Status: Completed
A Local Love Story
The Plan.
They wove their way towards the nearest clothing store. A chinese man, mid-60s, shouted various prices in Hokkien dialect. As soon as he saw Annabelle and Matthew though, he rushed over to them and started guiding them towards his goods - while speaking to them in Hokkien.
Annabelle just shook her head, not exactly understanding what the old man was telling her. She had only learned Chinese throughout her secondary school years and during her Junior College(JC) and University years, she was forced to communicate in English. As a result, her own mother tongue got rusty.
"What're you looking for?" Matthew shouted above the noise.
He moved closer to her so that he could hear her muffled reply.
"My mother ordered a cheongsam, but I forgot where the shop is," She tried again, louder.
He nodded curtly and looked over at the man with an eyebrow raised. When the man finally stopped talking, Matthew spoke to him in Hokkien itself. Annabelle was astounded by his fluency.
After - what seemed like - an eternity, Matthew turned back towards Annabelle and told her that her mother had not ordered the cheongsam from the shop. She looked at him sceptically and again, led the way of the shop.
Still looking at him, they walked off towards the next store.
"What?" Matthew asked cheekily, knowing that Annabelle was staring at him.
"Where did you learn to speak in Hokkien?" She asked, amused.
"Apah forced me to learn. In fact, he forced me to learn lots of other different languages," He paused. "Since we are into the importing and exporting of goods, centering in Asia, our clients mostly consists of countries like Thailand, China, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and... so and so forth," He grinned sheepishly.
Annabelle hid a smile when her heart skipped a beat. She loved his grin. He looked so boyish doing it.
They entered another store and was greeted with another huge mass of bodies - packed like sardines - in the shop. A middle-aged stout woman with graying hair walked over to them with a smile.
"May I help you?" She asked them kindly, a tinge of chinese accent apparent in her voice. However, there was also a ring of authority in her voice that clearly told them that she was in charge.
Annabelle nodded and went into full details of her purpose.
The woman nodded and another genuine smile lit her face as she nodded excitedly. She excused herself and went to the back of the shop.
"I suppose, we've come to the right place?" Annabelle asked, still staring at the space at which the woman had once stood.
She could hear Matthew chuckling beside her.
After a few minutes, the woman came back with 2 cheongsams covered in a transparent plastic. It rustled as she handed Annabelle the 2 clothings.
"Your mother is my regular customer. I'll give you a discount okay?" She shuffled closer as people continued piling in her store. "One Cheongsam, 30 dollars. So, everything... 55 dollars. Can?"
A huge smile displayed on the woman's thin lips when Annabelle nodded eagerly.
Chinatown was one of the best shopping districts. It's rich with local stores selling goods ranging from clothes to good food. Not only that, Annabelle and her family loved the kind owners in the stores as they enthusiastically sell their goods at reasonable prices.
After paying, Matthew and Annabelle headed out again. She glanced at her clock and instantly regretted. It was already 3:30 P.M and she had to help her mother prepare dinner. With a heavy heart, they headed off for home.
They walked for a few minutes in silence.
"Let's go eat at Raffle's Hotel tomorrow," Matthew suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"Let's. Go. Eat. At. Raf-"
"I know, I know... But, mum planne-"
"I know, I know. We'll eat dinner there. Okay?" Mathew cut her off.
"Not okay. Why do we have to ear dinner at Raffles when we can just eat dinner at my house?"
"Because... It's been awhile since we last ate at a restaurant. And I'll be able to see you in the dress I bought for you," He grinned again.
"You bought a dress for me?" She asked, skeptical.
"Yes... It's a date then! We'll go off at 7:00 P.M,"
She frowned, confused. "Okay?" She asked more than said.
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Reaching her flat was hard, leaving her was harder. It has been 2 years since they met and time was being a butt. Matthew hated the fact that she had to be the oldest among her 3 other male siblings. She always had to help her mother out and curfews were a norm for them.
Matthew groaned inwardly. Fortunately, his plans for the next day were enough to make him hold on to whatever patience he had.
He hoped it wouldn't turn ugly.
He called it, 'The (Anticipating) Plan'.
