There were to be twelve all together and I was the organizer.
I grew up witnessing my mother in the role of organizing social functions. She had a knack in doing it and she never got tired with this kind of activity. Yet, not all her efforts received praises. Nearly all her functions involved women, sometimes as many as 24 ladies, so squabbles were inevitable. Seeing such unpleasantries, I vowed not to follow her foot step.
But this dinner was different. There would be friends some of us had never set our eyes on for 40 years. If we could all sit down to meet after all that time, what’s with a few emails and phone calls?
Esther Hui Siu-lung was quick to respond with a phone call. Her firm and positive voice filled my study as I put my mobile on loud speaker for Julie Mao to listen on the other end. Julie and I happened to be talking on the land phone when she called. Esther was also the first to arrive. There is no need to stand on ceremony with her. Her face was filled with the same warmth and sunny smile we had known from time gone. She said she was always in a C class, so we might not have been in the same class together. But there is this familiarity the more I look at her.
There must have been something we had done together, a joint experience we had had that needed exploring in future occasions. Like myself, she was a teacher and had been teaching for 33 years before she retired early last September. She was a Music teacher and a devoted Christian. Married with one son she lives, as we soon found out, in the same estate as Petula.
Yeung Chung-kwong, or CK, replied to the invitation promptly too. I had not seen him since 2000 although we both live in Hong Kong. The occasion just did not present itself or if it did, I somehow let it slip. CK, as it turned out, live in the same estate as Kathy for many years but they never bumped into each other. It is a big estate with many blocks in different directions. Not meeting is not uncommon. CK retired from Maritime affairs a full civil servant. He said he had been sick recently but had not told us what ailment he was suffering from. He apologized he had to leave early for his doctor suggested not turning in late. Even with all the talk about not being at the top of his shape, he is distinguished looking with his mustache and partially grey hair. He came to the meeting equipped with a SLR camera intent on capturing memories.
Petula called me on Thursday that she was to meet Robin Cheung for lunch on Saturday and asked me if I could join. I told her I had no plan to be in Kowloon before dinner and I declined. I rang her later that day to propose another plan. They were to ride the east rail train to University and I picked them up outside the station. At 2 pm on Saturday, I met Robin for the first time since 1998 in Cupertino. I took them to Science Park with the intention to walk around the promenade before heading for tea in the Italian place called Meriverglia. But the sun was fierce and obviously from the look on Robin’s face, he was not too keen about the sun and the humidity of our weather. So we went into the restaurant and waited for tea service to begin at 3.
Robin had just been to Shanghai to sell his project. He used the phrase ‘my swan song’ to describe his one last dream before retirement. He needs venture capital in the billions and I told him I only thought in terms of thousands. In plain layman’s terms he and his partner want to make memory chips iPhone or iPad uses but at perhaps a fraction of the price today. I may not have understood what’s cooking in his pot but just the same I wish him luck.
I remember Robin as an avid reader and he told us he liked to read about how events came together. Petula said her calligraphy called for knowledge in historical background and that’s what she read. My readings were of such a variety I dared say I had any preference.
From Science Park we took a drive through Chinese University. Since nobody wanted to get out to have a stroll, we proceeded to 沙田第一城 where Kathy Chin lived. From Shatin we drove towards Sai Kung. I got them to visit my humble home on Sai Sha Road for a brief 30 minutes before heading on to Sai Kung town. Not realizing the sky was getting dark and it was a Saturday night when Sai Kung would be packed with tourists, I had to drive through without stopping anywhere to have a look. I considered the drive as 行大運 and whatever we were wishing at the time, it would come true. Passing Good Hope College on the old Clear Water Bay Road, Petula pointed out she and I had a CE exams there. Robin had no recollection we had to go to different schools to sit for different subjects. Speaking of ‘trou de memoir’!
