Authors: Michael Wood
White faced, he returned to the room. Elland was engaged in conversation with hotel staff. Leni was fussing about the top table. He approached her and said quietly, ‘what is going on, Leni? I’m not the chief engineer of BNFL. I can’t do this. I can’t make a speech.’
Leni glanced at the banner, then whispered conspiratorially, ‘It’s Yul trying to impress his guests. You will have to make a speech, Hector. It’s not as hard as you think. I’ll help you. If you put a drawing up on the screen, that will distract their eyes from you. I’ll work the projector. Then I’ll sit at the table directly in front of you, and you must only look at me and speak to me. Just give a brief introduction then read the information off the data sheet. Nobody has seen that yet. Don’t worry, most people are only here for the free dinner, they won’t be listening carefully.’
*
A few hours later, having produced a simple drawing on acetate of an application where HD3000 would be used, and having consumed the entire spirit content of his room’s drinks fridge, Hector was back at the Hyatt Regency sitting at the top table alongside Yul and Elland.
Dinner was over, more drinks had been consumed, the white-shirted, brown-faced, guests had stashed away their gifts from Yul, and now sat facing the podium where Leni was re-welcoming them on behalf of Wayne Industrial Supply Inc. Even in a cheap blue cotton dress, she radiated beauty and confidence. Hector was amazed at how she and Vilma could be totally at ease in these five-star surroundings when they lived in such poverty.
After giving a short talk about her company, during which she praised Yul’s leadership, as instructed, Leni introduced John Elland. He gave a confident talk on his company’s range of products ending it with a brief introduction to HD3000, then called on Hector to come forward to give his talk on the unique properties of the product.
Hector rose from the table in a daze. It was all happening to somebody else. He saw Leni take his drawing to the projector, and noticed the sea of faces swivel to watch the image on the screen. On reaching the podium, he stopped his hands shaking by gripping the edges.
By the time he had placed the data sheet on the podium, Leni was back in a seat directly in front of him. She smiled and nodded encouragement. Hector concentrated his drunken stare at her then heard somebody say, loudly, ‘Good evening ladies and gentlemen, my name is Hector Snodd.’
The same person went on to read out the whole of the HD3000 technical data sheet, after which there was silence, followed by stuttering applause led by Leni.
Hector floated back to the top table. Suddenly, people in the audience were standing up and asking technical questions about HD3000. Yul passed a microphone along the table to Hector so that he could answer. Fortunately, he knew his stuff, and somehow managed to give coherent answers to the blurred audience.
When it was all over he swayed to the toilet, and threw up again. When he came out, still feeling nauseous, Leni was waiting for him.
‘You did well,’ she said, putting a comforting arm around his shoulders.
Nobody had ever shown him such kindness; nobody had ever touched him. He thought he was going to burst into tears. Instead, he fainted.
*
The rest of his time in Manila was less stressful. Giving that talk, albeit in a drunken dream, had given him more confidence. Apparently, it had gone down quite well. Leni had been right. The audience were easily pleased. And they were quite used to seeing westerners fainting and throwing up as the local water and bugs took their toll.
He became more relaxed as he accompanied Elland and Leni on their visits to projects and customers. Eventually, he was even called in to offer advice on some concrete erosion problems the water companies had when tropical downpours swept stones down culverts, and his suggestions were well received.
He trailed around with them in the heat and the squalor rather than sit at the hotel poolside because he wanted to be near Leni. Every day she seemed more perfect; every night he closed his eyes thinking about her.
He had taken to staying in the hotel at night as Elland went with Yul on a tour of Manila’s nightspots. One night had been enough for him. Instead of lusting after the girls, he had felt sorry for them. They looked so young and frail; he wanted to take them away to look after them. If only he could do that with Leni.
As the final few days approached, he grew more and more depressed at the thought of not seeing Leni again. He knew she couldn’t possibly be interested in him, but he had to let her know how he felt about her. He must not leave without telling her how much he loved her. He would get drunk, that was the answer.
Two days before they were due to leave, he told Elland and Leni that he was going to have a day by the pool. Instead he went shopping and bought Leni a small battery operated radio cassette so that she could listen to their music. He couldn’t find a shop that sold up-to-date classical music and had to make do with an old compilation tape of opera duets. At least it contained his favourite - the love duet from Madame Butterfly.
That evening, having spent the whole afternoon rehearsing speeches, while bathing, shaving, and generally trying to make the best of his appearance, and fortified with a few whiskies, he took a taxi to Leni’s home.
The door of the shed was opened by Vilma. She didn’t beam her usual smile as she invited him in. Leni sat with her back to them, head bowed. She didn’t turn around. Vilma went to her and put her arm around her shoulders. ‘Leni’s brother has been arrested,’ she announced over her shoulder. ‘Leni is upset.’
‘I’m sorry,’ Hector said, feeling completely inadequate again, not knowing what to say or do. ‘Shall I go?’
Leni spun around. ‘No ...no ...stay ...I am alright.’ Her beautiful eyes glinted with tears. She attempted a smile.
Hector couldn’t bear it. ‘I’ve brought you a present,’ he blurted out, his voice too loud in the tiny space, the alcohol in charge.
