A bouquet is not too late …..
Book A
Chapter 1
She comes in every day.
It is not that I am observant, nor was it the perfume that she wears. I know it whenever she is in the boutique. This is even before she appears right in front of me.
There is something about her that makes me notice her. Was it the fact that she wore expensive jewellery? Or was it her demure smile? I must say, she is conspicuous. And I am still not sure about why I would like to observe her. The plain answer is that she is simply she. Even before she walks in, I already know that she is coming in. She is punctual and regular, like having an alarm clock set inside her body. This clock of course is her heart, as once the heart stops beating a man would die. But how would a human heart have an alarm?
No, no one texted me nor told me before she arrives. And I dare not text her. For once I do that they will know that I am interested in her. We shouldn’t be texting someone else during work hours, especially within the office. If I like her I should just walk up to her and declare my love for her, and proclaim her my angel. It is just that I want to establish some kind of telepathic connection with her, the so called extraterritorial right. It sends signals to allow my brains to think that I have control over her. How I managed to do this is a secret recipe, known only between me, me, and myself.
No, God does not know about this yet.
Chapter 2
I, too, have a heart installed in my system, and I am an AI.
It’s called the controller board. The real heart has red valves and blue valves they are one-way doors that open and close with every heartbeat, ensuring blood flows in the correct direction and preventing backward leakage. There are altogether four distinct valves.
But mine is a hard substance.
I do not know if she also has a calendar in her system. Let me tell you before the end of this story whether it was installed as well when this man John McCarthy created her. I name him as he is widely recognised as the “Father of AI”.
I have not told any of my colleagues about what is happening between she and I, although if you ask me, they ought to know. But there is no cause for alarm, yet. The drawers are locked tight, and unless you have the right keys you won’t be able to open them.
No, I am not making a complaint against her now. But she disturbs me considerably. Each time whenever she is near, I feel like opening my mouth to talk to her to get her engaged to me. Why was I so enamoured of her I can’t understand, neither can you I am sure. Let me walk you to the end of the story before we both find out the answer. Alright! Let’s do some research when I get hold of Brian Wong.
But Brian Wong is my supervisor. He is not the right person to do any research for me. I have no right to order a superior to assist me, even though the atmosphere here is family friendly. You can call this a family business if you like.
Chapter 3
Today someone slipped a church bulletin into Jennifer Tang’s letterbox – “Please report to the columbarium only when you have paid for the niche. Those who are visitors from other churches should not enter unless they can produce an invitation.” She arrived at the church and there she confronted a man.
He is not a priest for sure. Neither was she a Catholic. She doesn’t go to churches as she was neither a Catholic nor a Protestant. And she is not always in a habit to tell anyone everything about herself. She learnt from experience that every time she tells someone anything, words spread. When her mother was alive, the minute she told her something, the next thing is, that she has told her friends, and her friends would immediately inform her neighbours, who happen to be Jennifer’s ex-classmates. Sometimes her mother even went beyond her scope of duty to disclose Jennifer’s worst nightmare to a priest. Later on Jennifer was told that one of the priest upon hearing her, felt compelled to die, in order to protect his sanity.
She told me that she could imagine the conversation that went on inside the confessional and the priest’s voice after mother has come out. “What a sinful character she is!” “I am appalled!!”
How her mother had so much power over them she had no idea. Words got around very quickly. Soon the entire church found out, and then her grandfather and her great-grand father also found out. Jennifer told me she had no idea how her mother dug them out from their graves to hear her. Yes, indeed her mother was a powerful woman. And she was lucky to have such a strong woman as her mother.
She left behind all her worldly possessions to Jennifer. And I took several years to help her clear them, in the wishful thinking that once her Catholic statues are out of the way I could leave the Catholic church. As a Chinese man whose first language is Chinese, I found it extremely difficult to drop the Buddha outside and walk into a Western place of worship. Orthodox as well. I was curious in the beginning, but then after several rounds of lessons I began to get tired of the priest’s Homily. I’d rather watch the Netflix.
