Mrs Tan loved The Sound of Music. She had watched it so many times that she could memorise parts of the script. Needless to say she knew every song from beginning to end. Imagine her excitement then, when Mr Tan brought home four tickets for The Sound of Music which was going to be shown at The Cultural Palace, their local theatre. At the time, Mr Tan was still debating the sensibility of buying tickets that cost 180 dollars each, but he decided it was worth it when he saw how happy Mrs Tan was.
After weeks of eager anticipation, the big day finally arrived. Mrs Tan felt in a pink mood that day, so she put on pick lipstick, pink eyeshadow and pink blusher. She chose a striking pink blouse, the type that was so pink it would lose colour when it was washed, and matched it with a white skirt dotted with pink hibiscus flowers. To complement her outfit, she wanted a pink handbag but to her dismay, she couldn’t find one. In the end, she settled on a pink plastic bag that she had got from the fruit stall in pasar malam, which she found was just nice to put in a 500mL bottle of water, a packet of tissue and her lipstick.
The Cultural Palace was full of people when the Tan Family arrived. Mr Tan double-parked the car near the door so they wouldn’t have to walk so far and they joined the milling crowd in the main hall. Suddenly, Ah Boy felt someone tap his shoulder. It was theatre staff. “I’m sorry sir,” she said, “You cannot wear T-shirt and jeans into the theatre. Would you like to rent a jacket from us? Only 10 dollars, just pay a small deposit of 50 dollars and we return you the remaining 40 dollars when you return the jacket.”
Mr Tan was, for the most part, a meek and mild-mannered man who seldom liked to make trouble. He didn’t want them all to be evicted from the theatre after all the trouble he had taken to get them there. So he quietly paid up and got Ah Boy an old jacket from the jacket-rental department that smelt as if it hadn’t been washed for years. As they made their way to the actual theatre from the main hall, they saw some people selling programmes.
Ah Girl went up to them and asked, “How much?”
“30 dollars,” was the answer.
“Yiii. So expensive. Printed on gold ah? Don’t want lah! Better you keep.” she tossed her head and went off.
Unfortunately, the Tan Family had one more obstacle to overcome before they could take their seats.
“I’m sorry ma’am, you cannot take water into the theatre,” said the staff, in a loud and bossy voice, barricading the entrance. “You go over there and rent a locker, only 5 dollars. You keep the water in there.”
Mrs Tan felt like she was going to cry. She had to be led away by Mr Tan who rented the locker and put away her water for her. The fat woman at the entrance cast a critical eye on Mrs Tan’s pink plastic bag, now hanging limp and forlorn, and let them through.
Mrs Tan cheered up a bit when she felt how comfortable the seats were. And then, the show started and she forgot everything and fixed her attention on the stage. Mrs Tan loved everything, the music, the orchestra, the stage props, the lighting… it was the first time she had ever been to a musical and she was thoroughly enjoying the experience. Ah Girl and Ah Boy too, were very excited. They got out of their seats and joined the other children at the railing, looking down onto the stage. Mrs Tan’s view was occasionally blocked by them, and also by somebody in front of her, drinking from a 1.5L bottle. Nevertheless, she was too happy to mind either the children, or the irony of someone slipping a bottle three times as big as hers past the guards at the entrance.
All in all, Mrs Tan was sorry to see the show come to an end. They pushed their way out with the rest of the crowd, collected the water, returned the jacket, and made their way back to the car.
Mrs Tan smiled at her husband. “Thank you,” she said. She knew he was not fond of the Sound of Music but he had made it a family outing anyway. He said nothing but smiled and patted her hand.
Mrs Tan sat back, satisfied. It had been a lovely day.
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