Bottom dweller

Half a dozen ruffians were whooping it up large outside Ball’s place.

They gathered at what passes for a karaoke bar in a narrow slum alleyway opposite his family home.

Thais rarely know when anyone is approaching from behind (even the gay ones).

I put my hand on the shoulder of one beefy guy blocking the alleyway, to let him know I wanted to get past.

He turned and smiled. This guy has seen me before, but rarely bothers to talk.

He rubbed my shoulders as I passed, and as a bonus gesture, stroked my bottom.

You...you have a nice bottom!’ he said, in a mix of English and Thai. He said it in an affected, feminine way, just to rub in the message.

‘Thanks!’ I said.

I am now in their good books, because I bothered to respond to their silly banter.

-
I dropped in to see Ball and family, after three days away.

Almost everyone was there. It was a happy family occasion. Even the kids were well behaved.

Mum had stuck tinsel and fairy lights to the ceiling, as she prepares to celebrate her birthday.

‘Mum’s party starts on Dec 31, but will carry on for days,’ said Ball, who looked happy to see me, if a little reserved.

When I stay away, Ball wonders if he has done something wrong to upset me.

Once, he was so scared of me at such moments, he didn’t dare approach.

He would stick to his mother on the opposite side of the room, so nervous was he about the prospect that I would criticise him.

Ball is now used to my strange shifts in mood.

He knows I go through phases when I stay away, though he doesn’t always understand why.

I did not say much. I had spent the day wondering what to do about our relationship.

Boyfriend Maiyuu wants me to show him true love.

I spent most of the day with him, but by mid-evening wanted to get away.

We are getting along well enough - our home is now full of chatter, where once it was virtually silent - but there’s no spark.

Ball smiled and looked in my eyes, to gauge how I was feeling. He asked me a couple of polite questions, but did not press matters.

His mother filled me in on his news, as she knows I like to keep up with what he is doing.

'He is drinking two bottles of beer a day. Tonight he went out to play football with friends,' she said.

‘You have been falling down on your duties as a dad...we haven’t seen you for days!’ she said, while serving me a dish of her home-made green curry.

Mum was in an ebullient mood.

Meanwhile, I felt wretched, and fought back tears.