she knew — some shark fin soup, a steamed sea bass. She had never tried Pierre, though, and realized she felt like meat.
The restaurant shared the same view of Victoria Harbour as the M Bar. Night was descending and the Hong Kong skyline had begun to light up. She tipped the maître d’ one hundred Hong Kong dollars and asked for a table near the window. If there was a more magnificent view than the Hong Kong harbour at night, she hadn’t seen it.
The menu was skewed towards tasting options. Ava preferred to pick and choose, regardless of the cost.
She had carried a glass of burgundy with her from the bar and told the waiter to keep filling her glass with the same wine. He stood next to the table, pen in hand. “I’ll let you know when I’m ready to order,” she told him.
“They seem to be in such a rush,” a voice said behind her.
Ava turned and saw a middle-aged couple sitting at the next table. The accent was American, the clothes were as well.
“In Chinese restaurants efficiency is valued,” Ava said. “This restaurant may serve French food but the servers are all Chinese. They can’t escape their culture.”
“Why, thank you,” the woman said.
“You’re welcome,” Ava said, turning back to the menu.
Although she loved foie gras, there was a limit to how much meat her system could absorb. It took her five minutes to decide what to have for dinner. The waiter stood against the wall now, trying to ignore her. She snapped her fingers. Her mother would have been upset. One of her life lessons was to never upset a waiter, particularly a Chinese one, as their penchant for spitting in customers’ food was legendary. Ava had long ago decided not to worry about what waiters did with her food before it got to the table.
She ordered a black truffle, mushroom, and spinach tartlet, bouillabaisse mousseline, and a roast saddle of lamb Lozère with oregano, white beetroot purée, and tabbouleh.
The woman at the next table said, “Good choice. I had the lamb last night and it was wonderful.”
Ava looked at them again. They were older than she had first thought, and the man was drooping, his chin falling onto his chest as he tried to keep his eyes open. “Do you mind if I join you?” Ava asked.
“Please,” the woman said, introducing herself as Ellen, and her husband as, Larry.
They were from Shaker Heights, Cleveland, and this was their first trip to Asia. They were travelling with another couple who seemed obsessed with shopping, having bought a new suitcase already though they had been in Hong Kong for only two days. They were scheduled to go to Singapore, Bangkok, and Kuala Lumpur. The woman was nervous. Hong Kong was more than she could have imagined, and for the rest of it, well . . .
For once Ava enjoyed the distraction. The husband was out of it, barely able to stay awake long enough to eat, but the woman was smart and curious, and Ava found herself lecturing. She had been to all of the places on their tour and waded into the pros and cons. The woman had a little pad in her purse that she pulled out to take notes as Ava rambled on. Kuala Lumpur was okay; it was too bad they had scheduled Singapore, as Bangkok was worth more time. And how, how could they not go to China?
“Larry wants us to go to Macau tomorrow,” she said, flicking a finger at her husband.
“Do you like Las Vegas?” Ava asked.
“No, I hate the place.”
“Macau is a perverse Vegas.”
“Oh.”
“So what do suggest?”
“Go to Lantau Island, see the Buddha, see the part of Hong Kong that isn’t all concrete and commercialism.”
Their food kept arriving as they talked, Larry waking long enough to taste everything and then nodding off again. Ava ate as if she hadn’t seen food in days. It was all wonderful, the lamb medium-rare and so tender she barely had to chew.
The women passed on dessert and ordered cognac. Larry was now sleeping soundly. As they sipped, Ellen asked Ava if she was married.
“I’m a lesbian,” Ava said.
“That wouldn’t go down so well in Shaker Heights,” Ellen said.
“I’m from Toronto. Not so bad there, but in Hong Kong it makes you a pariah.”
“Funny world.”
“Not to me.”
The bill arrived and Ava reached for it, but Ellen was there first. “No, you have to let me pay. You have been charming and so very helpful. I