What I did on my Holiday

back.’ ‘Oh,’ he says. ‘Resigning? I see. Well, yes of course I’ll givehim the letter, but if you change your mind, I don’t think he’lltake you back.’ ‘I’m not going to change my mind,’ I assure him. ‘And if Ido, there are plenty more jobs out there. I’ll be okay.’ By now the lads have become aware of my presence. Rayis scowling at me but he’s not about to leave his game towelcome me back. No doubt he’ll have something to say later. I notice he’s sporting a fresh black eye and I take a momentto silently congratulate the unknown stranger who gave it tohim. Benny has finished his game and he’s headed to the bar toget a round in but John-Boy comes over, a big beam on hissilly mug. ‘Mike,’ he says, all happy. ‘We thought you’d gone home,didn’t we Ted?’ ‘Hello John,’ I say. ‘Still with your girl, I see. Rose, isn’t it?’ His smile grows even wider and more soppy, like he’spleased I remembered. ‘That’s right. She’s going to come tothe airport and see us off.’ ‘You’ll miss her when you get back home, I expect.’ He nods seriously. ‘I will.’ Then the soppy smile is back ashe adds, ‘But we’re going to write to each other. And email.And text. And we’ll be able to talk on Skype!’ ‘So you’re going to stay in touch?’ ‘Oh yes. And Benny says we can probably come back nextyear so I can see her then.’ ‘You think she’ll wait for you?’ John nods energetically. ‘It’s all been arranged. I’m goingto send her money every month and she’s going to give upsleeping with other men.’ ‘Really? And you trust her to stick to her end of the 400

bargain?’ ‘Oh yes. She’s a very nice girl. She doesn’t like sleepingwith all these men. She told me she had to do it because ofher family. They need the money. But if I send her money, shewon’t need to do it, yeah?’ ‘Hmm,’ I say non-committally. ‘So I guess the wedding’soff. Trish will be disappointed.’ ‘Oh no. That’s still on. We’re getting married in twomonths. We’re going to buy a little flat round the corner fromTrish’s mum. We’ve already chosen most of the furniture.’ ‘But…what about Rose?’ He looks genuinely perplexed. ‘How d’you mean?’ ‘Well…do you think it’s fair on Trish? Or Rose for thatmatter. I assume you’re not going to tell Trish about Rose.’ John gives me one of his big slow grins. ‘Course not! She’dgo ballistic.’ ‘But what if she finds out? Someone might tell her.’ He looks mystified. ‘Who’d do that?’ An idea strikes me. ‘What about the money? She might findout you’re sending money to Rose.’ ‘No, no. it’s all right, see. Benny says he can arrange tohave the money taken out of my wages before I get them, soTrish will never know.’ That’s news to me. As the company accountant I overseethe wages department and I’d never agree to an arrangementlike that. I don’t even see how it could be done, legally. For amoment I wonder how Benny thought he was going to slip thatone by me, but then I remember that it isn’t my problem anymore. Let the next guy handle it. I don’t know what to make of John. He comes across as tooinnocent to live, but what he’s proposing is plain deceitful.I can’t believe he thinks it’s okay. But then I remind myselfthat if it were any of the other lads, I wouldn’t be surprised. 401

They’re all capable of cheating on their loved ones. Whyshould John be any different? But it makes me sad to think that he’s going to grow up tobe another Ray or Benny. Not my problem, I tell myself forcefully. Ray’s finished his game and he’s heading my way. ‘Wethought you’d fucked off home to England. Didn’t expect tosee you in here again.’ ‘And hello to you too, Ray,’ I tell him. ‘Enjoyed yourholiday, have you?’ ‘Til you showed up,’ he snarls. Benny touches him on thearm and passes him a pint and Ray turns his back on me andstarts to explain to Bob why he, Bob, will never be as good apool player as him. Benny gives me a wink and motions with his head towardsthe other side of the bar. I tell Ted I’ll catch him later and joinBenny at one of the tables, as far away from the others aspossible. ‘I see that two weeks of sun, sea, sand and sex haven’t im-proved Ray’s manners much.’ I tell him. ‘You know Ray,’ he says. ‘Who gave him the black eye?’ ‘Bit of trouble with one of his girls.’ ‘A girl did that to him?’ ‘Nah. Her brother. Ray got a bit...physical with her. Nextthing we know, her brother shows up. He’s a little guy, fivefoot nothing, just a kid really. Anyways, he gets in Ray’s face,jabbering away in Thai, and Ray reckons he could break himin half with one hand, so he tells him to fuck off, in no uncer-tain terms.’ ‘And...?’ ‘Turns out the kid’s a kick boxer. All of a sudden, he spinson one heel and plants the other in Ray’s face. Ray went down 402

