Ball's new duds, carer R's new worries

I succumbed to temptation, and bought young Mr Ball some more clothes.

I was at the Carrefour megastore the other day with my friend, farang C. He helped me look for T-shirts and shorts for Mr Ball, whom he has met previously at carer R’s ya dong stand.

I bought him half a dozen T-shirts, and one pair of soft cotton shorts. I didn’t like the shorts much, so next time I shall buy better ones.

The main objective was to buy T-shirts, and I bought them in different styles, and colours: pink, white with a blue diamond top at the neck, orange...

Mr Ball was a little peeved at first that I had bought them, as he is feeling increasingly obliged to me as I give him more things. When I handed over his clothes, he said: ‘There’s no way I can repay the generosity of such a gift.’

He gave me a deep wai.

The clothes cost just B300, but Ball’s family does not have that much cash lying around, at least for the purpose of buying clothes for a single member of the household.

Ball has three brothers and sisters, but the household itself has many more mouths to feed: his elder sister’s boyfriend, their child, Ball’s girlfriend, his mother’s adopted infant daughter...

The first day after I presented him with the clothes, he wore pink. The second day, he wore the white shirt with the blue diamond at the neck.

'Do I look handsome?' he asked proudly.

'You look great,'I said.

They are also a hit with his mother. ‘Mum loves the clothes, especially the colours,’ he said.

‘Next time, please let me buy you some new colours,’ I said. ‘We want the full range.’

I dropped in to see my young friend yesterday. It was 4pm, but he had not yet showered for the day. I watched him prepare two bottles of baby milk for the two youngsters of the family. Then he put on a sarong and headed into the shower, where he was to spend almost an hour.

‘Ball can spend two hours a day showering,’ said his mother.

After the shower, he headed up the narrow staircase to his bedroom, where he spent another 30min, ironing clothes and dressing.

By the time he came downstairs, I had almost run out of time and had to go home. We walked to carer R’s stand and sat for 15mins.

Ball took his baby sister, Fresh. I noticed that as we left Ball’s place, he took large paces ahead of me, as if he didn’t want neighbours to see me in his company.

‘Are you afraid to be seen with me?’ I asked when we arrived at carer R’s stand.

‘No – I just wanted to get away from home,’ he said.

-
Carer R was stressed, and puffing one cigarette after another.

‘What would you do if a friend suddenly let you down...if he said he’d do something but then failed to keep his word?’ he asked me.

We were sitting at his ya dong stand last night. I dropped in briefly after work.

Mr Ball, who had indulged in too much ya dong, was floppy and giggly. He asked suspiciously if carer R was referring to him.

‘It has nothing to do with you, Mr Ball,’ said R patiently.

‘I’d ask him why he broke his word,’ I said simply.

This cheered carer R, who was thinking of doing just that.

Out of earshot of Mr Ball, he asked me if he could borrow B500, so he could buy raw ingredients for his ya dong.

He was short of the amount he needed to buy an order.

I gather this was connected to his complaint about friends backing down on their word. One of R’s suppliers, previously willing to extend him credit, has now changed his mind, though the reason has nothing to do with R’s credit-worthiness.

A rival ya dong stand is nearby. It is run by an extended member of R’s family. She may have persuaded the supplier to withhold credit.

I agreed to lend him the money. Carer R took me to the local 7-11 by motorbike, so I could withdraw the money from an ATM.

He will repay me today, once he has bought his supplies.

Without them, he cannot carry on his business, as he needs them to make his daily brew.