Board First Pay Later

Attended a wine-tasting event couple of days ago which introduced (4 types of) Italian wine with (4 types of) Thai food. Everything was tasty but the food came in tiny morsels. The pineapple rice was served in a ceramic spoon.

Luckily, we could have seconds so I had 2 shot glasses of the tom yam soup (with the cold prawn hanging over the edge), 3 candle holders of green curry chicken, 4 spoons of pineapple rice and 1 satay stick of sticky rice with mango.

People stood around the tables and mingled. Amongst the guests were a rather nice couple - an Italian man with his Singaporean wife. He is teaching in a university here and has been in Singapore the last four years. I made small talk with him.

Did you know any Singaporeans before coming here?

- No, he said. He was working in Denmark and wanted to get out and he saw the job ad and applied.

Oh, so you met your wife in Singapore then. I cleverly expressed my deduction or just making noise.

- Two months. We marry. (he pronounced it 'marr-ri')

Huh?? Two months? Oh, you two met just two months after you arrived in Singapore?.. I offered to clarify.

- no. Two months. We married.

?? Oh..you got married two months after you met?... I decided to let my imagination go a little and smiled smugly at the success of my interpretation.

- no, no, two months *pause* ago *pause* we got married.

"Oh" was all I mustered and I busily swirled my wine. Woah! One little word can leak too much information.

Actually, I would have settled just as well for a yes and no response from him to my initial comment. I stole a quick glance at his five months very pregnant wife.