Jessica defied the instruction and craned her neck to the left to zoom in on a poster adorning the wall in the MRT station. The model in the poster was a familiar face—Adhha bin Jimari.

It had been almost a year since she last saw him.

“I’m so sorry, Jess,” Andreae whined in a high, thin pitch that scratched the irascibility in Jessica. “I tried to distract you.”

“I’m alright,” Jessica replied curtly. She wouldn’t have noticed the poster had Andreae not brought her attention to it.

“I know he broke your heart but it was a long time ago,” Andreae continued soothingly. “You have to get over it.”

“I am over it.”

“You don’t have to hide your feelings from me, Jess. I’m your best friend. You can be totally honest with me.”

“Of course,” Jessica replied untruthfully.

She had lied to Andreae about the break-up. The truth was simply too complicated.

The poster was a bold publicity effort designed to counter the public’s disgruntlement over a recent series of massive train breakdowns. In it, Adhha was down on one knee next to a train engine, wearing an oil-stained uniform and holding a spanner in his hand. He looked into the camera with his trusting puppy eyes, lightly touching the hearing aid on his left ear. The caption read, “I don’t hear well, but I hear your feedback. I am doing my best to fix the problem. Give me time.”

Jessica first met him at a fund-raising sports event. Andreae had sprained her ankle and begged Jessica to take over her spot in the relay team. She was to complete six laps in the pool, pass the baton to a hearing-impaired cyclist, Adhha, who would have to cycle eight kilometres before passing the baton to a runner for the last leg of the race. Jessica later told Andreae that she thought Adhha looked dashing in his cycling gear. What she failed to mention was how impressed she was by the sizeable package in his cycling tights.

Jessica initiated a texting-based courtship. By the time they met for their first date, Jessica had learnt quite a bit about Adhha. He worked as a technician with Singapore Mass Rapid Transit, was currently training for the Southeast Asia Sports Meet, and had never had a girlfriend before. Jessica found the last bit of information titillating. She felt like she was given the reins to a promising young stud and the freedom to break it in at the livery arena.