from the book i-Land – A double Irish and a Dutch
Avoka goes for a coffee while Harry gets his hair done. She gets an SMS from Hunt, who once again, suggests to her about how much he would like to be with her at the same place now. Avoka already knows it’s just one of those Saturdays where he seems to have nothing better to do than sending SMS but never means it. She takes a picture of her coffee and some delicious chocolate biscuits and posts it over with the message, “Yes, look what you’re missing.”
He sends back a kiss picture and replies, “Oh, how much I would love that now.”
Avoka is sure he is either sitting somewhere alone and is bored or he is sitting with some other woman and is bored while sending those pics. They continue the SMS communication with what they would like to do each other when they were together, now exchanging kissing pics and commenting.
Avoka feels like playing Ken and Barbie with a guy and must laugh about this kind of communication. Finally, she tells him that she needs to go now; that she is meeting up with Harry, who has offered her a job for doing the PR and Social Media Campaigns for his new E-Roller.
Hunt writes back, “Seriously? That means what, you’re leaving your current job again? A multi-guru company against a start up?”
Avoka replies, “Yes. The current job is just a matter of time; they already asked me to sign such an assignment paper, similar, to the Fruit of the Loom thing that when I don’t fulfil the test results with their given percentage, they keep the rights to take consequences.”
Hunt replies, “Oh, not again, but well, I understand. Yes, you’re right, whatever you do I’m with you.”
Avoka replies, “Oh, thank you, you are always so understanding.”
Hunt replies, “You’re really brave, I wish you good luck. You seem to have a good time in Cork, enjoy your night out.”
Avoka replies with a smile, kiss and thumb up and the message “Have a fabulous Saturday night, too.”
Avoka leaves the cafe and picks up Harry from the hair-dresser, who has a nice, fresh cut now. Avoka comments, “Looking good, ready to move on?”
Harry says, “Oh, thank you, yes, that hair had to go; it’s like what they say about women when they cut their hair leaving some past behind.”
Avoka answers, “Yes, exactly!”
Harry throws in, “We still have some time till the party starts at the Electric tonight. We could go to my place and try to contact the Dutch guy in Amsterdam who does the production and design part on the E-roller and we can discuss the next steps on how to promote it; what do you think, Avoka?”
Avoka replies, “Yes, that’s a great idea, let’s go.”
They walk over to Harry’s house. His daughter is preparing some late kind of brunch for her and her boyfriend. With a grinning smile, she says “Hello, you must be Avoka, right?”
Avoka replies, “Yes, and you are Tally, right?”
She nods, answering, “Yes, nice to meet you. I heard about you, Harry told me about your great team leader and the team at the Fruit of the Loom and how stupid they must be not to use your skills.”
Harry puts in, “Yes, actually I’m the lucky one who gets the advantage of it now; she will do the PR and social media campaigns for our E-roller. That’s why we are here now; we want to contact Jarome and discuss things.”
Tally says, “Wow, that’s great, you said yes? He was so hoping for it. Saying you are really tough, exactly the kind of person he needs for the job.”
Avoka smiles, “Oh, thank you, yes it will be a tough job, but I will do my best. It’s a great roller and I think it deserves some cool ideas to be promoted, doesn’t it?”
Tally says, “Yes, that’s true.”
They start a Google Hangout with Jarome, who luckily is at home and start talking through some ideas. Jarome is excited and really likes the suggestions that Avoka makes and they talk for another hour and agree to meet up next month to work out things more in detail and get to know each other in person. It’s a really productive afternoon and at seven p.m. Harry and Avoka call a cab to drive over to the Electric bar, where they have a great party for the night including some Jazz singers and Top-DJ’s. Tally explains they will join later but that she also has another party to go to.
In the city, a demonstration against water charges is running. So far, the water in Ireland was free but the government wants to make a change starting with the new year. The main road is blocked and as they shortly start a march which probably walks toward the direction of the roads close to the Electric bar, Harry and Avoka decide to get off the cab and walk the last bit to the bar. They still have time to take the walk through the city. The demonstration guys are loud holding their speech. Harry laughs. “Yes, this is Ireland; here the people still go out on the street and fight for their rights.”
At the side, they see some of the Fruit of the Loom guys sneaking along the wall, showing no interest at all in the street’s activity. Harry smiles. “This is really two worlds clashing in this small town–our guys at this hyper-tech company and the original Irish crowd. I love that contrast.”
Avoka agrees, “Yes, and at my new company I also have two worlds clashing, the American Internet guru and the Indian Customer Service, yeah! I still don’t get it that this multi-guru outsources at such a company. I wonder how they even meet the goals, as from the work I see I can’t believe it.”
Harry replies, “Yes that’s a good question, but this I even wonder about the Fruit of the Loom. But they kind of manipulate things. I lately saw one guy who had left his menu set on the wrong menu point ‘available’ throughout the whole night and they simply put it on someone else on the phone support. If they work it that way, who knows about the real figures? Also, they use such old software you wouldn’t believe that the number one company on technology uses the software from the last decade on their own services.”