Chapter 4
When I was in the secondary school, each student would have a letterbox, and they call the letterboxes pigeons holes. In the olden days in China, they use pigeons to carry news from one province to another. But now in Singapore we simplify the process by calling the letterboxes pigeons holes, and we slot notes inside to the correct number. Come to think of it, do real pigeons fly that far, and how could one verify the handwriting to originate from the same hand?
Of course, now we use emails. They used to call it snail mail.
Emails are of course faster than snail mail. My mother did the same before. One time she became so agitated by the piece of news I told her, about a nightmare that I had, that she told her church friends what the nightmare was. Why she had to betray me in this manner I had no idea. Although in retrospect, it did me some good. By the way, this is snail mail.
Chapter 5
After I went to church and saw several ladies wearing similar Girly’s Jewels, I realised that copies have been made. And I am jealous. Extremely. I didn’t realise that you make copies out of jewels as well. I thought the human beings only make AIs, by copying themselves. When I went into the kitchen pantry the other day I was severely shocked to see another woman next to me wearing a Gatsby. I knew that she was my kind the minute she spoke my language. Yes, AIs have their own languages. We are coded, and we recognise each other the minute we meet.
Back to the lady who comes in here every day. Ah, now I know why I like her. She wears red most of the time. No, I am sure that she is not here to steal anything. I can vouch for her, she behaves like any other ordinary customer.
She is. Yesterday she was looking at the Gatsby watch, and today she is looking at the green translucent jade earrings. There is no pattern to her buying. She chooses her jewels at random. And I am trying to find out her taste in order that I can establish a clientele with her.
The moment I saw her, a telepathy was transmitted from she to me. I know that the humans call it the sixth sense. We call it the application and is simplified as an App sense.
And you really think that the humans can’t talk to robots? Every human recognises a robot. But robots would never be able to establish a telepathy link with humans, coz they are non-humans. They are connected to the maker, and then the marker gives out a command when he has synchronised himself. So, the maker of robots is a creator as well. God creates man, man creates robots. So man and God are on the same footing now. The minute we disturb the robots, any robot, a man would wake up and tell his god, that his creation has been tampered with.
I used to love imitation a lot, although I am an original. I began as an original. Humans are all originals.
Yes, now I am beginning to understand why the oriental face is trying on so many pieces of jewellery. She dare not take photos of the pieces here in the boutique. Instead she uses her memory to talk to a craftsman to make bespoke jewellery.
One jeweller told me before, that some people buy imitation and keep the real ones locked up, not only that, they say that the imitation is an original. Why. Are they ashamed of the original? Or are they afraid that someone would ask them for the price. I never did that. I buy designer and wear the designer. If not immediately after, but soon after.
If bespoke jewellery can be made, then AIs are not unique. And I am jealous. Extremely. I thought that we human beings only make fakes such as AIs. When I went into the kitchen pantry the other day I was severely shocked to see another woman next to me wearing a Gatsby. I knew that she wasn’t my kind the minute she started speaking.
Chapter 6
No wonder that Jennifer Tang is looking for jewellery. She is trying to make copies. So, I proceeded to take those that she eyed. One at a time, I opened the drawer and locked them up. If she goes to counter 135, I will open it and then lock it up. If she strays to counter 145, likewise I open and lock. I play this game with her until I have exhausted all avenues of hope to engage her attention. She did not look at me throughout. And I am angry. I shouldn’t be.
Jennifer Tang has an oriental face. And she smiles often. When she smiles, she gives you the impression as though she has known you for a long time. I like it when she has chosen a piece and she asks me to attend to her. But that was before. Now she avoids me, and I know that it is on purpose. I am beginning to feel that she is moving away from me, and leaning towards another man, the one that made her into what she is today. Who my opponent is I have no clue.
He must be more good looking than me. Sigh!
Ok! Finally! I have hit the jackpot!
Jennifer saw my ring!!!
Chapter 7
Let me give you the history of this ring. It was purchased on the spur of the moment, from Edwin when I was working in New York, and I really liked it. He saw that I had money, and he upgraded my buying status from a plain customer to a regular customer. And then subsequently to a frequent customer. For me, I’d rather call myself an urgent customer.
