Life as a Venn Diagram

Roo gave a sharp hiss and said another short severe sentence in Chinese. Mandy gave her a quick shake of her head and an odd-looking hand gesture that looked familiar. What was so important they didn't want me to understand?

"I'm fine, it's not something I did; the client's admitted he's at fault, but he demanded I be the one to sort it out. So, Alan called, insisting I be on the next flight back."

Now she gave me a nervous look. "Alex wasn't happy about the situation. He told me I had a choice. If I decided to go, then he was still going on the vacation we'd booked. He gave me a simple choice, vacation, or work, and if I choose work, then not to bother to come back."

"Not come back — But, but you're both here?" Roo pointed out, giving me a confused look.

"I turned the tables and gave Alan three choices." She ticked them off on her fingers.

"I threatened to resign, so I could go with Alex on vacation. Or I don't resign, and he still lets me take my vacation."

Roo interrupted, "But he'd never let you resign. He..." she stopped abruptly, as Mandy grabbed her arm.

"I wouldn't have given him a chance," Mandy said. "Anyway, as I was saying, I don't resign, and he still lets me take my vacation. Or, he lets me bring Alex with me at the bank's expense; and pay for our canceled vacation. Even so, they would only get a week of half days from me—and we get to use the bank's villa in Bali for the rest of our holiday."

"I take it he decided on the last option!"

"He wasn't happy, but he did, and he agreed to reimburse Alex for the vacation we are missing." Then with more than a hint of satisfaction, she added, "I made him fly us first class and put us up in the best suite at the Mandarin."

"But it's not the beach cottage I booked," I mused.

Mandy's face fell, she took my hand in both of hers and whispered, "I'm sorry, I know I spoiled the vacation you spent so much time organizing; I wish we were on that beach. A lot is going to change after this trip; this will never happen again."

I believed her; the question at the back of my mind was, of course, was I included in these changes?

Mandy seemed to shake herself and gave a rueful smile. "Enough of that, so, girlfriends, I'm here with my handsome fiancé, and we need to celebrate."

"You got engaged and didn't tell us; show us the ring, you bitch," Sian cried out.

Roo's response was different, "But how is it possible, you..." she shut her mouth as Sian poked her.

Mandy ignored what was going on and held out her hand, flashing the ring on her finger at her friends.

"Where are your..." Roo started but was interrupted by Sian.

"That's the ring you used to wear on a chain around your neck?" Sian asked. "I thought it was your mother's?"

"It's the same ring, but it wasn't my mother's; it belonged to Alex's grandmother," she said, giving me an embarrassed look.

"I told you that I was living at Alex's when I was back in the UK. What I didn't tell you was that Alex asked me to marry him six years ago, and gave me this ring to wear. You can guess why I wasn't able to say yes immediately. He knows I love him and was willing to wait."

She looked happily down at her finger. "He let me keep the ring until I made up my mind, but it didn't feel right to wear it, so I got a chain to put it on. Now, with everything that's been happening, I realized I was stupid, and I told him yes."

"Six years ago!" Roo exclaimed. "You've been carrying his ring around for six years, and you didn't tell me?" Roo was indignant at first and then concerned. "Does my uncle know about this?"

"No, well, yes, he knows I have a boyfriend I see when I'm in London, but that's all."

"And what about Alan?" asked Sian.

"He knows how I feel about Alex; he was the first person I told that I'd found the man I wanted to grow old with. He understood, and that's when I moved out of his place and into my apartment."

Both women shook their heads and gave her worried looks. I listened to this interplay between the girls and wondered why Roo was so concerned about her uncle knowing about my relationship with Mandy. And why the concern about Alan? As far as I was aware, their relationship had been all but over before I met Mandy. Questions for later, I decided.

That seemed to end the interrogation, and the girls settled down to a combination of drinking and character assassination on people I didn't know. They kept slipping into Chinese, but Mandy would remind them I didn't understand, and they'd revert to English.

I was the token male sitting with three of the most beautiful women in the place, and getting envious glances from most of the men and a fair number of the women. The girls ordered a selection of dim sum for us. When I tasted my first one, I could understand why this was one of Mandy's favorite places. She watched me as I took my first mouthful and smiled at my grin of appreciation.

