Corona virus heartache

 

CORONA VIRUS HEARTACHE

 

“I want to come to the airport.”

I peered across the table at the beautiful Thai woman sitting before me, a bubbling, smiling tiny girl who I had met under strange circumstances. Tomorrow, I was going home, back to Tasmania.

“We can say goodbye here,” I said softly as I peered into her sparkling brown eyes.

“I am coming to the airport.”

 

The corona virus has created a vast plethora of stories, of heartache and separation. My story is just one of millions. It wasn’t that long ago to keep in contact around the world you had to write a letter and await the lengthy reply. I can recall being in New Zealand in my youth and to talk to my girlfriend I had to book time in a phone box. And the letters from my girlfriend were read over and over again, each time you saw something more, read between the lines of her love, of the fact that she was missing you.

Now, many years later, I am doing it again, only now I can do it in real time. Not only can I talk to someone thousands of miles away, I can do it with video. An amazing leap in technology, which is maybe taken for granted by the younger generation. The reality of this is that it doesn’t make it any easier, the heartache from be separated from your partner is just the same.

Let me go back to September of 2019. I was back in Thailand for several reasons, to promote my new book, a story of my journey through Thailand, and to enjoy the beautiful weather, the culture and to catch up with some friends. This trip would see me visit several destinations, Bangkok, Pattaya, Patong Beach and Kamala Beach.

Sadly, the Thai girl who had inspired me to write the memoir of my journey in Thailand was no more. We had separated and to this day I still have fond memories of our time together. It was with her in mind that I came to back to Thailand intent on not getting involved with another woman, but fate had other plans for me.

It was balmy thirty-two degrees as I made my way past the food carts in Patong Beach. I was wearing off-white shorts and black tee shirt and sandals. Walking between the carts and along the shop fronts, I saw three Thai girls sitting at a table. Two of them were in a uniform of sorts from the shop and obviously worked there. The third girl looked across at me and waved. I waved back, and then she was beckoning me over. She was tiny and looked rather delicate as she stood up. Her long dark hair was tied in a pigtail and rested over her small breasts. She wore a brief black top that revealed her stomach with a gold ring in her belly button. A pair of tight-fitting denim shorts encased her hips and her legs were slender and shapely. She was an older girl but extremely attractive.

She asked me where I was going and I told her to meet some friends at Mama’s bar and then we were going out to dinner at the Thai barbeque near the fire station. She introduced herself, her name was Jasmine. I told her my name.

I arranged to meet Jasmine later at nine as we would have finished at the Thai barbeque by then. She made me exchange phone numbers, she was obviously in need of a man, in need of some quick cash, or maybe she saw something in me that she liked, one can never be sure.

 On returning to the table outside the shop, Jasmine was waiting. Her black hair had been set free and she wore a long black dress with a split up the side to her thigh. She looked stunning. She had with her an overnight bag, so there was never any question that she was not going to stay the night with me. She hooked her arm in mine and we walked off to my hotel. As I was late meeting her, she expressed a thought that I might not have turned up. I shrugged my shoulders, yes, sometimes that happened. Her hand clung to me tightly, and later, after we had made love, she curled up in my arms like a contented kitten.

We spent a couple of days together before I left for Pattaya where I caught up with some friends. While here I took the bus up to Bangkok, conducted my business and returned to Pattaya. A few days later, with my two friends, I boarded the plane back to Phuket. Jasmine was waiting for me at the hotel. I didn’t want another Thai girlfriend, didn’t want go through any more anguish of breaking up. How could I get out of this relationship?

My two friends were in Kamala Beach and I had arranged to meet them at the Aussie Pub, owned by a fellow Tasmanian, to watch some football. Jasmine wanted to come with me. I really wanted a day on my own, but I relented when she said she was happy to sit with me and watch the football, something most Thai girls will not do.

 Surprisingly, it was a wonderful day. I managed to catch up with a lot of friends and watched the football while Jasmine stayed at my side. It was inevitable that the issue of money would rear its head, and it did on the way back to Patong on the bus. It is the custom that if you want to have a Thai girl stay with you for any length of time you will have to negotiate a fee. It is the way it’s done. She quoted me a price, I responded that it was never going to happen at that price. We were at an impasse.

The next day when Jasmine left to see some friends, I packed her bags and took them down to reception. I then sent a text message for her to come and pick up her clothes. This was more about me not wanting to get involved, it wasn’t that I didn’t like her, it was just an emotional state I was going through.

She sent me a text, she wanted to talk. I waited in the foyer. When she arrived, I drew in my breath for a couple reasons. One was her stunning beauty, she knew how to dress, how to accentuate her beauty. She wore white sandals on delicate feet, tiny black shorts on small hips, a white frilly top, a thin jacket with a brown camouflage design. Her hair was platted and she wore sunglasses. The other reason was the fact that I wasn’t sure what I was going to say to her.

She asked to go to my room. I agreed. We talked, and I was surprised at how calm she was. There was no anger in her, which surprised me. I think this was what was drawing me to her. She had such a positive attitude, charisma and figure that would make any man melt. We agreed on a new price for her to stay with me. So, it was back down the stairs to retrieve her clothes, and then, like any couple who has had a spat, we made up in the shower, in the bed.

There were a few more incidents of a positive nature that began to draw me even deeper into this relationship. We were walking past a row of taxis on the beach road in Patong, Jasmine was leading the way, and one of the driver’s eyes followed her shapely form. He shifted his eyes to me, smiled, and said: “Lucky man.” I really had to agree with him.

Later, I was talking to my friend from Kamala Beach who told me the day we were there watching the footy, and when we both left the bar and walked across the road, half the guys in the bar were watching us leave. And they weren’t watching me.

Every morning, around ten or eleven, we would venture out to our favourite restaurant for breakfast. She would always hold my hand as we strolled past the countless massage parlours. For some reason the massage girl’s eyes always followed us and Jasmine noticed this. “Everybody look at us darling,” she said as her hand tightened in mine.

“Maybe we look good together,” I replied, knowing full well the bond between us was growing and maybe other people sensed this, saw us as the perfect couple.

 One afternoon we went to a small bar to just sit and watch some football. While we were there a couple walked in. I couldn’t believe my eyes. I knew them. They were from Tasmania. They joined us, and what followed was a wonderful afternoon. My friend’s wife and Jasmine hit it off and when we went back to my hotel for a few more beers, Jasmine and my mate’s wife were walking arm in arm, laughing and joking down the busy street.

My mate said to me. “You have a wonderful girl there.”

“Yes,” I replied, shaking my head and smiling to myself.

Jasmine was the sort of girl who, when walking into a room or bar would turn heads. I had seen this already, where ever we went, people would look up from their meals or their drinks. Also, she had the most positive outlook on life that I had seen in a person for a long long time. Jasmine was too good to be true, so I told myself. On the day I left she held my hand in the taxi all the way to the airport. She stayed with me until the very last second, walking with me to immigration where she took untold photos. I waved to her and walked through the door. I was leaving the land-of-smiles. What did the future hold for us, would we ever see each other again?