A friend used to ask her daughter if she wanted to ease herself, whenever he wanted to know if she needed to pee. I found it very strange. I would say, “do you need to use the toilet?” Alas! That is too long a sentence. Why not use “pee”? You take too long to mention the word “pee”, the liquid waste product lodged inside your kidneys might come out sooner than you think.
I looked at the ring again. That is the ring which I have decided I would propose to Jennifer with.
But suddenly I saw Gloria talking to her.
“Over here my dear,” she said to her.
I inclined my ear and then overheard the conversation, “this is what you asked me last night, let me help you put it on,” Gloria opened the drawer and took out a gold bracelet, designed just for my eyes.
My heart literally leaped. And my eyes popped out. Like a pair of fish my eyes starting to swim from one display counter to another.
I decided to make my calculations. If I can sell my copies more than I can afford, then I would continue to make something else until I would be able to buy the same item. So, the next thing I did was to find out the price of that gold bracelet, and then copy the design elsewhere. Whether I would be discovered I couldn’t care. I was just reckless. Invariably, I was right. I approached Gloria.
“Oh how much did it cost?” I heard Daryl said.
“I don’t know,” Gloria said.
“What do you mean I don’t know? You helped her to it, and you tell me you don’t know?” Daryl was beginning to get furious.
“This was an item on rent, now she is buying it. Very soon she will buy up the entire store.” Daryl began to raise his voice.
Once staff becomes customer she would need to resign. That is the basic rule. I don’t want to lose her, if she resigns I would not get a chance to see her again. This is our regular meeting place. We need not make a date to see each other, no money incurred for our secret love affair.
“Why?” the innocent Gloria asked.
“Staff cannot be customer at the same time.” I reminded her. “Did you tell her?” I asked.
“No,” Gloria replied.
“Why not?” “Daryl asked again, surprised that Gloria doesn’t seem to know even this basic rule.
“Brian told me not to,” came the response.
“Let me come back to you to decide if I would buy it,” finally I heard the oriental face said.
Chapter 8
Today she is wearing the Gatsby watch again. The Gatsby watch belongs to the last season and is no longer a sales item. It has been sitting in our boutique for a long time, and only one other customer has come to buy it. I noticed the manner in which she came in and the speed with which she made up her decision to purchase. In fact when she came into our boutique, she looked a little tense.
Yes, we have our regular customers. And we have our irregular customers. The regulars, we memorize their names by heart, but we are told not to address them in case they don’t like it. It is not the practice of our boutique to influence the customers in the choice of their purchase. So, we avoid calling customers by name. We recognize their faces, and we give them the service as though we were their butlers at home. Although our objective is to sell, not serve.
I am not young. If you just look at my face you would think that I am somewhere between thirty and forty. But if you come closer you would realise that I am actually somewhere between forty and fifty. Not married yet, and no imminent plans to marry. I don’t even have a close girlfriend. But I am not lonely.
Chapter 9
This job at Girly’s Jewels is my career. It occupies all of my time and energy. There is no clear retirement age for this job, and I had planned to work here until sixty-five. The job is comfortable. The position is great. I am an Associate Sales Manager. This is not a glorified title. I am worth what I am being paid for. And so, I am a happy and contented salesman. Yesterday, just before I left for work, Daryl Chan, the regional manager, came in and handed me a letter.
The letter, embossed with gold and in Apple Chancery fonts, is a once-in-a-lifetime offer for me to be posted to the head office in New York. I would be put in another managerial position, and the take-home would be three times what I get here, apart from the favourable exchange rate.
Excited, this morning I woke up at 6:00 a.m. After I dropped off at Marmalade Turn I walked into Toast Corner to have my usual sandwich and coffee, the coffee I like it without milk. Nobody disturbs me there as I read the newspapers. I wear my own regular pants and top, before I arrive at the boutique to change into the tailored black jacket, black trousers, and black shoes, polished every night.
We are all given a set of jewellery to choose from, and we put them on before we start work. This week, I have the Rose Ring, and it is really beautiful. Every time I look at it, it makes me happy. I am happy to be working here at Girly’s Jewels. The jewels are nice, the boutique is nice, and my colleagues are nice.
