I WAS JUST ABOUT to go into a late afternoon meeting when my mobile rang. Hmm, shall I take this or let it ring through to voicemail?
I thought. Looking at the caller display I saw it was a 'private number' calling, so decided to take the call on the basis that I wouldn't be able to reach the caller on redial. Actually, might be an international call, I think James from London said he'd call again today.
"Oh, hello Chris, how's things? Where are you?" came a familiar voice down the line.
Where am I?I thought in the nano second before I spoke again. She's asking me where I am.
"Hi, there. I'm fine, how are you? But maybe I should be asking you where you are."
"That's easy, I'm in Hong Kong," replied Porn, breezily. "Just up here for few days."
"For a few days…," I repeated, immediately wondering why Porn, who rarely ventured outside of Thailand was up in Hong Kong; and, secondly, wondering why she hadn't let me know in advance. "Well, very nice to hear from you, Porn, but what brings you here?"
"Hmm, this and that. Business," she replied, coyly. "Chris, er…, maybe we can meet up tonight, I'll tell you more."
Intrigued, I went into my meeting, my mind wandering as the other participants discussed some new banking regulation and the possible impact on our business some two or three years in the future. What brings Porn to Hong Kong? She's always said she doesn't like the city; too ostentatious for her tastes. Well, anyway, must be something worthwhile. Or… and I let the thought linger.
Just over three hours later, Porn sat opposite me in one of those restaurant-cum-bars with an open deck and a fantastic harbour view, located in the IFC, the swanky office and retail building above the down-town airport express terminal, right in the middle of Hong Kong.
"It's one of my new business ventures," she explained. "Means I'll need to come to Hong Kong quite frequently, probably once a month. Can see you more often," she added, smiling and squeezing my arm. "Maybe we can have some fun together like we used to?"
"Yes, I'm sure we can, but what exactly will you be doing?" I persisted. "Three days free in Hong Kong once a month. Sounds too good to be true."
"Yes, well…, er…," Porn started, but left her sentence unfinished. Then, she totally changed the subject; a one hundred and eighty degree abut face. "You know Chris, our last book 'Porn's Stars' has been selling so well, I'd like to write another one. It's been what, almost a year, since we first published it and the sales are still strong. You know," she added, wistfully, "It would be great if we could make a movie of our books too."
Er., excuse me, I thought, who actually wrote it? Admittedly, it was a number of Porn's stories; well, to be fair, nearly all of her stories, but it was me who did the writing, editing plus finding the publisher. Still…, I do owe her a lot.
"Well, always happy to oblige," I replied. "You tell me the stories, and I'll put them into an editable form. Then I'll check and see if CLP want to publish the next set."
"That would be great! I'm so excited already. When can we begin?"
I looked at my watch. Eight ten. "Well, maybe now is as good a time as any. Are you free for the rest of the night?"
She nodded enthusiastically, "Sure."
"You can record your stories into my I-phone, I don't need to write anything yet. So, what's the theme for this one?"
"Hmm, I've thought about that. Let's make this one a bit different. More stories to do with the unexpected changes in gender thinking, the perspective of gender from those who have limited experience with anything outside of the norm; sort of new 'sexperiences'," and Porn laughed. "I can see this is going to be a great book already."
"So why are you in Hong Kong, Porn?"
"Oh, don't worry, I'll tell you later. Now don't interrupt me for a while." She interlocked her fingers and bent her hands so as her palms were face up, cracking her joints as she put pressure on each of her fingers in turn. "Hmm, tch, tch, tch. Did you ever meet Kristy?"
I frowned slightly and shook my head. "No, I don't think so."
"Well, she was a stunner…, a real stunner…
