to.’
‘Why?’
‘Because telling the truth and having no one believe you is worse than not telling the truth and having people assume the worst. But I guess you wouldn’t understand that,’ she finished lightly, ‘what with this compulsion to honesty that you have.’
Luke didn’t say anything for a moment, yet Aurelie felt him tense, saw something dark flash in his eyes before he angled his head away from her. Had she inadvertently touched on something painful with her offhand remark? ‘I understand,’ he said finally, his voice low, and she almost asked him what he meant. She didn’t, though, because they’d surely had enough honesty for one day.
By the time they arrived in Camiguin Aurelie had started feeling relaxed again. Luke had steered the conversation back to lighter subjects, moving from ice cream flavours to movie preferences and whether she supported the Mets or the Yankees.
‘Mets all the way,’ he’d assured her solemnly, but she saw a glint in his eyes that made her smile.
They disembarked the plane at the tiny airport and took an island taxi—basically, a rusted-out Jeep—into Mambajao. The capital of Camiguin was no more than a small town of rickety buildings with wooden verandas and tin roofs, the narrow streets bustling with bicycles and fruit vendors and raggedy children darting in and out of everything. It was so different from Aurelie’s usual experience of travelling, when she kept to limos and high class hotels and never stepped outside of a severely controlled environment. She loved this. Craved the feeling of possibility and even hope wandering around the dusty streets gave her.
‘What are we doing first?’ she asked Luke, and he smiled and took her elbow, steering her away from a man on a bike pulling a cartload of pineapples.
‘I thought we could pick up some lunch in the market, and then we’ll take it out to the falls for a picnic.’
‘The falls?’
‘The Tuwasan Falls. They’re pretty spectacular.’
‘You’ve been there before?’
‘I stopped over here the last time I came to Manila.’
She felt a completely unreasonable prickling of jealousy. Had he taken one of his serious relationships to this falls? Was this his go-to place for a romantic date in the tropics?
‘Alone,’ Luke said quietly, yet with a hint of humour in his voice that made her blush. Again. She’d never blushed so much with a man, had never had a reason to. She was Aurelie, she was worldly-wise and weary, beyond shame or embarrassment.
But that act was falling away, flaking off like old paint. What would be left when it was gone? Something good, or even anything at all? She still wasn’t sure of the answer.
‘Come on,’ Luke said, and he guided her to a market stall overflowing with local produce and fish. ‘Anything look good?’
Aurelie surveyed the jumbled piles of fruits and vegetables, the pots of noodles and trays of spring rolls.
‘Crispy pata ?’ Luke suggested. ‘It’s deep fried pig’s leg.’
She winced. ‘I don’t think I’m feeling quite that adventurous.’
‘It’s quite tasty.’
‘You’ve had it before?’
‘I like to try new things.’
She pointed to a tray of round yellowish fruit that looked a bit like potatoes. ‘What’s that?’
‘Lanzones.’
‘Have you had those?’
‘Yes, but you have to be careful. If they’re not ripe, they taste horribly sour. If they are, incredibly sweet. You just have to take your chances.’ He picked up a fruit, testing its ripeness with his thumb. ‘Try it.’ The fruit seller quickly peeled the lanzone with a knife and handed her a piece. Warily, she bit into it and then, without thinking, spat the piece out into her hand. ‘Yuck!’
‘Bitter, huh?’
‘You don’t sound surprised.’
He shrugged, and she hit him in the shoulder. ‘You did that on purpose!’
‘Try this one.’
‘Why should I trust you?’ she demanded even as she took the second peeled lanzone .
‘Because even
‘Why?’
‘Because telling the truth and having no one believe you is worse than not telling the truth and having people assume the worst. But I guess you wouldn’t understand that,’ she finished lightly, ‘what with this compulsion to honesty that you have.’
Luke didn’t say anything for a moment, yet Aurelie felt him tense, saw something dark flash in his eyes before he angled his head away from her. Had she inadvertently touched on something painful with her offhand remark? ‘I understand,’ he said finally, his voice low, and she almost asked him what he meant. She didn’t, though, because they’d surely had enough honesty for one day.
By the time they arrived in Camiguin Aurelie had started feeling relaxed again. Luke had steered the conversation back to lighter subjects, moving from ice cream flavours to movie preferences and whether she supported the Mets or the Yankees.
‘Mets all the way,’ he’d assured her solemnly, but she saw a glint in his eyes that made her smile.
They disembarked the plane at the tiny airport and took an island taxi—basically, a rusted-out Jeep—into Mambajao. The capital of Camiguin was no more than a small town of rickety buildings with wooden verandas and tin roofs, the narrow streets bustling with bicycles and fruit vendors and raggedy children darting in and out of everything. It was so different from Aurelie’s usual experience of travelling, when she kept to limos and high class hotels and never stepped outside of a severely controlled environment. She loved this. Craved the feeling of possibility and even hope wandering around the dusty streets gave her.
‘What are we doing first?’ she asked Luke, and he smiled and took her elbow, steering her away from a man on a bike pulling a cartload of pineapples.
‘I thought we could pick up some lunch in the market, and then we’ll take it out to the falls for a picnic.’
‘The falls?’
‘The Tuwasan Falls. They’re pretty spectacular.’
‘You’ve been there before?’
‘I stopped over here the last time I came to Manila.’
She felt a completely unreasonable prickling of jealousy. Had he taken one of his serious relationships to this falls? Was this his go-to place for a romantic date in the tropics?
‘Alone,’ Luke said quietly, yet with a hint of humour in his voice that made her blush. Again. She’d never blushed so much with a man, had never had a reason to. She was Aurelie, she was worldly-wise and weary, beyond shame or embarrassment.
But that act was falling away, flaking off like old paint. What would be left when it was gone? Something good, or even anything at all? She still wasn’t sure of the answer.
‘Come on,’ Luke said, and he guided her to a market stall overflowing with local produce and fish. ‘Anything look good?’
Aurelie surveyed the jumbled piles of fruits and vegetables, the pots of noodles and trays of spring rolls.
‘Crispy pata ?’ Luke suggested. ‘It’s deep fried pig’s leg.’
She winced. ‘I don’t think I’m feeling quite that adventurous.’
‘It’s quite tasty.’
‘You’ve had it before?’
‘I like to try new things.’
She pointed to a tray of round yellowish fruit that looked a bit like potatoes. ‘What’s that?’
‘Lanzones.’
‘Have you had those?’
‘Yes, but you have to be careful. If they’re not ripe, they taste horribly sour. If they are, incredibly sweet. You just have to take your chances.’ He picked up a fruit, testing its ripeness with his thumb. ‘Try it.’ The fruit seller quickly peeled the lanzone with a knife and handed her a piece. Warily, she bit into it and then, without thinking, spat the piece out into her hand. ‘Yuck!’
‘Bitter, huh?’
‘You don’t sound surprised.’
He shrugged, and she hit him in the shoulder. ‘You did that on purpose!’
‘Try this one.’
‘Why should I trust you?’ she demanded even as she took the second peeled lanzone .
‘Because even
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