Tailored

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before the lights turned red. Suddenly, the two fine horses neighed. They reared their front legs high in the air breaking vigorously in front of the traffic lights. From the traffic tower, a policeman wearing white gloves signaled the cart to stop with an authoritative hand gesture. Then, he bent down elegantly, as if a gentleman asking a lady to dance, and invited the covetous rat to cross the road.

 

On a bridge in Central, a pair of innocent eyes had a bird’s-eye view of the whole scene: a huge rat dashed out from the shrubs in the middle of the road, enjoying a mouthful of meat as if it was a distinguished guest. While it was chewing the flesh, the cart stopped at the red light. She wished she could see a bit clearer, at least get a glimpse of who was inside the cart. She leaned a bit forward, feeling tight around her waist. She was wearing a “new” 1947 French outfit accompanied with a wide-brimmed straw hat which emphasised her lean face. A thin leather belt, which made her uncomfortable, was wrapped around her waist between the tight white top and the black long skirt. Tumbling, she fell down from the bridge. The rat appeared closer and bigger in her sight. Suddenly, an arm stretched out from the cart, giving her some kind of signal. She was nervous. Not knowing who was inside the cart, she just saw a suit sleeve not made of some ordinary black cloth but shiny fabric. He raised his arm slowly. Her fingertips hidden under the black gloves finally touched the man’s fingers. They were burning. She immediately drew her hands back. She fell down from the bridge and landed right at the shrubs where the rat was.

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It was already eight o’clock in the morning when Cheung Siu Mei opened her eyes. What a dream? She blankly stared around. The room was completely empty; no wardrobe, no desk, nothing, not even a bed. She slept on the floor and the pain reminded her of the breakup with Jun. Jun did not say much. Their love story resembled a strange movie date. They went to a movie theater together.  He went out for some reason and never returned. Since the tickets were already bought, Mei still wanted to finish the movie alone regardless of the fact that she could not understand any of it. “Right! Today is my first day of work!” Being woken up from her dream, Mei finally recalled that she moved to this place owned by her relatives due to her job. She grew up in Macau and studied in Hong Kong. Today is her very first day of work in a law firm in Central. God had been so generous to her that she got this job as soon as she broke up with her boyfriend, inattentively and unintentionally. She was a top student with excellent language skills. She studied law. She did not hate it but was not interested in it either. She didn’t have any special plans for her life. Things that happened to her seemed completely random.

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She put on an ordinary black suit, which she wore for the activities at university. She walked into the old-fashioned, high-class office building located opposite Mandarin Oriental. There were a lot of people wearing black in the elevator, and all of them were holding their own paper cups. The aroma of coffee made the silent crowd seem more confident. At her height Mei could only see their collars, which has sophisticated patterns, special buttons, or unique decoration, and they were different from her black suit. Mei always smiled with her head tilted. People might think she was a lovely girl who liked dreaming. At the moment she was tilting her head again, looking at her new boss Chan Ming Chun. After his detailed introduction to the job, Mei officially started her working life in this law firm. A week had passed and she had not felt the working pressure of Hong Kong. Every day she came to office on time and left work on time, which made her happy. Her office desk was so tidy that her colleagues would praise her as they passed by. Mei felt that she got along well with them. Three weeks later, she was ready to hand in the document Chun told her to handle two weeks ago, feeling relieved and tensed at the same time. She was standing in front of the door of her superviser, ready to knock, embracing the document in front of her chest with both hands, like an outstanding student waiting for compliments from the teacher. When she walked in, Chun was talking on the phone and gestured to her to put down the document. She returned to her desk, waiting anxiously for his validation that she could not focus all morning. Around noon, the phone finally rang. Chun asked her to lunch, saying he should have welcomed her properly earlier. They went to a western restaurant in The Landmark, a luxurious shopping mall in Central. Chun had apparently reserved a table, but she did not know that, thinking they were so lucky to find a table easily. Inside the spacious restaurant, Chun talked about his travels, and the importance of career and family to him. He even told her a secret about the stray kittens in Pottinger Street. He would find time to visit them, bring them some food every week. Mei could not believe she could chat about these little things in life with her graceful boss. She was tilting her head, smiling, daydreaming again. Before they returned to the office, Chun took her to the kittens. Mei thought they were very cute and were fortunate to have a kind-hearted person to take care of them, she wanted to be one of them too. Back at the entrance of the company, Chun gave her a friendly handshake and hoped that she could keep up the good work, Mei smiled with her head tilted. On the last day of week four, Mei received a notice from the Personnel Department. She has not passed the probation, she had to leave.

