basic English. She likes to speak English, but her vocab is limited. She was quite sick and also a bit tired, so I watched her sleep on one of the couches in The Restaurant for 15 minutes, which was great. People, when they sleep, are most peaceful and often most beautiful.

I went to a pharmacy, alone, and managed to mime my way through getting her the correct medicine, which hopefully will help.

Afterwards I journeyed to the tailor in Wuyan, where communication was unnecessary, as when I walked up to the shop, bag in hand, they guessed what I wanted. The tailor swiftly measured my leg, flung the pants over the manually operated sewing machine, undid the previous seam with a few strokes of a blade and proceeded to stitch up the new measurements.

I haven’t tried it on yet, but I’m fairly confident it will be ok. Like the rest of me.