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.

It was to be my second waitressing job. The owner was about to transform his restaurant basement into a country and western bar and he needed a cocktail waitress rather than one serving food. I was hired instantly. The waitresses in the dinning room, with Lorenza among them, were eyeing me curiously. I guess they were all wondering who was the girl with the spunk to do the job. It turned out I was totally unprepared to meet the requirement.

The crowd came from farmlands nearby or truckers out for a good time. They were heavy drinkers and rowdy and coarse. The bands were always too loud in that low-ceiIing basement. I had to clip bills between my fingers and moved at lightning speed to satisfy some very thirsty mouths. It was too much even for someone like me, who was normally difficult to unnerve at most circumstances. At first I was the only server until Gerry the boss hired a tough looking girl who soon took over the entire scene in a money grabbing manner. I was considered to be ‘in her way’ and had to be ousted. The boss was sorry to see me go and swiftly offered me a position in the dinning room.

I landed as a food waitress working in the same station as Lorenza.

The owner was Gerry. He moved his family over from Lebanon before war torn the country apart. Like so many rich Lebanese who came to Ottawa at the time, he set up his own restaurant to be independent. His restaurant housed multinational staff. His cook was from Taosen, China, I was from Hong Kong, Lorenza was from Italy and his sister-in-law was from Czehkoslovakia.

Lorenza lived downtown too but she had a moped. In that year moped driver did not require a driver’s license or a helmet. She said her moped was given to her as a break off gift by her Spanish boyfriend before he returned to Spain that summer. Her brother Romano came to Canada as a young man. At the time I met Lorenza, her brother was already the manager of an Italian restaurant downtown. His wife Dagmar used to be a gymnast in her Czehkoslovakia hometown and she was studying a Physical Education degree at Ottawa University. Before coming to Ottawa, Lorenza was a flight attendant. One could imagine what influence that kind of work had on a young woman. She was every bit an Italian lady I used to see in a Sophia Loren and Marcello movie. I was totally enchanted by her accented English and her exaggerated gestures when she spoke. Having not gone through a formal education in Canada, Lorenza had to first master the language and then decide on what discipline she was to pursue to build a career. In the meantime waitressing work was a good way to make a living.

Lorenza the waitress was every bit a professional. She had almost never let a bad day influence her service. She stood firm when came to the quality of food delivered at the kitchen. On one occasion the Chinese cook gave her onion soup that was not boiling hot and she refused to take it out. The cook took up a knife and threatened to use it if she did not relent. But of course she was unpurturbed by the shouting. The person who backed off was the grumbling cook. Ever since that episode the cook learnt to keep away from that fearless Italian diva.

From Lorenza I learnt that most immigrants in Canada at the time came from Southern Italy, namely Napoli or Naples and that North and South were not that friendly. That was why she didn’t want to work in an Italian joint in Ottawa as they were all operated by southern Italians. Not having gone to Italy, my knowledge about the country was what I learnt in European History in school. I soaked up what she told me. She said her father’s side of the family had business in shoe-making but her father was a civil servant. I also got to know civil servants in Italy retired in their 40′s to make room for younger workers.

We helped each other at work and she showed me the ropes at the beginning. It was hard work but the tips were good. Like all caucasian girls I met she was always complaining about her weight and saying how petite us Asian girls were. If only she could live to see me now! Honestly, I had no idea how we could have energy for the day by sharing only a baked potato for lunch.

The boss continued to pick me up for work in the morning and Peter, my boyfriend came to drive me home until it was time to go back to school.

1975 to 1976 was my final year and making time to do something with Lorenza proved to be difficult. It was not until I came back from my course in England that I thought of visiting Lorenza downtown.

My European experience that summer left me with the desire to track around Europe. I decided to take a year off from my to-be-journalist career to earn some quick money to fulfill my wish. Tips from waitressing was almost tax free as nobody needed to know the amount of tips made. And I figured I could do very well if I could work in a classy joint. I thought Lorenza might have some idea where I could do just that.

Luckily for me, Lorenza and Dagmar both worked at Friday’s Steak House out on Elgin Street. The restaurant was housed in a historical building and it served roast beef with Yorkshire pudding. There was also a French dip sandwich-slices of roast beef in baguette to be dipped in beef juices. Kenny was the boss and he was an engineer by training. In the interview he told me he only had an opening for a lunch waitress which meant only three hours maximum per day. The offer did not actually fit my get money quick scheme. When he saw I was hesitant, he told me he was turning the space on the second floor into an elegant piano bar and when it was opened, I would be it’s first cocktail waitress. The line sounded familiar. In the back of my mind I remembered Gerry and how horrible that cocktail waitressing work was. But Kenny did look like an honest lot, so I accepted the job.

All the waitresses at Friday’s wore long dresses. I had one from attending my brother’s wedding earlier in the year and I had a nice necklace with wooden beads a friend gave me in London that summer. So I was all set to serve. Tips at lunch time were surprisingly good. Executives from Bell Canada next door filled the tables. After some teething problems with the older waitresses and the cook Joe, I found the same joy working with Lorenza. Too bad at the end of September the piano bar opened. Our work alongside each other came again only when I was asked to substitute an absentee waitress at lunch.

Lorenza was working and going to college. She was also dating different men but none of them were worthy of her. It seemed like her old Spanish boyfriend had put a curse on all her future relationships. I did my share of match making. There were my friends from Carleton University, my brother and even my late uncle. Cupid did not strike and her dream of having a family was put on hold.

We went on a trip to Toronto for a day. One of two trips we made together. She had never been there before whereas I had been there several times. We took the midnight bus after work and arrived early in the morning. Being young and energetic, we spent the day in downtown Toronto sampling the big city air and dinning in Chinatown. Ironically, Toronto would be our last trip together before I moved back to Hong Kong.

My home in the years between late 1977 to September 1980, was opened at all times to friends either in the city or those from Shawville who were in town for a few days. Peter and I had parties of all sort and cooking was never confined to one person’s work. Anyone who liked to cook could make food for others and we had friends dropping in without prior notices. Lorenza was a part of our breezy lifestyle and we included her in all our adventures. I remember one time I drove her to visit our friends in Shawville in January after a heavy snowstorm. Getting there was not as hard as we thought but walking uphill to Heather and Phillip’s property was near impossible as snow came to our knee when one foot sank into the snow-covered ground. We had laughs fooling around until help came from the owners. Heather and Phillip became friends with Lorenza and a few eligible young men from Shawville were introduced to her as a result.

Then in early 1980 my mother suffered from depression. She was never diagnosed with one but she called me at any hours she pleased and usually ended up in uncontrollable sobs. I had to get home. The whole summer was spent in preparation to leave. I rented a car to carry some of Peter’s stuff over to York University where he was to spend two years finishing his MBA. I invited Lorenza to ride down with me and we could hang out together. The occasion turned out to be very awkward as Perter and I had some problems to work through.

Lorenza was sad to see me go. Her desire to get a companion quickly became so strong I feared she could just get together with anyone. I spent two months in Europe before returning home. And a month later, I heard she was to marry Orest Slepokura a high school teacher with Ukrainian origin, and they were to move to a small town in Alberta where he would begin his new teaching assignment.

