Queen of Love

She didn’t have to ask which bar Nyla was talking about, either. There was only one active bar open a block away from Mango’s, and it was the one where she bumped into Genevieve what felt like so long ago now. While Aya lingered outside, she opened her old chat window with Genevieve and considered typing something. Their last correspondence had been two days ago when Aya said good morning and Genevieve wished her a good day at work.

With a sigh, Aya entered and was immediately asked what drink she wanted with her cover charge. So much for Nyla paying.

She wasn’t difficult to find. Nyla sat at the end, where she observed the bartender on duty and gazed at the stock on display. The moment she saw Aya, she gestured to the stool next to her. With the Riot Grrl music loud enough to make Aya go deaf, she needed to sit close to Nyla to hear her, anyway.

“How do you do it?” she asked the woman whose name meant “virtuous fragrance.”

“Hm? Do what?”

Nyla didn’t take her eyes off the bartender making Aya’s drink. As rum was injected into the cola, Aya said, “How are you getting those postcards on my door handle?”

”Is that where you find them? Interesting. I just pay someone in your building to put it there. Money talks. Same in Taiwan. Same in Japan.”

“Your English has really improved since you’ve been here.” Aya thanked the bartender for her drink. “Must be that immersion learning.”

“Better than my Japanese. I tried ordering, and the girl looked at me like I was crazy. Is it because she thinks I’m Chinese?”

“Maybe.” Aya sniffed her glass.

“It’s all cola,” Nyla said. “These drinks are so easy on the alcohol.”

A sip told Aya that her glass was, indeed, light on the alcohol. “Are you taking notes on the competition?”

“Eh. I was tired of making my own drinks. Also, kinda lonely. I’ve been here almost a month. My girlfriend tried to visit, but couldn’t get a visa. Too bad. She would like my room.”

“I’m sure your girlfriend misses you.”

“Who, Terry? Of course she misses me. I’m her sunlight!”

Aya laughed. “Is that what she says?”

“No, no. I mean I make her get up in the morning. Without me, she sleeps all day. Parties all night. I love her, but she’s like a kid sometimes. You would never guess she is over ten years older than me.”

“Sou ka? I’ve never dated someone with such an age gap.”

“Genevieve is older. Strange relationship.”

“Yes, I know you two used to date. She had mentioned it.”

Nyla gazed in Aya’s direction. “Genevieve misses you.”

That was the moment Aya tasted the rum in her drink. Hits like a brick, sometimes. She puckered her mouth. “The reason you called me here, I assume.”

“I did not lie. I am lonely. Would like to talk to somebody.” She shook her watered-down drink in Aya’s face. “More I drink, the better my English. Right?”

“That’s how it goes, in my experience.”

“So, let’s talk in English. So when I go back to Taiwan, I impress my girlfriend, who speaks more languages than me, not as many as Genevieve.” Nyla shrugged. “As I said, she misses you. You miss her?”

Aya kept her glass close to her mouth, although she did not steadily drink. “Of course I miss her. She shocked me by going back to Singapore. I thought she was breaking up with me.”

Nyla laughed.

”Is it funny?”

The bartender was hailed for another drink. After Nyla pantomimed what she wanted, Aya relayed to the bartender that what her young friend desired was a whiskey sour. Once that was settled, Nyla said, “Genevieve doesn’t like to break up. So, you would know for sure.”

“That’s what I’ve heard.”