We don’t fight over customers. We all share the same clientele. If, for example, Jennifer Tang makes more sales than me this month, it does not mean that Jennifer Tang takes home more. We are salaried staff, and we get paid a fixed sum every month.
But there is one drawback. We are not allowed to buy the jewels in the boutique. We can only wear them at work from 10:00 a.m. to 9:00 p.m. We are to choose our favourite piece for the week each Monday. And after the last customer has left, we are to surrender all our adornments to the boutique safe and go home with only our own belongings.
Because I like the Rose Ring so much, I have considered resigning. Once I am no longer a staff I am free to browse around the boutique as though I were a customer, and then I would be able to choose and buy anything I liked. But I am still not sure if the Rose Ring would make her marry me, so I hold my resignation. If I reject the offer to New York, I must resign. So the letter was actually in a way an attempt to dismiss me, for once I am out of Singapore, I would be left to my own devices.
Chapter 10
“Excuse me, can you show me this?” a female voice came about as I was thinking aloud.
Startled, I looked up. A tall and well-groomed woman dressed in a pink top and black skirt spoke with a slightly high pitched voice.
Another man and a young child are standing by her side. I quickly walk to the counter and unlock the drawer with the keys I am holding. She wants a gold bangle. The bangle has the engraved words “Girly’s Jewels” on it, so that makes it expensive.
“How much is it?” The man asked, I assumed him to be her husband.
I know the price by heart, but I still check before I give him the price. We are told to do so, as the act of referring to our records gives the transaction a trade flavour. But actually I have already memorised the prices of all the items by heart.
Lady customer puts it on. I allow her to ponder over it as she swings her right hand in successive motions, as though to see if the bangle will drop off by itself. Then her husband says something, and then they both walk away, leaving the bangle on the velvet trayon top of the glass shelf. I quickly put the bangle back in the drawer before I forget.
You’d think that there are no thefts in this expensive boutique. No, there are. Every day, one or two items disappear. Our manager Daryl Chan investigates, and we have to account for our carelessness. So, the stocktaking at night is usually very stressful for everyone. Therefore we have to be careful to spot customers who are not here to buy, but rather coming in with the intention to steal our designs.
Although some just wants to browse around without any clear idea as to what to buy. And we are very careful to remember how to introduce our jewels to them.
There she is again, this oriental face walking around. Apart from calling her by this name I have no other way to describe her. I really don’t know what I should do with my feelings for her. Shall I approach her and offer her one or two designs? Or shall I ask her out for dinner? She is, after all, very pretty, and I am still single.
I try to stay as close as I can get to her. As she moves to the bracelet section, I go to that side of the drawers, so I can attend to her as soon as I can if she spots something that she likes. Every item here is interesting. Girly’s Jewels carries the most exquisite jewellery, and its headquarters are in New York. If I am to accept the posting to New York at all, I must move fast. I must invite her out, bring her out of the Girly’s Jewels context so that I can speak to her in private.
I want to tell her how pretty she is and how much I am in love with her. I want to tell her about my offer in New York, and that time is running out for the both of us. We can even start a family there and have our child born in the U.S. to get U.S. citizenship. I want to find out all about her. And I want to say now, is that I am prepared to buy her the Glamour Bracelet as well if she would allow me to.
Since I am interested in her, I must announce my intention as soon as possible. I have already saved up enough money to buy her the Rose Ring for our engagement. So, I pluck up the courage and I approach her at the counter and I ask,
“Do you want me to pay for this bracelet?”
I expected her to smile at me, but she looked at me blankly.
Then I heard a voice over my shoulder, “Excuse me, is Brian or Jennifer attending to this gentleman?”
Both she and I got a shock. I turned my head, and I saw Daryl Chan signalling me to attend to the male customer who has just walked in. Daryl gives us the dirty look, to remind us that the customer comes first.