 

She had never seen Chun since. People said that he went to Europe for vacation. She had not kept any personal belongings in the office, not even a mug as she used paper cups only. As she was leaving, she looked back at her neat desk, which seemed it had never been used before. She started wondering if she had really been working here. When she stepped out of the firm, she looked up at the gloomy sky of Central, with a feeling that she had just watched a romantic tragic drama. Why did things go like this? She stood on the bridge opposite Jardine House, gazing at the congested traffic of Central, feeling like being thrown from a great height. She suddenly recalled her dream – was that Chun’s hand? That mysterious, ruthless hand! She had a mechanism in her head to stop her from making things too extreme and complicated. At least she did not need to worry much about money: she could still stay with her relatives in Central. She suddenly thought of the kittens in Pottinger Street. She couldn't help going there as if she was searching for something. But she could not find them, like there had never been any stray kittens. The hawker stared at her in a strange way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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“May I come in and take a look?”

 

“Of course, no problem, you are...”

 

“I’m Cheung.”

 

It seemed there was an invisible barrier in their communication.

 

“Miss Cheung, what kind of clothes are you looking for?”

 

“I think… I will just look around.” Mei felt uneasy right after what she had said, she looked around but there were no clothes other than the mannequins displayed in front of her.

 

“Miss Cheung, would you like to order any custom made clothes? I can give you a few samples.”

 

Mei did not know how to respond, “A dress….”

 

“For what occasion? For what purpose? ”

 

“For what?” Mei never thought about that and made such a clear consideration when buying clothes. She had no events to attend at the moment. The most suitable place for her to go was home, her home in Macau, spending time aimlessly at her parents’ house.

 

“Christmas party. I will go to a Christmas party.” She looked at the beautiful ball gown with her head tilted. “I like this one.”

 

Designer Rebecca was talking about the fabrics of the gown and the specialness of the design. Mei was not paying attention. She was just imagining herself in the dress.

 

“May I try it on?”

 

“Yes, but it may be a bit too big for you.”

 

“Could you find me a smaller size?”

 

“We only have one size, we do tailor-made fashion.”

 

Mei just realized how stupid her question was, as if she had come back to the reality.

 

“How long will it take you to make one?”

 

“I will measure you today, you may come and try the dummy on next weekend. Then I will make the dress with the real fabric, it takes about two weeks. ”

 

“Oh, that’s so complicated.”

 

“It isn’t complicated. That’s the way to make clothes that really fit.”

 

Mei ordered her ball gown unintentionally. Rebecca showed Mei out and pressed the elevator button for her. It was obvious, even an insensitive person like Mei could feel Rebecca’s doubtful look..

 

“See you next week!” The door closed gradually and Mei came out to the street in Central, to the reality.

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If there was no deposit paid, Mei would not believe that she could spend more than twenty thousand dollars on a piece of clothing ─ a gown, which could possibly just stay in the wardrobe. Also, considering the fact that she might go back to Macau soon, the fussy gown could be a problem. Let it go, forget about it. Mei said to herself. Mei did let it go the next day, since she met someone who took her back to work. Chan Mei Lo was her university schoolmate. They had done a presentation together. Although Lo did not major in law, they shared same hobbies such as watching movies. Meeting on the street in Sheung Wan, they felt affectionate. From then on, Mei got a job in Lo’s new small public relations agency, assisting her with contract issues and documents. The office was in a new commercial building located in Sheung Wan. Mei chose to wear shirt and jeans during her first day of work. After Lo explained to Mei all the work ─ more than twenty points ─ on the clear list, she looked through her clothes, and told Mei that she needed to wear a formal dress in the office, for meetings with customers. Mei gazed at Lo’s back, wondered why she became so competent. Tilting her head, she immersed in the memory of the past university life. On the eighth day, after Lo came back from an afternoon meeting, she first put away all the files, replied all the emails, made a couple of calls, and then walked to Mei’s desk. Lo expressed her gratitude to Mei for being her temporary worker this week. She had already found a new employee who could start working after Christmas. Puzzled, Mei just smiled and said nothing. Lo returned to her desk immediately. Has she ever mentioned that this is a temporary position? Mei tried to recall. Before she could remember, Lo came to her again with a smile and gave her a red color envelope, telling her to wait at the cinema of International Finance Centre at 6 pm.