With a new place of residence away from her family and friends, Lorenza began her new role as wife and very soon mother of a little girl named Kathy. We managed to see each other briefly in 1981 when I visited Edmonton with my mother in the summer before flying out to Ottawa. And of course I met Orest for the first time.

Our next reunion did not work out well. I was in Richmond, BC for the month of August in 1995. Before going there I asked Lorenza if she would be interested in spending some time there as well. I told her about my small condo and that she could stay with us. Lorenza accepted the invitation and she and her family flew in from Calgary. They stayed for only one night and Orest found a motel somewhere at a sky train stop. I guess we did not know him well and he was not familiar to us. My girlfriend and I were no longer single. We had our husbands to think of and if they did not feel comfortable with strangers, we had to accommodate. We went to English Bay to look at the ocean as Kathy, her daughter had never seen an ocean before. We also went to Pacific Exhibition together. I guess our old feelings for each other were not the same. Somehow the passing time had put up a barrier between us. We were too cautious in each other’s company and Lorenza was full of anxieties. There in Vancouver we parted. The sad thing was after seeing each other we drifted further and further away with practically no communication whatsoever between us. In 2003 when we had the SARS epidemic in Hong Kong, I did receive an email from her but with nothing written. I replied by saying we were all right but I got no response in return. In 2009 when I stopped teaching the email address I was using ceased.

It was not until I met Heather and Phillip in September this year (2011) that her name resurfaced. They were asking about her and I told them we lost touch. Then Phillip had this idea of finding her in the Internet. The Facebook search did not give me Lorenza Slepokura and I could not remember Orest name at first, but there was a Kathy Slepokura and I sent her a message asking her if she was my friend’s daughter. I never got an answer from her.

Further search on goggle turned up a counselling teacher with the name of Lorenza Slepokura. Again an email to the association of teachers did not get me an answer. Then I thought of her brother Romano Lelli in Ottawa and found a website for Romano’s Restaurant. Phillip immediately placed a call to Ottawa. It turned out Romano had retired and sold his restaurant. A quick call to the Ottawa directory gave us Romano’s listed number. Heather, Thomas and I were in the living room when the call Phillip placed got through. In return for finding the right person, we were given the bad news. Our friend lost her life to cancer earlier this year. We were all speechless.

In the process of writing this piece my friend’s every facade filled my mind in all those hours. I was bathed by my thoughts on her and that’s my way of saying it had been my luck and honour to have met her.

When I was in high school, I was not close to Patrick. In fact, I was so busy with my other stuff, namely music, film and books; I was not paying a lot of attention to my male classmates. I also have a confession to make here. When I was in primary six, I had a crush on a boy called Nam Yuk-chuen （藍玉泉）. We had a few child-like contacts but nothing came out of the relationship. He repeated the year and that had put an end to any girlie thoughts I might have for him. After that episode, I practically gave up on my male classmates. I might have teased them but there were never any romantic notions for them. Anyway back to Patrick and how our friendship began.

You might have remembered I said I went to Canada in 1972 to begin my first year university studies. Our Munsang classmates had more than a few gatherings. An overnight camp in Wu Kai-sha, an all-night party at Irene Cheung Ming-wai’s flat in Broadcast Drive, and several dinner parties hosted by Carmen’s and Vincent’s parents. At the end of the gatherings, of course, there would be exchanges of addresses and promises to write and keep in contact. Many did write at first but they soon stopped as studies and getting on with their new lives needed strenuous efforts. Patrick persisted and we had kept contact by mail.

Some classmates, Ng Shek-hei in particular, thought Patrick was making a move on me and that was the reason he was enthusiastic when I went back to Hong Kong for the summer in 1974. If truth were told, when a man and a woman were single, there would be no telling who was making a move on whom. It might very well be I who was making a move on him.

Patrick had a successful career with Cathay Pacific as a training officer in human resources and because he could fly cheaply he was able to visit old classmates like Steve Ng Siu-pang when he was studying in England. I already said I had the pleasure of meeting him in 1976 and the three of us spent a lovely afternoon in London.

Back in Hong Kong when I visited in 1979, Patrick was kind enough to drive my two younger cousins and I to an elderly home in Taipo to visit my grand aunt. Older pictures in my cabinet showed we had outings in restaurants with old schoolmates and even a beach outing of some sort. Many of the schoolmates in the pictures had soon faded out but Patrick was around no matter what.

Flattery is never Patrick’s strong suit. He is always blunt and to the point. If you don’t know his character, you might feel hurt because of his bluntness. There might have been gross misunderstandings between those he lived with back in their single days on account of his helpful character, but he stands firm as the man you see today.

A while ago he was frantically looking for my phone number because he had heard I quit my job and was thinking of moving to Salt Spring Island. He thought of Evelyn before her departure and how he wanted to contact her but failed. I guess he was thinking there might be something wrong with me too. When we were finally connected on the phone, he was pushing for the truths. The truth was not because I wanted to opt out. Stopping work is to allow myself time of my own instead of time sold for money. Finally, I can do whatever I please, go wherever I want, see whoever is available. Since that call we have been talking a lot from time to time.

Patrick’s son is very sensitive to our bad air so he won’t be visiting here anytime soon. As the way our government progresses, there is not going to be cleaner air anytime soon as well. I could have gone to Australia for a visit, but that country has never been on my favorite list of places to go. And I don’t go to America. Therefore, meeting each other might be a touch difficult.

I remember the last time he was in Hong Kong, we were on the phone when I was at the Star Ferry Pier with a great number of teachers protesting the then Secretary of Education Mrs Law Fan Chiu-fan. We could hardly hear each other on the phone and he could not have been able to locate me in the crowd. Since then he stopped coming.

If it is our destiny to meet, we will. In the meantime, we should be happy with just an occasional phone call or an email.

To this wonderful father, husband, friend and handyman, I wish you all the very best in life.

I may not know how many ten years there are in our lives but after forty years, the passage of time seemed to have stood still when my secondary schoolmates and I reunited in Vancouver. They are all extraordinary women living ordinary lives in a foreign country they now call home. None of them have been in close contact with me and only one did hang out with me when we were no more than thirteen/fourteen years old. None of these matters. Our destined encounters were every bit as sweet as the sounds and sights of the city. I now have four ‘ready-made’ girlfriends in Vancouver!

The day I arrived Vancouver from Swartz Bay in Victoria, it was cloudy and rainy. Martha Hau Chak-mei was the one I contacted from the downtown Fairmont. She told me she had told Sarah Wong Lai-fun of my impending visit and that she was all excited about it. I had not met the pair since our last dim-sum meeting in August 1989 and had not kept up with any correspondence since, so upon learning they were to meet me for dinner that evening, I was partly excited and partly anxious. The anxiety stemmed from a lot of emotions. Sarah and I dated back many years. After we had left secondary school and gone on our separate ways to continue our education, we lost contact. There was news from time to time about her whereabouts but we had no chance to connect. Then in our secondary school reunion in Cupertino, California in 1989, Connie Yip Pui-yee gave me Martha’s phone number. In all the summers I had spent in Vancouver, I had not known I had a friend there. In that dim-sum meeting, Martha brought Sarah. Imagine my delight and joy in having reunited with old friends. But since that amicable get together, almost ‘zero’ contact was made afterwards. I subsequently sold my condo in 1999 and stopped going to Vancouver. I sat and pondered why we allowed ourselves to drift apart one more time since finding each other. Would the dinner make up for time lost between us?

