The Scottish Banker of Surabaya - By Ian Hamilton Page 0,72
door. C’mon, it will take your mind off your troubles.”
Ava looked around the room. Anything had to be better than staying there. “I have a meeting at six, so I’ll have to be back here by at least a quarter to.”
“Not a problem. We don’t have to go far.”
What the hell, Ava thought. “I’ll be down in a few minutes,” she said.
Fay hovered by the hotel’s front door. In knee-length pink shorts, a plain white T-shirt, and no makeup, she looked barely out of her teens. She held her arms out to Ava as she crossed the lobby. They hugged. “You look so pale,” Fay said.
“Some air will probably do me good,” said Ava.
They slid into the Audi, the air conditioning going full blast. “Where to? Do you want to eat? See some more sights? Shop?”
“I wouldn’t mind going back to Chinatown,” Ava said.
Fay made a right turn out of the hotel driveway, drove for about a hundred metres, and then did a U-turn at a gap in the concrete divider that separated the lanes. They hadn’t gone more than another hundred metres before they heard a siren. Ava glanced back and saw a policeman on a motorbike bearing down on them.
Fay pulled over to the curb, shaking her head. He parked his bike in front of their car and walked towards them. He was short and pudgy, a look accentuated by a tight grey shirt and black jodhpurs. Fay rolled down her window and then reached into the compartment between the two front seats and pulled out a piece of paper. He began waving his finger the moment he got to the window. Fay spoke to him in Indonesian and handed him the paper. He read it and then lowered his head. She took back the paper and handed him a ten-thousand-rupiah banknote. The policeman took the bill and then spoke rapidly to her in Indonesian, pointing in the direction they were going. Fay shook her head.
“What was that about?” Ava asked when he had left.
“I made an illegal U-turn.”
“So I gathered, but the rest of it? The only word I understood was Allah.”
Fay laughed. “My piece of paper says I am a special friend of the police department and to be granted every consideration. I gave him ten thousand rupiah — that’s about one U.S. dollar — to apologize for inconveniencing him. He thanked Allah for my generosity and asked if we wanted him to give us a police escort to wherever we were going.”
“How civilized,” Ava said.
“Yes, for those of us who warrant that kind of treatment. Not everyone is so fortunate.”
Traffic was heavier than it had been the day before, but Fay made it seem more obvious than was needed that she was concentrating on the road. She wants to ask me about Cameron, Ava thought, a bland reply forming in her mind.
“So, Ava, how did you find my sister?” Fay said, glancing slightly sideways.
“She’s wonderful,” Ava said, pleased at the reprieve.
“I know, and it hasn’t always been easy for her.”
“Why is that?”
“Well, she’s the oldest of four sisters — there’s twelve years between me and her. My parents were harder on her than the rest of us. Their expectations were very high.”
“She’s a doctor. They must be pleased about that.”
“Of course, and in this country that’s no small feat.”
Ava saw a sign written in Chinese characters. They were only three kilometres away from Chinatown. “Does Vivian have children?”
“She’s never married.”
“That couldn’t have pleased your parents.”
“It’s less of an issue than the fact that she’s a lesbian.”
Ava didn’t think she had overtly reacted until Fay said, “Don’t look so shocked. I’m surprised you couldn’t tell.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“I mean, you didn’t think she looked like one?”
“It never occurred to me. And tell me, what is a lesbian supposed to look like anyway?”
“A bit masculine, wouldn’t you say? It was worse a few years ago, when she wore her hair shorter. My parents wouldn’t be seen in public with her then. It didn’t bother my sisters or me — God knows we love her — but my parents found it very difficult.”
They reached the outskirts of Chinatown. Fay parked the car in a no-stopping zone and put her piece of paper on the windshield. “We’ll walk from here,” she said. “Is there anything in particular you’d like to see or do?”
The sidewalks were crowded but the women were able to walk side by side. “I’d like to go to the temple again,” Ava said.