Story: A Toast to New Beginnings

“Mirror, mirror on the wall. Who is the fairest of them all?”

I stared at myself in the mirror and caught sight of the plunging neckline of the dress I was wearing. The long silky black dress, almost like a negligée, clung tightly to my body and every bit of contour was exposed for the roving eyes that will be roaming at the party. I’m was feeling nervous. I needed a glass of red wine.

The bell rung.

“Darling, darling, are you ready?” a familiar voice chirped away to whisk me off to the singles’ party. Inside I just didn’t know if I was ready. Sometimes, I still dreamt of my ex. Often times, I found myself thinking about Jamie.

“You look stunning!”

I smiled while I rubbed my cold hands together. Charlene grabbed me and thrust me into her car. We scooted off to Bangsar hoping to find a man among KL’s most eligible bachelor willing to date a woman in her 40’s fresh out of a divorce. Fingers crossed.

“Why are you nervous, my love?” asked Charlene. Charlene’s appearance didn’t leave much to the
imagination, her dress was short exposing her slender thighs and her long, long legs. “I’m no competition for her,” I thought. I was imagining a dozen girls half our age looking more than fabulous with youth on their side. Perhaps I’ve already lost the battle before it even began.

We arrived in a chic, up market bar in Bangsar. Cigarette fumes from cigarette permeated the air and I saw a few men at the bar with their backs against us. I heaved a long sigh.

“Hello ladies,” a handsome chap greeted us.

I scouted the room to find a point of safety. My throat felt dry and I felt a sense of awkwardness enveloping me. These men were so good- looking, with solid financials to boot. Investment bankers, lawyers, businessmen – they’ll have a trail of Cindy Crawfords’ swooning at their feet.

As I looked around, I was surprised to find (ex-Datin) Shafinaz, Datuk Wendy Liew and the ever gregarious (ex) Puan Sri Farah (she’s divorced again?) with their laughs heard loudly, enjoying their drinks and prancing around to the music. My confidence increased a notch and I took myself there to say hi.

“Oh Alicia,” muah muah,” they kissed my cheeks. “Look at those men, what a sight, right?” said one of them.

“How are you, girl?” asked Shafinaz. “I’m really sorry to hear about what happened. I hope you got a good settlement out of your big D. I hired the best lawyer and got my share of harta sepencarian. That house in Bukit Tunku is mine. But I sold it, too much memories.” Shafinaz bit her lip and stared blankly into space for a second.

“Oh, the past is the past. My ex couldn’t run the company we built and I hired the best lawyers in town to sue his pants down if he doesn’t give it to me. And why shouldn’t he? I was the one who built it. These days, girl, it’s not just men who are rich. We can outdo them too,” interrupted Wendy.

“Hear! Hear!” all of us agreed.

We ordered a round of drinks and then another. We laughed so hard as if the only voices heard were ours. Suddenly I didn’t feel like an outsider anymore. I was, in life, exactly where I should be.

In the midst of laughter, I felt a tap on my shoulder. I turned around and was greeted by a lovely, warm smile.

“I saw you coming in with Charlene. Want to go outside for a while? I need some fresh air. You took my breath away,” he said with a grin.

I smiled and chuckled for a bit.

“Sure. By the way, I’m Alicia.”

I put out my hand and he led me out to the bar’s courtyard.