Come and Go (c) 2012 - Lee Harlem Robinson
CHAPTER ONE
Saturday, 1 October 2011
The deepest end of Hollywood Road at six o’clock on a Saturday night is my favourite spot in Hong Kong. The light falls softly on the hot streets, traffic slows down, but cabs are always easy to find. The day is about to die and the night holds infinite promise. Anything can still happen, hope is still intact. As usual, I’m meeting Oliver, Ryan and Toby for dinner, followed by drinks and then—depending on the boys’ mood—a visit to Propaganda if they want to dance, or finishing the night with fancy cocktails at one of the back alley private bars. I don’t hail a cab immediately because once I’m on the road, the night begins and there’s no looking back. I stand at the corner of Hollywood and Queen’s Road West a couple of minutes longer and let the Hong Kong dust settle on my skin. It may as well be part of me now. I’ve been here long enough.
When I arrive at the IFC roof-top for pre-dinner drinks, Oliver and Ryan are already sipping beers. They hug me like I haven’t seen them in weeks.
“What a pretty necklace,” Ryan says.
“Add a little bling to the lesbian and she’s instantly transformed. It’s one of the endless perks of being this way inclined. Asahis all around, boys?”
They nod and I head to the bar. Night falls around us and a breeze cools off the terrace. The dark glass-top tables reflect the surrounding skyscrapers. As I wait in line to order, a drunken Australian guy harasses the bar staff and complains that there’s no table service. Drunken expats always rub me up the wrong way, probably because I see myself in them.
“Lee, is that you?”
Before I have a chance to turn around I feel a hand on my right shoulder. My heart thunders in my chest. Finally. “Yes, Stella, obviously. Otherwise this situation would be pretty awkward for you.”
Stella releases her hand and I face her. “It’s been so long. How have you been?”
It has been exactly twenty-nine days. “I’m fine, Stella.” This is the standard answer—I can hardly tell her I still dream of her glossy lips every night. And surely I can’t tell her I’ve been coming to this bar every Saturday for the last month hoping to run into her. This is the place where we met.
“You look good, Lee. You really do. Are you here with your ‘lesbros’?” She bends her fingers into live quotation marks as she says the last word, as if I couldn’t be here with another woman. As if she knows.
“I am. Would you like to join us for a drink?”
“Oh no, I can’t. I’m with CJ. But thanks for asking.” She turns her face to a low table a couple of feet away. I don’t follow her gaze. CJ is the last person I want to see. “But why don’t you and your gang”—the way she says it makes me see the quotation marks again—“come over to Veto later? It’s Daniel’s birthday party. He must have invited you.”
“We have other plans tonight.”
“Fair enough. It was good to see you again.” Stella kisses me lightly on the cheek and walks away. Just like a month ago. It still hurts.
“Was that Stella?” Toby asks as he hugs me. I roll my eyes. Maybe we can crash Daniel’s party later. “Should I say hello?”
“No, ignore her presence. She’s with CJ.”
Toby squeezes my arm. He understands.
I drink my beer and glance over at Stella and CJ’s table. Did she mean it when she said I looked good?
YOU ARE READING
Trying to Throw my Arms Around the World
RomanceAs Lee Harlem Robinson struggles to come to grips with the insanely fast-paced city of Hong Kong, where she was sent by her employers, she starts to wonder where it all went wrong. The reader is taken on a journey back in time from Lee's early years...
