Fireworks to Thailand

by J. R. Bonham

  “Oh, hello. Yes, I’m fine, thank you. How are you?” she started politely. ‘He won’t want to know how much I’ve been agonising all weekend. I’ll just have to come straight out with it after a few niceties.’

  “I’m much better for talking to you,” he said and she blushed, luckily no one was there to see it.

  “I was just about to ring you actually. You beat me to it.” She wasn’t going to admit she had lost his card.

  “I’m honoured!”

  “I… I just wanted to tell you… I can’t see you on Wednesday.” She blurted it out as fast as she could.

  “Oh no!” Mike felt completely deflated after being so pleased to know that she was going to ring him.

  “I’ve an old school friend who’s come over from Thailand, where she lives, and she’s only here for a few days. Wednesday is the only day she can make to come and see me. I hope it isn’t too difficult for you to cancel. I’m really sorry to mess you about.” She wasn’t going to suggest another day in case he just didn’t want to bother. After all, she did say cancel and not postpone.

  “Oh, that’s a shame, I really wanted to see you. Can we make it another day? Say Friday? Same place, same time? I’ve got something to show you.”

  “Oh! OK then,” she said, wondering what on earth he had to show her.

  “It’s a date. Bye for now,” he ended.

  ‘A date! What on earth does he mean by that? Not as in a ‘date’ date, surely! He seems very keen,’ she thought.

  Wednesday came and Marian arrived in her hire car. They hugged and talked. And talked and talked. Even over lunch, they managed to talk some more.

  “It’s been ages!” Marian said to her. “Anything new to tell me? Did you have a good holiday in America?”

  “Oh, yes, you could say that!”

  “What does THAT mean?”

  “Well, I’ll come straight out with it – I’ve met someone who I quite like.”

  “Yes, well. I suppose you come across a lot of people you quite like. I know I do, every day, I meet people I quite like. What d’you mean – exactly?” asked Marian. “Come on, spill!”

  “Well, I don’t really know exactly. He lives quite a way away. In Surrey to be exact. He’s coming down here to meet up. And I think he seems to want a relationship of some sort, from what he says. But I don’t quite know how that’s going to work with him living so far away.”

  “Like a long distance relationship? How exciting!”

  “He’s coming this Friday and he says he’s got something to show me.”

  “Oh yes!” she smiled with a knowing look.

  “Not that! You’ve got a one-track mind!” Jan laughed. “No, I don’t know what it is, I’ve no idea. Probably some photos he’s taken of me. He did take quite a few while we were away! It was funny because we found ourselves in the same spot lots of times and he was very chatty. I do like him – a lot. But he’s married. And I’m married of course. I don’t want to cheat on Geoff but honestly, the way he’s behaved lately no one would blame me, I’m sure.”

  They had their lunch, but Marian didn’t stay long because she had to get back to Kai for an evening conference which she had said she would attend with him.

  “I hate to leave you in such a state. You will tell me how it pans out, won’t you?”

  “You’ll be the first to know. I’ll get an airmail letter off to you on Friday afternoon, and give it to you Chapter and verse!”

  “You’d better,” laughed Marian.

  Chapter 29

  Mike arrived at the appointed time on Friday morning. Their meeting place was a pub on the seafront that Jan had never been to but she had heard the food was good. In fact, he was early and Jan hadn’t arrived, so he parked and went into the pub to use their facilities. It had been a very long drive. Rosemary hadn’t suspected anything untoward in his behaviour. At least he hoped she hadn’t.

  Jan changed three times before she was happy with her look. A plain skirt and top. She was feeling very nervous, but she was determined not to show it. She had one thing to do before she was going to meet him.

  “Hello,” she said as he emerged from the pub. He was as she remembered, good looking, with a neat beard, short haircut greying at the temples. “Sorry I’m a bit late. I had to stop off at the post office to get an airmail letter and a video for tonight. We always have a video on a Friday night. And sometimes a takeaway as well, on special occasions. It’s my choice tonight and I’ve got a film called City Slickers. Do you know it? I’ve heard it’s very funny. As in a comedy, you know.” ‘Oh God, am I starting to babble too much? I always talk nonsense when I’m nervous. Oh God, he looks like a city slicker! How funny. He’s not very tall, we’re probably about the same height. I never noticed that, when we were away.’

  “You’re not late. I was a bit early. I wasn’t sure how the traffic was going to be, so I left earlier to make sure I was here on time.”

  She noticed he was dressed in a very smart silver grey pinstripe suit with a purple mottled tie. She thought he looked a bit out of place on the seafront in a suit and tie, but he explained when he saw she was looking him up and down.

  “I’m dressed like this because Rosemary would have suspected something if I had worn anything else. I always wear a suit to work. Do you like it?”

  “Oh yes, it’s very dapper.” ‘Oh God, do they say ‘dapper’ these days? It sounds like he’s an old man trying to look young like we say a woman is mutton dressed as lamb!’

  “Well, I wanted to look good for you, so I put on my second best suit.”

  “Oh, only second best?” she smiled and he realised she was joking.

  “Yes, my best one is for weddings and funerals!”