Another phone call confirmed the time, venue and participants for the dinner. Ada Chan Wai-fong, whom I had not seen for forty years since 1971, would join us and she would drive Martha and Sarah to pick me up at 7 pm. In preparation for our reunion, I had brought four loaves of fresh bread made especially for me by my friend Heather Campbell in Salt Spring Island. In the hotel room before the appointed time, I relaxed in bed with a facial mask to prep my face and mind for the meeting.

My gregarious laugh greeted my friends as soon as I got into Ada’s car. They said they all remembered my happy demeanor. Another schoolmate Brenda Lau Pik-ting was unable to join our outing, as she had to attend an evening class. The four of us got inside Le Crocodile, a French bistro located only a couple of streets up the Fairmont. Ada could not have chosen a better spot. Bistro in France is supposedly noisy and rowdy, diners could chat at the top of the voices and no one would turn a head to stare. As it turned out, Martha and Ada saw a lot of each other, whereas Sarah didn’t. Luckily we still could look at the menu and order because conversations went back and forth and they sometimes felt like rushing waters.

Like Martha, Ada is a music teacher using her home as studio for her work. She is married with a son. Her sisters also live in the same city with families of their own. Her family pictures gave us a glimpse of her healthy and beautiful life. Although we had not tried to remember which class we were together, I was positive our paths did cross, as her face after forty years was still familiar to me. Sarah knew her sister but had not had a chance to meet Ada. In reuniting me with Ada and Sarah, Martha had made it possible for them to meet up.

On closer look at Martha in the dim restaurant’s light. I saw, in front of me, the same person I had known all these years. Her hair might have gone grayer and there might have been a few more frown lines, but her voice- the sweet, quiet but firm sounds when she spoke, soothed and calmed by nerves. All the worries about whether or not my friends would accept me vanish in thin air. The last time we met I was told of her accident in the playground in Stanley Park and now she recounted her other car accident and how she now suffered from its aftermath. Apparently her car was stopped at a red light and the truck which came behind did not stop and ramped into it pushing it further off the road. It was just after lunchtime and Martha suspected the driver might have taken a beer or two. That was why he persuaded her not to call the police. Feeling woozy at the time, Martha went home instead of checking herself out at a hospital. The impact might have caused some kind of whiplash and now from time to time Martha feels a kind of dizziness that sometimes induces vomiting. She also said she could not do any swimming as lifting her head up from the water caused discomfort. Inside her strong exterior lies a vulnerable body but that does not stop her from caring about her old schoolmates. I was invited to share Thanksgiving dinner with her and her husband on October 10 Monday but unfortunately we could not attend because of prior engagement. I met Martha two more times before my departure. The day before I left I took the sky train to Aberdeen Center, Richmond to have lunch with her in Guru, a Japanese eatery. She told me she had a spell of dizziness just over the long weekend and she had to be bed-ridden. Her acupuncture masseuse was luckily available even on a public holiday so she could get relief for her neck and shoulder. Again her own discomfort did not forbid her to think of her friends. She once again offered to take us to the airport the next day. She said she had an eye exam downtown the next day at 10 am and would be finished by 10.30. Since we would have to leave the airport by 11, it would be perfect for her and her husband to take us to the airport. How could anyone refuse such a lovely gesture? How lovely to have met Ray, her hubby and to have let her meet Thomas! Too bad we had to see another friend at the airport because he only arrived back in town the night before, otherwise we could have a lovely dim-sum meal with Martha and Ray. We promised to keep ourselves healthy for our next reunion.

Sarah rang to set a date for us to meet. She said she would not mind including others in our outing but at the same time she wanted to have more time to talk with just the two of us. I suggested meeting early before dinner but she had a golf engagement with her husband, George. So we agreed to meet at 7 in the evening. I went swimming early in the morning and missed her phone call. She called to say her golf date was cancelled on account of the bad weather and she would swing by the hotel at 3.30. During our dinner the other night, I was surprised by her remarkable memory of past events. Several gaps I missed were revealed. The restaurant the girls had lunch in was called Heung Heung and it was in Lion Rock Road and not in Hau Wong Road. There was another one they frequented and it was called Lung Sing restaurant.

Sarah went to University of Western Ontario. I was admitted in 1972 to the same university but failed to turn up for registration. The allure of Montreal was too strong to resist so after visiting for a day I decided to stay for a year. We missed each other by forty years!
She said she was married right after she graduated at a relatively young age of 23. Her husband George is dentist and she has two beautiful children, one son and one daughter. Tall and athletic looking, Sarah plays golf, tennis, swim and ski. With these activities, her life in Canada is made.

Among the eight children growing up in the house on Grampian Road in Kowloon City, she was the second youngest. She kept repeating how because I am the youngest and only daughter among the three children, I have always been supper confident, whereas she felt her father might not have remembered her name. Sitting across from each other in the market in Granville Island with the cloudy and rainy weather outside, we swapped our envious anecdotes with each other. If there were a camera filming us, we would be surprised by the calm exteriors on our faces as we shared our most intimate life histories. Dinner afterwards was more sharing and good food. Since she first cancelled her table but decided to return later, we were given a corner table by the door. The crowded place did not deter us in our deep conversation. We had so many years to catch up in one night. Even without wine, I felt intoxicated.

I managed to email Brenda from Starbucks. We were to meet on Thanksgiving Day for lunch. I suggested a half way mark and asked her to meet me outside Yaletown-roundhouse station. The morning was not a pleasant one as it was drizzling quietly. I chose to walk over from the Fairmont to Mainland and Helmcken with my umbrella. It was a good half an hour walk if I did that slowly. Feeling nostalgic, I thought the walk would prepare me for a meeting with someone I had not seen for forty years. Approaching the station I saw in the distance Brenda anxiously checking her phone. We hugged and greeted each other.

We were seated in a booth in the Cactus Club Café, the kind of eatery that is a mixture of east and west. There is won ton soup in the menu and barbeque burgers with all kinds of sauces. There is even a huge color photograph of Nathan Road, Hong Kong in the ladies room. Yaletown is my favourite spot in Vancouver and what better place to meet an old acquaintance who would soon turn into my old friend.

Brenda and I quickly gave each other a run down of our lives. Her son and daughter have all grown up and both have careers they love. She is the finance manager of an organization for autistic children called Reach. Although relatively new to this position, she is enjoying both her work and the people involved. The most amazing thing is the fact she has worked with troubled youths from her church for quite a while. When she told me her house is always open for them to come in to sleep or to go through her fridge for food, I could not have been prouder to have her as a friend. Her desire to help these young minds has led her to take more counseling courses in the evening. These courses do not lead to certain significant qualifications for she is through with qualifications. She told me she enjoyed the process more and looking at her contented face, I realized the competitive Brenda I had known when we took History together in Ms Ma’s lessons had been replaced by an easy going and compassionate lady.

