'It's Maggie' she said

November 2002

By the time I got back to the hotel it was already around 8.30pm. As he dropped me off, Henry gave me his Metro pass card, advising me to see the town on my last night. We were flying to Shanghai the next day.

It had already been a fantastic day, a completely new experience. I hadn't even known we were racing until the last hour, and we finished in second place.

I was tempted to try to catch up a little sleep. Jet lag was taking its toll. But, it was my last night.

It must have been around 11pm when I entered the bar; I'd got lost trying to find my way from Causeway Bay to Wan Chai. I headed straight for the toilet, noting the admiring glances as I went. My confidence was high.

A few feet from the toilet, my eyes met those of a local girl, she smiled as we passed, and said 'very nice'. For the next couple of hours, every time I saw here, she was looking at me, always smiling. I remember thinking that she was much less pretty than most of the other local girls.

A Spanish girl grabbed my arm, and tried to introduce me to her friend, who was rather drunk and not interested at all. The Spanish girl then decided to dance with me. Then she said 'you're very good looking, but you better go'.

Later, dancing alone, the local girl and her friend were dancing nearby. As the minutes passed though, she was getting closer, until we were dancing side by side, smiling at each other.

We continued like this for a song or two, then her hand reached for mine and so I turned towards her and asked her name.

'It's Maggie' she said.