Read Online The Fell Walker by Michael Wood - Free Book Online Page B
Authors: Michael Wood
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businesswoman into a charming, giggling, schoolgirl. For the first time he was seeing what lay beneath her tough veneer.
In accordance with Filipino custom, Leni now felt obliged to reciprocate with a gift or service, so instead of returning to the hotel, she invited Hector to her home for tea.
*
Vilma had just arrived home when Leni and Hector appeared.
‘Look what I’ve got,’ Leni smiled, flashing the umbrella into action. ‘Hector bought it for me. Isn’t it wonderful.’
Vilma took the umbrella from Leni and examined it as though it was precious jewellery. Holding her breath and smiling excitedly, she opened and closed it repeatedly. Finally, she giggled and the two girls embraced each other in a fit of happiness. Hector looked on in wonderment. His next shock came when Leni pulled an upturned plastic container from under a steel shelf and invited him to sit on it, and then moved two paces to where a kettle sat on a small Calor gas stove.
Only then did he realise that this was their home. He had thought they were calling in the shed to pick something up before entering the nearby house, which itself was incredibly small and humble. A few dresses hanging from a string line caught his eye and confirmed that he was not mistaken. He felt ashamed and guilty. It was no bigger or better than one of his uncle’s hen huts. He had always thought that life on the croft was basic, but this! The contrast with the luxury of his hotel now seemed obscene. And yet, Leni seemed quite at home in either. She made no apology for her home; she was not ashamed of it.
He watched her make three cups of tea, a long process involving fetching water in a plastic container, and saving the spent tea leaves into another. All the time, Leni and Vilma smiled huge smiles, giving the impression that this was the happiest moment of their lives.
Leni presented the tea to Hector as though it was a special gift and then she and Vilma sat on their upturned containers, forming a close triangle with Hector, knees almost touching.
They drank in silence, the two women deferring to Hector, expecting the western man to dominate. Hector didn’t know what to say and stared nervously at the floor. When, occasionally, he raised his head, he was met by beautiful smiles, and puzzled glances between them.
Suddenly, Hector got to his feet. The only way to end this embarrassment was to go. ‘I’d better be getting back to the hotel’, he mumbled. ‘Thanks...thanks for the tea. It was nice...’
Had he been a Filipino, Leni would have been insulted by the abruptness of his visit, and assumed that he didn’t like their company. But she was beginning to understand that, for a westerner, Hector was incredibly shy and reticent, and so she felt sorry for him.
‘I’ll come with you,’ she said. ‘You won’t know the way or find the right jeepneys.’
Half an hour later they were back in the lobby of the luxurious hotel. Hector was aching to invite her to his room, and to tell the rest of the world to go away.
He wanted to take her away from that horrible shed, look after her, protect her, hold her. He wanted to buy her lots of things to make her happy, always smiling. He wanted to buy her a meal in one of the posh lobby restaurants.
But he knew it was no use. He didn’t have the nerve to ask. And she wouldn’t be interested. Instead, he would order a room service meal and go to bed early.
‘Hector, I’ll show you the layout at the Hyatt Regency tomorrow,’ Leni was saying.
Hector was still in his own worrying mind. ‘Right...what’s happening there...what’s the Hyatt Regency,’ he said, absently.
‘It’s the hotel where you are giving your talk,’ Leni explained.
‘My talk?’ Hector was paying attention again. ‘What talk?’
Leni looked puzzled. ‘Your talk to the government engineers about HD3000. Did nobody tell you it was tomorrow night?’
‘Nobody told me I was doing a talk,’ Hector panicked. ‘I’ve never done one
In accordance with Filipino custom, Leni now felt obliged to reciprocate with a gift or service, so instead of returning to the hotel, she invited Hector to her home for tea.
*
Vilma had just arrived home when Leni and Hector appeared.
‘Look what I’ve got,’ Leni smiled, flashing the umbrella into action. ‘Hector bought it for me. Isn’t it wonderful.’
Vilma took the umbrella from Leni and examined it as though it was precious jewellery. Holding her breath and smiling excitedly, she opened and closed it repeatedly. Finally, she giggled and the two girls embraced each other in a fit of happiness. Hector looked on in wonderment. His next shock came when Leni pulled an upturned plastic container from under a steel shelf and invited him to sit on it, and then moved two paces to where a kettle sat on a small Calor gas stove.
Only then did he realise that this was their home. He had thought they were calling in the shed to pick something up before entering the nearby house, which itself was incredibly small and humble. A few dresses hanging from a string line caught his eye and confirmed that he was not mistaken. He felt ashamed and guilty. It was no bigger or better than one of his uncle’s hen huts. He had always thought that life on the croft was basic, but this! The contrast with the luxury of his hotel now seemed obscene. And yet, Leni seemed quite at home in either. She made no apology for her home; she was not ashamed of it.
He watched her make three cups of tea, a long process involving fetching water in a plastic container, and saving the spent tea leaves into another. All the time, Leni and Vilma smiled huge smiles, giving the impression that this was the happiest moment of their lives.
Leni presented the tea to Hector as though it was a special gift and then she and Vilma sat on their upturned containers, forming a close triangle with Hector, knees almost touching.
They drank in silence, the two women deferring to Hector, expecting the western man to dominate. Hector didn’t know what to say and stared nervously at the floor. When, occasionally, he raised his head, he was met by beautiful smiles, and puzzled glances between them.
Suddenly, Hector got to his feet. The only way to end this embarrassment was to go. ‘I’d better be getting back to the hotel’, he mumbled. ‘Thanks...thanks for the tea. It was nice...’
Had he been a Filipino, Leni would have been insulted by the abruptness of his visit, and assumed that he didn’t like their company. But she was beginning to understand that, for a westerner, Hector was incredibly shy and reticent, and so she felt sorry for him.
‘I’ll come with you,’ she said. ‘You won’t know the way or find the right jeepneys.’
Half an hour later they were back in the lobby of the luxurious hotel. Hector was aching to invite her to his room, and to tell the rest of the world to go away.
He wanted to take her away from that horrible shed, look after her, protect her, hold her. He wanted to buy her lots of things to make her happy, always smiling. He wanted to buy her a meal in one of the posh lobby restaurants.
But he knew it was no use. He didn’t have the nerve to ask. And she wouldn’t be interested. Instead, he would order a room service meal and go to bed early.
‘Hector, I’ll show you the layout at the Hyatt Regency tomorrow,’ Leni was saying.
Hector was still in his own worrying mind. ‘Right...what’s happening there...what’s the Hyatt Regency,’ he said, absently.
‘It’s the hotel where you are giving your talk,’ Leni explained.
‘My talk?’ Hector was paying attention again. ‘What talk?’
Leni looked puzzled. ‘Your talk to the government engineers about HD3000. Did nobody tell you it was tomorrow night?’
‘Nobody told me I was doing a talk,’ Hector panicked. ‘I’ve never done one
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