Living The Dream

by Guy Lilburne

  “You wait for Ting?”

  “Yes.”

  “She take long time. Customer just only come now. She take one hour.”

  “I’ll wait for Ting.”

  Terry started to walk away and planned to return in an hour, but then he had the thought that he might miss her again if another customer came along, so he turned around and sat with the girls.

  There was an awkward silence as he sat amongst them. They all looked at each other then looked at Terry. People walking past the massage shop looked at Terry. He smiled and nodded and made conversation with the massage girls. He was funny and made them laugh quite a lot. They gave him water and offered to share their food, which Terry sampled. The hour took a long time to pass and there was still no sign of Ting. One of the girls went to check for Terry and came back with the bad news that the customer had decided to have her for two hours.

  “You can do that? You can have a girl for more than an hour’s massage?”

  “Yes, of course. 350 baht for each hour.”

  The second hour seemed to take even longer to pass than the first hour. Eventually Ting opened the glass door at the front of the shop and let out a very fat and very pink faced German man. Terry noticed that he had very flaky skin on his hands and arms. The German man nodded to him, but Terry hated him because he had just had sex with Ting. Terry ignored him and finished his water.

  “Hello Ting.”

  “Hello Telly. I happy very much for see you.”

  “Me too!”

  “You want massage?”

  “Well, I was just passing actually, but since you are here, I’d love one. I went to the chemist and bought you some medicine for your cough.”

  “Thank you, Telly. You very kind man and good heart for me.”

  Terry followed Ting through the shop and up the dim stairway to the room with the red curtains. He undressed and lay down on the thin plastic mattress while Ting went to get changed.

  The massage went the same as the previous day. She started gently rubbing her delicate hands into his back.

  “Ting. You have family?”

  “No. Not have.”

  “You must have a mum and dad!”

  “No. Not have. When I baby mama or papa take me, go leave at temple. I not have any family. Not know my family.”

  “Who take care of you?”

  “I take care myself. When I baby Monk take care. I take care of all people all my life. I like to take care.”

  “That’s really sad. You are so beautiful and so lovely and you have no family to love you.”

  “No. Not sad. I happy. I take care myself and take care of some baby same same me. Have no family.”

  “How you take care?”

  “I send money and, when I holiday, I go temple and take care of children. They sick. They have AIDS or problem in brain. That’s why nobody want. So I take care. What can I do?” Ting shrugged her shoulders.

  Terry had already fallen in love with Ting. He fell in love with her as soon as he had set eyes on her, but there was something in what she had just said that cemented his feelings. It wasn’t just what she said, but the way that she said it. She sounded resigned to it; as if it was her destiny.

  Terry turned over onto his back. He had an idea, but he hesitated for a moment as he once again gazed at her sheer beauty.

  “Ting, I have idea. I can pay for you if I pay 350 baht an hour right?”

  “Yes. You want two hour?”

  “I want twenty hours. That’s 7,000baht. I’ll bring you back at 8:30am tomorrow morning.”

  “Really Telly? You can do for me?”

  “Yes. We can go and have something to eat. Have a walk around, maybe go for a drink and we can go back to my hotel. I’m staying at The Holiday Inn Hotel.”

  “Wow! Big money. I think they not let you take lady into hotel.”

  “Don’t worry about that. I’ll sort it and I mean that most sincerely. Do you want to spend the day with me?”

  “Yes. I like.”

  “Ok. You get dressed and sort it out with the boss lady and I’ll go to the ATM. I’ll be back in five minutes.”

