Within a couple of days of being back in Hanoi, albeit the nasty head wound his mind often turned to Mai and the idyllic afternoon spent together before he left for Bangladesh. He felt guilty that he hadn't been able to contact her or get word to her before setting off on his assignment...although now it seemed so long ago.
Bill was intoxicated with the very thought of Mai and how they had come together in physical harmony so effortlessly. It was if she knew him already, how he liked to be touched and caressed, and their easy banter and conversation felt so incredible.
He just had to see her again...but he realized that during his time in Bangladesh he had lost the slip of paper with Mai's number on it. He sensed that Phuong wasn't a big fan of Mai, and so was reticent to bring her name up in conversation even, although it was now clear that Phuong knew a lot more about what was going on than he gave away.
Bill had observed that whenever Mai or even Anh's name was mentioned the tone of the conversation changed considerably, as well as Phuong's demeanour - was it hostility or something else, all he knew was that Phuong became a different person and that his "cloak and dagger" routine seemed to surface.
When Phuong came into the office later that morning they got straight down to business and discussed the various stories that they were working on, although in Bill's mind he didn't really care about the local politics or any story for that matter, all he wanted was Mai's phone number. Bill sensed a natural gap in the conversation and so awkwardly broached the subject with Phuong. "I seem to have lost an important phone number you gave me a little while ago mate, could you give it to me again?"
Phuong sat in silence looking directly at Bill, his expressionless demeanour unflinching in its gaze. Without speaking he stood and walked out the door.
"Jesus, what's gotten into him" he thought as he unconsciously touched the back of his head.
Bill's head throbbed uncontrollably...
No comments:
Post a Comment