The White Amah (10 page)

Rubiah hissed an urgent warning. ‘You put this on. Not good to show men your body.’

Melanie just smiled and let the robe fall on the deck. The Dayak called out something to his companion and they both stared at the girl in her minuscule bikini, her eyes hidden behind enormous, dark, wraparound sunglasses specially designed to cut out all glare. Mel thought they were admiring her and she flicked her hair back and smiled, but it was the sunglasses the fisherman coveted. His hand snaked out and he snatched them off her face. The next minute he was wearing them and pointing excitedly at the fish in the crystal-clear water. He said something in his own language to his son and tossed him the glasses.

‘Give those back before you drop them overboard,’ ordered Mel shrilly. ‘They’re not replicas, you know.’

The fisherman looked at the brazen foreign woman posing half naked like a whore and he spat at her. ‘You like we make fuck,’ he said, and pinned her against the cabin with his body. His erection was hard against her thigh and his hands lingered over her soft, lush curves.

‘Let me go, you animal!’ yelled Mel, struggling futilely, his spittle running down her cheek.

‘Hey, leave her alone!’ Grabbing a boat hook, Hank started down the ladder.

The fisherman looked at the shameless white girl hungrily. Soon, he promised himself. He strode toward Hank, the sharp gutting knife in his hand.

‘No, Ijau, no,’ yelled Rubiah in Bahasa, and flung herself in between the pirate and Hank. ‘It’s me, Rubiah, the daughter of your kinswoman. My father Entri married Lada, your great chief’s granddaughter. We may live in different longhouses but we are the same people … and these are my friends. I beg you to spare them for my mother’s sake and the special bond between
our tribes.’ She dropped to her knees before him, head bent and eyes lowered respectfully.

The tribe from the Indonesian side of the border had attacked Rubiah’s people continually since they had first arrived at the mouth of the great river. The two tribes had formed settlements around the same time and there was much competition for land. On both sides of the border the shrunken heads of the enemy hung from the rafters of the rival longhouses until the dynastic marriage between Entri and Lada had put an end to the warfare.

‘Why is the daughter of Lada consorting with Western filth?’ Ijau barked, looking at the party contemptuously.

‘Forgive me, uncle,’ she pleaded, reminding him of their distant relationship. ‘We are poor and there are many children to feed. My family needs the money I earn from the foreigners. Spare them. I ask you for my mother’s sake.’

Reluctantly, Ijau sheathed his knife. He understood about poverty. Twenty-five years ago his father had sold his younger sister to a brothel and he’d never seen her since. Rubiah was more fortunate than many impoverished tribal girls.

‘Arise, niece.’ He hugged her. ‘Tell your companions they were lucky this time. Back to the boats,’ he shouted to the other fishermen and he sprang lightly over the side.

‘My sunglasses! They’re Gucci!’ Mel cried, outraged.

‘I’ll buy you another pair,’ Hank said, looking at Rubiah with respect. ‘I think we’ve got this little lady to thank for saving our lives.’

‘Is nothing. We go back now,’ she said as Georges ordered Roger to winch up the anchor. ‘You want fish, plenty in market.’ She wondered why Roger was glaring at her.

‘C
AN’T YOU STOP HER CRYING?
’
grumbled Heather. The power was off for the third time in a week. ‘How long for this time? It’s bad enough being stuck here with no air-conditioning without putting up with a screaming baby.’

‘Her mouth sore, Missus,’ said Rubiah wearily. She’d been up all night with Mei Li, who was teething. She picked up the feverish baby and rocked her unenthusiastically.

‘Okay, let’s go to the GCM. Hopefully the power’s on at the club and if not we can have a swim in the pool,’ said Heather with a pained sigh.

The Gymkhana Club was one of Miri’s oldest clubs with excellent facilities. Like most ex-pats, Roger and Heather had joined the club when they first arrived in the oil town and Heather spent most of her days there relaxing by the pool with Leonie. Usually she left Millie home with Rubiah when they went to the club, but Steve had leave and he and Leonie had gone back home to Calgary. Heather hated walking in on her own. Shy and insecure, the small-town girl was nervous around the chic company wives who had lived all over the world and talked knowledgeably about the latest novel, art and theatre. She was too timid to participate in their clever, witty chatter and they’d given up trying to include her. She was usually ignored unless they were desperate for a fourth for bridge.