 

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Mei wanted to walk to IFC in the gown, but then she quickly felt inappropriate once she left Rebecca’s boutique. The white gown might be stained by the dust on the street, she might catch a cold. Right away, she draped an unsuitable coat over her body, and took a taxi to the IFC. The kind driver gave up complaining because her awkward look.

 

Mei waited for Lo at the entrance of the cinema. Since it was Christmas, nobody paid attention to her look. Lots of foreign ladies wore even more exquisite dresses. In contrast, Mei herself felt so uneasy. Lo commented nothing but took some time to appreciate her gown, and then got back to her entertainment. Nobody talked to Mei. She had no friends, and did not want to make new ones. Why am I here? Just for the gown? She asked herself. Feeling bored, she walked away from the crowd and gazed in the distance. She put off her coat, and let the cold wind float through her body. Studying and working here for a couple of years, she felt neither hate nor love for Hong Kong. The city could not affect her. Don’t think about it. I will be home

tonight. She picked up her glass and turned around, looking at the guests on the platform ─ everybody seemed to be busy, either trying hard to talk, or trying hard to drink. The night was darker, and the lights was brighter. She finished her wine. Suddenly a man passed by her with a glass.  She could not control herself and said:

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“Hi, Mr Chan.” Chun turned his head back, searching for who was calling him.

 

“It’s me, Mei.”

 

Chun’s face turned solemn, but he quickly put on a theatrical smile, “It’s you! Merry Christmas!”

 

Then there was silence. They could not seem to think of anything to say. Mei was a bit nervous. Chun broke the ice and said, “How are you?”

 

“I’ll return to Macau. Take a break before finding a new job.”

 

Again silence.

 

“Did you go on vacation, Mr Chan?”

 

“No, I attended a meeting in Mainland China. You know we cooperate with several companies in China.”

 

Mei looked at the Hong Kong–Macau Ferry Terminal in the distance and sipped her glass of red wine. The Christmas carols boosted the atmosphere. “Was my performance unsatisfactory?”

 

Mei dared not look at him. Chun felt embarrassed, standing in the cold wind.

 

“Your gown is extravagant. Looks expensive.”

 

“It’s tailor-made.” Mei was looking at Chun’s new suit.

 

“This must have been expensive.” Mei nodded her head while smiling.

 

Chun sniggered. He gazed at Mei’s tailored gown under the light of the sunset, “I thought you were still looking for a job.”

 

Mei did not get what he said. “I’ll start after the break.”

 

“You worked so hard?”

 

Mei did not know what to answer.

 

Chun smiled and said, “I worked in Central for nine hours every day with an hour for lunch and I still work at home. A routine that lasted for twenty years.”

 

Chun pressed on her shoulder, lowered his head, and smiled at her. “Think about it. You may find me if you want.”

 

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Mei did not get the reply she expected. This was not what she studied at school. Her body was enwrapped in the white silk, making her feel a bit cold.” She suddenly thought of the question Rebecca asked her. “For what purpose? For what?” The sound of the Ferry to Macau came to her ears. She saw a hand from the centre of Victoria Harbour. The hand in a silk suit moved towards her back, looked like it wanted to tell her a secret. She did not want to hear it clearly but at the same time wanted to know more. As she turned her head back, she found that most of the guests had left. Only two to three people were still standing and drinking wine. She went back to her home in Central on foot, being indifferent to the gossip from the street people. She did not worry if the gown will be smeared. She walked up the stairs, slept without changing her clothes, listening to the noise of the city until the next day.

 

At nine, Mei woke up. She had removed her smudged make-up and put on a fresh and cool one-piece. She then put on her new make-up. First she had a healthy breakfast in a cafe in Central, and then she walked to Rebecca’s shop. The old elevator brought her to the fantasy shop again. But this time, she was more assertive. The elevator door opened. Rebecca was working on the mannequins. Without waiting, she said, “I want a new garment. Something for a job interview which can show my strengths. Is it okay?” Rebecca smiled and invited her in.