  “Oh, I see,” she blushed and changed the subject. “What do you want to do? It’s too early for lunch. Shall we go for a coffee, then maybe I could show you some of the seafront and beach areas. Not that there’s much to show you, but we could have a walk then go to lunch later at the pub. Or anywhere else you fancy.”

  ‘It’s only you I fancy right now!’ His thoughts were running away with him. He reached into his car as he remembered what he was going to give her.

  “This is for you to look at, but not when anyone else is there. Please don’t show anyone! You understand don’t you?”

  “Of course,” she murmured as she took the paper bag and peeped inside. It was a video.

  “It’s very special – I made it last weekend when Rosemary was out at the shops.”

  “I can hardly wait!” She put it into her oversized handbag along with the other video.

  They walked along the seafront which was quite busy and came across a beach cafeteria where they were serving morning coffee. He showed her to a table, pulled out a chair for her to sit on, then went up to get the coffee. ‘This is a nice change to be waited on! If it was Geoff, he would have gone straight to the table and expected me to get the coffees.’

  “How do you like your coffee?” he called over to her. “Sorry,” he said to the man behind the counter, “I should have asked her beforehand.” The man gave him a funny look.

  “White with one sugar please,” she replied.

  “Do you like cappuccino? They do that here too.”

  “Oh, OK, yes, thanks.” She was miles away still wondering what was on the tape. ‘He hasn’t done a nude video of himself, has he? He said he did it while his wife was out!’

  He came back with two coffees on a tray and sat down. He started to feel a little out of place amongst people in bathing costumes, but it didn’t worry him; he had other things to think about right now.

  “Oh, you take black coffee, do you?” she asked him when she noticed his cup, just to try and make conversation.

  “Always have done since they put coffee machines in at work with that awful Coffee Mate as a poor excuse for milk. It rea
lly is awful. I always used to take it with milk beforehand when we used to have a tea lady with proper tea and coffee served in proper mugs. Now we have paper cups which are thrown away. I’m sure it’s doing something awful to the environment. It’s called progress or so we’re told. Poor old Gladys got the chop when they brought in impersonal machines.”

  “Maybe she was of retirement age and they couldn’t get anyone else to replace her?” she suggested. “Have you thought of that?”

  “She was only 40! Or maybe 45. Far too young to retire. Did I tell you I want to retire when I’m 55?”

  “I think you did mention it actually. Do you always tell complete strangers that?” ‘Oh what a stupid thing to say, that sounded so rude. Must say something else, quick.’ “Why do you want to retire so early?”

  “Although I have always loved my job, I just think by then it will be time to do something else. I work long hours, sometimes 12 hours a day and I don’t want to burn myself out. I don’t mean to retire and do nothing. There’s an awful lot of travelling I still want to do.”

  “I’d love to travel too. Where have you been so far?” she tried to sound really interested, which she was. “I loved geography at school. It was my favourite subject.”

  “Mine too! What a coincidence. We went to Australia a couple of years ago and I want to go back and see more. I have family there too.”

  “Oh, how interesting. What family do you have there? Brothers or sisters?”

  “No! I’m an only child,” he told her in no uncertain terms.

  She thought, ‘Oh no, another only child, just like Geoff.’

  He continued, “No brothers or sisters and I’m really pleased not to have had any. I’m much better on my own. My father came home just before the war ended and hey presto, nine months later there I was. I don’t think he was very pleased about it but my Mum probably was. He obviously told her ‘no more’. I wasn’t really wanted, you see.”

  “Neither was I!” added Jan. “My mum is a bit strange; she told me in one of her nasty moments that she had her girl and boy and she thought that was it. Two years later I came along!”

  “What do you mean your mum is a bit strange? Is there something wrong with her?”

  “They put her condition down to the menopause when she started behaving peculiarly when she was in her mid-40s. She was finally diagnosed with manic depression but it took years to have a proper diagnosis and nowadays they call it bi-polar. She was in and out of mental hospitals when Dad couldn’t cope with her. Now she’s OK sometimes, but it seems when the summer comes she forgets to take her pills and she gets very high. They get her on track with the pills, but after that, she’ll dive back into depression again when she forgets them. It’s very odd how they can’t seem to get the medication just right. Dad is quite weak and needs support with getting help for her when she needs it. Anyway, enough of them. You said you weren’t wanted. That’s very sad.”

  “Not really. My father was pretty mean to me when I was young. When I was about seven, he found out I had watched the television without his permission and he lashed out at me. He flung me across the room and I stayed there for effect. Mum was furious with him. She gave him an ultimatum; she told him to back off or else there would be consequences. I’m not quite sure what she had in mind. Of course in those days, they didn’t get divorced at the drop of a hat like nowadays. He never spoke to me again. Well, not until years later when he was on his death-bed, but that’s another story. Whenever he had his meals, I had to stand behind his chair until he had finished. Then Mum and I would sit down to have our meal.”

  “That’s awful. Poor you!”

  “Not really. I learned to live with it and promised myself I would leave at the earliest possible opportunity. Which I did. I bought my own house when I was 17. Anyway, you asked about my Australian family and I’m sorry, I went off on a tangent.”

