10 The Night Market

There was a crispness in the night breeze as Carl and Cyd strolled around the town park in the capital. A section of the park was filled with food kiosks, grilling stations, and fresh produce stalls. The local vendors were allowed to set up booths to sell their wares, usually ahead of significant annual events. These events include the year-end season, Chinese New Year, and during the holy month of Ramadan, ahead of Eid Al Fitr, or ‘Hari Raya’ as the locals prefer to call it. This time, it was in preparation for Christmas and the coming New Year. Brunei Darussalam, though an Islamic Sultanate, recognized Catholicism, Protestantism, and its significant holy days.

These food stalls will start their business just before the late afternoon Maghrib prayer, around 5:30 pm, and will stay open through midnight. It is commonly called the 'Pasar Malam' or Night Market, where most items are bundled and priced at B$1 per bunch. Locals and foreigners alike enjoy strolling around, looking for rare finds at affordable prices.

Cyd enjoyed the aromatic fusion of the various food around them and the hard-to-ignore whiff of seasoned chicken and fish sizzling on the hot grill. Carl was already munching on some mixed dried fruits and nuts while animatedly sharing his ideas for the holiday season.

“Dear, I miss Orchard Road so much that I can’t wait for this merger to be done so I could be on the first available flight out to Changi – stat!” He gushed.

Cyd’s thoughts were elsewhere. Her mind remembered that night two weeks ago when she told Kevin about Caren's decision to accept a job offer from another law firm. She went home knowing that she would receive a call later that night. The call came almost two hours later. It was Caren.

“Cyd, where are you? Can we meet? I’m here at Jo’s coffee. Can you come now? I need to talk to you, please!”

Cyd was out of her apartment in less than 5 minutes. She was already prepared to meet her friend but was surprised to see Caren in such an anxious state. Caren did not waste time with greetings and just blurted out her story.

“Cyd, Kevin knew about my appointment, the offer, everything! He called me up and asked me to meet him in the tea house right next to Datin’s office.”

“Who told him?” Cyd asked lamely, almost slapping herself for asking a stupid question.

“I don’t know, but I already signed the contract. Kevin said that he could get me out of that contract and made a counteroffer, asking me to stay. Oh gosh, I was shaking before you came and still am!”

“It just goes to show how much you mean to him, to the firm. You’re that valuable to us.”

“I’m just so confused right now, but gosh, who told him?"

Cyd moved closer to Caren and hugged her friend. Somehow, that was the only way that she could comfort her as Caren was visibly shaken.

"Hush, Girl… you need to calm down. Everything is going to be okay. You can weigh things better after you have calmed down. Sleep on it. If by tomorrow, you still think that you belong somewhere else, then tell Kevin, and I'm sure that he'll respect your decision. But if you think you can't afford to be away from me every day, then you know exactly what to do."

-----

Cyd smiled as she remembered that evening. Caren had repeatedly asked her if she had anything to do with the events that unfolded that night, to which Cyd continually denied her part. It would be her little secret until she finds a way to come clean about it. One day, she thought. With Kevin's help, Caren had also resolved the matter of the contract she had signed with the other law firm, and things were slowly going back to normal.

“Cyd!”

Both Carl and Cyd turned and saw a man waving at them. Cyd waved back.

“Benny! What are you doing here?”

Benny was a fellow Filipino who worked as the manager in one of the car services shops in the city. Cyd got to know him when she bought her car, a second-hand Mitsubishi hatchback, and was looking for a good service shop that could help her maintain it. Benny’s reputation as an honest and hardworking car service manager preceded him, and so Cyd sought him out. Since their first meeting, Cyd had found herself relying on him primarily when it came to her 'baby.'

“Shopping for veggies! What about you?”

“Grabbing dinner with my colleague, Carl!” Cyd said, pointing to Carl.

Carl waved at him, and Benny waved back, then sauntered off to where the fruits and vegetables were.

Carl and Cyd continued walking and checked out the food stalls. Some of them had tables where one can sit down and eat.

Carl turned to Cyd excitedly, which she was all too familiar with. This night was going to be one of their binge-cum-piggin’ out nights. Cyd laughed, held on to Carl’s arm, and pulled him into one of the stalls.

