Dream meetings (4)

Mr Wen fell to his knees, pulling me down with him by the crushing grip on my hand. His tears dripped ceaselessly off his jaw and nose. As if he hadn't realised he was still holding my hand, he pulled me into a full kowtowing bow of gratitude to the passing deceased.

The warm wind died down as the light and golden doorway faded away. Before it completely disappeared, a young man I had never seen before, but who was exuding an extremely intense and heavy aura stepped out. Around him swirled that warm wind and a deep sensation of love. He bent down to touch both of our heads with both of our hands.

"The blessings and prayers of your elders have been heard. Go, children, and be blessed. Walk wisely in the way you should go. Call upon me and I will answer."

It felt like I fell into a heavy sleep there and then.

When I woke up, Mr Wen was shaking me with concern. The memorial hall was cold and dark. Empty. Evening had come so suddenly.

Shivering, I stood up. Both Mr Wen and I shook the pins and needles out from our legs. When we were ready, Mr Wen, put an arm around my shoulders and throwing a backwards glance at the empty hall, he led me out into the fading twilight and cold night wind.

Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, he took a few deep breaths, while I quietly waited for him to get his emotions in order.

Later, in the car, he drove. I didn't ask where we were going, although I wanted to go home to my apartment. He seemed lost in thought.

"Are you hungry?" he asked suddenly when we were driving through a city street that was full of restaurants.

"Not really," I said. "I just want to go home."

"I don't think I'm up to making dinner tonight," he gave me an apologetic glance. "We haven't had dinner yet and should at least eat something. Let's have something easily digestible."

"Ok," I said after a moment's hesitation. Perhaps he was really hungry. I could always go home myself from the restaurant if he couldn't take me.

"Do you know how to drive?" he asked me.

I shook my head. I had never thought of learning to drive when keeping up with my rent was more of a concern and the amount of money I saved after paying rent and bills was just enough to keep myself fed if I was careful. There was no way I would be able to afford a car in this city with all its insurance and maintenance costs. Besides, public transport was pretty good here. It wasn't an issue to go anywhere I wanted.

"Nevermind then," Mr Wen said.

Looking at him from this angle and from the way the outside lights cast shadows on his face, he looked so tired. After dinner, I would urge him to go home and have an early night. It looked like he could do with the rest.

We stopped at a quiet restaurant. The carpark was packed, but the inside of the restaurant only had a vaguely audible murmur. The decorations were simple, minimal, but elegant. It looked like the entire restaurant was divided up into private rooms. From the front desk, only a corridor with multiple doors could be seen.

"Mr Wen," nodded the maitre d' at the door. "Good evening. How many will be dining tonight?"

"Just me and my wife, thank you, Ling."

"Your wife? You got married? Congratulations. When did this happen?"

"Just today," Mr Wen smiled. "We'll be going to the embassy to register and get our certificate tomorrow."

"How exciting," the head waiter's smile deepened. "I'll have to inform Boss Peng. He's not here at the moment, but I'm sure he'll rush over the moment he finds out."

The two were obviously good acquaintances or even friends. Mr Wen probably visited this restaurant regularly.

"Please feel free," Mr Wen gave my shoulders a squeeze.

"The Lily Room will be suitable for you two newlyweds, unless you'd prefer the Pomegranate Room? May you have a happy and long lasting marriage with many children."

"Thank you, Ling," Mr Wen nodded. "The Lily Room will do, but please tell Pengpeng that my wife still has to go to work tomorrow, and so celebrations will have to hold off until the weekend."

"As you wish," Ling bowed his head in acknowledgement and glanced at another couple who were entering the restaurant behind us. "If you'll please follow Xiao Gai, she will take you to your room."

Head Waiter Ling snapped his fingers twice and a waitress gracefully emerged from a door to bow.

"Xiao Gai, you will wait on Mr and Mrs Wen in the Lily Room. Inform Chef Yu that today is a celebration of their marriage."

"Heavens," Xiao Gai smiled, bobbing excitedly. "Congratulations, Mr and Mrs Wen. This way, please. We have a betting pool on Mr Wen and I'm going to win it big. I was the only one who guessed Mr Wen would be getting married to a woman."

"You all thought I was in the closet?" Mr Wen asked sharply.

"Well, TuTu thought you might be an abstinent monk with vows. Junni thought you were pining for a moonlight flower and saving yourself for her. Old Kun reckoned you would never find the right one because your standards are so high and you're such a cool, lone man."

Mr Wen cleared his throat, glancing at me where I was trying not to giggle by his side. The waitress gave me an impish smile, showing her canines.

"Mrs Wen, it's your first time here, isn't it?"

"Yes," I replied. "I've never seen a restaurant quite like this before."

