Getting to know you (3)

As my visits have become frequent, we have passed the initial heavy talking stage, and now focus on - what? - whatever soap opera is showing on the television.

At some point, we appear to have decided that we will just be friends, perhaps because I am half Pon's age. She also worries about what the neighbours and her nosy customers think.

'I will call tonight, or come see you tomorrow,' I tell her after my daily visits, before walking home.

'You don't have to come...if you are too busy, don't worry. I also have my responsibilities here at the shop,' she says.

Why does she seem so keen to get rid of me?

The other night, I was talking to Pon when Jay Pa joined us.

'I am a single woman, and people could get the wrong idea of they see you sitting alone in the shop with me,' said Pon.

'It is alright when friends are here, or Jay Pa, but when the two of us are alone, people will start gossiping, and thinking that you like me,' she said.

'But I do like you,' I replied.

Pon looked startled. I was playing with her.

'But there are many different types of like, right?' she said, smiling. She knows I can be naughty.

'That's right.'

Jay Pa has no partner of her own, and according to Pon, is not interested in finding one. She raises as her own child a young man aged about 20, who is actually the son of her elder sister.

I like Jay Pa. She speaks her mind, and is not afraid of anyone.

'Pon should not worry about what people think. If you are here with good motives, and you are, then let them think what they like,' she said.

'Are you listening to Jay Pa?' I asked Pon.

She smiled shyly.

'But Pon is younger and will think what she likes. Sometimes we can't get through to the young,' said Jay Pa philosophically.

Jay Pa decided it was time to leave, and strode out of the shop. I followed quickly, because I did not want to 'be seen' sitting with Pon alone.

'The neighbours gossip,' Pon told me one day, as we stood at the sunny entrance to her shop. I was about to walk home.

I don't know the neighbours, though I have noticed one likes the Grammy singer, Aof Pongsak.

As we stood there, the pleasant sound of Aof's voice wrapped itself around us from the neighbour's stereo.

'Aof is a nephew of the man who plays the CDs,' said my young friend.

'He's gay,' I said.

'What?' Pon looked shocked.

'True.'

She looked disappointed.

'Why are all the handsome ones gay?' she asked.

She told me about her experiences on Loy Krathong night last week.

'Jay Pa and I went to the canal to release a float. There were so many good looking guys there - pale, Chinese looks - but they were all there with their gay partners!' she said, exasperated.

Pon knows I live with a guy, but does not know that he, too, is gay. I do not talk about these things, because I worry what my friend will think, given her religious beliefs. Now do I want to be judged, especially as my lifestyle is gay in name only.

But when men and women are together, inevitably the question of romance will come up.

'Do you like her?' Jay Pa asked me one day. She was referring to Pon.

This was too direct for my liking. Yes, I visit Pon almost every day - but does this mean we are kindling a romance together?

'Yes...she is a great talker, with a head older than her years,' I said.

'I worry about her, being alone,' I added.

So, that's what I tell people, to explain our innocent friendship. An explanation shouldn't be necessary, but then as Pon says, people like to gossip. Not only do they see her sitting alone with a man - but that man is also a foreigner.

Anxiety about what the neighbours might think probably also explains why Pon is keen for me to get to know Tik, the one with the cupid lips.

now, see part 4