June1It’s not that hard to spot a six-foot tall black woman in the centre of Saigon. I kept an eye out for her everywhere I went. I even went so far as to ask one of the ladies who sold fruit at the Ben Thanh market.  I had convinced myself that I had fallen in love at first sight. Not that I believed in that sort of thing, but the thought of her was so compelling, as the days went by, she became larger and larger in my mind. More and more beautiful. And, awkwardly, more and more unobtainable.

So there was some irony in the fact that I did not manage to find her. She found me. She walked up to my table at a Foreign Ladies of Vietnam luncheon, sat down in the chair next to mine, and draped her long, lithe arm around the back of my seat.

“These women are out of their minds,” she said. “Are you?”

“Most definitely.”

“Do you have an obsessional fear of losing  your husband to his Vietnamese secretary?”

“I don’t have a husband.”

“Thank god,” she said and waved the waiter over. “I’ll have a very, very big martini. And this lady will have…” She eyed me expectantly.

“I’ll have a vodka. No ice, no lemon, no nothing.”

She had a smile like a solar flare. Not just her plump lacquered lips, or her wicked laugh lines, but her dark, olive eyes. It all lit up like something radioactive. “I like you.”

I smiled back. “I like you, too.”

She said nothing until the drinks arrived. I took a sip of my vodka and, in a moment of madness that included overlooking the fact that it was only lunchtime, knocked the rest of it back.

“So what is a girl like you doing at this disgusting colonial gathering?”

I nodded my head over at the rolling bookcases in the corner. “I just come for the English language books.”

Again, she smiled her wide, wide smile. “That’s very worthy.”

“Why do you come?”

She inhaled and let the breath out slowly, languidly. “I just need to get the hell out of the house every now and then. Too many staff, too in my face. I’m not used to that kind of crap. I grew up learning to make do for myself.”

“There are far better places to spend an afternoon.” On the cool, white sheets of my bed, I thought.

“Yeah,” she said, “but then I wouldn’t have met you, now, would I?”

I blushed. And it bothered me that I blushed. I wanted to slide under the table and stick my head between her legs while she went on sipping her martini. But I thought, maybe, that would be slightly excessive.

“I’m having a little dinner party on Saturday. Wanna come?”

“Oh, I’d love to.”

“Then do. And you can meet my wife.”

My heart sank. My mouth dried up. The vodka had suddenly settled on my stomach like battery acid. I should have known she wouldn’t be single. I should have known someone like Jude would always have someone dancing attendance. I was sure that, from the time she’d reached puberty, someone was prostrating themselves at her feet, begging to be trampled on. And, for some reason, the fact that it was a wife and not a husband, made her seem all the more unobtainable.

But I would go to the party anyway.


Comments

53 responses to “Jude – 2”

  1. More please.

  2. I like these two, a lot. Looking forward to Jude’s party.

  3. Can’t wait for part 3!

  4. What happened to part 3? Please, please. I really want to find out what happens at the dinner party

    1. Yeah I’d like a part 3 as well. Ending it like that makes me wonder so many things like what is going to happen next. I’m on the edge of my seat. Please more

  5. ” I should have known someone like Jude would always have someone dancing attendance.” Favourite line 🙂

    1. Mine was “She had a smile like a solar flare.” Beautiful! Tasty, captivating storytelling.

    2. Strangely the ones that you know will have a partner don’t realise you will know so they feel required to tell you. Apparently talking to you without telling you is somehow dangerous.

  6. Well written. I found it very interesting.

  7. Waiting with bated breath for the next instalment

  8. ….and then? Please!

  9. Stephanie Avatar
    Stephanie

    Another reader who wants to know what happens next. More, please.

  10. Ahhh….shades of….Emmanuelle.

  11. The exotic elements, the openness to sexual range, the heat, the boredom of a distant diplomatic post, the imagery is so fluid, so accurate, so cinematic. And the old film Emmanuelle rose right up in a flash!