As usual, Jennifer Tang gives her winning smile, and I know that I have lost my chance. I should have asked oriental face just now when I was at the bracelet section. Later on I will not have the courage to ask her whether she would marry me, before I am to give Daryl Chan my answer by the end of the day. I am still unsure about resigning, because I don’t want to leave Singapore unless she comes with me. If I am in Singapore, I can still walk into Girly’s Jewels to see her anytime.
Chapter 11
Suddenly a voice, a little hostile and not too friendly, “you still want to go to Japan?” a man to his child, whilst I was thinking of where to go for lunch. Why is the father angry? The child was wearing a zebra t-shirt, staggering. So young, how could he have expressed the desire to travel? And why are they here? We don’t sell jewellery for kids.
I recognised at once that this was the man whom I encountered at the church notice board on All Saints’ Day.
このひとがわるいてす the thought came to me in Japanese. This was a warning that the man is of bad character. I decided that I must run away from him as far as possible.
A new customer walks in wearing a Hermes belt and matching shoes, so we know that he could well afford any item in the shop, and we must put on our best sales manner. Oriental face Jennifer Tang always has better sales tactics than me. The customer asks her how much the Gatsby watch costs, and “is it still available?” he asks.
“No, I am afraid not, sir,” Jennifer replies.
“Can I order it from your headquarters in New York?” he asks again.
“No, I am afraid not, sir,” she is apologetic.
Tonight, as we work over the jewels to be worn by the five of us on Monday tomorrow who work at Girly’s Jewels – Brian Wong, Jennifer Tang, Gloria Yip, Daryl Chan, and myself Steve Chin – I find that it is my turn to wear the Gatsby watch again. This one is the male version.
I am to wear it for one week before my departure from the company. My last day is on Tuesday 19 November 2019. I can leave at 1:00 p.m. on that day because it is my last day.
At the same time, Daryl Chan gives me an invitation card which says:
Mr. and Mrs. Chan Chee York cordially invites you,
Mr. Steve Chin, to their only son Daryl Chan Choi Liang and his fiancée Jennifer Tang Mei Yin’s wedding dinner reception held at the Dragon & Phoenix Hotel at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday, 19 November 2019.
Perfect timing. I just lost a chance to propose.
At the wedding, I was seated next to Brian. And throughout dinner he kept saying, “You must marry her”, “You must marry her”, “You must marry her”, I turned and I looked at Brian’s face, then I felt compelled to touch him. It felt nothing but a digital artifact.
I fled the scene as though running away from having committed a crime. Except that I am not a fugitive.
This morning l am seated at a desk that faces the legendary French luxury house the Cartier in France, and this time I am sure that the entire crew, comprising of at least five thousand staff, are not AI. But I have a Chinese lady who comes in here to clean my office, and whenever she leaves the room, invariably she will say, “Customer Comes First”.
Book B
Chapter 12
Like a boomerang Brian’s words “You must marry her,” played in my mind the moment I stepped into the country. And so, I arrived at Girly’s Jewels early this morning. At the precise opening hour.
But there I chanced on Daryl Chan instead.
“How have you been?” first things he saw me he asked.
“Oh no, not too bad,” I replied, although I wasn’t feeling too well.
“Let me fetch you a cup of coffee,” he said as he was walking away.
I picked a chair and I sat down, staring at the mirror right in front of me. The mirror was framed exactly like the one you find on Snow White’s dressing table, one which her wicked stepmother had given to her.
Beside the mirror there was a large vase with some flowers looking like a bouquet, mainly white lilies, and some daisies, or you call it baby’s breath. Automatically I used my hand to touch it to determine if it were artificial …
No! I am not going to tell you if I were real or not. I heard myself. Immediately I retracted my hand.
I was happy to be left alone for a while ……
“So, how was married life?” the minute Daryl put the cup on the table, he asked.
“You can’t wait to hear the answer, right?” I replied.
“Opps! You dropped the mirror.” and then Daryl said.
Huh? I panicked, and then I saw Daryl took the coffee cup away from me. I merely took a sip and had wanted to drink it whilst chatting.
“What a nice piece,” I said, withdrawing my hands from the glass showcase. That was a large ruby.