Avoka says, “So true, but I’m so glad that we finally made this deal and I can work the communication part in your company.”
Harry says, “Yes, I’m excited, too.” They pass by on one of the stores that sell the latest gadget from the Fruit of the Loom company. Avoka says, “Oh, Peter bought this one, of course, with the extra they provide the employees with.”
Harry replies, “Yes, I was thinking about it, too. But still I don’t know when I see all the problems that come with it.”
Avoka agrees, “Yes, I didn’t buy it either, even though they gave $300 extra on it, this couldn’t make me buy one.” They both laugh.
Arriving at the Electric, some people are sitting already outside along the canal, while the sun is slowly going down behind the hill. It’s a beautiful atmosphere and Avoka takes some pictures and immediately posts them on Facebook. Avoka and Harry enter the Electric, going straight to the bar ordering some drinks and a food plate, then walking over to the tables at the window with the view of the water and the sunset. A DJ is already on the turntables playing a cool mix between chill out, lounge and soul music. The evening can start, ready to party.
An hour later the party is in full swing, the crowed is dancing, Avoka is sitting near the window looking at the river. She is thinking about Ian. When, was he coming back to Ireland? There appears the vibrating sound from her phone and yes, it is Ian. He has sent a message asking if she was enjoying the Cork weekend and if her ex-colleague was behaving. Avoka replied, “Yes, of course. Now we are even doing business together.”
Ian replies, “Sure, that’s a reason.” He adds a tweak emotion icon and asks if she will be in Dublin for the upcoming weekend. With the next text message, he adds, “I really would love to meet you; I miss you somehow.”
He writes he’ll be back in Dublin on Wednesday. She is crazy for meeting him and agrees to a date at the weekend. Ian also writes that he did not like the game they played at her at her current job and that he also had an idea. He had talked with his team manager from the Rugby game, who had suggested that they needed some good PR. His manager sounded really interested and he asked to meet to discuss some ideas with her. Avoka was all ears, of course, and she agreed.
She was staring at the river and dreaming how great it would be to have her own PR company here and just quit that job at the guru company. She already had an idea how to find some synergies between the e-roller and the Rugby team that had the potential to make it a fabulous campaign. She was smiling in the air, then grabbing the martini and emptying the glass.
Another message arrived from Hunt! “Wishing a great Saturday night and sending a big kiss.” Avoka recorded some music the DJ was playing–some jazzy lyrics, “What nature brings” by Nekta–and sent it to Hunt with a golden Burberry Kiss and the lines ‘Enjoy the Weekend!’ She knew he would party with some other woman who he probably had worked with during the week, any customer or colleague, and roll in the sheets, sharing his fantasies with any woman for the weekend, and by Sunday afternoon he would have left her. Then, sitting in a cafe all by himself, he would text something to Avoka but never come to meet her. Once she had wished to meet him and she was so excited and had loved this idea. But now all she thought was whatever.
She always had written those messages with the thrill to meet him. But finally realizing this would never happen, she had lost this appetite and actually she did not want to be one of those women for a weekend and on the other side, she wouldn’t want a man to share with other women. And for just friends, the whole Whatsapp chat was much too sexual. So finally, it had turned into this Whatsapp fantasy she never wanted to be. But did it matter? Not really. Of course, it was sad somehow; they could have been real, good friends–there was something they had in common. He was the first guy she had felt to be on the same wave-length with; they really had the same taste in many things and the same views. He was someone she had always felt understood her. Had he felt the same way about her? She did not know what really had been his intention. If it was just sexual like with all those other women, he could have had it but he never went for it. If it was just friends, then why did it get so sexual? And when it was nothing then why was it so intense and went on 24/7 and for almost a year now?
She couldn’t really figure out what it was about. Once he was ghosting, and after months he suddenly had replied for advent wishes and again ghosting. Was this accidental or what was it? She had not recognized his number right away and wrote thanks, wondering who was sending the message, then she had seen the profile pic and replied in an additional line, ‘Ah, it’s you’ but then haven’t heard from him again – ghosting once more. She did not understand this phenomenon on him. On that last one should she ask again? But he had started the conversation and then did not reply. He had done that before. Was it just one of his “sitting-alone-in-the-cafe-moments” or was there something that he missed?
Like for her, it was once him; but not now anymore. What was it really that caused this ghosting? Another woman, person, complex–what was the real issue behind that? Was it this “He’s just not that into you” thing; would she ever find out? But it was always him who would suddenly come back. Maybe she was living in a ghoster’s paradise and she should just let it go – he should haunt someone else. She always had enjoyed all those Whatsapp and phone conversations and you could see it in her eyes in every picture she posted how it had made her shine but she wanted someone real, now, someone to meet in real life like Ian and not talking to a ghost. Maybe someone loved the idea of her but couldn’t handle her reality.
Surprise, surprise!
Tonight, she couldn’t care less;
To be continued…
Natalie Hush 