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After a week of being in Shanghai, I had almost recovered from jet-lag because I no longer fell asleep at 9 p.m. and woke at 3 a.m.
It was noon, and I decided not to join my co-workers for lunch at Hooters, a popular venue across the street because the food was terrible and overpriced. Frankly, I couldn’t understand its attraction.
I was standing by my desk reading a local take-out menu when a friendly guy from payroll stopped by my cubicle. I looked up and asked, “Eric, you’re not going to Hooters?”
“God no,” he replied with disgust. “Lana, you’ll find that Shanghai can be a very lonely place.”
I was struck by his candor and remarked, “But we’re surrounded by millions of people.”
“Yeah, but they’re very inaccessible.”
I nodded.
Eric continued, “You might want to make friends outside of work.”
“I don’t really know anyone except some guy I met on the plane.”
Eric smiled and said, “Give him a call, but just remember that expats in China are not always who they pretend to be.”
“Sure, so it’s safer to be friends with people you meet through school or work, right?”
Eric shook his head firmly and advised, “Don’t get too close to anyone at work.”
I nodded.
“I’ve got to get back to crunching numbers, but I’ll see you later, Lana.”
“Okay, bye Eric.”
It would be at least fifteen minutes before my lunch of rice and vegetables was delivered, so I rifled through my purse and found Daniel’s business card. I hastily sent off an email:
Hi, it’s the woman from the plane.
Instantly, Daniel responded:
Batman, I knew I’d hear from you. Give me your cell number.
I wrote back:
Let’s keep this to email.
Daniel:
No way, Batman, I’ll call you, and we’ll talk like two adults. Now, let’s have the digits.
I replied:
Okay, but please don’t call me until after 7 p.m.
As I was walking down the street, on my way to the subway, Daniel called. “So Batman, I think we’ve got a problem.”
“What problem?”
“I looked you up online. You’ve gotta be at least twenty-five. That’s a real problem for me because I only date younger women.”
Without hesitation, I hit end call, and Daniel’s words faded away.