Kitty walked into a room with silk-covered walls and took a seat in the middle of the red Le Corbusier sofa so that she could show herself off to best advantage. A few of the ladies coming off the elevator stared at her intently as they passed by, and she felt certain it was because of the outfit she had taken such care in choosing. She had opted for a sleeveless Giambattista Valli black-and-red floral-print dress, a red Céline knotted lambskin clutch, and Charlotte Olympia red flats with a gold buckle. Her only jewelry was a pair of cabochon ruby earrings from Solange Azagury-Partridge. Even with a peekaboo slit on the side of her dress, the look bordered on demure, and she dared any uppity tai tai to criticize her today.
Unbeknownst to Kitty, one of the ladies in the elevator had been Rosie Ho, who was on her way to join Ada Poon and a few of their former Maryknoll classmates for lunch. Rosie made a mad dash to the dining room and breathlessly announced, “Girls, you’re never going to believe who is sitting in the parlor right now. Three guesses. Quick, quick!”
“Give us some sort of clue,” Lainey Lui said.
“She’s wearing a floral-print dress, and she definitely had breast reduction surgery.”
“Oh my God, is it that lesbian girlfriend of Bebe Chow’s?” Tessa Chen cackled.
“No, even better—”
“Hiyah, tell us!” the ladies implored.
“It’s Kitty Pong!” Rosie triumphantly announced.
Ada’s face went white with contempt.
Lainey seethed, “Mut laan yeah?*2 How dare she show up here after the stunt she pulled the other night!”
“Who was stupid enough to bring her?” Tessa asked.
Ada rose slowly from the table and smiled tightly at her lunch companions. “Will you excuse me for just one minute? Please keep eating—don’t let the delicious turtle soup get cold.”
Evangeline de Ayala entered the parlor in a pretty black-and-white Lanvin shift dress and gave Kitty a double-cheek kiss. “So sorry to be late—I have no good excuse, except that I am always on Manila time.”
“Don’t worry—I was just admiring the art,” Kitty graciously responded.
“Quite cool, isn’t it? Do you collect?”
“I’m just beginning to, so I am trying to educate myself,” Kitty said modestly, wondering whether Evangeline was just pretending not to know that she had recently bought the most expensive painting in all of Asia.
The ladies approached the reception desk together, and the same host greeted them warmly. “Good afternoon, Mrs. de Ayala. Joining us for lunch today?”
“Yes, just the two of us,” Evangeline replied.
“Wonderful. Please come with me,” the host said, escorting the ladies up the curved marble staircase. When they entered the dining room, Kitty noticed quite a few people gawking at them. The manager of the club came rushing toward them with a look of importance.
Goody, he’s coming to welcome me personally to the club, Kitty thought.
“Mrs. de Ayala, I do apologize, but there seems to have been a huge mix-up with our computerized reservation system. I’m afraid we are completely overbooked today and will not be able to accommodate you for lunch.”
The host looked taken aback by his manager’s declaration, but said nothing.
Evangeline looked puzzled. “But I made the booking two days ago, and no one called to inform me.”
“Yes, I am aware of that. We’re truly sorry—but if you’ll allow me, I have made a booking for you right around the corner at Yung Kee on Wellington Street. They have a lovely table awaiting you, and I hope you will allow us to treat you to lunch, to make up for the inconvenience.”
“Surely you can seat us for a quick lunch here? We’re just two, and I see a few empty tables along the window,” Evangeline said hopefully.
“Unfortunately those tables have already been spoken for. Once again, please accept my apologies, and I do hope you enjoy Yung Kee—be sure to order their fabulous roast goose,” the manager said as he authoritatively steered Kitty and Evangeline toward the staircase.
As they left the club, Evangeline was still perplexed. “How bizarre! I’m so sorry—nothing like that has ever happened before. But the Locke does have rather strange rules. Now, let me just text my driver about our change of plans.” As Evangeline got out her phone, she saw that her husband was trying to call.
