CHAPTER 7: FLOOZIE & TACKY

Monday, 13 August 2001

Speak of the devil.

I was cursing away when my mobile phone rang this morning. 9am! Who in their right mind would call so early?! Nevermind that it was a work day and that the vast majority of the workforce was already in the office, I was still asleep okay?! I grabbed at it and stared into the LCD screen. Hmmm...the caller identity wasn't working.

"Hello," I answered, rather warily.

"Hey, Floozie."

Oh my gawd.

I haven't heard that voice, that deep drawl and especially that nickname for goodness knows how long. I had to be dreaming. Yea, that's it. It was still early, so I had to be dreaming.

"Hello? Floozie? You there?"

Somebody pinch me. Ouch. Okay, time to wake up from this silly dream.

"Floozie?"

No, no, no. This couldn't be real. I had to be hearing voices. I'll count to ten now and soon wake up from this dream.

"Come on, Floozie. You're not dreaming, okay. It is me."

Damn. I hate it when he does that. It was like he could always read my mind. I took a deep breath and finally opened my mouth

I hope my voice sounded casual enough. "Hi Tacky. Fancy hearing from you. And to what do I owe this honour?"

Uh huh. Floozie and Tacky. And stop laughing. It's not *that* funny. Floozie was of course, yours truly, and Tacky was Takeshi. It was how he called me and it was how I called him. I guess some things just never change.

"Aww, Floozie. Must there be a reason? I just wanted to hear your voice."

Yeaaaa, sure. I have two feet here - which one do you want to pull?

"Oh, really? So now that you've heard my voice, what can I do for you?" I said. Argh. What was wrong with me? It was great just to hear his voice again. It's been, what, 3 long years - I even thought I would have forgotten what it sounded like - well, apparently not. But why was I being such a bitch and so sarky in my reply? Now, now, you can't exactly let him know that you're excited to hear his voice. That would just be so totally un-cool. No, Flora. Stay calm and act as nonchalant as possible.

I heard him sigh. "So anyway, how have you been?" he asked.

"Great! I've been great! Life couldn't get any better!" I lied straight through my teeth.

"That's good."

Then silence. I shifted uncomfortably.

"Are you back in town?" I finally asked, a little nervous.

Takeshi chuckled. "No, I'm not. I'm still in good 'ole New York City. Why? Do you miss me?"

"Don't be so full of yourself," I scolded. Did I miss him? I didn't know. I really didn't know.

He chuckled again. "Hey, guess what? I bought a new car. The Volvo S40 with full extras - leather seats, 17-inch rims and sunroof."

"Volvo S40?!" I exclaimed in disgust. "That's like such an old man's car, isn't it? Why didn't you get a, I don't know, BMW or...or...Honda instead?"

"Honda?! Every other Asian here drives a Honda. It's so...what's the word...Chinatown...," he scoffed.

"Excuse me. *I* drive a Honda," I duly reminded him. And why the hell were we talking about cars anyway? Oh well, I guess it *was* something to talk about. Better than silence.

"Oh. Oops, I forgot," he laughed. "Don't tell me you're still driving the Civic?"

I scowled. "No. I got myself the CRV."

"So, you finally got it, huh?"

"Yeah. So, like, are you planning a trip back or what?" I asked. Arghh. Regret, regret. Now, he's going to think I'm hard-up for him to come back.

"Not really. A new project just started. I doubt I'll be able to get any time off. How about you? Want to come over and visit?"

Visit? New York? Him? Oh, be still my beating heart. Be still, damn it.

I laughed at his suggestion, hinting at how preposterous it was. "Are you mad? I don't print money over here, you know. It's like 3.8 Malaysian Ringgit to 1 US dollar!"

"I could buy you the ticket if you like. Expenses fully paid for."

I nearly dropped the phone. *Hello?* What was this guy trying to do? Did he somehow forget that we were no longer together? What did he have up his sleeve? Or did he have too much money, he didn't know what to do with it?

"You're crazy. And anyway, I have waaaay too much work," I casually turned down his offer.

We talked on for another hour - mostly about trivial things - before Takeshi realised I was still in bed and not at work yet. After an earful of his admonishes, he eventually said goodbye.

Wow. I had just spent an hour on the phone with him and I still couldn't believe it. Did he really miss me? Did he really call just to hear my voice and to just...*talk*? And what was that deal about him offering to pay my way to visit him in New York? Did he want to get back together? Okay, stop it Flora. Enough. Don't go jumping to conclusions now. It's been 7 years. 7 bloody long years. Any normal person would have gotten over whatever it was by now. You had your chance with him and you blew it.

I could still remember Mag's outburst then.

"What?! Are you mad?! Takeshi simply adores you. Why did you have to go break it off?!" she had screamed.

Seriously, till today I am still unable to answer that. Blame it on youth. Blame it on impulsiveness. Blame it on stupidity. Serves me right that I still couldn't find myself a man till today. Maybe this was punishment for turning away and breaking the heart of the one who was meant for me in the first place.

Whoaa…slow down, Flora. Keep a clear mind, keep a clear mind. It was just one lousy phone call. Just one *innocent* little phone call. Don't go making a big deal out of it.

Oh boy, I had to tell somebody or I'd go absolutely crazy. I hurriedly picked up the phone and dialed Mag's number.