made a respectable dent in the New Year desserts, Shaoyen handed a large red-and-gold shopping bag to Eleanor. “Here, just a small token for you to celebrate the holiday. Xin nian kuai le.”*4
“Aiyah, no need lah! What’s this?” Eleanor said, pulling out an instantly recognizable orange-and-brown-trimmed box from the shopping bag. Lifting the cover, she saw that the box contained a Hermès Birkin bag.
“Do you like it? I know you tend to wear neutral colors, so I got you the White Himalayan Nile Crocodile,” Shaoyen explained.
Eleanor knew that this handbag, dyed in the chocolate, beige, and white tones of a Himalayan cat, had to cost at least a hundred thousand dollars. “Alamak! This is far too lavish! I can’t accept this!”
“It’s just a small token, really,” Shaoyen said demurely.
“I appreciate the gesture, but I cannot accept it. I know how much these things cost. You should be saving this for yourself.”
“No, no, too late,” Shaoyen said as she unfastened the buckle and lifted up the front flap of the handbag. Embossed on the leather were Eleanor’s initials—E.Y.
Eleanor sighed. “This is too much. I must pay you for this—”
“No, no. Do not insult us. This is nothing compared to all the kindness you have shown us over the past few months.”
You don’t know what I’m really up to, Eleanor thought. She turned to Carlton and said, “Help me out here. This is outrageous!”
“It’s really no big deal,” Carlton said.
“It IS a big deal! You know I can’t possibly accept such a generous gift from your mother.”
Carlton scoffed. “Come, Mrs. Young. Let me show you something.” He wheeled himself out of the sitting room, beckoning Eleanor to follow. At the end of the hallway, he opened the door to one of the guest bedrooms and turned on the light. Eleanor peered into the room. It was sparsely furnished but almost impossible to walk into.
Covering the entire floor were Hermès bags and matching boxes, and displayed on top of each box was a Birkin or Kelly handbag—in every color of the rainbow, in every possible variation of exotic leather. Along every wall were custom-built cabinets that displayed rows and rows of Hermès handbags, all illuminated by soft accent lights. There were more than a hundred handbags in the room, and the calculator in Eleanor’s brain started going into overdrive.
“This is my mother’s gift room. She’s giving an Hermès to every single doctor, nurse, and physical therapist at Camden Medical Centre who’s helped me over the past few months.”
Eleanor stared at all the handbags crammed into the room, her mouth agape.
“My mother has one weakness. And now you know what it is,” Carlton said with a laugh.
Shaoyen proceeded to show Eleanor some of the most unique Hermès bags—customized just for her. Privately, Eleanor felt it was a gigantic waste of money. Think how many Noble Group or CapitaLand shares she could buy instead! But publicly, she made a show of oohing and aahing over the bags.
Eleanor thanked them again for the lavish gift and prepared to depart. Carlton rolled over to the entrance foyer and said, “Take the elevator this time, Mrs. Young. I’ll send your car down by itself, and it will be waiting for you when you reach the lobby.”
“Oh thank you so much, Carlton. I was thinking I might have a panic attack if I had to go in that car elevator again!”
Shaoyen and Carlton waved goodbye at the elevator vestibule. The doors closed, but instead of going down immediately, there was an unusual pause. On the other side of the door, Eleanor heard Carlton let out a sudden yell.
“Ow! Ooow! That one really hurt, Mother! What have I done?”
“BAICHI! *5 How dare you tell Eleanor Young so much of our business? Have you learned nothing?” Shaoyen screamed in Mandarin.
Then the elevator began its rapid descent, and Eleanor could hear no more.
* * *
*1 Oriental Garments, better known as OG, is a homegrown department store chain established in 1962. Offering value-for-money apparel, accessories, and household items, it’s the go-to place for old-money Singaporean ladies of a certain generation who claim that they only wear Hanro underwear but secretly buy all their discount Triumph bras and panties there.
*2 Mandarin for “thank you.”
*3 Cantonese for “to introduce.”
*4 “Happy New Year” in Mandarin.
*5 Mandarin for “Idiot!”
4
RIDOUT ROAD
SINGAPORE
From: Astrid Teo
Date: February 9, 2013 at 10:42 PM
To: Charlie Wu
Subject: HNY!
Hey you,
Just wanted to wish you a Happy New Year! I got home from the annual yee sang* dinner with my in-laws, and I suddenly remembered the