蓼在华尔街上班，两年前被调到香港，几回路过约伊午餐，听伊吐苦水：上司如何如何专制，全盘家长制管理，下属工作十四小时后的私人生活也要过问；上海派来的同事年纪轻轻厚黑学练得炉火纯青，上司随口说某种酒好立时三刻买来奉上；任何话题都绕着钱字转，炒股炒楼炒金，真真琐碎死人了。 听得来毛骨耸然，暗自庆幸数年前没有在重金和升级诱惑下外调香港。

四月初蓼休假回纽约，约了伊在中城故乡味晚饭。伊说正合心意，香港吃不到好的川菜。故乡味离正宗两字在行家看来可能还有段距离，但在纽约算是不错了。朋友中四川人都喜欢上这里。一道“菜根土鸡”凉拌做得香嫩鲜滑，上回吃过后念念不忘，于是又点。吃了半天都是骨头，不见肉，伺者解释土鸡不关在笼子里，跑来跑去地比较瘦。心想也不至于瘦成这样，嘴里说， “嗳，运动过量。” 伺者大笑。

“两年没回来了。还习惯吗？” 我闲闲问蓼。

“纽约没多大变化。跟两年前一样。” 她说。

我点头，发展饱和的都市是变不到哪里去，不外是同家店面换了主。

“那你觉得是好呢，还是不好？” 我好奇。

“好。不像北京，三天两头换副面孔，人都快疯掉了。”她生于长于北京，想必怀念老北京的种种。

去过北京两次，印象奇差，和想象中的古都相去太远，走在街上有种错位的惶然。店员们回话时双眼朝天，让人诧异是否天安门上的一片天里藏有我等不能参透的玄机。 口气也粗鲁，有次点完菜委屈向朋友说，“那人好凶哦。”朋友教训了我一顿，“你太敏感了。北方人说话都这样。那像你们，嗲死人。”想想也有道理，在新疆问路时当地人就常听不懂，不是发音不准，而是口气语调相去太远，当地人还常学我说话的腔调当娱乐。

“唉，北京是四不象，为了一个奥运，也太”我叹叹气。

“太折腾了”两人同声说，又都摇头，又都笑了。

友情中最动人处是点到为止，一切尽在不言中。

“台湾选了马英九呢。”她大学时上过马英九姐姐马以兰的课，多少有些关心。

“是呀。总统选卖像好的总没错。就算被骗也心甘情愿。” 十年前在纽约见过马英九一次，要到那时才明白气质风度等字眼不是小说家们的杜撰。

“那你一定是拥护奥巴马了。”她猜测。

“当然。 喜拉莉像机器人，毫无人气。才干是有的，然则领袖更需要的是号召力和魅力。”我不讳言我对这女人的厌恶。

“她说就冲她是女人，女选民们就该选她。”蓼提起喜拉莉的口号之一。

“饶我吧。她是女人？她比很多男人都更像男人。” 我说完忍不住笑。凭这句话我已经扭转了很多女友选喜拉莉的念头。

“你也该调回纽约了吧.明年一起滑雪。” 我引诱她。

“不容易呢。公司裁员还在继续，哪来空位？”她有些无奈，说这边旧同事人人自危，等拿绿卡的则更忧心忡忡。

一叶知秋，我不禁有些失神。美元一日低过一日，耳闻过八七年十月十九号股市大落惨况，亲身经受过九十年代初的萧条，想多了难免担心。骤然间又想念香港的山水高楼，港人知天乐命的个性和豁达。

“I was about to leave you a love note.” I teased him.

The secretary giggled. Howard brushed. Having known him when he started a one person show fifteen years ago to running a company of three locations and thirty employees, from my managing a small firm to various corporate posts to temporary retirement, from his son a baby in the cradle to grow up to my height, how time flies!

I flipped through the returns and made a few comments. 

“You didn´t lose your edge after all these years. Sharper still.” He said after watching how the bottom line went down. 

“Unlikely considering corporate jobs are designed to create idiocracy. I often told my colleagues that we should have been compensated more for the loss of intelligence at work”  I smirked.

“It is painful, isn´t it?” He made a remark when I was writing the check, referring to the tax payment.

“Yes when I know it is going to be used to send another soldier to Iraq or to fund a CIA agent to stir up a riot in Tibet .” I sighed. The feeling of helpless and no control frustrated me often.

“Don´t you support the independence of Tibet ?” He contested me for argument sake. 

Many have expressed quite different opinion on this matter. I personally don´t like to comment on a current event in which in-depth information are not available and everything is not what it appears to be on the surface. Yet, I have to prepare an answer sensing that I will be questioned by others, Americans especially. 

“I will support Tibet´s freedom if Tibet is capable of being independent without the manipulation and exploitation of super powers, which is impossible.” I threw him my one liner and did not bother to explain further. Anyone with an IQ of 100 and a basic understanding of Tibet´s history and geography should know exactly what I meant.

“Precisely.”  He nodded. 

“Rather than fend off the Western media on Tibet issue, maybe what China should do is to start a movement in Alaska among the Eskimos. How does Return Alaska sound?” I improvised a solution, jokingly. 

“Sounds better than Free Tibet for sure.”  We both laughed out loud at the idea.