  Terry was back in five minutes and Ting was waiting for him. He paid the 7,000baht. Ting looked nothing short of sensational. She was wearing tight blue jeans and a white shirt. She had a floppy straw hat and big sunglasses that covered most of her face. She looked breathtaking. As they walked off away from the massage shop the other girls started clapping and cheering. Nobody had ever taken a girl out of the parlour for a whole day before. It was something special and Ting was very happy. And everyone was happy for her. She slipped her hand into Terry’s and suddenly he felt ten feet tall. Ting was fun. She laughed a lot. She smiled a lot and she was funny. She had the ability to really enjoy life and it didn’t seem to take much to make her happy. She was charming and she delighted everyone who came into contact with her. She had a gentle and sincere heart. She really liked Terry too. He was funny even though his jokes were not. He was a gentleman and he was kind to her. He looked at her with love in his eyes and he made her feel special. He tried too hard to make sure she was having a good time, but she didn’t mind that too much. She was sure it would wear off if they saw each other again. They walked around. They ate in a nice beach front restaurant and all the restaurant staff loved her. She was kind, she was interested in where they were from and if they were happy. Ting took him on a tuk-tuk to the hospital where she donated money each week. She showed him the little room where she donated money, said prayers and made wishes for the sick.

  “Have you got a bikini?”

  “For what?”

  “For swimming.”

  “Not have.”

  “Come on. We need to go and buy one and we’ll go back to the hotel for the day.”

  “I think hotel not let you take lady.”

  “I’ll tell them you are my girlfriend. The room was booked for two people. If they won’t let you come in, then we’ll sneak you in. Trust me.”

  “I trust you.”

  They bought a one piece swimming costume from a market stall. Terry liked the bikini’s better, but Ting chose a classy white one piece with blue flashes. She waited at a food stall opposite the hotel while Terry went to the hotel reception. He sat down at the desk and pushed his glasses up along the bridge of his nose.

  “Excuse me. I booked my room on Agoda for two people. Myself and my girlfriend - fiancé actually. Well, she was delayed yesterday when I arrived, but she is arriving today. I just want to make sure that there won’t be a problem when I go to collect her and bring her here.”

  “No problem, Sir. I will check booking. What name please?”

  “My room is 205. Can you check that?”

  The girl typed on the computer on the desk.

  “Yes. No problem. You book for two person.”

  “Good. Wait here I’ll go and get her. She should be here any minute.”

  Terry walked out of the hotel and returned a few minutes later with Ting.

  If the girl at the reception knew what was going on then she didn’t show it. Ting handed over her National Identity card and it was photocopied and handed back. Ting chatted in Thai and whatever she said charmed the receptionist. They both smiled and laughed like old friends.

  Ting loved the hotel. It was the most beautiful hotel that she had ever seen. She loved the pools and she gasped for breath when she saw Terry’s room. A new bowl of fruit had been left on the table. She was as impressed as Terry had been the day before. She turned around and hugged and kissed Terry.

  “This so beautiful, Telly.”

  They had a few drinks from the mini bar before getting changed into swimwear and walking down to the pool wrapped in the room’s bathrobes. Ting looked sensational in her sw
imsuit. Terry didn’t, but he felt very proud of Ting. They lounged by the pool. They held hands and talked. They slept and sunbathed. They ordered steak meals to be delivered to the room. They watched TV in bed and they made love…….twice. Actually it was once that evening and once again the next morning.

  They lay on the bed with their bodies entwined.

  “Ting. Would you ever stop working massage and live with someone, if he loved you?”

  “If he can take care of me. Yes.”

  “I can take care of you and I could love you too.”

  “You not serious, Telly. You joking sure.”

  “I’m not joking.”

  “How I know for sure?”

  “I don’t know, but I’ll think of something.”

  On the Sunday evening Simon and Pom were driving back to Pattaya. They had had a lovely weekend, but both of them were happy to be back in the city. As they drove along the Sukhumvit Road, Pom grabbed Simon’s hand.

  “Tee rak. I don’t want to go home. I want to stay with you.”

  “I’d like that too, but my hotel room isn’t very nice Pom. You want us to book into a nice hotel?”

  “No need book hotel. We can stay your room. I want Simon.”

  “OK. Me too.”

  They didn’t say anything else until they were inside Simon’s hotel room.