Annabelle just shook her head, not exactly understanding what the old man was telling her. She had only learned Chinese throughout her secondary school years and during her Junior College(JC) and University years, she was forced to communicate in English. As a result, her own mother tongue got rusty.
"What're you looking for?" Matthew shouted above the noise.
He moved closer to her so that he could hear her muffled reply.
"My mother ordered a cheongsam, but I forgot where the shop is," She tried again, louder.
He nodded curtly and looked over at the man with an eyebrow raised. When the man finally stopped talking, Matthew spoke to him in Hokkien itself. Annabelle was astounded by his fluency.
After - what seemed like - an eternity, Matthew turned back towards Annabelle and told her that her mother had not ordered the cheongsam from the shop. She looked at him sceptically and again, led the way of the shop.
Still looking at him, they walked off towards the next store.
"What?" Matthew asked cheekily, knowing that Annabelle was staring at him.
"Where did you learn to speak in Hokkien?" She asked, amused.
"Apah forced me to learn. In fact, he forced me to learn lots of other different languages," He paused. "Since we are into the importing and exporting of goods, centering in Asia, our clients mostly consists of countries like Thailand, China, Singapore, Japan, Vietnam and... so and so forth," He grinned sheepishly.
Annabelle hid a smile when her heart skipped a beat. She loved his grin. He looked so boyish doing it.
They entered another store and was greeted with another huge mass of bodies - packed like sardines - in the shop. A middle-aged stout woman with graying hair walked over to them with a smile.
"May I help you?" She asked them kindly, a tinge of chinese accent apparent in her voice. However, there was also a ring of authority in her voice that clearly told them that she was in charge.
Annabelle nodded and went into full details of her purpose.
The woman nodded and another genuine smile lit her face as she nodded excitedly. She excused herself and went to the back of the shop.
"I suppose, we've come to the right place?" Annabelle asked, still staring at the space at which the woman had once stood.
She could hear Matthew chuckling beside her.
After a few minutes, the woman came back with 2 cheongsams covered in a transparent plastic. It rustled as she handed Annabelle the 2 clothings.
"Your mother is my regular customer. I'll give you a discount okay?" She shuffled closer as people continued piling in her store. "One Cheongsam, 30 dollars. So, everything... 55 dollars. Can?"
A huge smile displayed on the woman's thin lips when Annabelle nodded eagerly.
Chinatown was one of the best shopping districts. It's rich with local stores selling goods ranging from clothes to good food. Not only that, Annabelle and her family loved the kind owners in the stores as they enthusiastically sell their goods at reasonable prices.
After paying, Matthew and Annabelle headed out again. She glanced at her clock and instantly regretted. It was already 3:30 P.M and she had to help her mother prepare dinner. With a heavy heart, they headed off for home.
They walked for a few minutes in silence.
"Let's go eat at Raffle's Hotel tomorrow," Matthew suddenly said.
"Huh?"
"Let's. Go. Eat. At. Raf-"
"I know, I know... But, mum planne-"
"I know, I know. We'll eat dinner there. Okay?" Mathew cut her off.
"Not okay. Why do we have to ear dinner at Raffles when we can just eat dinner at my house?"
"Because... It's been awhile since we last ate at a restaurant. And I'll be able to see you in the dress I bought for you," He grinned again.
"You bought a dress for me?" She asked, skeptical.
"Yes... It's a date then! We'll go off at 7:00 P.M,"
She frowned, confused. "Okay?" She asked more than said.
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Reaching her flat was hard, leaving her was harder. It has been 2 years since they met and time was being a butt. Matthew hated the fact that she had to be the oldest among her 3 other male siblings. She always had to help her mother out and curfews were a norm for them.
Matthew groaned inwardly. Fortunately, his plans for the next day were enough to make him hold on to whatever patience he had.
He hoped it wouldn't turn ugly.
He called it, 'The (Anticipating) Plan'.
♠ ♠ ♠
Do you guys know what's a cheongsam? It's a chinese traditional costume worn during the festive seasons.Okay, okay. Lemme finish the last chapter before you guys comment on how bad the story is. Just don't get nasty please. -_-;