Chiang Mai Sketch II

2.

This is an excerpt from an unpublished travel book. copyright@roy hamric

 “The guy has a chicken neck, soft rolls of fat under his chin, wispy white hair­­. He’s like a little boy in front of the most beautiful girl in the village. His eyes never leave me. He says go out, go to room. I think: Go out with this old animal or not?

“I tell myself again – Pai, if pay enough, never say no. I decide to test his money. A little bar-fly girl in a black and white school uniform flits by in her white sneakers, bouncing up and down like this to Proud Mary on the jukebox.

“I see that little girl likes you, I say, using my best smile. I help you. You want her? Only $60 dollar.

“He said the name of Jesus, the God. ‘No, honey. I like you. Don’t you want to go with me?’

“I want to go, I said, but I have to ask for a lot of money. I have to pay rent. I have two children.”

“My head was a broken plate from tequila the night before. After work all the dancers went to Mr. Spicy’s. The men went crazy buying us drinks. We had a lot of fun. Now I feel like dry shit.

“He says again, ‘Don’t you like me, darlin’? I need another tequila.’

“‘Me, too, I said. I start to feel better because that was my 74th drink this month. I make 65 drinks before the first twelve days of the month. Now the mamasan knows I work hard to make money. $1 a drink for me, and $3 for the bar.

“Then the old animal says he needs more tequilla to make his carrot grow. When I don’t understand what they say, I smile and laugh. ‘Me too,’ I said. One more dollar. He smiles and nods his head. Then Little Sue dropped her bikini top and waved it around the stage. Big cheers. Everybody clapped. I can’t do that. Embarrassed too much. Momasan walks around the dance floor, laughing: ‘Tomorrow, everything is 50 percent off,’ she says. ‘Not me,’ said Blue.

“Tomorrow night Blue and I go to the temple for Makha Bucha, about the Buddha talking to people. I will pray to take care of my mother and live to be old with my children.

“The old animal said, ‘Ok, put up or shut up.’ I know what shut up means so I stopped talking. Maybe he will buy me another drink.

“I told him, ‘You give me $100, Ok? We go now.’ That’s how I got the $30 to send to my mother this month. My mom’s in Burma in jail. Two more years. I need her with me. I’m a baby too, really. I need her close. I want to cry all the time.”

And the next night the temples filled with people. The moon was big and red like tens of millions of nights before on the full moon of the third lunar month. Pai and her two children prayed for her mother in Burma, and she prayed to have a good heart and be a good mother.