The walk back from Yaletown to Granville City Center station was like a romantic movie. It was raining and we shared the large Fairmont umbrella and she had her arm entwined with mine. We talked softly and walked slowly. I counted my blessings to have this opportunity to reconnect with old friends. Our walk ended with bumping into a man selling calendars with photos taken by the Eastend homeless. The calendar was sold for charity and the gesture of buying one was a fitful event for the kind and charitable spirit we were both carrying in our hearts. Big hugs followed as I sent her down the sky train station.

We met in F1A and she sat beside me. In primary school, students sat side by side on a bench seat separated by an iron rail. The desk was one long table and students sitting together more or less had to accommodate each other and there could never be any big movements. But as soon as we got into the secondary section, desk and chair were arranged in single row so we sat near or next to each other but separated and independent.

Carmen and I both sat at the back of the class with two tall boys sitting behind us. They were David Lui Siu-hing and Tsang Yan-hoi. Both were tall and handsome boys and although we were nowhere near as smitten as a girl who sat on row 3 and column 3 and whose first name was Lo, we were mighty proud to have two hunks behind us. Our classmate Lo was always turning her head to look at Tsang at all times, I thought she might develop a pain in the neck at the end of the day. Evelyn, Carmen and I even had a poem written about the whole thing. The first verse begins with ‘Three three is where XX Lo sits’. The rest is now forgotten. This tells you how naughty we were. Immediately in front of us sat Vincent Lam Shu-sum and Alex Yu Wai-yin and flanked on both sides sat Richard Hui Wan-fai and another nerdy looking boy whose name I have yet to remember. The class atmosphere and spirits were high as I imagine us having attained secondary school status all felt a bit intoxicated by being treated as more grown-ups than babies.

Carmen came from a rather ‘huge’ family. She lived in Sai Yeung Choi Street in Mongkok. I can’t remember exactly how many flights of stairs she had to climb every day, but for certain she lived at least 7-story high and there was no lift facility there. Her elder sister, the one preceded her and her younger sister, the one immediately after her were both attending Munsang College at the time and the group went to school together. Carmen told me the three sisters went shopping together and did almost everything as a group. How I longed to have a sister! All my girlfriends seemed to be blessed with ready-made companions and I was left with two elder brothers who loved soccer more than anything else.

For the first three years of secondary school, Carmen and I were in the same class. With Petula Lai, Cindy Lo and Irene Cheung as newcomers in F2A, the group of girls was merrier than ever. We had a new teacher too. Ms Ma Ka-wing came to teach us History/English in a light blue cheongsam. The traditional Chinese dress really did not suit her, as she was too young for that. I remember her porcelain face with dark rim glasses and her impeccable manners and speech. Her diction was music to my ears and I fell for her instantly. There was another teacher who either taught us Geography or English and she was rather religious. Spreading Christianity seemed to be uppermost on her mind and I was once her target. Having finished my composition early, I sat and rested but the religious fanatic seized the chance to give me a lesson on the gospels. I was annoyed but listened patiently. When I turned down her invitation to a Christian fellowship meeting after school, she showed her displeasure. I remember telling Carmen about the incident and she was on my side. Because of that, I was amazed at finding Carmen not only a Christian but also a fervent one as well when I returned from Canada in 1980.

In F3A we had a new teacher Mr Chang from the Chinese University teaching us English. Having just graduated from university and having us as his first batch of students, he was most enthusiastic in his first job. I guess those in that class would remember his many picnics to various places. He even took us to climb the Lion Rock Mountain. Carmen and I would team up in getting food and drinks. Pretending to be grown ups, we used to bring beer along to our outings. Thank goodness we had no drinking law for the under aged. Another thing was, there were no weirdoes or pedophiles around for parents to worry about. So when most students only had one picnic per school year, we had several. The exact number is beyond my memory now. The time after the picnic was equally great. We would play soccer in the field and Mr Chang would buy us pops afterwards. Under his guidance, my English improved leaps and bounds. My writing was considered mediocre before but Mr Chang was finding every piece I wrote better than the last and I received unprecedented high marks. Thinking back, I don’t see Mr Chang as having very good English, at least not as good as Ms Ma. Yet he was able to incite the imagination and hard work from his students and he was able to be a positive force in their growth. This is the true gift of a teacher. I heard he was in Toronto with wife and children and that he was doing well.

Mr Chang, the Chemistry teacher and Mr Law, the Mathematics teacher, teamed up to organize a Photography Club for the students who had better results than others. They said the ‘nerds’ or those who studied too hard but with few hobbies could use some outside attractions other than books. Not every gifted student consented to joining so these teachers had no alternative but to offer memberships to the second batch of gifted students that included Carmen and I.

Mr Chang was nicknamed Frankenstein. He was a teacher from the old school and he firmly believed if he were not strict, his students would not be outstanding. His Chemistry test/exams were difficult to pass. I remember his famous laugh when he found his students baffle-looking after tackling the exam paper in the hall.

Mr Law was not called Yim Law Wong (Emperor from Hell) for nothing. He was always dressed in white short-sleeved shirt (like the Hawaiian shirt) over his gray pants, somewhat like what people wore in Communist China at the time. He never even smiled when greeted by his students. There was hardly any rapport between him and anybody else. He walked slowly, almost gliding along. The lesson was delivered and off he went. Don’t take me wrong, I think he cared about his students but teachers in those days just had to act tough and hard to reach.

The first meeting of the Photography Club was to help clean the Chemistry laboratory. We cleaned every single inch of the lab, all the flasks and test tubes and the floors. We worked for hours on that Saturday. While some members might have felt honored to be selected, Carmen and I felt cheated. There were a couple of things Mr Chang and Mr Law did not like about us. Carmen and I both had a single lens reflect camera, which was in contrast with the box camera from China the teachers wanted us to get. They kept saying their choice was better but of course they could not have asked us to buy another one. Another thing was they could not have been happy with our giggles and cheerfulness. After all, extracurricular activity, to them, was solemn business.

In one outing to Hong Kong Island, we were supposed to be meeting outside of the Tsim Sha Tsui Ferry Pier early Saturday morning. I was late and was just in time to get on the ferry. On getting off the ferry on the other side, I saw in my horror teachers and students getting out from the lower deck. Knowing how frugal the teachers were with money, I was hiding on the top of the stairs because I got on the upper-deck, the more expensive section.

Anyway, throughout our club days, Carmen and I hung out together and pretty much ignored the nerdy boys. Raymond Chau said he was a member but I hardly remember him. I did not have any memorable picture shot or developed in those days but I did take some good pictures of Evelyn Chang and Irene Cheung with my camera skill. Years later when came time for Carmen to leave Hong Kong for the States, we went and each bought the same camera.

Carmen and I were weak in Physics so in F5 we shared the cost of hiring a teacher to tutor us in preparation for the school cert. Carmen and the teacher came to my flat on Saturday morning for the tutorial. She was a teacher teaching in DGS but she failed to help us get a passing grade.

