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12 August 2005

LorBert Series (Part 5) - Jay & The Chaplin Chick

Chaplin's, located at Holland Village, was home ground to me as I lived nearby and knew everybody there. As a result, I never needed to call anyone to arrange to meet there. I just needed to show up and "my people" would already be there ahead of me. Such, was the pinnacle of my social life but yet, I was incredibly lonely then.

It was a couple of months after my separation from Tiffany when I met Lynn. I was introduced to her via Hoon, whom was my close girl-buddy back in school.

As the exams neared, Lynn would travel all the way to NTU to join us in the library to study. Thereafter, I would drive her home, before heading back to my own.

Come Friday, after we were done for the day of studying, we would all hopped into my car and we would all go partying the night away. We often partied so hard that we always ended up crashing at my place. Perhaps the good thing about living alone is that I could do whatever I wanted, have whoever I wished, and whenever I desired, at my place. Before anyone know it, Lynn was spending more and more nights as my place to the extend of having her own toothbrush in my bathroom.

Contrary to what everybody is thinking right now, nothing happened between us. I just got out of a crash-and-burn and wasn't really ready to get back onto the saddle again. Still, I appreciate having an additional person in the house.

Then one night at about 2am in the morning, my phone rang. It was her friends calling to tell me that she got pissed drunk at Chaplin's and they were on the way over to dump her at my place. I took the elevator down to my lobby shortly after and there they were waiting to unload her over to me. I carried her back and laid her on my bed.

A thousand questions must have been racing through my head then.

"What the hell is she doing on my bed at this very moment?"

"Why me? Why of all places, come to my place? Why not go back to her own home? Why here?"

"She REALLY drunk?"

"Is this some kind of an open invitation?"

"Should I take her?"

Frustratingly, there were not a single answer to any of those questions as I found myself sitting in the dining room playing back the questions over and over again.

I couldn't sleep as I was struggling mentally. Ended up sitting there until the sun came up. It was a beautiful sunrise but I was too distracted to appreciate it. She woke up, washed up and left without a word.

I blew it.

I was too stupid/scared/chicken/thick to have seized the invitation laid out in front of me. I may have played the gentleman that night, but I certainly didn't come out feeling like a winner.

She soon graduated a year ahead of me and starting working for a Japanese company in a sales position. She struggled initially to meet her monthly quotas and I had to jump in to help her by stringing some of my contact together for her. Her office was near my place and unknowingly, I got sucked into the role of the enslaved chauffeur again. Whenever she needs me to pick her up, I would be there within a single phone call. Ahh.... what a nice "friend", I was.

The last day we were together was a Friday. I was to go partying at Chinoiserie while she was to be meeting her friends for drinks elsewhere. We had an early dinner and got a couple of hours to kill before our separate appointments. As we were walking and window shopping in Wisma Atria, I tried to hold her hand for the first time.

She flinched.

The message was deafeningly clear. It was over and the simple withdrawal of her hand was all that she needed to do to get the message across.

I never called her again after that day and neither did she since.

Song that triggered my memory of her each and every time? Love, Me - Colin Raye.

- Voxeros

1. vandice left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 3:21 am
Love, me? This one not lorbert leh... This smells like true love to me, one-sided unrequited though it is. You must have had deep affections for her, or did you paint her wrongly?

Aniwaz, after all these years, are you glad both of you chanced upon each other in this haphazard game called life?


2. Lynne left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 4:59 am
Funny, I was just singing to "Love, Me" last week ... almost everyday during my drive home. Makes me want to run away with the one who ran away from me ...


3. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 6:08 am :: 
Vandice: It was Lorbert, believe me. Yes, I painted quite a mild picture of her in the blog. I just didn't have the heart to up the intensity of the negatives, closer to what reality.
Just couldn't do it.

Lynne: Funny how your name and affinity to the song are so freakily similar. I hope Lynne and Lynn are different persons.
Fate can be pretty cruel at times.


4. kIm left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 10:46 am
You are incredibly sweet. Sigh. If only I can have such a 'friend' in my life.


5. akk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 3:53 pm
u are too nice already lah...


6. Pam left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 4:41 pm
oh jay........................ let's speak soon.


7. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 4:41 pm :: 
kIm: Lucky never met you or else it would have been...
LorBert Series (Part 6) - Jay & The *cough* Sexy *cough* Little Smile.
 
akk: Good guys get trampled on. That is one lesson that I learnt.


8. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 4:49 pm ::
Pam: Hmm... you miss my "comedy talk show" already??!!! wow.... heh heh


9. Lynne left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 8:32 pm
Hahaha, I am not your "Lynn" lah, plus I am about 10,000 miles away from SIN, so can't be me. Tho', I have a female cousin named Lynn ... might be her?

I just listened to Collin again this morning ...


10. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 10:07 pm ::
Lynne: What a relief! Hmm, 10k miles away, North America or Europe?
"Lynn" should be 31 yrs old this year. Your cousin?


11. Lynne left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 10:51 pm
I am in the US, Minnesota.
Hmm, I think my cousin Lynn is younger than that, she should be 29 this year, so she can't be your "Lynn" too. But she's single, slim, pretty and very sweet, maybe she replace your "Lynn" one day?


12. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 10:59 pm :: 
Lynne: Hmm... I am seeing your comments here for the first time.
Oh dear, where are my manners? Welcome to JayWalk! Bon Lecture!
Better don't ask your cousin come and replace "Lynn" or I will have to write
LorBert Series (Part 7) - Jay & The Minnesota Replacement


13. JayWalk left...
Friday, 12 August 2005 11:00 pm :: 
Lynne: Then again hor, got picture? :P


14. Lynne left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 12:17 am
Mr Lobert, please make up your mind leh! My cousin Lynn is back in SG lah, I am the only one in the family who is living in the US. She works in the Tampines Central area, if you hang around there, you might bump into her. Long (rebonded) hair, fair-skinned, big eyes, and very sweet-mannered gal ... Oh BTW, she graduated from NTU too (like you)!


15. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 7:10 am :: 
Lynne: sigh.... thanks for the offer. That's very sweet but then hor, given that you only recently come aboard and hadn't the chance to catch up on my archives. Need to let you know that I am already married liao i.e. game over.
You studying in Minnesota?


16. jaschocolate left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 2:22 pm
Sugar daddy got some many daughters liao.. still want one more ah.. GREEDY PIG!!! Anyway, i thought you wanted to write only 2 of ur stories, how come got 3? Hee..


17. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 5:02 pm :: 
jaschocolate: Do I hear a thinge of jealousy?
Harlow, I never ask for more daugthers ok? Don't anyhow greedy pig hor...

I originally plan 2 of my own and 3 of other people. But there was that one (The Sweet Barracuda) that was so heart wrenching that I had to stop halfway. I couldn't finish it despite the fact that it wasn't even my own experience.

And so, I had to fill it in with The French Ballerina which I originally, didn't want to reveal coz too many people in my circle would know who I am talking about and would luuuurve to get their hands on the "inside story".

But in the end bor pian. Gaping hole must be plugged and so I 牺牲了!


18. vanna left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 5:35 pm
so sweet & nice guy that you are.
not many nice guys exists in the world today.. lol.
and if they are nice, they are attached or married already


19. JayWalk left...
Saturday, 13 August 2005 8:01 pm :: 
vanna: You see me too up already lah. For that I thank thee.

I definitely no way near the "perfect man" benchmark that you are referring to as I too, have my fair share of quirks and flaws.

If I am really that "good", then I would still be, on this very day, the proverbial doormat that girls trample on.


20. Sheena left...
Sunday, 14 August 2005 3:17 am
Wah lau. THE FUCKING BITCH!!!
But you know something, that song "Love Me" always brings back memories of my ex-boyfriend (the one before Andy), because once he did something very sweet for me - he strummed the song on his guitar, sang it, recorded it down on a cassette tape and gave it to me. Awwww... everytime I hear that song I think of him.

Anyway, back to the bitch. You know why I say she's a bitch? Because she couldn't even reject you in a nice, classy way. Trying to act "gu niang" when she goes to your place and spends nights and sprawls on your bed... yeuch. I may be liberal, but there are some things a girl shouldn't do, and one of them is spending too many nights at the place of a guy who isn't your boyfriend (once or twice, under unavoidable circumstances like no transport home is ok lah).
21. JayWalk left...
Sunday, 14 August 2005 7:33 am ::
Sheena: We meet all kinds of people don't we? Funnily, I mini-cringed when I read the word "bitch". Perhaps I am a softie for I can't really get myself to really call somebody a "bitch" with such a gusto of hatred. 

Oh well, it's over and in the deep past liao.

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