30 January 2013:
The Coincidence
In the morning, Bee Lay woke up and took a look at her calendar. December 12! That would mean five days to her boyfriend Jack’s birthday. During her birthday months ago, Jack had planned an elaborate celebration that ended with a romantic candlelight during on the Singapore Flyer. She had to reciprocate with something equal, or even better. Bee Lay decided to hunt the shops for something that Jack would fancy. She dressed up and headed for Marina Square.~
Siew Leng was putting on her makeup when her phone beeped. It was an alarm reminder about December 17. She placed her lipstick on the dressing table and took a look at the phone’s display. Oh! It was her boyfriend Jack’s birthday! How could she have forgotten about it? Luckily there was this reminder, she thought to herself. Siew Leng knew Jack was fond of designer brands, so she thought of going to boutiques at Marina Square to find a present for him.
~
Bee Lay entered the mall and a particular brand popped up in her mind. Jack had casually mentioned that he liked ties of this brand. She took the lift up to the third floor. Siew Leng entered the mall and remembered this tie that Jack liked a lot. However she had forgot which floor the boutique was located, and had to check the directory before taking a lift up to the third floor.
Bee Lay went into the boutique and a particular tie caught her attention. This was the exact one Jack had told her about. She beckoned the saleswoman over and told her to wrap the tie up; she was going to buy it regardless of its exorbitant price.
‘Wait!’ Such a sound shrieked through the boutique. People watched in shock and disgust as Siew Leng rushed to where Bee Lay and the saleswoman were, nearly knocking down bottles of perfume. ‘I saw that first!’ Lily was huffing and puffing and her face was red by now. The saleswoman was at a loss; who should she hand the tie to?
‘Here’s an extra $100 for you. Pack the tie, quick.’ Bee Lay thrust a hundred-dollar note at the saleswoman and looked at Lily coldly, with a sense of contempt in her eyes. Lily gasped in horror and took out four fifty-dollar notes. ‘Take $200 and give that tie to me.’
The saleswoman looked at the both of them who were on the verge of bursting a vessel. She creaked weakly: ‘Look, I can’t do it this way …’
Smack! Siew Leng landed a slap on Bee Lay’s cheek. ‘You bitch! Why won’t you just let me have the tie?’
Bee Lay returned the slap, screaming wildly at the same time. Tears were overflowing from their eyes in anger, ruining their makeup. Vulgarities were hurled freely between the both of them as they cooked up a nasty brawl. Customers started to leave the boutique, which was a good choice since it was not before long that perfume bottles were being used by the two women as weapons against each other.
The saleswoman stared in disbelief, and it was a while more before she realised to call her manager out from the store room. The loafing manager was rudely awakened from his snooze and was about to chide the saleswoman, but rushed out immediately once he heard glass breaking outside the store room. The manager was able to stop the brawl before his whole stock of perfume was destroyed between Bee Lay and Siew Leng.
After much mediation, Siew Leng decided to budge a little. She would call her boyfriend Jack and ask for his opinion. To her delight, Jack decided he would go there and take a look, since he was around the area. It wasn’t before long that Jack arrived.
‘Jack?’ mumbled Bee Lay. A sense of embarrassment, panic and despair crept to Jack’s face. His legs were rooted to the ground. Bee Lay and Siew Leng looked at each other; being smart women they knew what had happened without much guessing.
The manager buried his face in his hands as the two women finished his only stock of premium perfume on Jack, who was sheepishly trying to leave.