like a sack of potatoes. Took us ten minutes to revive him.’ ‘I wish I’d seen that.’ ‘Yeah? Well take my advice and don’t mention it again.Ray’s pretty touchy about it.’ ‘Don’t worry. I won’t wind him up if he doesn’t wind meup.’ I lean a little closer and flick my eyes over to where Bob hastaken a seat next to the lady boy. They’re sitting pressed closetogether. ‘What’s that all about?’ I ask. ‘What d’yer mean?’ he says, a picture of innocence. ‘You know damn well what I mean. She’s a lady boy.’ ‘Yeah? So what?’ I shrug. ‘It’s just I wouldn’t have thought....you know....Bob?’ ‘He’s not a woofter, if that’s what you’re suggesting,’ Bennysays, all indignant. ‘She just made him an offer he couldn’trefuse.’ ‘What was that then?’ ‘Free sex.’ ‘Really? You mean he’s not paying her...him...whatever?’ ‘Nah. In fact, she’s been buying his rounds all week.’ ‘The foundation of true love,’ I suggest. Benny just shrugs. ‘Takes all sorts. So what about you? Youfinally discover what your dick is for, did ya?’ ‘I’ve had a few adventures,’ I say mildly. ‘Yeah, I reckon you have. You look different.’ ‘I am different. You know what they say, foreign travelbroadens the mind.’ Ray shouts from the other side of the bar. ‘Benny, youtosser! What’re you doing wasting time talking to that cunt?Get over here and buy your round!’ ‘It’s your round. I got the last one in,’ Benny shouts back 403

calmly and Ray gives me another murderous glare beforeturning away once more. I shake my head, watching Ray’s back. ‘You know what Ithink? I think Ray must be the unhappiest man I’ve ever met.To be that angry, every day, year after year, there’s got to besomething eating at him.’ I glance at Benny and find he’s giving me an appraisinglook. ‘Do you know what it is?’ I ask. ‘Course,’ he says. ‘Ray and me’s mates.’ ‘So?’ He shakes his head. ‘Like I say, it’s between mates. And youare most certainly no mate of Ray’s.’ I find I’m seeing Benny in a different light. I suppose,without really thinking about it, I’d always assumed I wascleverer than him. Now I’m not so sure. Benny may not beeducated, but he’s got a quick brain, and he’s shrewd. I findmyself wondering what he’d be today if he’d gone to a publicschool. Prime Minister, probably. ‘If I were you,’ he’s saying. ‘I’d stay well away from Rayuntil we get home.’ ‘I’m not going home,’ I tell him and his eyebrows rise. Hethinks about it for a minute and then nods. ‘Yeah, I can see why you’d want to stick around out here fora while.’ ‘You can?’ ‘Sure. What’s not to like about the place? So you’re givingup your job?’ I nod. ‘You okay for money?’ ‘Are you offering me money?’ I say in disbelief. ‘Nah. Just asking. Thailand’s cheap, but you ain’t gonna lastlong without money.’ 404