During our post school cert days, we were both worried about whether or not we could do F6 back in Munsang and we fooled around saying that we might end up in New Method College on Prince Edward Road.

In F6 I gave up all science subjects in lieu of English Literature and History. It was difficult at first to convince the teacher responsible for student affairs to let me take English Literature because I had not taken the subject at the certificate level. The said teacher was teaching Biology and his name was Mr Ko. One day Carmen broke her glasses and she asked me to sit in with her in the biology lesson to take notes. The teacher was mocking me and said I was a phantom making my appearance. In 1979 I again helped Carmen in her teaching job. She had a sore throat and I substituted her lessons for one day. That one-day teaching experience set the scene for my teaching career when I came back to Hong Kong in late 1980.

Carmen would be the first to fly off to the States after F6. Her parents invited her classmates to a farewell feast in a Chinese restaurant. Presents and goodbyes were given and said. She was to spend her three years in Whitewater, Wisconsin. I believe she was the first one to graduate in 1975. She came to visit me once in Ottawa but I don’t remember if she had already departed the US and was living in Hong Kong or not. I took her to a gay party and she left her bag with money in it. Several hundred dollars were stolen. Carmen just shrugged her shoulders leaving the host in guilt.

She wanted to stay in the States but she could not, at least not until her application went through in 1986. Carmen learnt hair dressing in the then prestigious hair dressing school Rever. It was a tough profession to get into. Speed was the key word and Carmen claimed she did not cut hair fast enough. She was a teacher in a private secondary school. Later when she found out her chances to immigrate to Canada was nil if she remained a teacher, she left teaching to work at a friend’s business in Aberdeen as a clerk.

In 1986, her application to immigrate to Canada came through. Her parents were in Toronto and they applied for her to be with them. But upon landing in Toronto she learnt of her success in the US immigration application. She chose to go to the States instead. From Louisiana she began her long and arduous academic career with first a master degree followed by a PhD and another master in IT. It was with joy when I heard she landed a job with the Federal Drug Agency as Site Inspector. She finally landed in a position that allows her to work indoors instead of having to drive here and there. She bought herself a nice place in Maryland. The reason I know so much of her history is of course phone calls from time to time on my side. I must say those phone calls are now rare because she is settled, making a good living and there is no need for me to worry over her lack of support.

Seeing her in the pictures taken recently with her old classmates, I find solace in knowing she is happy, healthy and fulfilled after all those years of uncertainty. I admire her convictions and perseverance but think she could have put more efforts in maintaining her friendships. I was most disappointed when I heard she was in Hong Kong last November but did not try to contact me.

After seeing most of my old friends in Vancouver and warmly received by them, I can now affirm the feeling of joy in meeting someone from our paths in the past is far more than any success we might have had in life.

The two people who pop up in my mind are David Lui Siu Hing and Teresa Ho Wai-kee.

The rule of ladies first does not apply here as David and I met at the end of August and memory of his presence is stronger.

He told me he excelled in P.5, was awarded a scholarship and got into P6A. We didn’t meet until the next year in F1A. There were moments/happenings in that class I remember clearly. I was sitting in front of this boy called Tsang Yan-hoi and sitting next to me was Carmen Chan Mei-yuk. David sat behind her. David and Tsang were the taller boys so they sat at the very back. In front of Carmen and myself. My memories said they could be either Alex Yu Wai-yin or Vincent Lam Shu-sum. But Richard Hui Wan-fai could be in the vicinity too. Anyway these two tall, relatively handsome boys were behind us. Girls at that time did not look at boys, but because Tsang was tall he often had his feet stretching out to the front and his shiny shoes were quite a spectacle to look at. His other signature was his hair held in position with hair cream adults favoured at the time. Unfortunately Tsang wasn’t in the same class as me after F1 and later rumours had it he joined some powerful underground groups. There was hardly any communication between us and the boys throughout the year because boys stuck with boys and girls stuck with girls. 1A was supposedly a class with good behaviours. Even a rebel like myself hid behind perfectly acceptable veneer.

Yeas later I found out David and I shared the same passion in watching foreign films and although we had not met at anytime or in any cinemas, we gobbled more or less a lot of the same films at the time. He was even active in this film club called ‘Fiery Bird’. He had administrative work and wrote film reviews on artsy types most secondary students wouldn’t understand.

David was, for the most part of my high school life, in the same class as mine. In later years when not too many girls were studying in science classes, my seat in the class seemed to have moved closer to the blackboard. So if it hadn’t been for Teresa Ho, we would not have kept in contact all these intervening years.

Teresa came into the picture of my school life in my primary 6. Remember I said my best buddy Vivian, who for one and a half years from the second term of P.4 sat beside me, left to be in 6A. Life was not at all exciting at the beginning. Chan Ka Ying was in the same class and she was visible with her man-like manners. Teresa, on the other hand, was more difficult to stand out. She had this habit of slightly lowering her headfirst, and then tilted her head back a little bit before peering through part of her hair that fell on one side. Her eyes were dark and shiny although she had glasses on. She looked demure and a bit sad all the time. My happy outlook could never allow anyone to be on the sideline and ‘triste’, so my instinct was to befriend her and my mission was to draw her out of her own cocoon. I was successful and in no time we became friends. Her sad outlook stemmed from her losing her mother at a young age and she was in the care of her stepmother with younger children of her own. My faint memory on this seems to say she was not at all happily cared for. Anyway, behind the image of someone disadvantaged, there was a strong-willed girl who would become a formidable force in shaping her own life.

Of course after P6, Teresa and I might not be in the same class together for I have no recollections of incidents that involved the two of us in a school environment. But we kept up with our friendships. I was even invited to her home for a party. Now I am not ashamed to say my family had some money and I had not been inside a housing estate run by the government. At the time there was no toilet or washing facilities inside each flat. There was a communal bathroom and a communal toilet area for all the tenants on the same floor. These conditions did not deter Teresa from inviting her friends to be part of a very happy get together. I will always remember that night and I will always be grateful she had shared those happy moments with me in them.

Then true to her plan, Teresa wasted no time in becoming independent as soon as the school certificate exams were over. She found a job with a small computing outfit and learned to be a programmer. Her place of work then was on Waterloo Road, in this complex which still stands today. There was the Alliance Francaise where French lessons were given and across from it there was the Four Seas Bowling Alley but now stands the ‘Sars Hotel’ or Metropark Hotel as it is called today.
Since I started to take lessons at Alliance Francaise in the summer of 1971, we had many occasions to meet and talked. This liaison continued until she found a new job with Wah Kwong Shipping Co. owned by the family Chiu.

Her transformation from student to workingwoman was quicker than most of us girls still at school in F6. She moved out and lived alone, became more confident by the minutes. Then I left for Canada. Her romance with David began with the help of another Munsang classmate not in our grad class because she had to repeat a year. Her name was Mui Siu-ching. Apparently Teresa and Mui were good friends and Mui was at one time pursuing David. The outcome was David and Teresa got married and quickly they had a boy. With her shrewd investment sense Teresa bought an apartment built by her company who gave special discounts for employees. From that small flat she was able to elevate to a bigger one in Tai Koo Shing in 1979.