“Hey swithart,*3 how are you? The strangest thing just happened,” Evangeline cooed into the phone. Then she jumped at the torrent of cursing that came from the other end.
“Nothing! We did nothing!” she said in a defensive tone.
Kitty could hear Evangeline’s husband continue to rant.
“I can’t explain…I don’t know what happened,” Evangeline kept sputtering into the phone, her face getting paler and paler. Finally she put her phone down and gave Kitty a rather dazed look.
“I’m sorry, but I’m suddenly not feeling too well. Do you mind if we take a rain check on lunch?”
“Of course. Is everything okay?” Kitty asked, rather concerned for her new friend.
“That was my husband. Our membership at the Locke Club has just been revoked.”
After Evangeline’s driver had picked her up, Kitty stood at the curb, trying to process what had just happened. She had woken up this morning feeling so happy and excited, and now she was rather crestfallen that her lunch plans had gone so awry. Poor Evangeline. What an awful thing to happen to her. Just as she was about to call for her driver, Kitty noticed a gray-haired woman in a dowdy-looking pantsuit smiling at her.
“Are you okay?” the woman asked.
“Yes,” Kitty responded, a little confused. Did she know her from somewhere?
“I was just at lunch at the Locke, and I couldn’t help but notice what happened in the dining room,” the woman said by way of introduction.
“Yes, it’s quite strange, isn’t it? I feel so bad for my friend.”
“How so?”
“She didn’t realize that she had lost her membership at the club, and she was trying to take me to lunch there. I think she must feel very embarrassed right now.”
“Evangeline de Ayala was kicked out of the club?” the woman said incredulously.
“Oh—you know her? Yes, right after we left the club, her husband called with the news. He must have done something terribly wrong for them to be kicked out without any notice like that.”
The woman paused for a few moments, as if she was trying to ascertain whether Kitty was being serious. “My poor dear, you are completely out to sea. You really have no clue what actually happened, do you? In the history of the club, they’ve only ever revoked a membership three times. Today was the fourth. The de Ayalas obviously were kicked out because Evangeline tried to bring you to the club.”
Kitty looked incredulous. “Me? What a silly idea! That was my first time setting foot in the club—what did I have to do with it?”
The woman shook her head pitifully. “The fact that you don’t even realize this makes me extremely sad. But I think I can help you.”
“What do you mean help me? Who are you?”
“I’m Corinna Ko-Tung.”
“As in Ko-Tung Park?”
“Yes, and Ko-Tung Road and the Ko-Tung wing at Queen Mary Hospital. Now, come with me. I know you must be starving. I’ll explain everything over yum cha.”*4
Corinna led Kitty down On Lan Street and into an alley behind New World Tower. Taking the service elevator up three floors, they were deposited at the back entrance of Tsui Hang Village restaurant, where VIPs could pass through unnoticed.
The manager recognized Corinna at once and rushed up to her, bowing deeply. “Ms. Ko-Tung, such an honor to have you dining with us today.”
“Thank you, Mr. Tong. Can we have a private room, please?”
“Certainly. Please come with me. How is your mother these days? Please send my best wishes to her,” the manager said effusively as he escorted them down a hallway.
The ladies were shown to a private dining room done up in subtle shades of beige, with a large round table and a flat-screen television along the back wall set on CNBC with the volume on mute.
“I will let the chef know that you are here—I’m sure he will want to send out all his special dishes.”
“Please thank him for me in advance. Now, could you please turn off the television?” Corinna instructed.
“Oh I’m so sorry, of course,” the manager said, lunging for the remote control as if it were the most offensive thing in the world.
After hot towels were ceremoniously distributed, two cups of tea had been poured, and the waitstaff had finally left the room, Kitty said, “You must be a regular here.”
“I haven’t been here in a while. But I thought it would be a convenient place for us to speak freely.”
“Do they always treat you this well?”