Queen of Love

“You’ve had a lot of foreign girlfriends, huh?”

Genevieve shook her head, waiting for her bite to go down comfortably. “That’s not what I’m trying to say.”

“I’m teasing you. I know you’re a worldly woman.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?”

Aya leaned forward, offering Genevieve a bite of spicy noodle straight from the wooden chopsticks. “It means you know all the best places in the world to show me.”

The noodle flopped against Genevieve’s chin as it slurped into her mouth. Before the spice overwhelmed her, she grabbed a napkin and wiped away the sauce Aya would undoubtedly want to remove with her thumb. “I’ve been hankering to visit the Mediterranean soon.” She looked wistfully off toward a sign advertising bull testicles, a healthy and virile snack for the discerning eater. “Specifically, Malta. Oh, I haven’t been to Malta in forever! It’s my favorite place in the Mediterranean next to the South of France. Have you ever been?”

“To Malta?” Aya asked as if Genevieve should know the answer to that.

“Ah... well, one of my dear friends from college has a yacht she keeps moored off the coast of Italy. I can’t quite remember where. Anyway, she said if it’s available, I can sail it to Malta whenever I want. Maybe I should take her up on it.”

“Was she at the party?”

“Who? Celeste? Oh, no. She’s been slumming it in Europe for the past two years. Refuses to come down to Asia ever since the pandemic started.” Genevieve shook her head. “Some ang moh can be really like that.”

“Do I qualify as an ang moh?”

“Hm, maybe? It usually means Westerners.”

“You mean white?”

“Basically.”

Aya finished her skewer and faced down the plate of noodles. Half of her milk was already gone, but it seemed to add to her enjoyment of hawker food, and that was what mattered to Genevieve. Have I told her our street food is a UNESCO cultural landmark yet? Maybe that was too much bragging for date night.

“We have a word like that in Japan, you know,” Aya continued. “Gaijin.”

“Mm! I’ve heard of it. ‘Outside Person’ is the kanji, right?”

“Yes. Although to be polite, you should call them gaikokujin.”

“I think every country and language in Asia has a word. In Taiwan, they call them lao wei. In Hong Kong it’s gwai low.”

“Do you go to Taiwan often?”

Genevieve cocked her head. “Yes, actually. Though I haven’t gone as often lately. Mostly to check in on my properties. I actually weathered most of the pandemic there. It was where most of my friends were.”

“You didn’t stay in Singapore?”

“I tried. Actually, I was in Taipei when everything started, and we rushed to get business done so I could fly back to Singapore and stick out the ‘worst’ of it. Or what we all thought would be the worst back then.”

Aya nodded.

“Except I went absolutely crazy on that property all by myself. Most of my employees went to stay with their families. A couple asked if they could have elderly family members stay with them in their apartments, and of course, I said yes, but that meant their attentions were elsewhere. It was so lonely, even with video chats and texting. When I had the chance to haul ass back to Taiwan, I took it with the understanding I probably wouldn’t be coming back to Singapore for a few months, at least. At least I was with friends, though.”

”Is Wendy Ahn one of those friends?”

Genevieve detected sarcasm in Aya’s deep voice. “Hell. No. I mean, we’re good acquaintances, but it’s more like a frenemy situation. You keep her close so she’s technically on your good side. That’s about it.”

“Who would you say your closest friends are? Did I meet them?”

“No, I… I don’t think so.” A couple had come to the party, but they were the few who didn’t speak fluent English. While that meant they could converse in Mandarin or Hokkien with the other guests, they couldn’t say much to Aya. They haven’t been traveling much, either. “Wendy and I are probably the biggest travelers in that circle. For me, it’s business around Asia, for Wendy…” Genevieve shrugged. “You know how it is.”

“I’m definitely not traveling for business.”