No sooner had she settled down and ordered two ice teas
than Mary-Grace, who was sitting at the next table, turned round and invited Heather to partner her in a game they were trying to set up. ‘Joyce cried off at the last minute,’ she explained. ‘Oh, you’ve brought your baby. She’s lovely, but isn’t she hot in that big woolly hat?’

‘No doubt, but my amah believes evil spirits enter the heads of babies through their soft spot. You know, where the skull bones haven’t closed completely. Believe me, it’s easier to go along with it.’

‘Hard to believe they still have such primitive ideas,’ replied Mary-Grace.

‘Not if you see how they live,’ cut in Merle, who’d spent a weekend at a longhouse over a month ago. ‘It was all right for Dave, he had a great time: off with the men to cock fights, hunting and fishing trips, roaring drunk every night on jungle juice. As for me, I was stuck for a whole weekend with a bunch of illiterate women. They were nice enough, mind, but none of them could speak English. All we could do was smile and nod at each other. It was the longest two days of my life, and don’t even mention the nights. It makes me shudder just thinking about the rats and bugs. It’s a wonder I didn’t catch typhoid or something worse. I told David never again.’

‘But it must have been interesting, seeing how they live.’

‘If you’re into that sort of thing. I’d rather go shopping in Orchard Road, dine at a fine restaurant and sleep in a comfortable bed in an air-conditioned suite at the Hilton. That’s my idea of a weekend break.’

‘If it’s as bad as you say no wonder so many of them are coming to live in the city,’ said Mary-Grace. ‘At least Heather’s giving this little one a chance at a better life. How old is she now?’

‘Six months.’

‘How are you getting on with the adoption? Is it finalised yet?’

‘No. It’s much harder than we thought to adopt a Malaysian baby. Next time Roger has leave we’ll go and talk to the authorities back home in person,’ said Heather gloomily.

Adopting Millie hadn’t been as straightforward as she had imagined, and sometimes she thought the whole idea had been a mistake. But she hadn’t told anyone how she felt, not even Roger, who always seemed so distant and preoccupied lately.

Heather was soon immersed in the game. Rubiah rested her head against the back of the chair and closed her eyes, prepared for a long wait. She didn’t mind. It was pleasant sitting here in the cool now that Mei Li had finally stopped whining and gone back to sleep. She sipped her tea and looked at her bare fingers and wrist sadly. She had sold most of her bracelet and rings to pay the
bomoh,
but she felt happier thinking about the ones she’d buy when she was the missus.

‘Ruby! Is it really you?’ called out a strident Australian voice.

Most of the women sitting at the tables nearby looked up. New arrivals were always scrutinised closely by the old hands.

‘Australian,’ whispered Mary-Grace, eyeing Melanie’s long legs enviously. ‘I hope she plays bridge. Do you know her, Heather? She seems to know your amah.’

Heather shook her head, puzzled, and tried to listen in on their conversation.

‘Hank has to do a two-day training course in Miri and I persuaded him to bring me along,’ Mel said to Rubiah with a friendly smile. ‘Am I glad to see you. I never really thanked you properly for what you did for us that time in Labuan. You saved
our lives.’ She sat down without being asked. ‘What fools you must have thought we all were. I never realised how much danger we were in. Hank explained it all to me when we got home. You know, I never knew pirates still existed.’

She noticed the baby for the first time. ‘Oh, is this your and Roger’s little one? She’s sweet. What’s her name? Can I hold her?’

‘She sleeping,’ said Rubiah, looking fearfully at Heather. ‘No wake her.’

‘We’re staying at the Holiday Inn,’ said Mel slowly, sounding out each syllable and speaking more loudly than normal. She’d forgotten how little English Ruby spoke. ‘Why don’t you and Roger come over tonight for dinner, our treat? Bring the baby too if you can’t find a babysitter. Hank’s really soppy about babies.’

‘Sorry, sorry, can’t come. Roger not here,’ Rubiah whispered.