All through the years abroad, I was able to keep up our communications. She was most generous and when she found out I fancied a Japanese chimpanzee stuffed toy named ‘Taichong’ she would send me these stuffed toys from time to time with the latest one bigger than the previous. And when I visited Hong Kong in the times between 1972 and 1979, we hung out as much as possible. She had become a very classy looking woman. Her favourite had to be knee high boots, which look great on her. She was contemplating her career move for by that time her skills with programming had greatly improved although she was holding a F5 qualification. She is a woman of great reserves and determinations and I must say although I have not seen her since 1981, I believe strongly she still has these great qualities.

I moved back to Hong Kong in December 1980 and we took our first trip together in early January to Tokyo. Again her shipping company provided very good deals to employees and so we embarked to Ginza and Mount Fuigi for three whole days. Her ambition took her from Wanchai to Central with Esso. After working in Central she fell in love with her boss and proceeded with her divorce. Although to me divorce was nothing uncommon, and it was a pity David and Teresa was both dear friends to me, the upsetting thing had to be her plan to disassociate herself from her son. Later she remarried her boss and rumour had it she hadn’t told his spouse family she had been married with child. Without seeing eye to eye with her in her marital and child rearing matters, we put an end to our friendship over a dinner date in Central. I now regret the decision. Friends do not turn their backs on friends no matter what.

I often asked David if he had heard from Teresa and the last info he had was she had her second divorce and might be living in the Washington area. It might even be in Seattle.

Herman, their son, is now 33. David has since remarried and they are all doing well. The only question is is Teresa also doing well and loving her new life in America?

·

·

Cindy, of course, could never return home for lunch. She and Carmen and some others were ‘lunch mates’. I had the pleasure of joining them whenever I had choir practice after a short lunch. The Chinese styled western restaurant had some good fried rice or ham spaghetti baked in cheese. I wish I could remember the name of that place. It was a good feeling to walk down Grampian Road up to Ngai Ching Wai Road and down Hau Wong Road talking amicably in no hurry. The lunch hour was longer than what students nowadays had. Our school days seemed a lot more relaxed yet we were well behaved and we got good results. What has gone wrong with our education nowadays?

Tall, demure and courteous, Cindy always gave up a serene outlook. It’s like everything was under control and no one needed to worry. A smile on her face would just be enough to calm the most nervous character down and we all know who she was.

We found out where Cindy lived when we were invited to go to her home in the summer either after we had our school cert or after F6. We also found out other than her parents, she had two dogs, an elder brother, an elder sister and possibly a younger brother if I am not mistaken. The whole gang and another girl called Mui Siu-ching spent a whole day at her place. There were inmates trimming and landscaping in the garden when we were there. Inmates in those days wore pretty much the same clothes nowadays. They had shorts and collarless shirts in brown and brown rubber sandals. It was a scene we were not familiar with so it was quite a novelty.

Cindy went on to nursing school in the UK. We kept in touch and when I planned to go back to Hong Kong in the summer of 1974. First, I went to Nottingham to visit my elder brother who was still in England then and then off to visit Cindy. I can’t remember if I had visited her in London or some place else. In my recollection somewhere, I had the A-Z London map and I was able to find her brother’s house where she was staying on my own. My recollection also included a night out to her friends and dozing off till the morning. There were Raymond Chau, Ng Shek-hei, Steve Ng and Lee Wing-fat in the pictures with us, so we must have met the whole English gang to do something together. Details of our outing have gone fuzzy now. Fat Lee always said I exhibited my good English when I was with them in some kind of situation. Details about this part will have to be filled in by various participants.

The second time I was to meet Cindy in the outskirts of London was in 1976. I graduated in June that year and was enrolled in a political science summer course in Essex. I broke my pre-arranged date with her. I believe I had not called ahead to tell her I wasn’t going to see her that weekend because I was somewhat romantically involved with a classmate from Denmark. I did call afterwards but lied instead. I said I had mixed up the weekends. We didn’t get to see each other until I went back home in 1980. But before flying back to Canada, I did manage to meet up with Patrick Wong and Steve Ng and we spent a most pleasant day in downtown London.

Cindy was working as a full time nurse at Adventist Hospital in Hong Kong Island. While I was planning to stay put with my family in Hong Kong, she was planning her exit to Canada. I guess she left in 1982 and her first destination was Edmonton, Alberta. She got married in Edmonton and later moved to set up permanent residence in Toronto. She must have gone on vacation in 1985 when my husband and I were in town for a visit in the summer, so we missed each other.

Years passed and we kept in touch albeit sporadically. She sent me pictures of her two lovely sons and told me there would still be a while before retirement.

I hope I have captured the essence of her character here. If memories didn’t serve me well in some parts, feel free to edit in your own version of the events.

When I arrived school in a school bus, Cindy Lo Kang-Ching came to school in a government correctional services vehicle. Come to think of it, I don’t think correctional service was the name used then. Her home was the staff quarters in Tai Lam and her father was the warden for the Tai Lam Drug Rehabilitation Institute. The staff quarter was a huge home in any standard with a fully manicured garden. In those days Tai Lam was a far away spot and without the connection of the Lion Rock Tunnel, I imagine the time spent for Cindy to travel to and from school was tremendously long.

Cindy, of course, could never return home for lunch. She and Carmen and some others were ‘lunch mates’. I had the pleasure of joining them whenever I had choir practice after a short lunch. The Chinese styled western restaurant had some good fried rice or ham spaghetti baked in cheese. I wish I could remember the name of that place. It was a good feeling to walk down Grampian Road up to Ngai Ching Wai Road and down Hau Wong Road talking amicably in no hurry. The lunch hour was longer than what students nowadays had. Our school days seemed a lot more relaxed yet we were well behaved and we got good results. What has gone wrong with our education nowadays?

Tall, demure and courteous, Cindy always gave up a serene outlook. It’s like everything was under control and no one needed to worry. A smile on her face would just be enough to calm the most nervous character down and we all know who she was.

We found out where Cindy lived when we were invited to go to her home in the summer either after we had our school cert or after F6. We also found out other than her parents, she had two dogs, an elder brother, an elder sister and possibly a younger brother if I am not mistaken. The whole gang and another girl called Mui Siu-ching spent a whole day at her place. There were inmates trimming and landscaping in the garden when we were there. Inmates in those days wore pretty much the same clothes nowadays. They had shorts and collarless shirts in brown and brown rubber sandals. It was a scene we were not familiar with so it was quite a novelty.

Cindy went on to nursing school in the UK. We kept in touch and when I planned to go back to Hong Kong in the summer of 1974. First, I went to Nottingham to visit my elder brother who was still in England then and then off to visit Cindy. I can’t remember if I had visited her in London or some place else. In my recollection somewhere, I had the A-Z London map and I was able to find her brother’s house where she was staying on my own. My recollection also included a night out to her friends and dozing off till the morning. There were Raymond Chau, Ng Shek-hei, Steve Ng and Lee Wing-fat in the pictures with us, so we must have met the whole English gang to do something together. Details of our outing have gone fuzzy now. Fat Lee always said I exhibited my good English when I was with them in some kind of situation. Details about this part will have to be filled in by various participants.