‘I have a bit put by,’ I assure him. ‘Yeah? Still wouldn’t hurt if you could earn a bit on the sidethough, would it?’ ‘What have you got in mind?’ ‘I’ve been doing a bit of business over here. Got a shipmentdue out in a couple of days.’ ‘Drugs?’ ‘Nah. Nothing like that. Clothing, mostly. All legit. I ain’tno mug.’ ‘How big a shipment?’ ‘Ten grand’s worth.’ ‘Ten thousand pounds! Where’d you get hold of that sort ofmoney?’ ‘I ain’t without resources,’ he says. ‘Thing is, it were sup-posed to be ready today, ‘fore I flew ‘ome, but there’s beensome delays. So now I need someone to see everything goessmoothly this end. Make sure I get what I ordered, y’know?These Thais, they can be a bit iffy. And once I’m back inEngland, it’ll be a right fucker if the wrong gear turns up.’ ‘And you want me to supervise the packing?’ ‘Something like that. See, I already got me girl on the job,but she’s one of them, y’know? Can’t trust her all the way, canI?’ ‘So she checks the shipment and I check her, is that it?’ ‘Belt and braces,’ he says, sitting back and looking smug.‘Can’t take too many precautions when dealing wiv foreigners.You wouldn’t have to do much, and you’d be on a nice littlecommission.’ I give it all of ten second’s consideration then I shake myhead. ‘Thanks, but no thanks,’ I tell him. ‘I’d like to help, but Iwon’t be here. I’m leaving in a minute and I’ve no idea whereI’ll be when your shipment is ready.’ 405

He shrugs. ‘Yeah, okay. It don’t matter. Just trying to do amate a favour.’ Trying to do yourself a favour, I think to myself. I don’tknow whether Benny’s deal is dodgy or not, but I don’t fancyfinding out the hard way. I’ve heard Thai prisons make our’slook like holiday camps. Besides, I’m sick of other people using me for their ownends. From now on, I’m going to chart my own course. It’s time to get out of here. The lads won’t be headingfor the airport for another hour but I’ve had enough of theircompany already. I only came to say goodbye to Ted. I jump a taxi back to Bangkok and arrive at the Khao SanRoad with a couple of hours to spare before my plane leavesfor Cambodia. I’ve decided to take Seb’s advice. Do something you reallywant to do, not what other people want you to do. And I wantto see Angkor. I just have one last thing to take care of before I leave Thai-land. I find a camera shop near The Road and get them to runme off a set of prints from the images I took of Ron and Anongand her kids. I pop them in an envelope and address it to Ron.For all his faults, I’m almost certain his love for her was real. On my way back from the camera shop I take a short cutdown a little alleyway that I’m almost certain will bring meout in the Khao San Road once more. The girl is sitting at the bottom of a flight of steel steps.She’s cradling her arm and her head is bowed low, the glis-tening curtain of her hair covering her face, but I can hear hersobbing. ‘Hello,’ I say. ‘Are you all right?’ She looks up at me in sudden fright. Her eyes are huge anddark. Tears stain her face. She stares at me without replying. 406

‘Um…can you speak English?’ No response. I take a closer look at her arm and I can see the jagged edgeof bone poking through the skin. Shit, she’s really badly hurt! I peer around desperately, hoping to stop a passing Thai andlet them deal with the sobbing girl, but there’s no one in sight. For a moment I consider just walking away. This girl isnot my responsibility. Besides, I have plans, and they don’tinclude a trip to the hospital. My plane leaves in a couple ofhours. Cambodia beckons! The great palace city of Angkor sitsin the jungle waiting for me to explore it. I can’t afford to getdiverted. I’ve made myself a promise, one I intend to keep. From here on, I chart my own course, make my own deci-sions. No more letting other people choose the direction of mylife. I’m my own man. ‘Wait here,’ I tell her, though I know she doesn’t understandme. ‘I’ll get a cab. We need to get you to a hospital.’ The End 407

408

Since his divorce a year ago, Mike Macbeth’slife has lacked direction.Perhaps that’s why he signed up for the trip toThailand organised by Fuller Bros. Ltd, Sportsand Social club.They’re headed for Pattaya, centre of the sexindustry in Thailand, but whatever the otherlads get up to, Mike knows he won’t be sleep-ing with any prostitutes… of that he’s certain!…until, that is, he meets Anna, the lithe go-godancer, who puts his will power to the test.Mike’s adventures see him trekking in therainforests of Northern Thailand with Zoe, theemaciated backpacker, hotel shopping withLorna, the brash American tourist, and barhopping with Ron, the heartbroken Aussie al-coholic, but for reasons he can’t explain, Mikekeeps finding himself back in the red lightdistrict….