‘Thank you,’ Leni said wearily.
Vilma said, ‘I’m going to see if my uncle can spare some milk and I will make us a cup of tea.’
After she had gone, Hector took over her seat. He smiled at Leni. She bowed her head. There was a long silence.
‘Sorry about your brother,’ Hector said. ‘What...?’
‘He was caught stealing. A security guard shot him in the leg. He’s not a bad boy. Now he’ll go to prison and he won’t get any medical help unless he has money.’ She was on the verge of tears again.
‘I can give you money,’ Hector said, quickly, desperate to take the sorrow from her eyes.
‘No....I didn’t mean...I wasn’t begging...’
‘How much does he need?’
‘I don’t know...at least 5,000 pesos. Please forget it, Hector, it is not your problem.’
Hector did a quick mental calculation. It was only 75 pounds. He took all the notes from his back pocket, and counted them on the floor.
‘No!’ Leni insisted.
‘Three thousand, one hundred and twenty five; I will bring you the rest tomorrow.’ He forced the notes into Leni’s hands.
‘I can’t take this,’ Leni pleaded, thrusting the notes back at him. ‘You are very kind, but I could never pay you back.’
Hector shuffled his seat out of range. Suddenly, the alcohol gave him the inspiration and the courage. ‘You could let me look after you,’ he said firmly.
The words hung in the air, like the dresses in the corner, waiting. Leni looked puzzled. ‘I’m not sure what you mean, Hector?’
‘You could come and live with me, and I would look after you,’ Hector blurted, head down, eyes closed, fists clenched behind his back, waiting for rejection.
‘You mean, go back to England with you?’ Leni asked, disbelievingly.
‘Scotland.’
‘But I couldn’t do that, Hector...’
‘Why not?’
‘Well...I cannot leave Mama and my family; they need my support. And, I have a religion that says it is sinful to live with a man outside of marriage.’
‘But that’s what I meant,’ Hector insisted urgently, impatient with his clumsiness. ‘I want us to get married. We could send money to your mother from Scotland.’
Leni was stunned to silence. He was proposing marriage, yet they didn’t know each other; they hadn’t even kissed, or been on a date? Maybe he was just like the other westerners who came in their thousands to pick up a Filipino bride as though shopping for a bargain car to drive and ride.
Well, she wasn’t one of those girls and she would let him know it. And yet! Had she any right to feel superior? She had lost her virginity. Her chances of marrying a decent Filipino man were practically nil. Perhaps this timid, unattractive, but kind little man was the best chance she would ever get. He was offering to give money to her brother and Mama and he hadn’t even met them. That was always the trouble with westerners - they had money. And in the Philippines, money is everything.
Now she realised that she was just like all the other pathetic Filipino women who have to chose between a future of unending struggle in their own country or risk selling themselves to westerners in the hope that life in their country will be better.
Most of them did it so that they could send money back to their families, which is why mothers were always encouraging their daughters to accept the offers. It was nearly always about money, not love.
She certainly didn’t love Hector; there was no physical attraction. But she did like him. He seemed kind and gentle and he loved music, and best of all, he wasn’t huge. She had learned from an early age that beggars cannot be choosers. Now, instead of following her initial impulse to reject his proposal, she decided to pursue the matter further.
‘Thank you for your proposal, Hector’ she said, finally, and very formally. ‘You do me a great honour. But please forgive me for being practical. In the Philippines, we have to be. I assume you want to marry me because you need a wife, and you find me attractive. Can you not find an attractive wife in Scotland?’
‘I don’t need a wife,’ Hector pleaded. ‘I just love you. I’ve never met anyone so beautiful. I want to take care of you. You shouldn’t have to live in a place like...’
‘Do you own a house?’
‘Yes...it’s not very...’
‘And a car?’
‘Yes.’
‘Would you sign a contract promising to send Mama 500 pesos every week?’
‘Yes,’ Hector agreed, even before he had worked out that it was only seven pounds something. He couldn’t believe that she was asking these questions. She was actually taking his proposal seriously.
‘We could send her 1,000 pesos,’ he announced eagerly, ‘and we could come back and visit her every year...or send her the money to come and see us.’ The sound of ‘we’ and ‘us’ thrilled him.
‘We could send money for Vilma as well,’ he added, desperately. He would fund every relative and friend she had if only she would come with him.
With a hundred more questions still to ask, Leni now knew that she had no choice but to accept his proposal. The family always came first. A thousand pesos a week would give Mama and the children a much better life. She could picture the look on her face, the relief, the tears of joy and hope and gratitude.
‘I will be pleased to marry you, Hector,’ she said, simply. ‘But we have two problems. First, I cannot go to Scotland with you without first being married. It would not be honourable. So, we would need to be married tomorrow. Second, I cannot leave without saying goodbye to Mama and my family on Mindoro, and that is a three day round trip.’
Hector had never been so focussed in his life. His adrenalin was flying. The impossible had happened. The most beautiful girl in the world had agreed to marry him.
Him!
The shock brought clarity to his swirling brain. He must stay calm. He mustn’t grab her. He must solve these problems.