Joss and Gold

Three

Three Lee months afte, the wedding, Ellen called and suggested they meet for lunch to discuss how they could help Gina and Paroo. Gina was still teaching history at the Chun Hsien High School and came up to Kuala Lumpur only during school holidays. Then she met Paroo, who would come down from Ipoh. Gina and Paroo had become a despairing couple. Over rounds of Tiger Beer at various pubs, they complained endlessly of their families' disapproval, usually to Ellen, who lent them her flat and went to live with her parents whenever Gina came into town. They were an unlikely romantic pair. Li An couldn't imagine what they talked about when they were alone together, except their despair. They were like a pair of lapsed believers, hating their Chinese and Punjabi communities, and clinging to each other to make up for everything they'd lost. The Bistro was dark and frosty with air-conditionfng. Li An couldn't see anyone's face at the tables, and everyone whispered like spies. The smell offatty lamb chops and stale mustard circulated in the blowing air, providing a foreign excitement indoors, away from the afternoon's humidity and glare. "Hss, hss, I'm here," Ellen whispered, as Li An walked between the tables and banquettes, peering at the diners while trying to avoid appearing nosy. She was already drinking a beer, CROSSING and the waitress was waiting at the table before Li An could slide into her seat. "Two San Miguels," Ellen ordered. "You want lamb chops or spring chicken?" "They've got fried mee?" "No fried mee," the waitress interrupted. "Only Western food here." "Two lamb chops." Ellen didn't wait for Li An to choose. "Bring mustard." "You shouldn't have ordered the beer for me. I'm riding the Honda today, and one beer goes right to my head." "Don't worry, man. You don't have to finish it." Li An knew Ellen meant she would drink her own second beer and then finish Li An's also. After graduating with a Second Lower in economics, Ellen had worked for the Federal Bank, hated the bureaucracy, joined the Overseas Chinese Bank, hated the managers-all swollen-headed men, she said-quit, was looking for another job, only not teaching, and thinking of applying to do a master's at an American university. Her father paid her bills and gave her an allowance while she was making up her mind about her future. Each time Li An met Ellen, they drank beer. Ellen would have three in a row. The beers loosened her tongue, and she talked for hours in a drawling half-American accent. "What are we going to do about Gina and Parao?" "Do? What can we do?" Li An sipped the San Miguel cautiously . The waitress had left a large head of suds in the glass. "They should either marry or separate." "Looks like they want to get married. I can't understand why they don't just run away and do it. After all, they don't need anyone's permission." "You know Gina is scared of her father." "So what? Who isn't scared of her father? But this is the twentieth century. We are all Malaysians. What is this nonsense about cannot marry Indian, cannot marry Chinese? Even Malays and Chinese are marrying each other now." The lamb chops arrived, slippery and tough. Li An struggled with her dull knife and sawed at the gray undercooked meat. Thin blood oozed under the blade. 23 JOSS and GOLD "You've never understood Gina!" Ellen swallowed the last bit in her glass and reached for the second. "Gina's putting on an act. Actually she's insecure underneath. That's why she gets along so well with Paroo. They're both fakes and cowards . People think Paroo is tough because he's six feet tall and a Punjabi. You know, like the Punjabi guards at the Overseas Chinese Bank? But he's a softie inside. Gina tells me he cries more than she does." Li An reached with her napkin and wiped the foam mustache off Ellen's upper lip. "Thanks. Well, if we don't take charge of their lives, they are really going to be ruined." "I don't see how they are being ruined. Besides, no one can take charge of anyone else's life." "Li An, you are...