  “Oh, I’m always doing that!” she interjected.

  “Yes, well, anyway. My mother was quite young, say about four or five, when her mother (my grandmother) left my mother with her mother, (that would be my great grandmother) and went off to Australia. Are you following me?”

  “I think so, yes,” she said, only slightly puzzled.

  “Well, I think her husband had died in the first world war and she wanted to carve a new life for herself with the thought that she would come back for her daughter (my mother) at some stage. Well, of course, it was years before she was in touch again, by which time my mother was a teenager. She didn’t want to go and live in a country as far away as Australia even if her mother was there. She had made her own life here with friends etc and maybe a boyfriend, I don’t know.”

  “OK. What happened then?” Jan was intrigued with his story.

  “Her mother then remarried and she had three more children. Then she lost her second husband in the second world war. On a Red Cross ship, I believe. All my information is a bit sketchy, but that’s about the bones of it.”

  “How interesting. That’s a bit careless to lose two husbands! So you have half-aunties and uncles and half-cousins, I guess? Did you meet any of them when you went out there last time?”

  “No, but I’d like to next time I go. My mother actually made the trip over there when she was nearly 70 and met her two half-brothers and one half-sister for the very first time. Her mother was over 90 then.”

  “I bet that was a reunion and a half!”

  “She never said much about it when she came home although I know she wrote a lot of letters to them after that. She went back a couple of years later, but her mother died just before she arrived there. So she never saw her mother again. I guess she must have attended the funeral instead.”

  “Oh, how sad. But that’s an interesting story.”

  “You said you bought an airmail letter earlier? Who is that for, may I ask? You can tell me to mind my own business if you like.”

  “An old school friend, Marian. Actually we were best friends at school but don’t see much of each other nowadays. She was the one who I saw on Wednesday when I had to cancel you. She lives in Thailand. She’s been there for about twenty years now. Her husband is Thai. They have loads of money. And servants! Can you imagine having servants?”

  “I suppose it’s just the way they live. It’s normal for them. I was really worried when you cancelled me. I thought you had bottled out and you didn’t want to see me. I was so pleased when you agreed to rearrange.”

  “Let’s just say I was curious. Curious as to why you would want to see me. I’m nothing special.”

  “I’m afraid I have to stop you there. Don’t do yourself down. Geoff does enough of that. I have noticed, you know.”

  “What? Noticed that my self-esteem is really low? Yes, I know. I can’t help it.”

  “Well, I can!” he said and left it at that, for the time being at least. “Oh dear, I think that the man is giving us funny looks. We’ve been here too long probably. Shall we take a walk along the front and go and get some lunch? I’m afraid I have to leave by about 3 pm. Rosemary thinks I’m at work and work thinks I’m out with a client. I’ve got a superb secretary who will cover for me so, hopefully, nothing will go wrong. I need to get home by about 6 pm.”

  They got to the pub, which was a bit dingy. But neither of them noticed.

  “What would you like to drink?” Mike asked her.

  “A glass of red wine I think. Thank you.”

  “A girl after my own heart. I like red wine too. Do you like Merlot?”

  “Yes, that’ll be fine, thanks,” she replied.

  They sat down at a table and looked at the menu. Time was going on and he was aware that he only had another couple of hours before he would have to leave.

  They both ordered a similar meal – a rump steak with chips and peas.

  “I do like steak, but I like fish too. Salmon is my favourite fish,” h
e told her.

  “I like fish too, but I don’t have it very often. The family aren’t that keen unless it’s from the fish and chip shop! I reckon salmon is up there among my favourites too.”

  “I like all fish beginning with an ‘S’! Swordfish, skate and sea bass as well as salmon.”

  “What about shark?” she teased him.

  “I don’t think I’ve tried shark! Have you?”

  “No,” she laughed. “Tell me more about your travels. Where else have you been?” she asked him because she was really interested to hear all about other countries. She had been to so few.

  “I’ve been to lots of places on business, probably more than on holiday. I’ve been to America, Japan, Finland, South Korea and India. I’ve also been to India on holiday.”

  “What’s it like there? Is it as dirty as they make out and do they really have amputees begging on the streets?”

  “Yes, it was pretty terrible really. They are very aggressive in their begging. Honestly, the kids are very persuasive, but you could easily give away a whole year’s salary in one day! So we were told not to give anything to anyone. It only brings more kids to you when they see you giving something away. Like bees around a honey pot!”

  “Oh. I’m not sure I’m that easy with people begging. I would probably give too much away. Especially to kids if they look half-starved.”

  The steaks arrived and they ate and talked. They talked about anything and everything. It was all really easy as if they had been friends for years catching up. The time soon disappeared and it was getting on for 3 pm.

  “I’m afraid I’m going to have to go soon. I don’t want to but…” he said while looking at his watch. “Where has all that time gone? It’s gone by all too quickly, but I’ve enjoyed it.”

  “Mmm, me too. Thank you for coffee and the lunch,” she enthused.

  “Can we meet again next week?” he asked her. “Wednesdays are really better for me and hope they’re OK for you too.”

  ‘Wednesdays! In the plural! Does that mean he wants to come down more than once?’