mina

mina was a chinese lady I worked with, in an office, for around 6 months. we hit it off and spent our breaks together talking. she wasn't like the other ladies in the office who gossiped and spent most of their day talking instead of getting work done. when i left we kept in contact via email for 2 years.

we planned a weekend away together in the country talking about how we'd drive up sat morning, what food we'd bring, how we'd sip wine at night time and do yoga together sunday morning. i picked her up from her house and we drove to the location together, talking happily and stopping to take photos of an echidna.

the accommodation was a lovely double story house with natural wood and corrugated iron cladding, set on a hill. we settled in, mina saying i could have the upstairs master bedroom because i put the weekend together. first we went for a walk around the property then settled down on the comfy sofas to talk and nibble on anti pesto.

the first odd thing to happen was mina suggesting i open a bottle of wine, only to tell me she didn't want any after i'd poured myself a glass. it was further odd because she'd been the one to suggest we bring alcohol and relax and drink together. further odd when later she pulled out her own bottle of alcohol wanting me to have a glass even though she wouldn't be having any.

we talked all day and all night, even went for a night time walk, and all was going fine. bed time came and we went to our rooms. she phoned her husband to talk, she'd been texting and phoning him every couple of hours since we'd left her house. even asked me why i wasn't calling my beau. i said it's my weekend away, i'll make the most of the break.

sleep was fitful because we had resident possums who ran and banged across the roof most of the night. i got up and made myself a cup of tea and nibbled and waited for mina to get up. she took ages to wake up so i went for a walk, then when i came back i began do the dishes as quietly as i could. 10mins later she comes upstairs and grumpily tells  me to stop doing the dishes because it had woken her up, adding that it's not our job to do them, we're meant to leave them for the owners. then she asks me what i was doing all night, all that banging and clanging, that kept her awake. i explain it was the possums and, i kid you not, she didn't believe me.

she went back down stairs, got dressed and left the house. i went downstairs and saw her outside doing yoga with out me thinking 'so much for us doing yoga together', but ignored it and tidied up the place. when she came back inside she was annoyed that i'd been tidying up (again she felt we should leave it for those who rent the place out). so she'd woken up on the wrong side of the bed because she'd had a bad sleep, fair enough.

later on we settled on the sofas to nibble on leftovers and talk. mina starts talking to me about my situation, at the time i wasn't working and my beau was, so she assumes he's paying for me to live. she asks me if i feel guilty living off his wealth. i explain the wealth is not his, we live in my house, i own my own car outright and still have money to live off while i look for work. then she asks me if i could be a kept woman, i.e. use my beauty and marry a rich man who takes care of me. i tell her it's not something i could do because i'm too independent and beauty fades. suddenly she snaps at me and says 'my friends beauty hasn't faded'. and i'm like, who said we were talking about your friend. weird!

when it comes time to pack up and get ready to leave, i write a note in the visitors book while mina tells me she refuses to write 'in those things'. when i look up from the book she's going through my valuables on the table, watch, camera etc. checking the brands. by now i'm thinking 'who is this woman?' you never really know someone until you live with them (even if only for a weekend).

the drive home is hard because we're both pretending not to feel annoyed with each other. back at her place she shows me to her art studio and her paintings (earlier that day i'd shown her pictures of my art work and she'd been negative about it, saying it's not so good). i see her artwork and compliment her on her use of colours and painting style. he art work was awful, but unlike her, i'd never insult a fellow artist.

i emailed her once after that weekend and got a cold short email back and that was that.