Chapter 72

Nurul.

Now that everyone knows about their relationship and the pregnancy, Nurul and Daniel don’t have to sneak furtively into each other’s rooms after dark anymore. Instead, they come and go from one room to another as they please.

It’s evening now, and Nurul is in her room, searching on her phone any information on Sicily. Not that it will make any difference to what Daniel and Nurul will do, because they have no choice: if they want to be together, for them it’s Sicily or nothing.

Nurul imagines Sir’s new home as a historic villa with terracotta tiles, surrounded by lemon orchards, olive groves and vineyards, like in the pictures that are coming up on her phone.

There’s a knock on her door.

“Come in,” she answers at once.

It will surely be Daniel.

But when Nurul turns around, it’s not him. It’s Luz.

Nurul stands up. Has Luz come with bad news? Is she going to scold her for getting pregnant or for declaring her relationship with Daniel openly during the meeting?

“Hello, Nurul.”

“Hello, Luz. Am I in trouble?”

Luz smiles. “I think we’ve already established that.”

Luz glances at Nurul’s belly and Nurul smiles.

“Yes, we have.”

“Congratulations, by the way.”

“Thank you.”

“Can I have a word with you?”

“Take a seat,” Nurul says, pointing to her bed.

Luz sits down and Nurul sits on the floor, opposite her. Soon she will have grown too big to sit on the floor and get up again without help, Nurul thinks.

“I’ve given Sir the list of people who have chosen to stay here and those who have chosen to go with him. I’ve also explained your and Daniel’s situation. Sir wanted to know if you wish to go straight to Italy from Singapore and wait for your Italian work permit to be processed there, or go back to your homes and wait there. Daniel could wait here but, obviously, you can’t, as I’m sure you know.”

Nurul nods. “I know. But I have no home to go back to in Indonesia. I’m happy to go straight to Sicily. I don’t know about Daniel.”

Luz smiles.

“I’m sure he will want to do whatever you do.”

Suddenly, it occurs to Nurul that Luz, too, is losing her job. The fact that she is delivering this bad news doesn’t mean that she’s not in the same situation too.

“What about you? What have you decided to do?” Nurul asks her.

“I haven’t decided yet,” Luz says with a frown of concern.

Nurul feels for her. Nurul has always suspected that Luz was in love with Sir. If that’s still the case, she must be suffering a lot. Sir moving away from her must be a good thing.

“Maybe you should stay here,” Nurul ventures.

Following Sir to Sicily, with his wife and baby, will only hurt Luz more.

“We’ll see,” Luz says with a weak smile. “Back to you. I also have a word of advice from Sir. He said that it would be easier for you and Daniel to stay together—getting your work permits together—if you are married.”

Luz looks at Nurul and lets the silence hang between them.

Nurul would like to marry Daniel, but surely this isn’t her choice to make, is it?

“Has your divorce fully gone through? Are you free to marry?” Luz asks.

Nurul nods. Any mention of her divorce always makes words dry up in her mouth and drain her confidence.

“Then have you got any objections against marrying Daniel?”

“Not at all,” Nurul says.

“Good.”

“But it’s not a woman’s place to ask a man to marry her—at least, not where I come from.”

“Don’t worry, we can sort that out,” Luz says mysteriously. “Thank you, Nurul. That’s all I needed to know. I’ve got to go now. Goodnight and, again, congratulations.”

“Thank you.”

Luz leaves and Nurul sits on the bed again with her phone and returns to her online search of Sicilian villas. But her thoughts stay on Luz’s words. What did she mean when she said, “We can sort that out”? Is Luz going to put pressure on Daniel to marry Nurul?

Daniel is a kind man and he will surely say yes, but Nurul doesn’t want him to feel obliged to marry her for reasons of work permit. Or even for the child. She would like him to marry her because he really wants to. And she’s sure he doesn’t want to.

If he had wanted to marry her, wouldn’t he have already asked her?

Everything is happening so fast. Her permit to stay in Singapore runs out in two days. If only there was more time to think about so many important decisions.

What is she going to say if Daniel asks her to marry him? Will she be able to tell if he’s doing it out of duty or pity?

