Singapore trip Feb 2005. Lunch with P on Thursday

Where should I go with P for lunch? I get a few recommendations from colleagues at the bank. I try to make a reservation at one of them but the phone just rings and rings. Around 10:30am I think I’d better phone to confirm with P otherwise he might think I’d forgotten about the arrangement.

"Hi P is that you?" I ask. "Yes it’s me", he says "but I’m not feeling too well, I’ve been up all night. I think it was something I ate on the plane back from the Philippines. Do you mind if we postpone?". "It’s lucky I called you then, I’ve been trying to book a restaurant but they haven’t been answering." "Oh have you" says P sounding touched, "well let’s do it anyway. Why don’t you come up and meet me near Orchard Road where we met last time?" So it was all agreed, I’d get a cab around noon to meet P around 12:15.

But it is not to be. At 11:30am P calls me. "Did you get my message?" he starts, "I’m feeling worse, and I don’t think I can make it after all, I’m even thinking about cancelling my trip to Thailand on Friday". I don’t know what to think. Is he toying with me, not replying to my original e-mail until it was almost too late to arrange to get together, and now finding a ruse to cancel the one meeting that seemed possible? Or perhaps the trip to Thailand was originally just a ruse to avoid meeting me, but then having actually spoken to me he decided he did want to meet me after all and hence a new ruse to undo the original ruse? My head is spinning. We agree to stay in touch and I hope he feels better soon.

Early evening, just after I’ve arrived in Indonesia for the conference, I get a txt msg from him: "Can u give me a call when u can. I’m feeling worse". I phone immediately. "Oh no", he says "I’m feeling much better now. That was the message I sent you this morning". Now the Asian txt msg systems are toying with me too. And I wonder what his plans are for Thailand now, given that he’s managed to avoid meeting me for lunch but now feels better.

I want to hear a friendly voice so I phone boyfriend number 1 in London.