After the Lucy Lamour episode, which was difficult to forget, I returned to my “normal” routine at the temple. I was tempted to ask Ning whether he had gone to another show on his own but didn’t want to embarrass him. It was really none of my business anyway. He didn’t bring up the subject again, so I assumed he had got over it.
Little did I know that more was in store for me! I was sitting outside the temple one evening when I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned round and was surprised to see Cousin Li … again! This time I noticed he had a companion with him, an elegant looking female. I thought she looked vaguely familiar – those eyes, the long tail…. Before I could think further, Li said, “Da, I want you to meet a friend of mine. This is Lucy – Lucy Lamour.”
I almost fainted. THE Lucy Lamour?
I could hardly breathe. She wasn’t wearing as much makeup as she did on stage and well, she didn’t look half as glamorous but still, she was the sensational star of the Long Tails Night Club.
“Hello, Da,” she said. Her voice was soft and warm. I felt the blood rushing to my head. Just in the nick of time, I prevented myself from blurting out that I thought her show was fantastic. Of course I couldn’t let Li know that I had seen her perform!
“We were passing by the temple and Lucy said she would like to take a look inside,” said Li.
“Oh! Of course,” I stammered. Lucy must have known what I was thinking.
“You know, Da, my mother used to live in a temple and I was born in a temple.”
Well, you could have knocked me down with a feather. Seeing the look on my face, Lucy continued. “My real name is Mei Lin. I lived with my mother in a temple on the other side of town for many years before she died. After her death, I left the temple as I needed to fend a living for myself. It so happens that my uncle owns the Long Tails Night Club and he offered me a job as a waitress. He was very kind to me and even gave me a place to stay. I worked there for a few years. When the star of the nightly show quit, Uncle had a hard time finding a replacement and suddenly he thought of me. He asked me to take her place and created a new identity for me. That was how Lucy Lamour was born.”
She paused and continued. “I owed him so much, the only way I could repay him was by taking on the job. I honestly didn’t think I would become such a sensation!” Here she laughed.
Then Li interrupted. “Actually, we dropped by to give you some good news. Lucy, that is Mei Lin and I are getting married.”
“Getting what?” I blurted. Everything was happening too fast for me.
“Yes, getting married, Da,” said Li. “We have been friends for quite some time. The other day I proposed to her and she accepted. Lucy has quit her job. Her uncle was disappointed at first but in the end gave her his blessings. We have found a nice little place in the country where we can live peacefully and raise a family. It’s a little deserted shack by a river and there is plenty of fresh air, trees and flowers. Mei Lin loves it and so do I. I hope you can come and visit us one day.”
I was flabbergasted. All this while, I had never thought of Li as the marrying kind. He was outgoing, adventurous, happy-go-lucky … I couldn’t imagine him settling down and raising kids. But cats do change especially when they meet the love of their life.
I heartily congratulated both of them. They bid me farewell and I watched them walk into the sunset. It was like one of those tender love stories my mum used to read when we were young.
It would be quite some time before I would see Li again and surprisingly I felt a little sad. He was not too bad a chap really and I hoped he would live happily ever after with Lucy, I mean Mei Lin.
As I walked back into the temple, a thought struck me. Who’s the new star at the Long Tails? I told myself I’d let Ning find the answer to that one.
No comments:
Post a Comment