  “I go shower,” said Pom, taking a towel and walking into the bathroom. Simon sat on the bed and waited. Pom’s shower was a long one. Longer than any shower Simon had ever known. At one point he knocked on the bathroom door and shouted;

  “Are you OK, Pom?”

  “I OK.”

  He sat back on the bed and, after another ten minutes, Pom came back into the room wrapped in the towel. Her clothes were folded over her arm. Simon took the other towel and went into the bathroom. A few minutes later he walked back into the bedroom with the towel wrapped around his waist after having showered and brushed his teeth. Pom was waiting in bed. She looked nervous, even shy. She smiled and sank down into the sheet.

  Simon dropped the towel onto the floor and climbed into bed. They kissed and cuddled for a long time. A slow arousal took over both of them. The kisses became more passionate. The touches became more sensual. Wrapped together, they became one in a sexual union and made love, long and slow - deep with meaning.

  Monday morning in Phuket was wet and surprisingly cool. The rain had been pouring down since 5 am and the wind caused the coconut fronds to thrash together. By 7 am the rain and the wind had all but finished and the sun was breaking through. Terry had taken Ting coffee and biscuits in bed. They had had a wonderful time together, but it was nearly time for Ting to go back to the massage shop. Terry simply couldn’t afford another 7,000baht to have another day together. They ordered breakfast to the room. They sat wrapped in the luxurious woollen bath robes and ate the breakfast out on the balcony. A sadness loomed heavy over both of them.

  “I don’t want you to go back to work, Ting.”

  Terry munched on a slice of toast. Terry didn’t need to say anything. Ting already knew how he was feeling. She felt the same way.

  “I have to work, Telly. I need money. You cannot take care.”

  “Actually, I think I can. You can live with me in Pattaya. I can feed us both and keep a roof over our heads. Maybe we could start a business, if we need more money. I’m sure we can do something, Ting. I just don’t want to be without you.”

  “Maybe I go to temple and ask Buddha what I do.”

  Terry wanted to say more, because he wanted to convince her that he could look after her. But the truth was that he wasn’t so convinced himself.

  After they showered Terry walked Ting back to her massage shop. It wouldn’t be open for business for another hour, but waiting to part was too much agony for both of them. Ting kissed him on the cheek and Terry walked off and down onto the beach. He didn’t know where he was walking to. He just walked. He felt emotionally wrecked. He had fallen in love and he couldn’t think about anything else. He walked around for two hours before he sat at a bar at the south end of the beach and started drinking. He was drinking to get drunk. He didn’t care that he was sitting in a lady boy bar. He hadn’t given it a thought. The bar was dark and the music was blue. It suited his mood. His extended an index finger and pushed his glasses further up along the bridge of his nose. He stopped drinking beer and started drinking gin. The lady boy behind the bar asked why he was so sad on his holiday. He started to tell her the whole story about Ting. When he told her about paying 7,000 baht to spend the day with Ting the lady boy suddenly got interested. She nodded to the only other people in the bar - another two lady boys. They were sitting at a table, but having seen the nod, they came over to sit at the bar with Terry. The lady boy behind the bar told them in Thai that ‘the farang has got big money. He paid 7,000 baht to spend a day with a girl from a massage shop.’

  The lady boys listened to Terry. They listened and talked and flirted. Terry didn’t notice the lady boy with the large breasts take a glass capsule from her necklace. He didn’t see her unscrew the plastic top and pour the clear liquid into his gin and tonic. He couldn’t taste it and he didn’t know that his drink had been spiked with the hypnotic depressant drug, gamma-hydroxybutyric acid, or GHB Rohypnol - the drug that is referred to in the West as the date-rape drug. GHB is also known as: “G”, liquid ecstasy, fantasy, midnight blue and serenity.

  The drug would normally take effect from between 15 and 60 minutes. It causes drowsiness, forgetfulness, confusion, a slow heart rate and ultimately unconsciousness. The unconsciousness should normally last for 1 to 2 hours and full recovery takes about 8 hours. That is what should happen, but some people can suffer very bad reactions and even slip into coma.