"We're a fine dining restaurant that emphasise good food, good customer service and a good customer experience. Our rooms are all soundproofed to some degree, so that you can enjoy your private time without fear of being overheard. However, for customer safety, there are surveillance cameras in each room. We take the respect and dignity of our customers very seriously here and any untoward behaviour will get misbehaving customers banned from the premises. We have rooms for individuals as well as small groups. Most who come here are clientele of status and so it is imperative to maintain and clean and pleasant environment for all. We work on an introduction system where customers can only enter via introduction and guarantee by one of our existing customers. We will be adding your details to our system while you are here and after three visits, you will be permitted to introduce other new customers to us. Given that you are Mr Wen's wife, we will grant you the same special privileges that he has. That is you do not have to book, but we will always make a space for you if you come by yourself or with a maximum of at least one other person, even when there are no places available. You also have access to the chef's table upon your request, although it is the chef's prerogative to refuse if things are too busy."

A door with a simple carved lily and the number 9 was opened. Xiao Gai welcomed us in with a gesture, closing the door behind us.

"Please, take a seat. As you are probably aware, I am Xiao Gai, your waitress for tonight. Mrs Wen, please feel free to take your time to peruse the menu. Feel free to ask me any questions. As Mr Wen already knows, later, if you need me, just press the call button on the wall there."

Mr Wen gestured to a chair and helped me push my chair in, before taking the seat opposite me. I looked around the room with some awe. Although the furnishings were simple and few, they were beautiful. The small window to one side looked out onto the bright and busy street below, the feature wall showed a very pleasant still painting of a bouquet of lilies in a vase. The polished wooden table was draped with a creamy pastel peach cloth and the napkins had been crisply folded into the shapes of lilies as well.

The air carried the very faint but refreshing scent of flowers.

"You look at the menu," Mr Wen placed it in front of me while Xiao Gai stood unobtrusively to the side.

"Why don't you order some drinks first?" Xiao Gai suggested. "And then when I return with them, I'll help you if you have trouble deciding what you'd like to eat?"

"Alright," I nodded and Xiao Gai pulled out a drinks menu. I glanced at the alcoholic drinks and furrowed my brows. Ever since my family had passed away, I had never touched alcohol. After all, the loss of my family had all been due to the influence of alcohol. I had never drunk alcohol to start with and had been further disgusted by it after the accident.

"Non-alcoholic drinks are here," Mr Wen turned the drnks menu page for me and pointed.

The number of choices dazzled me. I wasn't good with making decisions. Slightly panicked by the densely packed words, I spoke the first word my eyes fell upon.

"Tea. I'll just have some tea," I said.

"What kind of tea would you like? We are a teahouse and so there are a large variety of teas you can choose from."

I glanced from the professional waitress to my newly wed husband, feeling completely out of my depth. There were so many teas? How did I know what they had here? I only ever drank whatever shop tea the restaurants had without fuss. Didn't all tea taste the same?

"Do you prefer green tea, wulong tea, white tea, black tea, flower tea, fruit or herbal teas?" Mr Wen asked me and my eyes widened by the multiple categories.

I could only stare at him with wide eyes. I didn't know. How would I know? I didn't buy tea. It was a luxury drink for the rich. I only had a small tin of some standard off the shelf jasmine tea used for welcoming guests.

There was a long and silent pause.

"Would you like me to help you choose?" Mr Wen asked and I nodded emphatically.

"Please."

"Then get us a pot of third grade longjing tea and two glasses of plum wine for after the meal," Mr Wen said, but then seeing me twitch and wince at the mention of wine, he corrected himself. "Non-alcoholic wine."

"With fizz or flat?"

Mr Wen glanced at me, mulled over his answer and then when I flicked my fingers at him, smiled and said, "Flat."

I breathed a sigh of relief hoping nobody had noticed but rather felt that they had.

"Grade 3 longjing tea and flat non-alcoholic plum wine with dessert," Xiao Gai repeated with a nod. "I'll be right back."

She left the room and I opened the menu to find that there weren't too many options. I let out the breath I hadn't realised I was holding.

"Take your time," Mr Wen told me, watching me with interest while I read the menu. "Order whatever you feel like eating."

With my finger on the exorbitant prices, I stiffened up again. We're they trying to rob people? How could something as simple as spring onion pancake entrees cost so much? How could I order anything knowing these sky high prices? Would I have any money left to survive the end of the month?

A hand reached over the table and covered the prices, blocking the sight of them from my view.

"Mrs Wen," my new husband said in a serious voice that made me look up. "Don't look at the prices. No. Don't."

I tried to push his hand away but he steadfastly blocked my view.

"Yulu-ah," he put his hand over mine, making me freeze again, "don't be afraid. This restaurant is owned by my childhood friend. One of my best friends. We often exchange favours with each other. Besides, as your husband and the owner of a big company, I can afford this meal. I would like to celebrate our marriage tonight with this meal. Please allow me to do so. It's very important to me. So, please, don't consider the cost."