She will have to say yes or no. There can be no “not yet” or “maybe later” because there is no time to wait.

***

Luz.

The place where Jomari has told her to meet him is on Orchard Road. Fancy shops and flashy buildings are all around her and Luz regrets not having put on some smarter clothes. But the taxi has already driven off and, anyway, she hasn’t got the time or the money to nip back home to get changed.

Jomari is already standing in front of the ION Orchard shopping mall. He’s wearing a dark blue shirt that makes him look even more broodily handsome than usual. Luz’s heart hitches in her chest. She reminds herself that this is not a date.

He sees her and smiles. He looks genuinely pleased to see her. When she gets close, she can smell his aftershave. She can’t help wondering if he’s dressed up for her. But this is not a date, she reminds herself again.

“You look lovely tonight,” he says.

“Thank you. So do you.”

“I look lovely?”

“Well... not ‘lovely’ but more like...”

She’s about to say “Smoking hot” but she stops herself.

“Handsome,” she says instead.

“Thank you. Do you like Japanese food?”

“I thought we were going to a hawker center,” she says.

“Do you not like Japanese?” he asks.

“I love it. It’s my favorite food.”

“Then let me treat you.”

It’s getting hard to convince herself that this is not a date. Maybe it is. She must ask.

“This isn’t a date, right?”

“No,” he answers quickly.

But when they go upstairs to the restaurant, they are given a secluded table with a view of the Singapore skyline. The ambiance is elegant and romantic, with low lighting.

“You wanted to talk?” Jomari asks her after they’ve ordered.

Luz plays with the stem of her glass. She feels bad about giving him bad news after he’s made such an effort to give her a nice evening out. But she’s got to tell him.

“My employer is moving back to Sicily and selling the villa.”

A frown line appears on Jomari’s forehead.

“What are your options—or your plans?”

“I don’t have any plans yet. My options are to continue working for him in Sicily, stay here and hope that the new owner will keep me on, or rush to an employment agency and look for another job.”

“Which of these options do you prefer?” he asks.

He’s keeping his voice neutral, probably so as not to influence her, but Luz can see the tension in his jaw.

“I don’t want to leave Singapore.”

She means “I don’t want to leave you”, but she can’t tell him that.

“That’s good news for me,” he says with a smile that warms her inside.

“But I’m scared of ending up jobless. I haven’t interviewed for a job in years. I’ve worked for Sir for so long...”

“Working for the same employer for a long time looks good on a resumé.”

“I’m also worried about getting a bad employer. I’ve heard so many scare stories.”

“If you get one of those, you leave him immediately and tell me. We’ll make sure they get what they deserve.”

“Thank you, but that will mean that I’m without a job and on the street. I’d rather it doesn’t happen.”

“Of course.” He covers his hand with hers. “But if you ever find yourself in difficulty of any kind, if you need a roof on your head, just tell me. I’ll share everything I’ve got.”

Luz knows that he means what he says. He’s already risked his life for her more than once.

“Thank you. I know that you’ve got my back. I have no idea what I’ve done to deserve it—nothing, as far as I can see.”

“Are you going to try your luck with the new owner of the villa or will you go to an employment agency?”

“I think I’ll try my luck with the new owner. I feel braver, more optimistic, now that I’ve talked to you. That’s always like that. You make me feel safer.”

He smiles shyly.

“That’s nice to know.”

Their meals arrive and it’s as delicious as it had promised to be.

“I thought that you would hate fish after working in a fishing boat,” Nurul says casually.

“No. I still love fish and I love the sea. But I’m careful to where I buy my fish from, to make sure it’s not been fished by slave labour or in cruel ways. I’ve chosen to come here because I know the fishermen who supply this restaurant."

The more Luz gets to know Jomari, the more she likes him and admires him.

“What about you? Did you like the sea before, and do you still like it?” he asks her.

“I used to like it but, unfortunately, after what happened, I now have a bad relationship with the sea,” Luz admits.

“That’s a pity.”

He looks out of the window pensively, then turns to her with a spark in his eyes.

“I have an idea. Will you come with me?”

Luz would go with Jomari anywhere he told her. She, literally, trusts him with her life.

“Absolutely.”