Bar Girl by David Thompson Page B

them. The girls go with them. Spend two weeks with them sometimes. Earn a lot of money. My girlfriend got one farang to give her enough to buy me a motorbike,’ Tad smiled at the thought.
    Siswan didn’t ask anymore. The thought of Bak and his motorbike, the way he had earned it, crept into her mind. She tried to shut it out but the memories were too fresh. Too easily remembered.
    ‘She says she’s going to earn enough for us to buy a house,’ Tad continued. ‘She’s a good girl. Takes good care of me.’
    Song snorted. They both looked at him and, for the first time, he spoke.
    ‘A good girl? Sleeping with farangs for money?’ he laughed. A short laugh that summed up his feelings towards Tad and his girlfriend.
    ‘You won’t be laughing when it happens,’ Tad said. ‘You’ll see.’
    Song didn’t say anything else and neither did Tad for a while. The three of them watched the road, each lost in their own thoughts.
    For Siswan, the road seemed like her future. It stretched out before her as far as she could see. She didn’t know where it was taking her and, for the moment at least, she didn’t much care. The road lay before her. She was travelling along it. That was good enough for now.
    Finally, after almost twelve hours travelling, they approached the outskirts of a big town. The traffic built up once more and Song had to sound the horn several times as he tried to jockey for position amongst the cars, motorbikes and other trucks.
    Tad pointed out several farangs walking along the pavements as they drove past.
    ‘There’s one!’ He pointed, excitedly. ‘And another.’
    Siswan got a good look at the white skinned foreigners. A man and a woman were bartering with a street trader as the truck slowly rolled by. Through the open window she could make out the strange language they were using.
    ‘That’s English, Bee,’ Tad explained. ‘All the farangs speak English. Even if they don’t come from England. English is the most important language in the world.’
    ‘Do you speak it, then?’ Siswan asked him.
    ‘No. What do I want to speak it for?’ he asked, as a reply.
    Song snorted once more. A derisory sound that told them what he thought of the idea of speaking the English language.
    Siswan stared at the farangs. According to Tad they were rich. According to Tad they were also stupid and gave their money to girls. All the girls had to do was to pretend to love them.
    ‘But how can you pretend love?’ Siswan asked.
    ‘My girlfriend, Bom, just tells them she loves them. They believe her,’ Tad answered.
    After passing through the busy streets, Song eventually pulled in to a small opening that led into a builders yard. Bringing the truck to a stop, he opened the door and jumped down from the cab. Tad and Siswan followed.
    ‘That’s it, Bee,’ Tad told her. ‘This is as far as we go.’
    ‘Thank you for the lift,’ Siswan told him.
    ‘Where are you going now?’ Tad asked.
    ‘Oh, I can walk from here. It’s only a few more streets,’ she said.
    ‘Maybe we’ll see you around then,’ Tad said, with a smile and a wave. Siswan looked around the small yard as Tad began unlocking the rear doors of the truck. There were building materials piled high in every corner. A small office stood to one side and, through a side window, she could see Song showing some paperwork to a girl sat inside. There was nothing else for her to do but to stroll back out the way they had entered. She shrugged her bundle over her shoulder and walked towards the small gateway they had driven through.
    ‘Wait.’ The call came just as she was about to leave the yard.
    She turned to see Song walking purposefully towards her. His stocky frame moved in a crisp, mechanical way, as he approached. Like someone marching rather than walking. He stopped in front of her and looked into her eyes. For a moment he didn’t speak. Just looked at her. When, finally, he spoke she was shocked. For almost twelve hours he hadn’t said