And before I finished, Daryl brought me to another showcase and asked me to buy another item. Ridiculous! I thought to myself. This was obviously way out of my range. Couldn’t he see that the watch does not fit my small wrist?
Of course, from the top I could see that the watch was way too extravagant. I could read Daryl’s thoughts.
And then I overheard, “This one goes straight to my safe deposit box,” a woman’s voice.
I turned and there I saw Jennifer again. And the loneliness and bitterness came rushing back, flooding my brains and churning the cells up one by one sending all of them into disarray. I felt like I had just been swept away by a tsunami. Not a roller coaster.
Chapter 13
Today I found a tennis ball on the floor on my way to work. Wondering where it came from, I took it as a sign that I was supposed to pick it up and return it to the place where it belonged. It fit into my right palm, and I felt its fibrous, soft fuzzy texture. Quite exciting. But I had no idea where it came from.
Asmara and Adi are my best friends; they follow me wherever I go. Of course, you would think that they follow me into the toilet as well. But fact is that one is a female and the other a male. So that at least one of them cannot go into the loo with me. If you want to know who the boy is and who the girl is you should continue to read on.
Back to my encounter with Daryl.
Chapter 14
Yes, it was extremely mean of Daryl to say that I had dropped the mirror when in fact no such thing happened. My heart literally leaped, as it is extremely bad luck to drop a mirror according to the Chinese custom, or any other custom. The plain and simple explanation for the back luck thing is that you would have to look for all the splintered pieces, gather them, and either you sweep it away and throw it, or if you glue them back together as it was. That is tantamount to a 破镜重圆。
This 破镜重圆 originates from an ancient Chinese story of a couple separated, with each holding half a broken piece. Separation was so long that when they met again they couldn’t recognise each other, until they managed to piece the mirror together without any seams.
I am deviating again.
Chapter 15
At the time when Jennifer was married to Daryl, she had a Filipina maid. They were called “maids”, then later on they changed their status to “helpers” as they became more sophisticated. For me, the word “maid” is gentler as it derives its’ word from maiden. This conjures up an image of a plum benevolent lady.
Daryl and she had a house with a gate which opens up at the command of a remote control. You would call it an automatic gate to simplify. I shall call it a wifi gate to simplify it further. The remote was being kept by Jennifer of course, and this lady would come out to greet her the moment her employer came back. When Jennifer presses the remote, the mechanism gives a click sound then it opens out. The lady comes out most of the time, but not always.
This helper was referred to Jennifer by a woman who sat on a wheelchair, disguised and unknown to Jennifer before they agreed to employ her. Nevertheless, the two did not back out of the contract, for Jennifer saw nothing wrong with an agent who sat on a wheelchair.
When Jennifer came home from outside every day, she said, first things she did was to ask her, “Anybody called?” and she would answer, “Nothing.”
“What? Nothing?” “What do you mean by nothing?”
How could she say “nothing” when the question was “anybody”? One is a person and the other an “it”.
I mean, she speaks English and she came from the Philippines where they speak English. Jennifer complained to me.
A lot of things had happened since the time she walked out to the time she returned. How could nothing had happened?
Thinking of Jennifer when Daryl started narrating the story of his married life with Jennifer.
He explained, Jennifer wanted to teach the helper some simple English but that she had refused to comply.
Chapter 16
He asked, “So, what have you been doing for the past three years? Have you started a new company? Are you married?” He fired all three questions at once.
Tsunami just boiled inside my stomach.
And I shouted, “What information do you want from me?” I raised my voice and I stormed out of Girly’s Jewels together with my best friends Asmara and Adi. You must have guessed by now that these two characters are my AI tools.
Chapter 17
For no realm of a reason, I felt being followed. I looked back, my eyes narrowed when I saw Brian finally and then I burst into a smile. He ignored me, and I think he was preoccupied. Since I wasn’t able to determine if his appearance was benign or malicious, I decided to ignore him as well. Like the way a doctor cuts up a patient to examine a cyst in the body, they always seem to know when they would have to do a biopsy on their patients to determine if it were one or the other.
A biopsy would mean surrendering a human body to an alien. I called doctors an alien as they do not reside in the body which they operate on.