  Terry started to feel drowsy after about 20 minutes. He became confused and didn’t have full control of his limbs. His muscles wouldn’t work properly. Terry was going to have a very bad reaction. The lady boys asked him if he was OK. They held him up and helped to walk him outside. They had already relieved him of his watch and his wallet. They asked him for his four digit PIN for his bank card. He told them although he couldn’t understand why they would want it! One of the lady boys walked him a safe distance away from the bar - confident that he wouldn’t remember anything. Terry was feeling nauseous and tired. His body was aching. He had managed to stagger to the Soi that led to Ting’s massage parlour and the main entrance to his hotel. Ting was sitting outside the massage shop with the other girls when she saw Terry stagger out into the Soi.

  “TELLY…..,” she screamed, as she saw the silver Toyota hit him and send him spinning in the air. The car screeched to a halt, before spinning its tyres in its efforts to get away. It didn’t stop and sped away along Beach Road. Terry lay bleeding on the road. Ting ran down the Soi towards Terry. Tears ran down her cheeks and her heart was banging in her chest. Tourists and locals stood shocked at the scene they had just witnessed, but only for a few moments before the locals carried on with their business and the tourists carried on with their holidays. Ting sat in the road and gathered Terry up in her arms. His blood soaked into her Thai silk dress and turned the orange pattern red.

  “Telly! Wake up please,” she sobbed.

  Chapter 13: One More Day in Paradise!

  It was one of the other girls from the massage shop who rang for the Ambulance Rescue. They were quickly on the scene along with a policeman who arrived on a motorbike. He did little more than supervise the scene and take Tings details. He checked Terry for ID, but there was nothing on him. The ambulance was reluctant to take him to the hospital because, if he had no money and no ID, he wouldn’t get treated and they wouldn’t get anything either. Ting told them that she would go with them and that she would pay the hospital. One of the massage girls fetched Ting’s handbag from the shop and the ambulance drove off along Beach Road and too
k Terry to the same hospital that Ting had taken him to the day before. Terry was wheeled in on a stretcher. He was unconscious, but alive. Ting ran alongside the stretcher holding Terry’s hand. She was still wearing the blood soaked traditional Thai silk dress. Her tears had left black mascara lines down her cheeks. She had to fill in a form and make a payment up front before Terry was examined by a doctor. He was then rushed into an operating theatre. Ting waited. She waited a long time. She didn’t know why she was so upset, but she was. She really liked Terry. He had been so nice to her and he hadn’t hesitated in offering her a different life. She just knew that he had a good heart and, when she saw him tossed into the air by the speeding car, she knew instantly that she didn’t want to lose him. She thought that maybe Buddha had already given her the answer to her question. Now she was just hoping and praying that Terry was going to live.

  The doctor who had initially examined Terry walked towards Ting. He smiled and she burst into tears. He was quick to reassure her. Terry had a broken arm and three cracked ribs. His glasses had smashed and they had to remove some glass from his left eye, but his sight had been saved. His face and body had suffered many lacerations but, apart from a deep cut on his left leg, there should be no permanent scaring. He was in a coma, but they were satisfied that this had been drug induced. They had taken blood samples for testing and Terry had been admitted into ICU (Intensive Care Unit). The doctor told her that they wanted to closely monitor his condition, but they were hopeful that the effects of the drugs would wear off in the next twelve hours and he should regain consciousness with no long term effects. There were no guarantees, but the prognosis seemed positive. The doctor also told Ting that she would need to talk to the hospital reception and provide further payment if she wanted them to continue treating Terry, which the doctor strongly advised they should. Ting thanked him and asked if she could see him. The doctor told her that, after she had made a further payment, he would get someone to take her to Terry. He also asked if she would be able to provide any more information as to his identity. Ting said that she would go to the Holiday Inn Hotel and get all the information that she could, if he would write a note for her confirming what had happened to Terry.