BBQ on the beach
The beach party at Shek O had been put together at the last minute by a few of Oliver’s schooltime friends. The idea was to bring along at least one person whom the others didn’t know.
Oliver had wanted to take Summer along. But he had a feeling Energy would be there with Agnes. Inviting Summer would only mean trouble for both. Unable to think of anybody else, he’d invited Diano.
On the day of the party, around 3 p.m., Oliver met Diano at the Shau Kei Wan MTR station. They bought some food and drinks, at the nearest Wellcome Superstore, as per the list of items Oliver was assigned to purchase for the party. They dumped everything into the boot of Oliver’s car and drove to Shek O. Some of his friends were waiting for them at the parking lot and helped them carry the purchases over to where the others were.
The BBQ ovens were set right in the middle of a squared off area covered by tarpaulin, towards one end of the beach. After introductions were made, Oliver asked the organizer if Energy was coming. He wasn’t. Oliver missed Energy but he wanted to have some space for himself. He didn’t want any more moral speeches from Energy, who would be breathing down his neck.
He’d forgotten all about being Norman and had a mild shock when one of his friends called him Ah-Chun, his real name. Chan Wai Chun. And none of his friends present at the BBQ knew he’d picked the name Oliver in the final year at college. He’d picked the name after reading Oliver Twist. He was never a big reader but had heard a lot about Charles Dickens. So he’d picked up the thinnest one he could find in the library and, to his surprise, liked the story.
Oliver started off with bread. They were the easiest to heat up. He preferred a Western-style BBQ where a few skilled people worked the grille or pit and fed the others. Chinese-style BBQ was different. It brought everybody together, fighting for space, and trying to avoid poking at each other’s forks.
After bread, he moved on to sausages. Truth was he was bad at cooking, grilling, baking — the whole works. He stuck one on each prong and stuck the fork into the fire. Since it would take some time anyway, he left it there and went to pick up a Sprite. Soon there was a lot of smoke and somebody shouted about burnt sausages. Realizing they were his, Oliver hurried back to find the charred remains.
“Don’t waste food lah.” Diano laughed.
“Eat it, eat it.” His friends teased him.
“You haven’t learned how to BBQ yet, have you? I remember the time we were in Form One…” They continued telling one joke after another until Oliver was embarrassed.
Diano took over the management of both their forks. He’d grill some and then run to share with Oliver.
“Your friend is nice to you, Ah-Chun.” One of the girls said. “I wish my boyfriend would take care of me too.”
“Hey, what’s that supposed to mean?” Her boyfriend made a face.
The banter continued until the topic changed to Miriam Yeung somehow.
When he realized it was close to sunset, Oliver called Diano away. They strolled along the beach, looking at the lovely colours sprayed across the sky.
“Are you enjoying yourself?” asked Oliver.
“Yes, I am. Thanks for inviting me. Your friends are funny. I haven’t laughed like this in months.”
“It’s my pleasure. I think the girls like you.” Oliver laughed.
“And you?” Diano asked, looking out at the sea.
“You don’t know yet?”
“How can I know what’s inside your heart?” Diano said, still looking away.
“What is inside yours?”
“I don’t have a heart any more.” He turned to look at Oliver for a second and then turned away. Were those tears in his eyes? Or was the wind making them water?
“Why do you say that?”
“Because I gave it to somebody.”
Oliver wasn’t sure whether Diano was talking about Andy or the previous guy. Summer had told him about the boyfriend who had gone away to Australia and disappeared forever.
“Andy?” he asked.
“Yes.”
They had reached the far end of the beach, opposite to where their friends were. Diano sat down on one of the rocks.
“Did he get back to you after that day?” Oliver asked.
“No, he never did.” Diano sobbed softly.
“I’m sorry to hear that.”
Oliver sat next to Diano and watched the sea. The air was charged with emotions. One after another, waves broke on the rocks a little distance away from them. Diano continued sobbing.
Unable to understand what else he could do or say, Oliver put his arm around Diano’s shoulder. Diano leaned back to rest his head on Oliver’s arm.
“It’ll be better soon. It can go only one way from here, and that’s upwards.” Oliver wasn’t sure if that was the right thing to say but he did it anyway.