If the man I saw was the real Brian then it is benign, if it were the wedding dinner Brian then it is malicious.
Today I met Brian again at the bus stop before I arrived at Girly’s Jewels. This time the same man a different body. Why? I was shocked to see him in stark red. I mean it is fresh red. The red was so fresh that even when you withdraw blood from the system it does not appear in that colour, since the oxygenated blood changes colour the minute it leaves the body. Actually, only surgeons know the exact colour of the blood in the spectrum.
My encounter with the real Brian began when I asked him how I could invite Jennifer to see the well-publicised film “Fifty Grades of Grey” with me. I like grey. Grey is my favourite colour. Even though to me everything is either black or white. In Chinese, they use the words “black and white” 白纸黑字 to mean that an irrevocable promise had been made.
The film producer just took black and white out of the spectrum.
I followed up from the last conversation and continued to walk with him, Brian.
After a while he asked me, “If you want to sell shoes, why don’t you set up a store somewhere?” Further down he continued, “there are at least 69 pairs of shoes, comprising of sandals, mules, slippers, walking shoes, outside your house.”
How could he see what was outside my house? Unless he has come right up to my apartment? It’s locked tight. Unless he had my keys and followed me home he won’t be able to know.
I saw his wife’s face, and I turned to the other side and I looked away.
Why did he have to fire me with this queer suggestion? Immediately I concluded that he thought that I was selling old shoes. The woman next to him on his right presumably his daughter, was wearing an asymmetric off-shoulder top. It gave me the impression that she was obviously here to seduce her own dad. Very pathetic.
During the entire time that I was employed at Girly’s Jewels overseas, I was merely a zealous worker. I worked my way up the corporate ladder by selling my brains. Yes, brains can be sold, according to Roald Dahl. I know that sounds hideous. Cannibals eat brains. But I love zombies.
The minute he saw that; he turned the other way and started talking on and on to the girl beside him.
Finally, I couldn’t contain myself anymore, so I walked up to her and I asked,“ “Does your mother have any other children?”
“Stupid people ask stupid questions.” Came the reply.
Girl fled like she was running away from a zombie.
So rude.
Chapter 18
But it is a matter of fact. I shouldn’t have been distracted by Brian real or imaginary. But why did Daryl have to tamper with the mirror that day when I was merely trying to catch up on old times? It was bad enough he stole Jennifer Tang my priced jewel from me.
They say that Jennifer scammed me. Although if you ask me, it was I who was interested in her first, and I never got a chance to express my feelings for her. It was sheer hesitation and inaction that prevented me from talking to her directly. Ah, I know. There were too many AIs around then.
At the bookstore, I found a book written by “Noel Coward”. Usually I browse at Open & Shut whenever I had nothing to do. And then I remembered what AI Brian told me. He complained to me about Jennifer Tang.
What was AI Brian trying to achieve by telling me that?
Although Daryl married Jennifer, he was unhappy with married life. It seems that the woman was still obsessed with jewellery. And the moment he had some money in their account; she would spend it immediately afterwards. Her appetite for beautiful creations went beyond jewellery. And now that he had grown tired of her, he tells Brian to come and complain to me. Does he want me to take over???
This is horrendous. To take over I would have to buy a ring, hire a wedding gown, a suit, a photographer, as well as a makeup artist, etc. etc. ……
The Rose Ring!!! I had paid almost ten thousand.
Not only that I had to carry it from Singapore to France back and forth over the past three years. Now I have just returned I have to lock it up in a safe. Moreover, I have no idea where I can find a suitable venue for such an affair. Most hotels require a valid passport for check-in. Although I am still single, I want to be free from encumbrances. I have had one too many affairs in France. And I have grown tired of women, young and old. All I want is just a peaceful environment for retirement.
Which reminds me. The air-conditioning in Girly’s Jewels is not cold enough. Where is the control? And what temperature have they set it to?
I know all about central aircon, about pipe in music, and all that, as I have become very sophisticated after my stay in Paris.
