Singapore Salvation by Jennifer Burge

Author:Jennifer Burge [Burge, Jennifer]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Literature & Fiction, Essays & Correspondence, Diaries & Journals, Travel, Asia, Singapore, Specialty Travel, Literary & Religious, Letters & Correspondence
ISBN: 9780994244925
Google: Bo6xjgEACAAJ
Amazon: B017QT0WYQ
Publisher: Worldwise Publications
Published: 2015-11-30T16:00:00+00:00

* * *

Vietnam was thrilling. Thailand was decadent. Singapore was suffocating. Each return to the condo brought the strangulation of newfound happiness. We weren’t made of money, and David would be shown the door in short order if he didn’t make the grade. He’d already told me that several of the couples we met when we arrived had departed because they could not handle either the workload or the extreme cultural difference. I had no tearful farewells for Leah, Nancy, and Sally who were among the departed.

Madeline and I began spending more time together. We had similar attitudes to life, namely She Who Sees the Most Places Wins, and she was easy going. I’d be lying if I said I didn’t now have a bias against Australian females, but she was different. Her career came first. I could sing that song too, or at least I used to.

Sitting under the palms drinking red wine at the Killiney Road wine bar I liked to frequent, Madeline asked where I most wanted to visit in the region.

“Japan,” I said without a moment’s hesitation.

“Really. Why is that?”

“I love Japanese food. I love sake. It looks so incredibly sophisticated compared to where we live. There are a million reasons.”

“Funny that you say that. I’ve been wanting to go too. It’s so expensive to fly from Australia and I saw an advertisement on one of those travel sites the other day. Tickets throughout May are two for one on Singapore Air.”

“Are you kidding? That’s a bargain!” I knew the flights normally cost about eight hundred dollars.

“I know. I’ve been dreaming about it since I read it.”

“Great. Thanks for putting that thought in my head! David will be so happy about it!” I said sarcastically.

“Sorry!” she said, but she was laughing. “Well, maybe you’ll convince him that it’s a deal we can’t miss. You wouldn’t be lying.” She baited the trap for her easy prey.

“I know. We’ve just been traveling a lot. Let me think about it.” I sipped my shiraz and wondered how I could ask David about it without pissing him off.

That weekend, David was sharing his work woes with me. He was putting in ten plus hours a day, but the workload never seemed to diminish. Instead, it grew.

“The next few months are going to be so busy. I’m afraid you’ll never see me.” He warned.

“What’s going on?”

“We’re getting ready to complete the first phase of the project. That means getting ready for the go-live, conversion, and cutover. Everything has to be ready by then, so all system bugs fixed, etc. I will probably be working weekends soon and it’s likely to last all summer.”

“Oh.” What was he expecting me to say to that? “I didn’t realize this is how it was going to be here all the time.”

“I didn’t either.” He seemed genuinely concerned. “I’m sorry.”

“You don’t have to be sorry. We both signed up for this. It’s just difficult because in the past I was working just as many hours. My life is so empty here.

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