M-whY

Despite having an important engagement in the afternoon, she managed to find time to treat me to lunch. She was dressed in formal business attire and in her bag, carried a laptop so up to date, it made my own look like something from the stone age. If this wasn't enough to convince me of her importance, the way her two cell phones kept going off hook sealed the deal. After taking half a dozen calls in a fifteen minute time span, she turned them off.

"Or we'll never finish eating," she said.

Her meeting would be over around 7:00pm, she told me, but it was likely that there'd be a party afterwards, which she'd have to attend. But she asked that I call her around 10:00pm anyways, as she might be able to leave early. I told her I would, and we split up after our meal with a tentative plan to meet up again later. A cab took me back to Khao San Road, where I made a half hearted attempt to visit the Grand Palace. The midday heat proved unbearable, and I only got about 100 meters from my guesthouse before turning back to my air conditioned room.

It was on this day that I put up that cryptic 'On Hold' message. It hadn't started as that. My first attempt at covering the recent events had mixed reactions from some people. And almost everyone kept warning me to be careful. In Thailand, it's not uncommon to see young, lithe, girls hanging onto the arms of older, farang, men. Escorts, prostitutes, hookers... call them what you want, but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that in most cases, the girl is just following the money. I was pretty sure Deer wasn't this type of lady, but I have to admit, I let all the warnings go to my head. I began to have doubts.

It would be really easy for me to disappear. I don't have a phone number. If I decided not to call her back, she'd never know how to find me, and I could go on as I always had. But instead of running, I chose to get to the bottom of things. At 10:00pm, I found a pay phone and placed a call to her mobile.

"Hi, I'm on my way home now. Can you wait for me in front of Buddy at eleven?"

I agreed and at the appointed time, Deer arrived beaming.

"They invited me to go out to the bars tonight, but I told them I was tired and going home," she confided.

"What if they see you here?"

"I don't think they'll be in Khao San!"

Seeing her in such a good mood, I felt almost guilty questioning her motives. But I wanted some peace of mind too. While we hung out in the jazz club inside of Buddy, I casually brought up some questions that I hoped would clear my conscience.

As it turned out, she had no shortage of suitors and marriage proposals. People at work would ask her out persistently, but because of her success, she could never be sure whether they were sincere or just after her wealth and influence. She looked so youthful that young backpackers, such as myself, would make passes at her while she sat in bars. At times, she's resorted to wearing a wedding ring to fend people off. One of my appeals was that as a traveller, she could be sure I wasn't out to take advantage of her. And she had approached me, not I her, so she also knew I wasn't some guy looking for a one night stand. I'd like to think four months on the road has fine tuned my instincts, or maybe I'm still as naive as ever, but I believed every word.

The irony of the situation wasn't lost on me. Here I was, worrying about being taken advantage of, and she faced the same fears every day.

We stayed in Khao San, to avoid the possibility of running into the businessmen from her meeting. As we walked down the street to a different pub, a guy with a bunch of balloons approached me and started speaking in Thai. Of course, I didn't understand, so I just smiled and kept walking. Eventually, the guy grinned and turned to say something to his friends.

"What did he say?" I asked my translator.

"He asked if you wanted to buy a ballon for your girlfriend," laughed Deer. "Then when you didn't respond, he said to his friends, 'Oh, he's Japanese.'"

We capped the night off at an Irish pub at the other end of the street. For some strange reason, bars in Bangkok are required to close at 1:00am. It still felt early, so we ordered a plate of pad thai from a street vendor, and sat on the curb talking. She told me about her family, her work, and her dream.

"Someday I would like to buy a house in Rayong, on the beach. Windows overlooking the sea, clean, quiet, no tourists. Three bedrooms, one for myself, one for my family, the other for guests. Right now I have to take care of my parents and my sisters, but one day, I know I will achieve my dream. When you come back to Thailand, maybe five years, ten years, or twenty years later, will you come visit me, and stay in one of my guest rooms?"

Thanks to everyone for their support and comments! Knowing people are reading keeps me motivated to continue the updates!