Faun at the Haig

Mission accomplished more or less. Fair and reasonable success. Landlady Doreen had left for work early (she would return early too, but it was the morning that was important). As expected there had been little of questions or messaging from Ni. When Ni left Kovan she sent the usual courtesy message — she was OTW. Otherwise there was the single other contact, a call in fact, for the number of the block. Ni remembered the neighbourhood well enough, but it was easy to lose oneself in the thicket of towers. Entrance D she recalled; the markings on the blocks themselves were much less prominent. Ni didn't say from where she was calling and she wasn't asked. Her favourite almond milk had been bought for her, she was told the night before; no need stop for it on the way. Had she however cooked as usual, getting up early in order to have everything ready? The question the night before on the use of "auntie's" kitchen had not been answered; at that stage Dor's movements the next morning were unknown. A stop for take-out from the Haig might have been another reason for delay. It was best when Ni hurried along directly as she usually did; stopping for one reason or another was frustrating after a month of absence. Door left open as advised. No knock had been audible. Here she was then in excellent time, entering and closing the door promptly and quietly behind her. Neither the turn of the knob nor footsteps had been heard—as near as one could get to finger-snapping abracadabra. All excellent well. Ni could not have known whether auntie was in or not, leaving that uncertainty had been intentional. Adeptly negotiated by Ni. Pee... You?... What you Ni? Come to bed....The bed-cover was raised high, perhaps a naked flank was visible, or part visible; aircon high. Ni would be hot after her 1.1km trek from the MRT and not much less had she taken the bus. Last time you don't want take. Now you off.... What was a girl supposed to do? The last few visits Ni had adopted skirts because of her lover's preference for his particular kind of preliminaries in the love-making. Ni stood long-legged against the side of the bed. (Showing the room at the beginning Doreeen had called it a large single or 1 1/2 size bed. On her first visit to Dor's flat Ni had approved, saying it enforced closeness. She would repeat the same on this visit too. In the kampung she had what she called a king size bed, Ni said.) Pressed against the side of the mattress Ni unbuttoned her white frilly blouse, working almost as quickly as one would have wished. (Three years before after a two month absence another Indo lover from the other side of Java, the hot chili Eastern region, had literally leapt from the hotel room doorway into the arms, thereby causing a slight stumble and half-collapse onto the bed, where sexual union was completed within a matter of minutes of arrival.) Ni's blouse had a difficult zipper. Once it came off over her head Ni had thought to join her lover with what looked like new lime green briefs. Not permissible. Usually the briefs were retained and Ni strong-armed over the matter. Everything was different and contrary this morning. Immediate compliance. Now the girl could be admitted under the covers, coverlet raised for entry something like a cloth over the opening of a cavern. As she bent, in the act of plunging, Ni gave a brief glance downward, a kind of survey seeing what she was getting herself into. Briefest glance but no mistake; the head turned back round afterward. The smile was full of delight, it recalled girlish pleasure from summers around backyard pools where young lasses dropped themselves into the water with eager relish. A giggle might have escaped Ni. Another girl might have aimed for the far side of the bed against the wall; or one unable to be more direct would have attempted a nervous elbowing aside of her lover in order to enter the bed more demurely. In Ni's case the landing was aimed squarely atop her lover, with other, different smiles here. With each visit Ni was loading up a great deal in the memory bank. There had been an attempted break two years before when another lover, another kind of love, had been awoken. Ni was better than the others she confidently declared; the others which she assumed but said she didn’t want to think about.