They took turns ordering from the food on display and waited for these to be delivered to their table. When the food started coming, their excitement turned into disbelief when they realized that they ordered food good enough for five or six people. First, they served the Nasi Lemak, then the Gado Gado, a vegetable salad with bean sprouts, long beans, potatoes, and tofu with peanut sauce. The amazingly spicy but perfectly braised Beef Rendang and the Assam Curry were served steaming hot. Cyd ordered the Tauhu Begedil, a dish made of potatoes, tofu, and egg mixture and fried together, which was her favorite as it was not spicy. She added some Chicken satay and Pempek, which can be taken as a snack or dessert as it was made from filleted fish and tapioca and was quite savory but sweet at the same time.

“Carl, I think we might have outdone ourselves this time. Can we even finish this?” Cyd whispered. “Those people at the counter might be thinking we’re expecting some more people to join us!”

But Carl was grinning, obviously satisfied with their choices.

“Not the first time, Dear! Dig in!”

The two friends enjoyed the food while talking animatedly. Carl ordered some sweet kueh for desserts and local drinks. Later, Cyd complained that she might have to be carried back to her car as she felt that her legs went to sleep already.

They were enjoying their desserts when Carl noticed a familiar face among the crowd.

“Dear, isn’t that Ben? And with Jin Hee and their daughter too.”

Cyd turned in Carl's direction, and, true enough, Ben and family were coming their way. She looked at the plates on their table and felt so embarrassed.

"Hi, Ben!" Carl called out.

Ben came over, followed by Jin Hee and their daughter.

“Hon, these are Carl from the Litigation Department and Kevin’s right-hand girl, Cyd! You already know my wife, Jin Hee, and this is our daughter, Catherine.”

Jin Hee was wearing a sleeveless top made with such light material that even the slightest movement seemed to make it rustle around her body. She partnered her top with a printed skirt made from the same material that played peek-a-boo with her slim legs. Their daughter was also dressed casually and was busy playing with her a handy game console but looked up to smile at them.

Cyd looked down at what she was wearing and felt her three-year-old office clothes had seen better days, but on that particular night, it appeared to be dowdier than usual. She was positive that her lipstick had been erased from her lips, replaced by oil from all that food that she chomped down her body.

Cyd raised her hand to give a small wave, then realized she used her hand to eat some of the Begedil and Pempek, and thus, some of her fingers were covered in oil. She slowly put her hand down again and tried to look nonchalant.

“Hello, nice to meet you.” Jin Hee smiled brightly. “Uhm, has the rest of the party left already? You seemed to have enjoyed dinner with your friends.”

Ben chuckled as if knowing what truly happened. He then gently placed a hand at Jin Hee's back as if prodding her to move forward.

“We’ll leave you two to enjoy the rest of your dinner, then. We’re just going to order some food to take out and be on our way."

Ben gestured to Cyd that something was on her chin and her hand immediately went up to check it out. It was some peanut sauce from the satay that they had earlier. Carl, she thought, you are a useless friend!

Ben and his family went to the counter for their order. Ben stopped to talk to a man who was standing near the cashier. Cyd noticed that they had a good laugh together. Darn, she thought, as she cannot seem to get her eyes off him.

Cyd knew that she had to pull herself together, but something about Ben makes her fidgety and anxious. It felt like she gets annoyed with him when she sees him alone in the office but gets upset with herself when she sees him with his wife. She must be going nuts.

“Cyd?” Carl suddenly spoke. “I’ll just get our bill, and we can swing over by Jo’s for coffee after this?”

Cyd nodded.

Carl signaled the waiter that they were ready to pay and waited for the bill.

"How much do you think is the damage going to be for tonight's binging?" Cyd asked.

Carl laughed before answering her, “Last time, it was about B$75, and I think we had more food tonight!”

Cyd winced.

The waiter came back in a hurry and told them that their bill has already been paid.

“By who?” Carl asked the waiter.

Cyd immediately turned into the direction where Ben and his family went off and muttered aloud, “Ben did.”

But Carl was looking in the other direction and spoke.

“No, not Ben. Cyd, look this way and smile. Be ready to thank our benefactor for tonight. I know this guy… I heard about him. Who is he again? Ah, yes. He is Patrick Tan.”

Cyd turned to her other side and saw the man who Ben talked with earlier. Standing a little shorter than Ben, and with a smile that reached his eyes, he started to stroll towards them, looking at Cyd.

“Oh my, do you see how fit he looks?” Carl kept his tone very low. “He works in one of the auditing firms in town. I heard that he was seconded from their Singapore office and will need to work on a project here for the next six months. Oh, Cyd, he's gorgeous!"

“Yes, and he’s probably thinking now that he just met two pigs in the market. Gosh! Carl, how much was our bill?” Cyd hissed.

“Oink, oink!” Carl said before laughing.