Meet the competition

Family friend Na performs a favour for Ball. So why should I feel put out?

Na, a fish monger, lives within walking distance of carer R's ya dong stand.

Sitting around the ya dong table the other night, he volunteered to pick up Ball’s girlfriend from the supermarket.

Normally, Ball’s brother would go, but the motorcycle was unavailable, and the girl was stuck there alone. Ball thanked him for the favour.

‘I am so grateful,’ said Ball.

‘Never mind. You are close to me. We pitch in to help each other,’ said Na.

Na may have been sincere, but it occurred to me as I sat admiring Ball’s boyish features in the dim light of carer R’s shop, that adults such as Na and myself are too easily taken by the beauty of the young.

Ball, 19, must know that adults admire him. When I was his age, I knew I was liked.

Some adults will perform special favours for the young simply because of the way they look. Is Na one of them?

I have seen Ball and Na in huddles over their ya dong, talking earnestly about Ball’s family and girlfriend problems. The stories are probably similar to the ones Ball tells me.

Sometimes, Na catches me looking at them both as they are chatting together in their huddle.

‘Careful, the farang will get jealous!’ Na jokes, deferring to the emotional claim I am attempting to stake over the young man.

Ball turns to smile at me, and puts a reassuring hand on my knee.
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Carer R has asked us to join him on a trip to the North in April.

He plans to hire a car and has invited me, Ball, and regular customer Na to his home in the provinces, so we can watch a traditional lantern festival.

I haven’t told them yet, but I won’t be able to make it, as my life in Bangkok takes priority. The trip to the North would take a week, which is too long.

My job and boyfriend are important, even if they mean little to Ball, who rarely asks about them. Carer R asks more often, because he is an adult, and more interested in other people’s lives.

I might have to start seeing less of the ya dong crowd altogether, as boyfriend Maiyuu complains that I have been spending so much time over there that I am starting to neglect him.

The other day, I returned home at 2am.

Maiyuu had waited up for hours to cook me an evening meal, after I came home later than expected. Needless to say, I was not popular.

‘I will stop going during the week, and only visit there on my days off,’ I told him.

Carer R’s ya dong stand will now be a weekend pursuit only, perhaps where it should have been all along.