The long flight and the events of the day had taken its toll on me, and after an hour or so, I was beginning to hope it was time to wrap up and go back to the hotel. Mandy had other ideas. She and her friends insisted that we needed to go on to a nearby club. I was a little irritated at the way she rode roughshod over my wishes, but as she seemed desperate to continue showing me off to her friends, I reluctantly agreed, but I was starting to feel like I was being played.

The club they'd chosen was a brief walk away. It looked trendy; the line of people waiting to enter stretched around the corner. Inwardly, I was pleased and looked around for a taxi to take us back to the hotel, when the women casually bypassed the head of the line, and the doorman greeted them by name. They were waved through, Mandy and Sian hooked their arms through mine, confirming to the doorman I was with their group. I received a long hard look from the bouncers and a wry smile from the doorman.

Roo spoke to one of the hostesses, and we were shown to an empty booth in a roped-off VIP area. The hostess took a reserved sign and placed it on the table. We slid into the booth with me on the outside.

As we were sitting down, Mandy gave me a hug and a kiss. "It's so great that I finally get to show you my favorite places," she said. Then reaching out to take the hands of the other women, added. "And my best friends."

The girls murmured a happy response, then the three of them huddled and spent a few minutes talking in low voices. Now and again, Sian and Roo threw glances in my direction. I caught the hostess's eye and ordered a round of drinks. The service was excellent, and within a minute, I was sipping from an ice-cold and presumably overpriced beer.

As I drank, I looked around and confirmed my first impression that the club was a lot more exclusive than the local one Mandy and I usually frequented. Nor would we have ever got the degree of service the girls seemed to expect. That they were regular guests here was evident from the deferential treatment they received, and that concerned me. I tried to recall if Mandy had ever mentioned going out clubbing while in Hong Kong, but I didn't think she had. I know she'd told me she had gone out for the occasional drink with her girlfriends, but this seemed a lot more.

As I thought about it, my concern grew. Ever since we'd started this trip, Mandy had been reviling one secret after another about her past. I wondered what else there was to learn about her over the coming days?

Mandy eased back in the seat, leaning against me, and sipped at her drink. I had to bend my head down so she could hear me. "They seem to know you here, is this another regular haunt of yours?"

"It's owned by one of my clients, and he gave the three of us a VIP membership. I don't use it very often, but I know that Sian and Roo come here regularly." She seemed to understand the reason behind my question and added, "I only come here with them, maybe once each trip, and sometimes the bank will use it for special events, those are the only other times I come here. "

With exotic drinks in front of them, Sian and Roo relaxed and let the atmosphere of the club enfold them. Mandy was a bit more reserved and stuck close to me; I struggled to relax. It took me a while to realize why I felt the way I did, and it wasn't just how tired I was. Mandy and I enjoyed going to clubs, and I was used to the attention she would receive. It was the same here, only different. Usually, if someone asked Mandy to dance, then they were friends but would still ask if I minded.

Here a constant stream of people, principally, handsome young men, approached our group, offering the girls a drink, wanting to talk, or dance. The majority approached Mandy, yet here I was concluded invisible, as not one of them could be bothered to acknowledge my presence, even though she was holding my hand most of the time.

Mandy declined each request, glancing in my direction each time, but I guessed she could sense my growing discomfort. She wove as close to me as was possible, and she tried to keep one hand on me at all times.

Several things were upsetting me, and it wasn't just the dismissive attitude of the other clubbers. Mandy had acknowledged that this was her favorite club in Hong Kong, and it seemed that she was one of its favorite children. The club's staff had greeted her by name when we arrived. As had many of the men inviting her to dance. I had the impression that if she'd been here on her own, she wouldn't be so quick to reject their advances. Did she usually say yes?

Sian and Roo were on the dance floor when things came to a head. Yet another man approached the table, this one about our age. He was smartly dressed and carried a couple of champagne glasses. She gave him a brief smile; he then sat down on her other side without asking if it was okay. He gave Mandy a big smile, placed the glasses on the table, and began addressing her in Chinese. They seemed to know each other, as he used her name. Mandy started to say something, then saw the expression on my face.

At once, she moved closer to me and, swiveling in his direction, said in English, "Zhang, I'm sorry, I'm here with my fiancé, and I'm busy, as you see."

