Dust off those dancing shoes

House-husband and former socialite Maiyuu..at 30, does this former energetic young man still have what it takes to dance?

Maiyuu went dancing at teen nightspot Or Tor Kor last night.

His friend Duck is back from Germany where he goes to visit his farang boyfriend.

Duck, who is Maiyuu's age, never grows up. He invited Maiyuu and a few other gay friends to go dancing.

Duck lives upstairs. Another gay friend, Joe, lives on another floor.

Joe is slightly older than Duck and Maiyuu, and also has his own boyfriend, a Thai. All are childhood friends from the seaside province of Chon Buri.

Fancy that - Maiyuu, Duck and Joe are all married. When I first met Joe and Duck eight years ago, they were still single and fancy free, and went out often.

Since he became a homebody, Maiyuu goes out only rarely. When I returned from work last night he was racing around, looking for clothes to wear.

'Duck has invited me to Or Tor Kor,' he said.

'How long has it been since you last went there?' I asked, surprised.

'Almost a year,' he said, laughing.

Up until a few years ago, Maiyuu and his friends went regularly - sometimes three or four times a week.

These days, middle-age is setting in. They are married, or too busy with work.

Duck's 'husband,' a gay German man, invites him to his home country every few months. After Duck returns, his German lover pays a visit to Thailand, and so on it goes.

Alone among the three friends, Duck does not work, but then he might argue that all that travelling about is a full-time, tiring job for a girl.

His German boyfriend has bought a home in Sataheep, Chon Buri. By next year, he will be here more often, so we will see even less of Duck in Bangkok.

The opportunities for Maiyuu to dance the night away with his friend will diminish still further.

Duck invited a third young gay friend, Rat. When I last met him months ago, he was still a student. I don't know what he does now, though I know he has a job.

As he ironed his clothes, I noticed Maiyuu was looking thicker around the hips.

'You look bigger - or maybe your underwear has shrunk,' I said helpfully.

Maiyuu can still look the part. I inspected his outfit before he walked out. He wore low-rising hipster jeans, a T-shirt, and waistcoat on top.

Years ago, Maiyuu took me to Or Tor Kor, and RCA, another Bangkok nightspot popular with teens. Young men threw themselves about with abandon. If this was dancing, I had never seen anything like it.

At RCA, nightspots are jammed next to each other, each pumping out their own dance hits. It was a maelstrom of heaving bodies, alcohol, and noise.

I danced a little - more than I should have, considering my age - but mainly just watched, and marvelled at the strangeness of the young.

After work last night, as befits my age, I went to bed.

I heard Maiyuu come home about 5am. When we rose this morning, I asked how it went.

'Were you the oldest there?'

'No - there were many older than me,' he said, looking annoyed.

'Did you dance?'

'Just a little,' he said.

I am sure Maiyuu just stood around, watching everybody else. Even with younger friends around, Maiyuu and Duck are now old enough to feel out of place in such settings, just as I did when they took me to those wild teen dance haunts all those years ago.

Do you feel yourself getting old, my love? When he is in a more receptive mood, I shall have to ask.