Mulling work options, old girlfriend calls

Maiyuu is again considering providing bakery to order, to supplement our income.

A small eatery has opened close to home. 'I will ask them if they would like to order bakery products from me. First, though, I have to decide what to make,’ he said.

Maiyuu could offer them home-made ice-cream, though a small investment would be needed first. We would have to buy him a bigger ice-cream maker.

Two friends have asked him to make cakes for an upcoming party. He will charge a token amount for his labour.

‘You could turn that into a bigger enterprise if you were to put up a notice in the condo offering home baking,’ I said.

‘Most of the tenants in this condo work during the day. I doubt they would be interested,’ he said.

Thais have an answer for everything, don’t they?

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‘He’s still a teenager...he can’t see beyond today or tomorrow,’ said idle taxi driver Lort.

We were sitting in a slum alleyway, talking about Mr Ball’s options for finding work. Ball was away buying food supplies with his Mum.

‘He has yet to consider what to do with his future,’ said Lort. He agreed that Ball needs to find a solid job.

Ball has worked in 7-11 convenience stores, but in a few years he will be too old for that any more, or for serving in shops or restaurants.

By the time he's 20 or 21, he will be too old to ask his mother to support him while he is out of work (she won't allow it, said Lort optimistically).

Ball, a proud young man with a temper, has left jobs after falling into arguments with his superiors.

That stems from his youth and will pass in time. However, he might still be happier in a job where he could be his own master.

Ball reckons he could end up as a taxi driver, but he does not know Bangkok well, and has a poor sense of direction.

Lort suggested he could become a motorcycle taxi driver.

'Can you see him mixing with that rough crowd? 'I asked.

Lort agreed that he couldn't. Ball would have trouble fitting in there as well.

Ball could marry a girl with better school-leaving qualifications than his own, and send her out to work while he looks after their kids at home. That might be his best option, as Ball does not seem to want to work.

In short, his future looks grim.

‘If you returned to learning, you could improve your options,' I told Ball recently.

‘I will never return to study. That’s finished,’ he declared.

Studying part-time to get his school leaving certificate would take three years, Lort told me. Ball left school at 15 without one.

'I can see I might have to be with Ball for many years yet,' I said.

'You should stick with him and give him the guidance and help he needs,' said Lort.

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'I have looked forward to the World Cup for so long. It's held every four years, and the last time it was on, I was just a kid,' said Ball.

Ball has been following the World Cup eagerly. Few of his friends turn up at his place to watch the matches with him, as they are too busy with work.

However, every few days he heads out to play football with youngsters who gather at a nearby vacant section.

I asked him why he sees his friends so seldom these days. ‘They invite me out, but I have no money, so I have to say no,’ he said.

‘I am out of work, so would have to ask my mother for help. I don't want to bother her, so I stay at home instead.'

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A girl from Ball’s past called.

Ball doesn't have a cellphone, so most contact goes through his mother.

Mum was happy to get the call.

‘Where are you now, look [child]?’ she asked the caller.

‘So you are still at Carrefour...and you graduated with a certificate in accounting!’ Mum said excitedly, as the young woman on the end of the line, called Nam, told her story.

Nam holds the honour of being Ball’s first girlfriend, a few years before.

Ball had mentioned her before, but I thought she was just a passing attraction.

Mum handed the phone to Ball. They spoke for 20min.

Mum watched with pride as her son caught up with his old girlfriend's news.

Nan had kept Mum’s contact numbers. When the battery on one of Mum's cellphone gave out, Nan called on the other, and Mum handed the device to Ball.

Mum likes Nan more than she does Ball's present girlfriend, Jay. 'Ball loved her...he doesn't love Jay,' she told me as the pair chatted away.

While Nan has done well, graduating with a leaving certificate in accounting, Ball is out of work, with no immediate prospects of bettering himself.

We were sitting on the floor, feeding and playing with the toddlers. When the call ended, I asked Ball if he would consider going back to Nan.

‘I can’t go back. I am now with Jay...and I love her, even though we argue,’ he said.

Ball has big, sad eyes. Sometimes it is hard to know if they reflect his feelings, as he looks sad anyway.

Half an hour earlier, Ball had taken Jay on his motorbike to apply for a job which she found on the internet.

Soon after the call with Nan ended, Ball went out to fetch Jay, so she wouldn’t have to walk home.

Was he feeling guilty? Who knows.

But Nan, who must occupy a special place in his heart as his first serious girlfriend, still has feelings for Ball, and him for her.