The second time I was to meet Cindy in the outskirts of London was in 1976. I graduated in June that year and was enrolled in a political science summer course in Essex. I broke my pre-arranged date with her. I believe I had not called ahead to tell her I wasn’t going to see her that weekend because I was somewhat romantically involved with a classmate from Denmark. I did call afterwards but lied instead. I said I had mixed up the weekends. We didn’t get to see each other until I went back home in 1980. But before flying back to Canada, I did manage to meet up with Patrick Wong and Steve Ng and we spent a most pleasant day in downtown London.

Cindy was working as a full time nurse at Adventist Hospital in Hong Kong Island. While I was planning to stay put with my family in Hong Kong, she was planning her exit to Canada. I guess she left in 1982 and her first destination was Edmonton, Alberta. She got married in Edmonton and later moved to set up permanent residence in Toronto. She must have gone on vacation in 1985 when my husband and I were in town for a visit in the summer, so we missed each other.

Years passed and we kept in touch albeit sporadically. She sent me pictures of her two lovely sons and told me there would still be a while before retirement.

I hope I have captured the essence of her character here. If memories didn’t serve me well in some parts, feel free to edit in your own version of the events.

Petula lived just round the corner from Prince Edward Road on Waterloo Road. She and her younger sister walked to and from school everyday. Having only two elder brothers and no sister, I often longed for a sister of my own to go to school or do things with.  Cindy, Carmen and Evelyn had lunch together in a Chinese-styled western restaurant on Hau Wong Road. That’s another thing I envied because I took the school bus home for lunch.

Petula was always the quiet one. When one talked to her, one had to be in a ‘tete a tete’ or head to head position in order to be able to hear her. Now of course she speaks loudly, it’s a real contrast to the past. I remember her Chinese Language was really good, so I am not at all surprised she is an excellent calligrapher.

In the summer when ‘the group’ went around town to eat and shop, she was always the one who said she could not possibly afford it. Her father worked in South Africa leaving a wife and child in China. When he stopped working he brought his wife and child to Hong Kong. That’s why Petula’s older sister was some years older than her and she would remain like a mother to her. So while Petula was still at a tender age, her father had already retired. Hence, she would give us the ‘I can’t afford to spend much’ scenario.

Petula went to Baptist College after F6.  Her mother took sick when she was in her final year and she said her results suffered.   Then her faher got sick and on caring for her dad she  did not try to find a job upon her application.  When I brought back a video I had made in Ottawa and it needed to be converted to a format for Hong Kong, she was most helpful in taking me to the communication department at the College to seek help. Although they couldn’t help either, I was most grateful.

After I had come back to Hong Kong in late 1980, my family moved from Prince Edward Road over to Waterloo Road. Our building and hers was just four buildings apart. My mother loved to have friends of all ages, so Petula became her friend too and later her teacher because she taught my mother calligraphy one evening a week and stayed afterwards for dinner. It was a very special relationship between the two. She was quite often a guest at our family dim-sum gathering on Sunday and at the race meetings in Shatin.

I got to know Petula more as adults on two trips we took together. The first trip was to Taiwan. I hadn’t thought Petula would be interested in a trip I organized. I am used to traveling with my husband, but Taiwan at that time was not really a destination he would want to visit. Earlier I had gone to Vietnam by myself and when I mentioned I might go to Taiwan alone she expressed her interest. We spent five days and four nights in Taipei staying in the Grand Hyatt. I swam early in the morning but Petula had no interest in swimming. We went to Mauhung for their special tea and tea infused food by taking the gondola up. It was a very hot day and we tracked around the hills looking for a place with a view to eat. I was terribly out of shape and I told Petula if I ever fainted she would wait in the shade for 10 minutes before calling out for help. I did not want to be rescued to a vegetative state. After the trip we read that the gondola we took had foundation problem so it was closed immediately. Also the hotel we stayed in was rumored to have ghosts.
We had a good time, or at least I thought we had. We all know too well it’s very difficult to travel with others. I am so used to my hubby’s way I think I might have annoyed Petula because I would like to walk apart from her instead of like most women walking close to each other.

Our second trip was before the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in Japan. I have been to Kyoto many times. In fact it is my husband’s favorite city. In early February, we found out there would be a good deal with a five-star hotel called Myako Westin in Kyoto. Their executive room for two was sold for $1200 per night. The use of the swimming pool and all the wi-fi were included. There would also be a cocktail hour with canapés. Petula said she had always wanted to see Kyoto and had asked me to take her one of these days. When finding out I was interested in the deal she wanted to join me. So off we went for another six-day trip together. My husband is a bit of a connoisseur in food so we had sampled some very good restaurants in the city. At first when I asked Petula if she wanted to sample some good food, she hesitated. She, at the beginning, did not want to spend much, but on second thought or after talking to other people, she realized she had better seize the opportunity to treat herself to something nice. Unfortunately our ticket package included two nights stay in Osaka, We were left with only four days to enjoy the city.

Petula first dabbled in Chinese calligraphy over ten years ago. She worked hard in this hobby of hers and her works are quite something. Although I know nothing about her craft, I can tell she is good. She, on the other hand, keeps saying her teacher tells her this or her teacher tells her that which is quite maddening to me sometimes. All I want is for her to take flight from her teacher because she is ready to stand on her own.

She is most generous with her works and has given away some very big ones to friends. We just hope friends do not take advantage of her generosity and make unreasonable requests.

But I want to write about how Evelyn and I became friends. I don’t know if you folks remember that our Munsang College worked on a rather strange system. When one entered the school, one was put in D or E class and one had to prove one’s ability if he/she wanted to move up the rank, that is, be put in an A class. I was still in P6D and Vivian was already promoted to a better class P6A, so I sort of lost a dear friend. One day when I was hanging out in the corridor, a smart looking girl came over and solicited a conversation. She was pleasant to talk to and seemed genuinely interested in me. After knowing she’s from P6A, I wondered what the hell she saw in me. Some days later she asked to borrow textbooks. I thought she was only using that as a pretence to talk and that she had the books herself. That is how Evelyn and I became friends. She said she liked the Beatles and I invited her over to my home to listen to their records. She screamed and yelled like teenagers we saw in Britain.

In secondary school, I was finally put in F1A as I came first in P6 so could study with the ‘better ones’. Evelyn was put sitting in the second row but that didn’t diminish our friendship. Instead, we followed our most naughty ways and were partners in many mischievous endeavours that involved quite a number of classmates in the same class. I still remember those pranks but know perfectly well to keep my mouth shut here. Folks who were in the same class as remembered are Alex Yu, Vincent Lam, David Lui, Richard Hui, Carmen Chan…. Do provide your bits of memories here if you happen to read this.

Other than listening to the Beatles, we also played ouiji board many times to see whom we would be married to. Evelyn once got to be told her future beau would be a Japanese. Of course that turned out to be untrue as she was never married, but she didn’t devour any tiny bits about her love life even when we met late in 1989. She might have met a Japanese as boyfriend, we could only guess.