Kathy Chin was the quiet one in school. She once told me she was neither pretty nor smart in school so who would want to pay attention on her. If only she was in the same class with me earlier! I was good at befriending the quiet ones and drawing them out of their shelves. Kathy is very perceptive as evidenced in her reminding Robin to put on his seat belt. We had no idea he had not had his seat belt on until Kathy got on. Kathy is retired. She was in administrative work at Baptist University before circumstances at work were no longer conducive for her to stay so she chose early retirement. As with all of us who experienced the pain of losing both parents, she feels exceptionally vulnerable without the elder ones around. She is living with her elder sister who is presently not feeling well. That adds to her worries. Kathy has never had a mean word to say about anyone, she glows when she talks about her dear friend Brenda whom she will soon meet. In making contact with Kathy, I have gained a faithful reader for my blog.
Wong Shu-pui is the younger brother of our Chinese teacher Wong Yiu-kwong or 肥仔王. Nobody remembered Mr Wong’s full name except his alias. But we all remember Shu-pui. He is still the easy going, sometimes humorous, and always pleasing to talk to guy we knew from younger days. He said we were looking at the new and slim down yours truly, for he had lost many kilos. He told us he was able to devour the bread his wife bought for breakfast in the evening after dinner without feeling the slightest fullness in the stomach. Shu-Pui had a printing business for years but had to fold a couple of years ago. He didn’t have this depressive look that one would expect to find from someone who had lost a business and a career. The positive ions he radiated when he told us about his work at a tailor shop reassured us life could go on happily one way or another. I wish I could have the occasion to meet his wife and daughter. Mr Wong had just had an operation (通波仔) so we wrote him a get well card and signed our names neatly in a straight row, just like what we were taught.
After Shu-pui came David Lui. Retail work suits him marvelously. He looks really good in his suit. The added weight of middle age has made it easier for him to carry an Italian suit. And because he is tall too, he seems quite over bearing. I have always enjoyed going to Horizon Plaza in Ap Lei Chau even before David started to work for Lane Crawford. So other than our dinner gatherings which happened may be once or twice a year, I saw him from to to time when I dropped by the Plaza.
From where I sat that evening I saw Alex Yu at the entrance so I waved him in. He had his wife Emily with him. I had not seen Alex since may be Form 6, so almost 40 years. To say he had not changed would be a lie but since he was just as slim as before, he actually looked very much like when he was in school. Of course he looked older, weren’t we all? Alex and Emily are both doctors working in public health care. Alex is a specialist in kidney medicine. We all told him to hang in there and not to retire early for our own selfish reasons. I always say only the small potatoes retire early and the VIPs are the never-retirees. Emily told us Alex was a 宅男 or someone who doesn’t socialize with others, before he turned 40. Now he is more than ready to meet up with his old friends from Munsang. Judging from how eager he wanted to read what was posted in the forum, I do believe the time to reconnect is ripe for all of us. Like Robin said we spent our years working and some of us were also busy raising children, there was not time to put a lot of thoughts on school pals. As we are older, we reminiscence more. Like the French say ‘Le reserche de les temps perdu’ or the search for lost time.
Last to arrive were Vincent and Patsy Lam. They had a prior engagement earlier and Vincent said he would not miss the gathering for anything. Vincent had the nickname of 林妹妹 or Lim Dai-yu from The Dream Of The Red Chamber. The origin of the name was lost but I suspect it has a lot to do with his surname and his rather feminine demeanor when he was young. Of course the Vincent today is no where near femininity. He is a dentist with a passion for ballroom dancing, golf, badminton and watching ball games. Even with all those hobbies, he has managed to raise three children, with the youngest just starting dental school in Boston. Without further elaboration, we all know how essential Patsy has been to his family all these years.
At one point in the dinner, Vincent seemed to be apologizing for his lack of contact with friends in his student days in Canada. He said school and part-time work took most of his time. As we were listening, our ever pleasant Shu-pui smilingly said he was forgiven.
It was in a breezy atmosphere the dinner ended. With mission accomplished, I let them all walk to the MTR station and I drove Kathy back to Shatin. Perhaps I now understand a little why my mother stuck to her organizing job all those years.
