Without You I Have Nothing (56 page)

_{When Andrew helped
Peter with the bags, Peter reminded him of the family's plans.}

_{"Say nothing. Jennifer
doesn't know.”  Grinning, Peter continued, "If our friends don't meet us
we will be honeymooning in Victoria."}

_{"You should have
stayed on last night.”  Andrew laughed as he clutched his head. His bleary eyes
showed his night had been long, very long. "Ted, Bob, the Commander and I
caused problems for Mum. I'm sure she believed we were playing musical beds. The
place was so crowded we joined your Gurkha friends in the shearing shed. Boy,
can they play cards and can they drink!  They're bloody dangerous. Dad crept
out and joined us. We dragged a coupled of kegs over and had a party."}

_{Then he smiled.}

_{"But I suppose
that would have been a poor substitute for your night.”  His cheeky grin showed
he wasn't being vulgar.}

_{As they joined the
others, Andrew slid his arm across his brother-in-law's shoulders.}

_{"Don't know what
you've done with Jennifer,” he guffawed. "She's radiant. Look at her - all
eyes for you."}

_{Peter could see Bill
Williams waving to him. Susie burst through the crowd to hug Jennifer while Big
Bill hoisted Jennifer off her feet and kissed her on her nose.}

_{"That was the
best wedding we've attended, and as for this fellow,” Bill paused to pat
Peter's shoulder, "actually a dark horse."}

_{Jennifer struggled
from Bill's grasp.}

_{"Well get on
with it,” Susie urged Bill. "Bill, give Jennifer their tickets and
passports."}

_{"This makes
everything official. Here are your First Class Tickets and Peter's passport.” 
Smiling broadly he continued, "Mrs. O'Brien this is your brand new
passport. Took a bit of getting it in your married name seeing you were only
married yesterday but I've got friends."}

_{"Look out Asia
here we come!”  Peter's voice showed the relief he felt.}

_{"Oh Peter,”
Jennifer hung around Peter's neck, her feet off the floor, "I'm so lucky. Imagine
travelling First Class.”  She turned to Susie. "Thank you for all your
support."}

_{Then hugging Susie
she added, "Thanks for being our friend.”  Reaching up to kiss Bill she
bubbled, "Bill, I'm so happy."}

_{With all the
formalities of boarding completed and their seatbelts tightened, they held
hands as the jet clawed its way aloft.}

_{"When your four
'sisters' said they'd be seeing me in this coming week and I asked where, all
they did was giggle.”  Jennifer turned from the view of Melbourne to speak to
Peter.}

_{One of the cabin crew
interrupted their whisperings. "Captain's compliments!  His best wishes to
Mr. and Mrs. O'Brien.”  The hostess handed them each a brimming glass of
champagne and left them the bottle to consume.}

_{Seven hours later, as
the plane began its long descent into Singapore Jennifer ignored Peter. With
her nose pressed to the window, she watched the fairy lights of the city
appear.}

_{They stepped out of
the air-conditioned arrivals' lounge onto the footpath into what Jennifer
believed was a wall of heat and humidity.}

_{When their black
limousine swung into the kerb to meet them, the driver jumped out to greet
Peter most warmly in Cantonese. Jennifer wasn't surprised. With their luggage
safely loaded and between comments on the passing scenery, Jennifer turned to
Peter.}

_{"Remind me,” she
demanded. "Which hotel, did we decide on?"}

_{"Surely there's
only one for honeymooners like us. Raffles - Somerset Maugham country."}

_{The moment the room
boy left and closed the door, Jennifer skipped from room to room exploring.}

<sub>"Heavens! 
Surely these rooms aren't all for us?  There's a writing room, a lounge room
and a bathroom that's gigantic. This is beautiful, Peter. Look at the furniture
- all that cane work - exquisite. Listen!  The fans creak as they revolve. This
is beautiful."</sub>