Over the years Evelyn remained mysterious as to how she could enjoy so much freedom waltzing in and out of my home at different hours. Most girls at that time were very much on a leash as mothers were petrified as to what might happen to young girls out on the streets. I took the school bus to and from school up to graduation.

One thing for sure we never studied or did homework together. We never even discussed schoolwork. It’s like we were two girls from different schools. That made it so refreshing. Most female classmates only talked about how frightened they were with such and such a test or how unprepared they were before tests or exams.

Going through some stuff months ago, I found a black and white photo I took of Evelyn at a picnic with year unknown. She had what you called hot pants on with long white socks pulled up to her knees. Only Evelyn could pull off an outfit like that. Her hair was pulled behind in a ponytail. It was indeed a timeless portrait of someone so dear to my heart.

When we were studying in North America, she in Texas and I in Montreal and Ottawa, there were talks of meeting but nothing materialised. We kept up correspondences and in 1989 she finally visited Hong Kong. She stayed with us (I was married already). Already she had changed from being a banker to a realtor and she was managing some properties for her Hong Kong clients like collecting rents. She talked about having a gun and how it was necessary to carry one and be ready to shoot to kill if danger came up while she was showing properties to the undesirables. We went back to Munsang for Alumni Day. I still had a picture we took together with Uncle Kwai (Leung Wing-kwai took photos of all kids in September). He still remembered us. I wonder how he’s doing now.

If it hadn’t been for Evelyn and her nudging, I would not have considered going to Cupertino for the reunion. But what we couldn’t anticipate was her sudden onslaught of, what is the medical term now, swelling of the ligaments in the bone that causes much pain to the joints. She was in pain when she showed up that summer, yet she managed to squeeze out a welcoming smile. I was a bit put off by her not making a room reservation and we had to make do with me and Julie sleeping on one bed to let her have a bed on her own. It was very insensitive of me to think like that at the time of my dear friend’s discomfort.

I missed Evelyn’s call when she heard of my father’s departure. Sadly when I found out later she had called and tried to get her on the phone, it was just her voice on the recording. She was no longer available to answer personally. Her illness, prognosis, her pain, her thoughts on life and death became just information given to me by a mutual friend from Texas.

I know Evelyn would not be able to counter or affirm anything I put up here, but I feel damn good spilling it all out on a dreary day like today. There is no doubt in my mind we would meet again.

One particular scenario that has stuck to my mind was her walking down a long alley in school uniform towards her piano’s teacher’s flat. The apartment building was located on Earl’s Street, a short street off Prince Edward Road and Boundary Street on both ends very near Maryknoll Convent School. I was living on 280 Prince Edward Road. There were three building blocks owned by one of the heirs of the Kowloon Motor Bus Company. We were on the second floor of one of the blocks behind and our balcony behind the kitchen opened up a view of that alley I mentioned. In that three-story apartment building lived a famous Cantonese child star on the ground floor. I had a view into her living room. She was Siu Fong-fong and she used to hide in a corner in the living room and pretended she was not at home when her fans rang her bell. I used to hide in the maid’s room to check her out and was one day surprised to see Julie walking briskly in the alley. After finding out why she was there, I remember asking my mother why she didn’t send me to learn the piano like other mothers.

Julie also lived on Grampian Road, a bit closer to the school than where Miriam lived at the time. Her brothers and sisters were also Munsang graduates so she started out very young skipping kindergarden after she arrived Hong Kong from Shanghai. I guess a student life was uneventful for her for she left the school early and arrived late. That’s why she claimed nowadays to have dementia as she had forgotten most of what happened. My theory is she wasn’t that active then because she was the baby in the family and her mother must have watched her every movement, so her contact with classmates might have been limited and she only got to know the few sitting very close to her. Her conversation with me then would always be about school and whether she had studied before a test/exam or not. I sometimes suspected she was the kind of student who often claimed not to have studied at all yet they spent a lot of time preparing. Will she ever tell us the truth now?
We studied French together in the summer of 1971 at Alliance Francaise under a Vietnamese lady called Madame da Cruz. The place was mentioned in another piece when I talked about Teresa, so the location had already been mentioned. On several occasions, Julie’s mother came to pick her up and Julie asked me to ride along even though it was not a great distance for me to walk home. Not knowing her way well, her mother often did not know where to drop me off and I sometimes ended up walking a fair distance home in the opposite direction. The lessons we had together were fun. There were classmates who were teachers or students from famous girls’ schools. Madame was an excellent teacher so after the ‘debutante’ course, we both enrolled in the ‘intermediate’ course during our studies in F6. The ‘professeur’ was not great and his name was quickly forgotten.

In the summer after the School Certificate Exams, we, as a group (Carmen, Miriam, Julie, Cindy, Petula and myself), went out several times. We were all dressed up to go eat at restaurants, to see movies and to shop for clothes. Again I remember one time Julie was trying on different dresses and the girls were all around giving their two-cent opinions. Then the results came out and all of us could study together in F6.

Julie had her study path cut out for her. She would follow her elder brothers to America. I had my TOFFLE when I was in F5 and was going to take my GCE A-levels in preparation for Canada. She and Carmen did not have to worry other than their TOFFLES as America only looked at results from F6 on top of the Cert results. Strangely with nobody they knew studying in the universities they had chosen, I often wondered then why these two girls did not choose to go to the same schools.

Anyway, off we went our separate paths after F.6. She was traveling with China Airlines and I was going with United Airlines and we departed more or less the same time so we said we would meet up at Tokyo airport when the planes stopped for refill but her plane was delayed and we didn’t get to say goodbye again.

Julie kept up with her letters but I remember they were mostly lists of what subjects she took in that particular semester and not much about her student life or interactions she had with the locals. She sent me pictures she took with Carmen visiting her in the dorms. Of course we invited each other for visits but we didn’t see each other until August 1980 at Miriam’s wedding. Miriam had provided us a motel room near by where she lived and we arrived at least a day or two before the wedding so we could have our fill of conversations together. She was also to be married off soon so I took my wedding gift, which was a piece of soapstone sculpture by the first nation people in Canada, to her.

I already talked about our time in San Francisco so there is no need to repeat here. Over the past years Julie came back to spend some time with her parents and then when her mother passed away unexpectedly she spent a longer time with her father here every winter. We tried to see as much as possible of each other but her goal here was to look after her father and not to run around with her friends. Also I was often away during Chinese New Year and so at the most we saw each other a few times only. But we can talk without feeling there is a time lapse. It’s very easy to pick up from where we left off and it’s always such a comfortable feeling talking and laughing out loud at nothing in particular. The best thing is we do not need a majong game or a glass of wine to get us in the mood.

Julie is in no way hyperactive like some of you might think. She is just impatient and doesn’t want to lose one second when she is with friends she hasn’t seen for a long time. She just wants to know each and every one in details or to catch up with time lost. My advice to all of you is ‘practise to speak quickly and have your life’s info ready whenever Julie is around. Do not dawdle and go around in circles. Give her your facts straight up. .