He ignored what she'd said, sliding closer. He picked up one of the glasses and gestured at the other with his free hand, obviously expecting her to take it up. He continued to talk to her in Chinese. He seemed relaxed in her company easing back in his seat and reaching out to take her hand. She moved her hand away and snapped back a sharp response in the same language. Then in English, obviously for my benefit, said, "I said no, and I mean no, so piss off."

He flushed, then snapped back at her in Chinese, gesturing at me. Then he stood and left, but not before giving me a stern look and saying in accentless English. "Watch out, she's a cock teasing, unfaithful bitch."

So much for the inscrutable Chinese! But why call her unfaithful, had they had a relationship?

She tilted my head to ensure I could see her face. "Alex, I'm sorry about that. I made a mistake asking Zhang to go with me to a couple of business events because Alan wasn't around. I thought he would be a safe option as we were friends at school. Unfortunately, he took it the wrong way and saw more than was intended. It's why I only tend to go out as part of a group, mostly with Sian and Roo."

"Mostly, so who else do you go out with?"

She hesitated for a couple of seconds, then said. "Sometimes I'll join a group from the office for a meal and drinks, and as I said, occasionally with Alan to a social or business event, if either of us needed a plus one."

Ahh, Alan, there had to be more to their relationship than Mandy was willing to admit. I gestured at the full champagne glass Zhang had left behind. "This type of thing is usual?"

"No, usually they're not as persistent as Zhang, he's the son of one of the bank's larger clients and seems to think that gives him some rights. If I know someone and they ask nicely, I may have one dance, but never more than the one." Her voice was low and soft, "I never accept a drink from any strangers, and I always go home on my own."

That didn't answer my unspoken questions. She pulled me close and wrapped her arms around me, then she dragged me to my feet and pulled me onto the dance floor as the music shifted into a slow tune. We swayed and rolled to the hypnotic sounds, our bodies pressed against each other, ignoring the rest of the world. In my ear, she whispered, "I love you so much."

A pause in the music broke our concentration; we moved apart and made our way back to our seats. Did I believe her? Yes, I was sure that deep down, Mandy loved me as much as I loved her, but I was also sure I wasn't getting the complete story. We found the other two back at the table, Roo had reached that happy-drunk phase, and I was left to look after her as Sian and Mandy went to the ladies.

"You two looked great together dancing," Roo said, as she leaned against me. "It's so good to see her out enjoying herself again."

I wasn't too sure where I should put my arm that she'd managed to trap, but she solved the problem to her satisfaction by pulling it around her and draping my hand perilously close to the swell of her breast.

"I thought she used to go out with the pair of you all the time."

Roo turned so she could see my face. "She was quite the party girl a few years ago, but now she will only come out with us if we force her. I love her, Mandy, I mean," she said. "I have since we were at school together. She was in my brother's year, and he was in love with her, too."

I raised my eyebrows questioningly, "I thought you and Sian..."

"Oh god, yes, we are. But Mandy was the first girl I fell in love with."

"And you were her's?" I wondered.

"No, I don't think she knew I existed until a naïve seventeen-year-old me blurted out my feelings to her."

"And then?" I asked, intrigued, hearing about a side of Mandy I'd not known about.

She smiled. "She let me down very gently, and mine is unrequited love. Have you decided on a date?" she asked.

I had to make a mental jump before realizing she was asking about our wedding.

"No, not yet; we'll decide as soon as she can sort out a couple of issues."

"What type of issues?"

"I'm not one hundred percent sure, some legal things to do with her guardianship, I believe."

She snorted, "Is that what she's telling you." She shut up and sat straight up as Mandy and Sian sat back down in our booth.

"What did you mean?" I asked, but Roo ignored me and started talking to her lover.

Mandy squeezed up close to me, "What were you and Roo talking about?"

"She was telling me that you were her first love."

Mandy smiled, "That was one of the more embarrassing moments in my life. I was much more interested in her brother; he was one of my first boyfriends. Suddenly one evening, Roo told me she loved me and kissed me. I don't know who was more shocked, her, or me."

"And was that all you did?"

"Well, I kissed her back for a few moments, but that was all. At that time, I wasn't interested in women."

"And now?"

"I experimented with my feminine side while at university, but not anymore."

"Sian?" I asked, recalling Mandy's earlier comment about being close friends at university.

