smiled knowingly.
'Well, I hope you keep taking it,' she said. 'What's your name?'
'Chris Marlowe,' I said.
'I'm Suki,' she said. 'Can I make you up a plate from the buffet?'
'I think that might be out of step with current feminist attitudes,' I said.
'Oh, pooh,' Suki said. 'Oriental women are trained to please men'-she smiled cutely -'in every way,' she said. 'It is our pleasure.'
'Heavens,' I said, 'what would Eleanor Smeal say?'
Suki shook her head. 'I don't know Eleanor, but I know you, Chris, and I want to give you whatever you want.'
'I can dig it,' I said. 'Just make me up a light assortment. I'll take the grapes with the skins.'
Suki looked confused again for a moment, but she smiled right on through it and went to get me a plate. I had a second rum punch while I was waiting. The band began to play. Their first selection was a slightly overarranged version of Ricky Nelson's song 'Garden Party.' There was a good crowd around now. A lot of the people at the buffet table were women making up plates for men. Serving men was apparently not an exclusively oriental tradition.
Suki came back with my plate. She had quite carefully arranged a little of almost everything.
'Let's go to the veranda,' she said, 'and you can enjoy your meal.'
'Sure,' I said, and followed her as she carried the dinner plate ahead of me up onto the porch.
We sat together on a wicker love seat with a low table in front of us. The band had started to play 'Sleepy Lagoon.' Clearly they were working thematically. Suki offered me an oyster on a small fork. I ate it.
I said, 'A bit more sauce on the next one, my dear.'
'Certainly, kind master,' she said, and smiled and put a little more cocktail sauce on the next oyster. 'I'm sorry we don't have any powdered horn.'
'It's okay,' I said. 'I'll make do with oysters.'
'Oh, Chris,' she said. 'So, are you married?'
I winked at her. 'Of course not,' I said. She smiled at me and put a shrimp in my mouth.
'I believe you,' she said. 'Which bungalow you in?'
'Over there,' I said. 'Why do you ask?'
'Oh, I don't know,' Suki said. 'In case I needed you later on, or'-she looked up at me as she put a piece of Jarlsberg cheese on a cracker-'you needed me.'
'You been working here long?' I said. Suki slid the cracker and cheese between my lips as I asked her. I bit down on it and held it between my teeth and then lipped it in and chewed.
'I wouldn't call it work, Chris.'
'Well, have you been playing here long?'
'Five years,' Suki said. 'Last May. Yearround. The weather is . : . well, you can't beat the weather.'
'Sure can't,' I said. 'Is there wine?'
'Oh, Chris, I'm sorry,' she said. 'I'll get it. Red or white?'
'You choose, I want you to drink some too.'
'Don't move,' she said. 'I'll be right back.' She ran away toward the buffet table, smoothing her long black hair back from her forehead with both hands. All around me on the veranda were men being fed by women. Maybe the wine bottle would have a nipple on it. The trio began to play 'In the Cool Cool Cool of the Evening.'
Suki came back with a carafe of white wine and two glasses. She poured one for me and then herself. She handed me mine and raised her glass at me.
'To love,' she said.
'And lust,' I said. We clinked glasses and drank. Suki smiled at me, her eyes widened. 'There's a difference?' she said.
'Not here,' I said.
We both drank some wine. It was jug wine, served very cold.
'Ginger Buckey still around?' I said.
'You know Ginger?' Suki said.
'Sure,' I said. 'Who doesn't?'
'She never really worked here,' Suki said. 'She used to come down with Warren.'
Suki had tucked her legs up under her on the love seat and was leaning against me, her head on my shoulder, looking up at my face as she talked. She drank her wine.
'I don't think she's been down since spring,' she said.
I nodded and leaned forward and took a green grape from the plate and tucked it into her mouth.
