Meandering Hearts: San Francisco Style (Part IV)

Two days after Akwong came to San Francisco, Susie and Joshua threw a big welcoming party at their house. There must be fifty people there that evening. Susie and Joshua’s children, most of their close friends, and those few friends of Akwong’s who lived in San Francisco were all invited. Fanny was there too. When she was introduced to Akwong, Susie said, “Fanny is your American Express tour guide; don’t ever leave home without her.” As she moved away to talk to the other guests she gave her brother a playful wink.

Being left to talk to Fanny alone, Akwong felt a little awkward at first. He hadn’t been in a party as a single person in a few decades. But Fanny was warm and easy to talk with. She asked him what he did for a living (although she already knew the answer). He said he retired a few years ago from Ham Sap Bank in Hong Kong. She said that she was an accountant before becoming a full-time mom for three children, and her firm once audited Hong Kong and Shepherd Bank which was the controlling shareholder of Ham Sap. Then they talked about their children and Akwong’s grandchildren. Once the conversation got started, Akwong found himself comfortably enjoying Fanny’s company. Toward the end of the party, Akwong was bold enough to ask Fanny for her phone number.

“Why, you are taking me out to lunch tomorrow?” Fanny said with a cryptic smile.
“Since you are my designated tour guide, can you recommend a restaurant on the piers?”
“The Pirates on Pier 39 is decent for its food, the view is breath-taking, and parking is pretty easy there. Do you like seafood?”
Meandering Hearts_F“I love seafood. I can pick you up at 11 if you give me your address.”
“That’s a pretty slick lead-in … just kidding. It’s 755 28th Avenue in the Richmond District. The cross street is California. Do you have a car, or I can pick you up here?”
“Josh already gave me the keys to his Mustang. I’ve been here a few times. I know the Richmond District.
I can pick you up.”
“You think Josh and Su may want to come too?”
“They already told me to schedule my own activities without them because they have to pack and get ready for their trip.”

That night when he was lying in bed, Akwong asked himself: Did I just flirt with another woman? Was it a date that I asked her out? Whatever it was, it sure felt good talking to Fanny.

He called Fanny’s cell phone the next morning at 10 o’clock. She picked up right away and said she would be waiting at the front door at 11. He got to her address at a quarter till. Instead of getting out and ringing the door bell right away, he drove behind the block and parked there. At 10:55 he drove back to the front of her house again. She was already there. It was early July. She was wearing a white blouse, blue jeans and black walking shoes. In the crook of her arm, she was carrying a black, flowery jacket of some sort. She wasn’t a very tall person, but somehow the simple but elegant image of Audrey Hepburn came to his mind.

Fanny gave directions to the piers.

As they drove through the city, she would point out landmarks and interesting places to Akwong, some of which he knew and some he didn’t. They drove by Japan Town on Geary Boulevard and they both agreed that they would have Japanese food there soon. In about 45 minutes they arrived at the Pirates on Pier 39. It was a fairly old restaurant with pictures of boats and fish nets on the walls which gave it a clean but somewhat prosaic décor. Because it literally sat on a pier, the view of the San Francisco Bay was expansive. The maitre d’ was friendly in her greetings and she took them to a table by the windows. Fanny ordered crab cakes and Akwong ordered braised swordfish. They both ordered the house salad and a glass of merlot.

“Most people like white wine with seafood. I like red.” Fanny said.
“That’s funny, I do too. As a matter of fact, I drink red wine with almost everything.”

*** To Be Continued ***

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