‘What a shame, I’d love to catch up. Well, next time you and Roger are in Labuan you stay with us and bring your darling baby too. Got to run. I’m meeting a friend who moved here from Labuan. She used to live across the road from me. Ah, there she is,’ Mel said as a tall, athletic-looking woman came through the door. ‘Now remember, don’t be a stranger and give my love to Roger,’ she said and breezed over to meet her friend.

‘Well!’ said Mary-Grace. She was going to say more but one of the other women kicked her shin under the table and shook her head imperceptibly.

They played out the hand in silence, the rest of the party carefully avoiding catching Heather’s eye.

‘Sorry, Mary-Grace,’ apologised Heather when their partnership didn’t make the undemanding contract. ‘You’d have been
better off with Joyce. Do you mind if I cry off? I like to put Millie down for an afternoon nap.’

‘No problem, Heather, I’ll walk to the car with you.’ Mary-Grace was hoping to hear the details of the most intriguing gossip to hit Miri in months.

‘No, it’s all right,’ mumbled Heather, fighting back tears. ‘Bye,’ she said quickly and turned away. ‘We’re leaving,’ she snapped, without looking at her amah.

Heather didn’t trust herself to speak on the way home. As soon as they arrived she yelled at Rubiah, ‘Get to your room and take her with you. Get out of my sight before I …’

Rubiah took one look at the crazed woman and ran to her tiny room off the kitchen, locked the door and lay on the bed whimpering with Mei Li in her arms. Even with the pillow over her head she could still hear the missus howling, and though she finally slept she still heard that awful wailing in her dreams.

Mei Li’s hungry cries woke her a long time later. The house was in darkness and too quiet. Rubiah waited a long time, too scared to leave her room. What if the missus was lying in wait for her? With the infant squirming in her arms, she cautiously opened the door to bedlam. The house was wrecked. The missus had knocked over tables, broken most of the ornaments and smashed the big ornate chandelier. The marble tiles were covered with shards of porcelain and glass. Books had been swept off shelves and tossed on the floor. Photos had been ripped from their wedding album and torn in bits. The master bedroom was in shambles. The framed photo the missus kept beside her bed had been thrown at the mirror and her dressing table was covered
in broken glass. Wardrobe doors were wide open, drawers were pulled out and clothes were flung on the bed and floor.

A stool stood in front of the wardrobe. The missus must have stood on it to reach the top shelf where the luggage was kept. Rubiah looked at the muddle of cases tumbled on the floor. Thoughtfully she looked at the empty wardrobe. There was no sign of the missus, not in the kitchen, not in the lounge and not in the bedroom. With mounting excitement, she opened the doors of the balcony overlooking the front garden. The missus’s car was gone, as well as her red suitcase and most of her clothes. Good, she thought, congratulating herself on the success of her scheme. Jelian has driven her out. Now
I’m
the missus.

P
UT OUT WHEN HIS WIFE WASN’T THERE TO MEET HIM AT THE AIRPORT
with a six-pack when he flew in from the rig on the company chopper, Roger was hanging out for a beer after two weeks’ abstinence. One of the wire-line crew took pity on him and drove him home. Heather’s car wasn’t in the drive. Menopausal, he thought. She was probably just getting to Lutong airport now. He’d have something to say to her when she got home, the lazy cow.

He was surprised to see Ruby lying on the couch, painting her toe nails red and watching a Malaysian movie, a half-eaten box of chocolates beside her. While the cat’s away, he thought, amused to see his amah indulging, clearly at ease. He looked at her slender, shapely legs and wondered how long Heather would be out.

‘Where’s my wife?’

‘Her gone, long time.’

‘Fan-bloody-tastic!’ exclaimed Roger, thinking he’d have her before Heather returned. He’d been without a woman for two weeks and he was feeling randy. ‘Do you want to go to bed with me?’

‘What you think?’ she replied and strutted up the staircase that led to the master bedroom. Cheeky monkey, thought Roger. They’d never done it in his bed. Apart from that time in Labuan, their couplings had all taken place furtively in Ruby’s hard, narrow bed. All the same it would have to be a quickie. He didn’t
want Heather to catch him with Ruby in their bed or there would be hell to pay.