Mandy nodded, "She was one, and there was one other girl I liked a lot. Alan was fine with me having female lovers while I was away, but drew the line at me having a boyfriend."

I looked at her two friends who had returned to the dance floor and were holding each other close, oblivious to the crowds around them as they swayed to the slow music.

"Have you ever been tempted to take another female lover?"

"No," she said, shaking her head. "It was fun, but I never got emotionally attached to the women I slept with. After uni, I was living with Alan, and then I met you, and since then, nobody else has been important."

She ran a hand along my arm. "I love you so much. I don't know if I've ever told you this, but I'm so grateful to have you in my life." She looked down at the ring on her finger and gave me a big smile. "And I'm sorry that I didn't accept your ring before this, I wasn't playing a game with you. Knowing that you would ask me to marry you was the highlight of my year. It was my proof that you still loved me, I just had to hope that you would wait long enough for me to get straightened out."

"How much longer?" I asked.

"If all goes smoothly, then my problems should be over in three, four months."

"That sounds good."

"I'm ready to go, I've got to go into the office tomorrow morning."

I sighed, not because I didn't want to leave, I did, but that she was here to work, and that was her priority.

We took our leave and got a taxi back to the hotel. Mandy was exhausted, and after we took a quick shower, she curled up against me and was asleep in seconds. The questions I had for her would have to wait. I wasn't long in joining her in sleep.

She woke me with a kiss, I opened my eyes, and she was dressed and ready to go. "I'll be back in a few hours."

"And when you do, we need to talk," I said, and then I thought I'd remind her of her promise. "Remember, if you are not back by lunchtime, I'll start looking for a flight home."

Her eyes widened, and she mouthed, "I'll do my best, but I can't promise that."

"But you did, and that's why I'm here and not in the Maldives. You need to keep your promise."

She walked to the door and then back in my direction twice in a state of total indecision. Finally, she opened the door and left.

I lay on the bed wondering if I'd just pushed her one step too far, yet something about her situation here was very odd, and I was beginning to feel like I was being played. Reluctantly, I washed and dressed and made my way down to the restaurant for breakfast, feeling a bit like the condemned man on his way to his execution.

After breakfast, I went up to the rooftop terrace and looked out over Hong Kong harbor; behind me, the Peak was shrouded in low clouds. As I admired the view, I was going over all the overheard conversations from last night.

Many of the half-heard snippets between the girls appeared to revolve around Mandy's relationship with Alan. So much so that I could only conclude that her relationship to Alan had meant a lot more to her than she was willing to admit. Then there was the impression that she used to have, if not still had, a hectic social life. A thought that made me wonder how she would have responded to Zhang's advances if I'd not been at her side.

I was beginning to heartily regret this whole trip; for years, I'd believed Mandy when she said I could trust that she wouldn't be foolish when she traveled. Was this a false promise?

I would have to wait until lunchtime to see if Mandy would keep to her promise of only working half-days, but I wasn't going to hold my breath in anticipation. Neither was I going to hang around the hotel; the lure of the Peak called me. I grabbed my camera and caught a taxi to the Peak tram station. The clouds were lifting as I took the tram to the top, giving me some great views.

In a way, the Peak was a disappointment. Oh, the views were great, yet being surrounded by hordes of happy tourists enforced my single status. I took the tram back down, in a "been there, seen that, bought the T-shirt" mood.

The taxi dropped me off at the hotel a little before midday; I used the house phone to call the room, and unsurprisingly, I didn't get an answer. I tried her mobile, and it went straight to voicemail. I decided to have a beer in the lobby bar and watch to see when Mandy returned. I found a seat with a view of the main entrance, then settled in to wait.

I had to wait for well over two hours for my answer. I'd declined the waitress' offer of a menu several times, and I was regretting my desire to wait for Mandy to join me before I ate. I was about to admit defeat and order something to eat while I attempted to rearrange my flight home when my attention was drawn to a long white Mercedes limo drawing up to the front entrance. All the doormen drew up in attention and then bowed as the chauffeur in a light grey suit opened the rear door. I stared in surprise as Mandy stepped out; the expression on her face was either anger or fear, I couldn't decide which. Through the limousine's open door, a small elderly Chinese gentleman stared up at her. He was in his early seventies, at least that was my best guess given that he had that ageless look.