A Possibly Atypical Bangkok Bargirl – Part 3 – The Deep Stuff

Nat and I would sometimes talk about the future. These conversations were laborious as we were making heavy use of an English-Thai dictionary and a phrase book to get beyond the basics. I did manage to learn a few more Thai words while
Nat coached me in their pronunciation. When I think about those Stickman submissions that talk about the difference between Isaan accents and mainstream Thai accents, I am sure I would not have carried myself well with non-Isaan girls.

Nat invited me to come with her to her home city …

"Maybe next time."

"When you come to Thailand again?"

"Chaat naa." I just learned this one from the phrase book so teaser that I am, I am going to try it out on her. For you Thai-illiterate readers, it means "in the next life".

"Nat going to die!", she cries out.

So I tease her a bit more by saying "chaat naa" a few times, but then I realized this is not good teasing her like that; it is becoming not so nice of me. A real downer for Nat to face that she may not see this jai yen farang
again. So …

"Maybe pee naa." (next year)

She was mollified. Of course it took me longer, but I will get to that.

The last morning rolls around: I am flying back to Farangland via Manila. I did it that way because I already had a homeward bound ticket from Manila and I had managed to get a really good deal for the MNL-BKK roundtrip that comprised
my last weekend in Southeast Asia. Early in the morning at about quarter to five, I get a call on my mobile from my Manila girlfriend Jane wanting to know why I am not at the Manila airport. I will have about four hours of layover in Manila
that evening to spend with Jane. But just then, it seems that Jane had somehow misinterpreted my return time from 4:30pm to 4:30am and was already waiting for me at the terminal.

Nat hears me talking to Jane and knows that I have a girlfriend somewhere else. I finish the call.

"That your girlfriend?"

"I have girlfriend in every city. I butterfly man." I know this is hard, maybe cruel, but I have to make clear to her that she is not the only girl in my life at that time.

"I no see you again?"

"Maybe I see you pee naa." At the time, I think it could be "chaat naa", but I do not want to push the knife in deeper, it is no laughing matter now.

It is almost 5am, we are still in bed. I am holding her close in my arms because I know this is it. After a few minutes, I realize that Nat is crying quietly, the tears are flowing freely, I can feel them dripping on my shoulder and chest
as she snuggles in closer to me and buries her face in the crook of my neck and holds me tighter.

Later in the morning, we get up after making love one last time and Nat composes herself to accompany me to breakfast before we go to the airport. She does not eat much, but she is still smiling for me and fussing about having our pictures
taken together one more time.

Now all this time I was with Nat, I was always conscious that Thai are not into public displays of affection. For instance, I rarely see my friend holding hands with his Thai wife and I certainly do not remember them ever showing more
than that in public. My friend says she is reluctant to hug anyone in his family, yet he tells me that even after several years together, she is still occasionally a handful in the sack when she is not being a dragon lady in the home. So while
I smiled at Nat and joked with her, I never initiated more than holding hands in public with her, but many times during that last weekend I could feel her wanting to throw her arms around me in public. The feeling was genuine, I am pretty
sure of that. On this last morning, she is less hesitant to show it. I may be checking out of the hotel, but I am also checking out of her life and she knows it.

To be continued …