Lady In Waiting

“Hey you! I speak to you every day, how come you never come here for a massage?’ That question came from an attractive young lady outside a massage shop near Sukhumvit Road in Bangkok. I had to admit that I hadn’t ever noticed her.
Any farang who has walked the streets of Bangkok for long becomes so used to the constant solicitations that they get drowned in the background street noise. A quick shake of the head and “Mei ou, khrap” is my normal
response.

But this evening was different. It was early February, 2007 and I had been a free man for about two weeks after a turbulent break up with my Thai girlfriend. I was on my way for a haircut, and maybe a massage would feel pretty good. “OK, I’ll
look for you when later this evening when I return”, I replied.

When I came back an hour or so later, I had a better look at her. Boo was a tall, lovely lady from Khon Kaen. We decided on an oil massage and she took me upstairs. I had every intention of getting only a nice massage, but she was not going
to leave it at that. Things progressed quickly and we became very intimate. I left on a business trip and it was about a week before I got the chance to see her again. I stopped back at the shop for another massage and she invited herself back
to my apartment after the massage shop closed at midnight.

I learned more about her that night. She was only 23 years old, about half my age. She had only attended school to about Grade 6, when her mother told her that she could no longer attend. Pregnant by a Thai man at 15, she had two children
in quick succession. He moved on to greener pastures, and so at 18 years old, with two children to feed, she moved on to the Big Smoke (Bangkok) while grandma cared for the kids. She worked as a maid for a while, but the extended family always
needs more than she could earn, so she started doing massage. She earned big money, 40-50K baht per month. That was enough to buy two houses, a car and motorcycles for the family back in Isaan over the course of a few years.

And then there were the sponsors. A couple of years ago, she met a French guy who put her on an allowance. Although he worked all the time and could only afford a week or two of vacation each year in Thailand, he regularly sent her money.
In fact she had just returned from a three month visit to this fellow in France, and told me that she was planning to return in few months. She needed a comfortable place to stay for a few months before she returned to Europe, and offered to quit
her job and move in with me. “We split all the costs 50 – 50, I have my own money” she said. This sounded like a pretty reasonable offer to me. She stays with me for a few months and shags me like crazy, while the Frenchman picks
up her tab. After a messy break up in my last relationship, it was great to have an exit date prearranged.

Well to make a long story short that is how it worked out. She is a great lady to be around and we became very close. Every day she cleaned my clothes, cleaned my apartment, shopped for household essentials, etc. When I came home, she pampered
me as only a Thai woman can. “I want to learn how to take care of a man” she said, and really meant it. “Just tell me what you like”. Wow, that was a difference from a typical woman in the good old USA.

Every day she would get messages and telephone calls from her French supporter. I tried never to interfere with those calls. I helped her with her visa applications, etc. so that she could leave when she was ready. They plan to get married
in a few months, and he tells her it may be years before she can return to Thailand. She is going because she knows that an EU passport and job will help her provide support for her family.

A few hours ago, we were both in tears as we said our farewells at Suwanaphumbi Airport. Not the usual teary farewell, as this time the Thai lady was leaving for Europe, while the farang was staying in Bangkok. I could have stopped her with
a word, but we both know that I am not ready to take on care of her young children and all the family commitments at this time in my life.

Some might think that she is a bad girl for sleeping with me while she was making arrangements to go marry someone else. Maybe she is bad girl for leaving her children and the land she loves. I know that she is a gentle and caring lover,
a good mother, and I believe will be a good wife. I know that I will miss her.

Stickman's thoughts:

I wonder how she will get on in France? I have never thought of France as one of the easier countries for a Thai woman to get by in. With English not the primary language, and not spoken as well in France as it is in other continental European countries, that is going to be the first of many challenges.