J's four-month holiday
Two young men walked into a bar. J had clothed himself in his usual way: a T-shirt and a pair of shorts, hat-less. Whereas Y had chosen a floral-print button-up shirt, a pair of skinny jeans, and a baseball cap.
They sat next to each other at the bar counter, saying nothing to each other.
J's dessert punctuated the silence. Its arrival elicited a puzzled look from J.
Y caught J's facial expression, and said: “what's that you're having?”
J paused, and then replied, “I ordered an ice-cream sandwich. I don't know why there is chocolate.”
“If you don't want that chocolate, I'd be happy to have it.”
“Okay.”
After exchanging such polite greetings, they went down to the important business of getting to know one another.
J opened his mouth and spoke thus:
“I leave Singapore on Wednesday, three days from now. I'm at the end of a four-month holiday. I'll be going back to work, in Melbourne.
I've been to the U.S., the U.K. and Thailand. It has been difficult and tiring. I wanted to relax, but I ended up feeling tired.
I'll spend my next holiday watching television at home, for three months. I've learnt my lesson.”
Y said: “you learnt your lesson the hard way.”
“Well, now I know.”
Y continued: “Melbourne. I've heard that everyone is a barista in Melbourne.”
“Yes, I didn't care much about coffee. But then I joined an organisation where everyone was serious about their coffee.”
“How do you like your coffee?”
“Black, no sugar. Colombian beans. I like them for their tasting notes of chocolate. I use an AeroPress brewer.”
J pushed his little ceramic plate to Y. “Do you want some chocolate?”
“Sure, thanks.”
Munching.
“It's nice. Is it okay if I finish the entire plate?”
“Yes, it's all yours.
A fashion icon once said:
“Fashion trends come and go. But style remains. Style never goes out of fashion.”
Or something like that.