_{"I booked us
into the old section of Raffles. I thought you would appreciate the atmosphere
more than the air-conditioned chrome of the modern building.}

_{"Are you too
tired to eat?”  Peter asked, hoping that she'd want to go out and explore the
eateries close by the Hotel. "Or shall we order room-service?  How about
we at least go down to the bar and have a famous Raffles Gin Sling and perhaps
follow the tiger's footsteps?”  He went on to explain the story of the tiger
entering the billiard room many years previously.}

_{Jennifer was excited
at the prospect of the Gin Sling option. Hurriedly they showered and changed
before exploring the hotel and its surrounds.}

_{In the bar, they sipped
the Gin Slings and soaked up the atmosphere. Peter ordered a light meal of
Nyonya Laksa. Expensively dressed people from all nationalities chattered at
various tables. In the background soft mood music played, and Jennifer
immediately reminded Peter of the night when they first met.}

_{"To think I
believed you were gay!”  They were still laughing as they headed back to the
room.}

_{In bed, Peter held
her again, but at least tiredness muted the ache of his desire. They slept
until the first call to prayer at the local mosque rang in their ears. The
boom, boom, boom of a drum, then the rising cadence of the Imam's call to
prayer woke Jennifer.}

_{Startled, she shook
Peter awake. "My god what's that?  What's going on?  It's the middle of
the night. Has war broken out?"}

_{"It's day
already, that's a call to the faithful for prayers. Don't worry you're safe,”
was Peter's reply as he wrapped Jennifer in his arms and began kissing her
shoulder. "The sun will be up in a few minutes as it's very quick in the
tropics. One minute it's dark - the next it's broad daylight. This is the
coolest part of the day."}

_{Then, realizing the
frostiness that met his kisses, he lay still, cuddling her.}

_{As the day heated, he
rose and suggested she join him for a swim.}

_{"I can't,” was
her excuse as she patted Peter's hand. "Off you go, I'll rest for a while
and then I'll come down. We'll have breakfast together and go exploring."}

_{It was not long
before screaming and shouting disturbed Jennifer, drawing her to the windows. Throwing
open the shutters she leaned out, needing to discover what was causing the
fuss.}

_{Below were
well-manicured gardens, palms, lawns and the pool. Peter had dropped the robe
he had worn from the room and his sarong lay around his ankles. Standing at the
edge of the pool clad only in the briefest of swimmers he was about to dive in.}

_{Gardeners, room boys
and servants were all pointing at him and shouting. More and more were pouring
out into the garden area and pointing at his back. Shutters swung open and more
heads poked out as guests wondered what was causing the cacophony. Fingers
pointed and arms rose until someone from the office appeared and approached
Peter.}

_{It was obvious by the
gesticulations that this person was questioning Peter about his back, until
Peter tired of the nonsense and roared a message in Cantonese that resounded
throughout the hotel. He threw his head back and roared again in Tamil and
there was a deathly silence as, much crestfallen, the workers returned to their
work.}

_{Day after day,
Singapore swallowed them in spite of the heat and humidity. Every street corner
offered a new kaleidoscope of life - sounds, colors, smells and tastes. Each
night they collapsed into bed, but the moment Peter allowed himself to become
amorous, Jennifer froze and, becoming tense, rejected his advances.}

_{Peter knew he was
becoming irritable under the strain, but tried to hide his tension behind a
screen of false jollity.}

_{Then one night,
Jennifer's words, as she slipped into the bed beside him, revealed she had
noticed. "I'm sorry Peter, it's not my fault.”  Weeping she sobbed,
"But why have you kept me at such a distance?"}

_{"You're being
silly again. There's no blame. If I've kept my distance, it's because I'm
terrified I'll lose my self-control. My body's been a raging inferno - a bush-fire
almost out of control every moment of the day.}

