Page 17 of Ruby’s Outback Love

CHAPTER SEVEN

Sydney NSW

RUBY

As I was very much a homebody, it wouldn’t come as a surprise that I had never been to the restaurant before. I was impressed with the ambience created by tasteful mood lighting and soft music.

The leather circular booths were complimented by hessian walls and ribbed walnut panelling. Metallic dome like shades hung from the ceiling, reminiscent of those popular back in the sixties.

The menu was written in neat handwriting on a large blackboard, my mouth watered at the selections. I ended up choosing the risotto with Italian sausage, mushroom and goat’s cheese.

Janeen and Renée informed me they had been patrons on several occasions and they both chose the veal backstrap in a tomato type sauce with homemade potato crisps. Despite their pleas, urging me to try it, I stuck with my original choice. We each ordered a glass of house white and settled back for a chat.

I’d been down in the city for a little over six months and in the past couple of months, since we’d become friends, I’d had coffee with the girls on a number of occasions. Despite that, I didn’t know a great deal about them, we usually talked about Uni, pretty girls and sexy boys. Now seemed as good a time as any to pick their brains.

“How did you two meet?” I asked no one in particular.

Janeen answered. “We were at Balgowlah Primary school together, kind of gravitated to each other and became friends. After leaving there, we attended Manly High School. Our friendship became stronger and stronger over the years. If I was into ladies, I guess we would have become an item. “

“Pity that,” Renée sighed and we laughed.

“How’s the study going, Janeen?” She was studying medicine – not her choice, her parents.

She had actually wanted to be a hairdresser but her parents had insisted, it wouldn’t present the challenges their daughter needed in a career. Janeen vehemently disagreed but in the end, she would not go against her parent’s wishes. She was now in her third year and from what I’d heard, was doing brilliantly.

“It’s good. I have a placement with RPA (Royal Prince Alfred Hospital) in a few weeks and I’m looking forward to it. I’m beginning to think my parents know me better than I know myself – I really love medicine and can’t think of anything I’d rather be doing.”

Renée checked out our surroundings as she listened. There were a number of female groups like ours dining alone and I noted her interest in one or two ladies.

“What made your parents move to Australia. You were only a toddler at the time, weren’t you?”

“Yes, I was. My father’s uncle came here first, he was looking for opportunities and a better standard of living. He wrote to the family, saying there were so many avenues for success. He now owns six restaurants. My dad wanted a better life for us kids, so after a lot of discussion with my mum, they applied to come here. Being a Doctor of Oncology, Dad was accepted without any issues and here we are.”

“You have…….two brothers?”

“Three. Zhang Wei is an Accountant, Li Jie is a Dentist – ugh, and Wang Yong is a Musician and is playing the field as well as the piano. He’s convinced he is the answer to every woman’s prayer.”

“You’re the youngest?”

A waitress placed wine glasses in front of us and after she walked away, Janeen continued.

“Yes, there are twelve years between me and Wang.”

I nodded and sipped at the wine. “Why do your brothers have Chinese names but you don’t?”

“My birth name was Li Jing but mum changed it legally before I started school. She’d heard the name somewhere, fell in love with it and decided she wanted it for her daughter. I must say I much prefer it to my birth name.”

We both sipped our wine before I turned my attention to Renée. Her focus was locked on a beautiful young girl off to our right. Unfortunately, the subject of our friend’s interest seemed totally oblivious to the attention.

“What about you, Renée?”

Her gaze lingered on the other girl for a moment before she turned in her seat to face me. “What about me?”

“You’ve never said where you are from? You have the genetic looks of someone from Scandinavia.”

“I was born here but my grandparents on my father’s side were Norwegian. My dad came here when he was two. Mum’s an Aussie.”

“You have a sister, don’t you?”