“Let’s go somewhere to eat.” said Malee.
“How about the coffee house at the top of the street we used to meet?” suggested one of them. Malee was surprised , to say the least. She was under the impression that the place had been changed after she and George were taken into the police station. She nodded.
“Lets go then.” said Malee , trying not to sound surprise. Her friends knew about her father and that she had been taken as a servant into an employment but knew nothing of her employer. Malee thought it would be best for them and herself if she did not tell them that she bathed with a princess.
They strolled along the hot , humid street, occasionally resting under trees by the roadside as the sounds of car horns and the dusty air surrounded them. They reach the coffee house soon after and found a place by the corner and sat down. Malee was surprised by how little the place had changed since she had left the place years ago.
It was still dirty, full of litters on the floor, with tables and chairs that looked as if they were picked up from the dumpsite. The huge mango tree that shaded the place from the heat of the run survived the times as well. Malee’s eyes swelled with tears on the memories she had with her father but thankfully the tear drops were hidden by the sweat from her brows. She reached into her bag to look for the handkerchief, but remembered she had given it to Georgia during the ceremony. Just as she was about to wipe her face with the back of her hands, a hand appeared from behind her, offering her a handkerchief.
She took the cloth without much thought and wiped her faced with it. Then she could smell a faint, familiar scent from it. She gasped in shock and stood up immediately, recognizing where she she smelled it before. It was a scent from an exclusive brand of bathing liquid imported from Europe for the twins.
“You knew him?” asked one of them, pointing at a tall handsome man behind her.
It was George, in a tee and jeans and a Nike sneaker with his cap turned back to hide his fine hair but Malee knew. He smiled and took one of the chairs and sat down between them. Malee nodded without able to say a word and slumped back into her chair in utter shock. She looked behind as if to check if there were rows of police cars and tanks accompanying the prince, but it was clear as far as the dust in the air allowed.
“Why are you here, George?” whispered Malee while pretending to pour tea into a cup from the center of the table.
“Why? Am I not allowed to go where I want to?” asked George while smiling back. Malee said nothing. George turned to one of her friends and asked where she stayed. Soon , he was talking with them as if he was one of them. It was totally unlike George that she remembered. Perhaps, the oversea experience had really changed him, she thought.