Somewhere along the line

By LYDIA TEH

AFTER a late dinner, Eh Poh Nim and Gene Rick strolled along the sidewalk of busy Bangsar, hands linked tightly in each other’s. The night throbbed with excitement as people flocked to the pubs and eateries. Suddenly, a woman pushed past them.

“Hey, watch where you’re going!” Gene Rick called out.

The woman turned around. “Sorry!” she whimpered. Her face was streaked with mascara-laced tears.

When she spun back to continue her journey, she stumbled on three steps built onto the hitherto level pavement. She fell. Gene Rick and Eh Poh Nim helped her up. By then, she was sobbing and looking about distraughtly.

“He’s after me!” she mumbled repeatedly.

The couple persuaded her to go into a nearby cafeteria to calm down.

“Who’s after you?” Eh Poh Nim asked when they had seated themselves.

“Mr Hong. He’s my client from Taiwan. My boss asked me to entertain him but I didn’t know he meant for me to ... to ...” She burst into tears again.

She rubbed her neck with a crumbly piece of tissue. “I feel so violated! I told my boss I’m willing to do anything to get a promotion but I have to draw the line at being a GRO to clients! I absolutely have to set limits when it comes to this.”

“Didn’t you read between the lines when your boss told you about the entertaining?” Eh Poh Nim held up her fingers in quote marks at “entertaining”.

“I didn’t think there was anything to infer,” she sniffed. “When clients come, we take them out for meals and later to the lounge for some drinks. I didn’t realise ...” She choked with emotion.

Eh Poh Nim stared at her. Beneath the smudged make-up was a fresh unlined face. “How old are you, er ... Miss ...”

“Jennifer. I’m twenty-two.”

“Your boss expected you to toe the line?” Gene Rick asked.

“I usually do what is expected of me but not this!” Jennifer squared her shoulders and exclaimed angrily, “I won’t prostitute myself in the line of duty!”

Eh Poh Nim and Gene Rick exchanged glances with each other. Eh Poh Nim explained, “In the line of duty means while doing what is expected in a job that’s dangerous in nature. For example, policemen and firemen are sometimes killed in the line of duty.”

“What should I do now?” Jennifer asked in a frightened voice. “Should I report it to the police?”

Gene Rick said, “If I were you, I’ll take the line of least resistance.”

“What do you mean?” Jennifer asked.

“Take the course of action that will cause least trouble or effort,” Eh Poh Nim said. “I think that perverted Mr Hong should be punished. What does he think of Malaysian girls, huh? That we’re easy prey? He should be taught a lesson.”

“Do you know how much trouble you have to go through?” Gene Rick asked.

“I can’t believe I’m hearing this from you, Gene Rick. Where are your principles?” Eh Poh Nim asked heatedly.

“Even if you reported it, the outcome would still be the same. That guy will get away scot-free,” Gene Rick explained in a long-suffering tone.

“Pray tell how would you know that?” Eh Poh Nim was so agitated she slammed the table twice.

Turning to Jennifer who was seated beside her, she said, “You go and make your report, girl. And you take a hard line with your boss. Tell him you’re not going to stand for this kind of nonsense. If you don’t deal firmly with him, he’ll take advantage of a young naïve girl like you.”

“What if he fires me?” Jennifer asked.

“Good riddance to bad rubbish,” Eh Poh Nim said.

“But I can’t lay my job on the line. I’m the only breadwinner in my family,” Jennifer said.

“What sort of advice are you dishing out?” Gene Rick looked exasperated. “How could you ask her to risk losing her job?”

“Let’s lay it on the line then, Gene Rick. This facet of you is new to me and I don’t like it at all,” Eh Poh Nim said.

“Okay, you want to be frank, I’ll be frank with you. I can’t stand your loquaciousness! Big mouth!” Gene Rick said.

“What?! You, you ... you nincompoop!” Eh Poh Nim sputtered with rage.

“Hey, you’re way out of line!” Gene Rick yelled.

“And who started calling names first? You’re the one who’s out of control!” Eh Poh Nim shouted.

A bell rang. A waiter was jiggling a bell as he approached their table. “Excuse me, would you please take your quarrel outside? We want our customers to enjoy their meals.”

He continued ringing the bell. The sound was beginning to unnerve Eh Poh Nim. She felt a migraine coming; she closed her eyes. When she opened them, she found herself lying in bed. Her alarm clock was ringing its head off.

It was a dream after all. She heaved a sigh of relief.

• If you like reading Eh Poh Nim articles, get a copy of Do You Wear Suspenders? The Wordy Tales of Eh Poh Nim, out in major bookstores now. Check out the bookertizement to promote the book at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XdWUgkhsZYU.