The Scene

Varsha looked at the young Chinese girl out of the corner of her eye. The girl was probably a teenager. Pretty and fashionably dressed, she sat at the dinner table of the restaurant, daintily picking her food with her chopsticks. Occasionally she would glance fondly at the man, who sat at the table with her. They would exchange smiles. The man kept talking as he ate.

“Venu, did you see that?” Varsha whispered to Venu. “What ?”

“Shhh. Don’t look now. The couple at the next table. He is old enough to be her grandfather, and look at them. Whispering sweet nothings to each other. Like newlyweds.”

Venu glanced in their direction casually. “My God, she could be underaged.”

“Dirty old man. She must be a gold-digger. Probably a china-doll. I have a good mind to find out who he is and tell his wife.” Varsha meant it.

“Come on la. It’s their business. Why should we worry. Want some dessert?” Venu tried to change the subject. Varsha did not answer. She was watching the man. He was saying something to the girl, his arm on her shoulder. She was giggling.

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Yati sidled up to the chef, standing by the coffee section. “Din. Tengok kat situ. Rang tua itu dengan gadis China.”

Din glanced over. He just smiled and grunted. They watched the couple for a while. Yati sighed and walked away as she saw a customer enter.

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Mr Chen was in a good mood. He had just clinched a deal for the shipment of herbs to Saudi. And the whole deal had been above board. The way he liked it. Mr Chen believed in honest dealing. But all too often he had to bend the rules. He resented it when he had to do that. It was bad money, as his father would say. He sighed. And he was happy for another more important reason. Liz was here with him. He looked at her. She was radiant, and her eyes shone. She was such an intelligent girl. Mr Chen was so proud of Liz. He knew she would be somebody someday. And she would earn a lot of money. Good money.

As Liz looked up at him, Mr Chen was overcome with his affection for her. “Gramps, why don’t you take a break. Come stay with us for a week. It’s so refreshing in Hobart. And mum and dad will love to have you. Why do you continue to work and work and work? “

Mr Chen squeezed her shoulders. Liz looked just like her mom, Mr Chen’s only daughter. He nodded. “Maybe she is right”, he thought to himself. “I should take a break”

“Let’s go get some dessert”.

Liz giggled and shook her head. “Gramps, you are incorrigible”