  12. Like to read the rest of the story to see how it ends

  13. W h a t ??? More more more !!!

  14. I just happened to stumble upon this and think it’s really well written. The first part left me itching for more, second left me feeling like I was stepped on, can’t wait for more of this abuse on my senses and imagination. Definitely going to read more.

  15. I’m enjoying your story… more please!

  16. Waiting for more!! Loved it.

  17. Great i need more

  18. Oh leave me wanting more. Hope it’s not the end.

  19. great read. left me wanting more.

  20. Samantha Avatar
    Samantha

    Completely taken with these 2. I want more!

  21. I want to go to the party too.

  22. Southern Reader Avatar
    Southern Reader

    Very impressed by your writing. As a reader, you really feel for the characters and are able to imagine how you would feel if you were in their position.

  23. Nescafe Americano Avatar
    Nescafe Americano

    That’s a mighty fine story getting off the ground if I ever did see one!

    Hoping for more down the line?

  24. Dopeness.

  25. I like that this is the end to the story, unless you are righting more. I like the ambiguous endings that make you wonder what could possibly be happening next but never actually having the answer. Great story.

    1. Couldn’t agree more. The mystery is what sets it apart.
      Life is not always a bed of red roses & even if it is; roses have thorns.

  26. Carole Ann Avatar
    Carole Ann

    I like…very enticing at grabbing your attention…the anticipation really begins to build…

  27. Ooh I like this one and I agree, please write more to this story 🙂

  28. It is Emmanuelle, my angel now in heaven.

  29. Catherine Pool Avatar
    Catherine Pool

    Andanother? More please…

  30. Wonderful story, leaves you wanting more. I cannot wait for what is to come. Just one observation. Columbian should be spelled Colombian. The country is spelled with an “o” not an u. I discover this site today and I love it!

    1. Thank you so much! of course it’s Colombian with an o (gah!)

  31. Gabriel Avatar
    Gabriel

    Had me hooked and wanting more

  32. Omg where is the rest of the story

  33. Very good story, character development etc..please write more!!

  34. If she wants to be with Jude, she should have taken the diplomat up on the threesome even if she doesn’t want to fuck him.

  35. This was my first time ever reading something of this nature. I liked it. I could picture myself as the character even though I’m a man. Seeing my wife for the first time. Diving into the details of beauty is a language most don’t understand. This short story uses it flawlessly.

  36. Made me think of the strikingly gorgeous bald Australian woman I met in at the market in Hoi An.

    1. She sounds wonderful. Was she an artist? Because I think I might know who that is you met!

  37. keep writing! excellent!!!

  38. Talk about a tease… (: First I thought the person was a guy.. but didn’t take long to realize I was wrong.

  39. Margarita Avatar
    Margarita

    I loved it. Was definitely ready to read more…

  40. Cool

  41. I have just found your writing through a friends recommendation.

    Is there a part three to Jude? Please?

    Looking forward to reading more!

  42. Elizabeth Horton Avatar
    Elizabeth Horton

    Very nice. Must know what happens next

  43. Markle Avatar
    Markle

    very impressed. what’s next?

  44. Becs Crockett Avatar
    Becs Crockett

    I love this …entranced , im enjoying the tension and the real sense of longing for Jude. I remember these familiar feelings during a crush on a woman i had , the desire to to something impulse and unacceptable . More please @

  45. I’m looking forward to what happens at Jude’s party. I wonder if Jude will be her conquest. I felt attracted to Jude myself and I’m a straight woman. Well done.

  46. Amazing story love Athena metaphors
    My fav is the laugh like spun sugar….the whole piece is off the chizzy! Where do I sign up???

  47. Wow! Just wow! Everything you write has a way of making me feel the surroundings and the characters! Absolutely amazing, hope there’s a part 3, and if not, don’t stress about it! You’re awesome, keep up the good work

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