_{"Walking beside
you in the street makes me want to grab you. Studying your bum as you sashay up
the escalators in front of me turns me on. Shopping or here in this room I'm on
fire. Many times, I've had to pull back from ripping down the bathroom door and
chasing you around and around the shower. If I don't hold you at a distance
I'll eat you right up and not even spit out the bones."}

_{Giving a bear-like
growl, he began chewing her ears and neck in a mock ferocious manner.}

_{Laughing at the
pictures he had put in her mind, Jennifer pulled him against her breasts and
ran her hands over his back.}

_{Peter's hands brushed
her negligee from her shoulders but his kisses and fingertips brought no
response. It was time to sleep, yet as he dozed, he began to doubt her excuse. How
would he know if she was telling the truth?  Women were a mystery to him and
he'd never listened to men's coarse jokes about such things. Oh well, why would
he worry?  At least he was sleeping beside the woman he loved.}

_{The slow creaking of
the fan lulled him to sleep.}

_{Noting how the
employees were particularly deferential to him, even admiring him, Peter
realized the display of his bare back had caused the change. He was no longer a
tourist.}

_{Out shopping,
Jennifer began to realize that plans were afoot but couldn't decipher the
conundrum. She heard Peter talking on his phone in Cantonese in a conversation
where he seemed to be accepting directions. Someone was organizing something
big. In his typical fashion, Peter was being secretive and she didn't want to
spoil his game.}

_{When they sat for
coffee, his mind seemed pre-occupied as he wrote notes on serviettes before
slipping them into his pocket. At times she gave him an enquiring look, hoping he'd
give up the secret but he took no notice, merely giving her a smug smile and at
the same time showing her all the love and devotion of a newly married man.}

_{On Wednesday, before
Peter left for his daily swim, he snuggled up to Jennifer and kissed her. He
whispered in her ear. "Don't waste time this morning as you're having
breakfast with my Chinese sisters. They'll be here within the hour to take you
off for a day's special shopping. We'll all meet up at 8pm.}

_{"I'll be
spending the day with my Chinese father. Enjoy the day, make good use of the
credit card and don't worry as you are in safe hands."}

_{Clutching his towel
and wearing his robe over his swimmers, he departed, leaving Jennifer lying
dazed, trying to absorb his words.}

_{She drifted in and
out of sleep until, hearing a polite knock, she hastily leapt out of bed and
wrapped a hotel bathrobe around her before opening the door.}

_{There stood Peter's
two Chinese sisters smiling broadly.}

_{Jennifer felt
embarrassed at the way she looked and suddenly Peter's words became reality,
not the dream she thought they were.}

_{"Zǎo shang
hǎo, Jennifer,” they said in unison as they giggled and each one hugged
her before reverting to English.}

_{"Good morning
Jennifer,” said one of them.}

_{"We thought that
Peter would have warned you we were coming but he was probably very excited
about spending the day with Father. How are you enjoying Singapore?” the other
asked.}

_{Still highly
embarrassed, Jennifer explained that Peter did in fact tell her but she thought
she was dreaming as tiredness had overwhelmed her. She admitted that she was
feeling the humidity.}

_{"Oh we'll fix
that for you."}

_{Picking up the phone
Lee-Lee ordered two fresh lime and sodas - one with sugar and one without. Within
minutes, the drinks arrived and the twins ordered Jennifer to drink both,
starting with the unsweetened one.}

_{Sitting on the edge
of the bed, Jennifer took a sip and immediately screwed up her face, as the
bitter liquid seemed to flood every crevice of her body.}

_{Lu-Lu and Lee-Lee
could only laugh as Jennifer struggled to drink the entire glass.}

_{"Now drink the
next one.”  Lee-Lee handed her the sweetened offering.}

_{This proved to be
more palatable and Jennifer could feel it refreshing her.}

_{"These will be
your drinks all day,” said Lee-Lee. "It will combat the dehydration and
make you feel stronger. Tonight is going to be very special and we want you in
good health."}