When I walked in, I was a customer, as I had left Girly’s Jewels the French headquarters. The appointment letter had been kept at home locked tight in a drawer. Until and unless I show it to Daryl the regional sales manager, I am still a stranger to their set up. So that my relationship with the entire staff here was that of a customer and salesman. If they want me to buy, they will have to tell me where my Gatsby watch is – the most polished item that I was wearing when my heart was broken.
But instead, Daryl asked me to take a picture in front of a Christmas Tree in the boutique. I am not Santa, so I said no. Not being satisfied, Daryl persisted, asking me to bring my old jewels back to dip. This is a procedure which I had done a long time ago. And it was oriental face who should be disclosing her collection, not I.
They want my Rose Ring.
So finally, I raised my voice and said, “I am not married to your wife,” before he would give up and allowed me to walk out of the boutique. I left feeling quite exasperated.
Chapter 19
The minute I came out, I was confronted with the words: Danger. Huh? Danger what? Who is in danger? And what was in danger?
Yes, here we do a lot of road works. Everywhere there is a road being repaired, and lifts are under servicing all the time. If you are used to walking in that direction, you would be made to turn around all of a sudden. A large sign “Danger” would be displayed whenever such works are ongoing.
We do use abbreviations for a lot of things. And if you don’t know it, that means that you are out of date, either too old, or have lived abroad for too long. We value those who are climatised, glued, and sunned. Yes, we do have saunas to hasten the colouring of the skin. The pigmentation must be just right in order to fit into our metropolis city. Colour of all skin types are welcomed. All races are welcomed. We have a strict screening process, known only to the man who makes the decision, everything is at his discretion. He, he, alone, has the discretionary power. And no one knows who the man is.
I am not the man; I am a doctor, to be precise. Yes, I quit the medical profession to join the retail trade.
A patient once complained to me that she disliked the word “who” as in capitals it is an abbreviation for the World Health Organisation. Such is the extent of her sound but singular mind. I too was once told that I often saw something from a tunnel vision. Yes, that is when I am concentrating. I blot out all noises without having the need to use the iPods. iPods makes me look like an AI. But nonetheless I pardoned her.
Chapter 20
Since Jennifer missed my proposal, I had started to buy rings in いろいろな forms, whenever I see her cache. Similar hairstyle, similar figure, and similar smile …… they call it the 神韵。But from overseas in France.
As the competition for the next best sales ambassador reached fever pitch, I decided that I must forget about the Rose Ring. Girly’s Jewels had, since I left Singapore, decided to introduce their staff as ambassadors. Now I am merely a plain customer. Until I produce the letter from the head office in France, no one knows whether I am coming back to Singapore for good. I might change my mind anytime.
Gloria Yip explained that the scenario that happened when I went in the other day when I first returned to Singapore, the mirror thing and all that, was just roughhouse play between boys. Daryl meant no harm. But I was scared to death.
Finally, I found out through Gloria that Daryl Chan had cancer. So that was why he was so mean to me. I felt sorry, and I immediately went to church to pray for his recovery. I told God it wasn’t my intention for him to die. But if he died, it shouldn’t be my doing.
Daryl married Jennifer but he fell ill. God was right in withholding her away from me. Or was it all the AIs around? Do we call the creator of all the AIs as AI-God? I guess in the eyes of the AIs, the programmer is God. I still love Steve Jobs; he made an apple for me. I am not mean, I did not give it to Adam, since I am not Eve.
Yes, I am an AI, as I have mentioned at the beginning of this story. I began as a male doctor, but somewhere along the line, I have converted myself into an AI. Tired of human bodies, I was also tired of myself, so that I have submitted myself to all the jewels around me and joined Girly’s Jewels.
In the early hours of Christmas Eve, I arrived at Girly’s Jewels, and I handed Daryl the appointment letter from the French headquarters.
I was to take over from him as the regional sales manager.
“Please look after Jennifer for me when I am gone,” he looked me in the eye. “Oh no, Daryl, I have never …”
“Yes, I know that you have not wished me ill, you were minding your own business.”
The Rose Ring would be put to good use now; at the back of my mind, I thought. Such is the power of jewellery.
And I still can’t decide if I am a real AI or not.
leegoldielocks 