Bar Girl

by David Thompson

  For all of them now, it was all about the money. That was all that mattered. They took care of the girls that worked well. Got rid of the ones that didn’t. They had a shared goal, a goal that they all wanted to achieve. They were quite ruthless about it.

  When Mike and Rican had married, Siswan and Apple had been there as bridesmaids. In the end, they didn’t get to wear the dresses they had each dreamt about. Even Rican had married wearing an outfit she had hired.

  Mike was the only one who was allowed to spend anything on himself and he had complained.

  ‘I don’t need a new suit,’ he stated, as the girls all fussed around him.

  ‘Oh yes you do, Mike.’ Rican laughed.

  ‘Yes, Mike. You do,’ Siswan and Apple agreed.

  Mike’s idea of a decent suit was the old one he still owned from the days he had first arrived. It had long since given several meals to the moths that had frequented his old room above the bar.

  ‘Well, why can’t I hire one?’ he questioned.

  ‘There isn’t a hire shop for men,’ Siswan pointed out.

  ‘Yes, and they certainly wouldn’t have one big enough for you if there was,’ Rican said.

  ‘That’s your fault,’ he said and laughed with her. ‘I keep telling you I don’t need feeding anymore.’

  In the end the wedding had been a huge success. The reception was held in Mike’s Bar. It would have been sacrilege to hold it anywhere else. Lots of customers turned up as well as all the staff and several other bar owners that had befriended them over the years.

  Mike had beamed at everyone. He was the proud owner of four bars, a new bride and had the two best looking bridesmaids anyone had ever seen before. He paraded them as though they were his daughters, and neither of them minded in the least.

  Although Siswan and Apple had insisted, Mike and Rican refused to go away on a honeymoon.

  ‘We’re in paradise. What’s the point of going away,’ he told them, with a laugh.

  ‘Well, you have to take some time off,’ Siswan told them.

  ‘Yes, you can’t be expected to work all night and still have enough energy left,’ Apple said.

  The other three had looked at her in silence for a moment. Then they had all four burst out laughing.

  ‘Well, you know what I mean,’ Apple told them.

  ‘I’ve got enough energy, young lady. Don’t you worry,’ Mike told her, and wrapped his arm around Rican who blushed.

  Two weeks after the wedding, Mike arranged a meeting between the four of them. He and Rican had some news they wanted to tell them about.

  ‘You’re not pregnant already are you?’ Siswan asked, in pretend shock.

  ‘No,’ Rican smiled. ‘Not yet anyway.’

  ‘Not ever,’ Mike butted in. ‘I’m too old for any more children.’

  ‘You never told me you had children,’ Rican turned to him.

  ‘I meant these two.’ Mike nodded towards Siswan and Apple.

  ‘Oh. That’s all right then.’ His wife smiled.

  ‘And that’s what we want to talk about,’ Mike told the two girls. ‘Rican and I have been thinking.’

  ‘What about?’ Apple asked.

  ‘About a will. My will,’ he replied.

  ‘What for?’ Siswan cut across. ‘You aren’t about to die.’

  ‘Calm down, Siswan.’ Mike laughed. ‘I have no intention of dying just yet, but we have to sort things out. I’m older than you. A lot older. I’ll probably go first. We need to make sure everything is sorted properly.’

  ‘What do you have in mind?’ Apple asked.

  ‘Well, as long as Rican is taken care of, I’m going to leave everything to you two,’ he told them.

  ‘Why not to Rican? I don’t understand,’ Siswan said.

  ‘I don’t know about business, Siswan,’ Rican told her. ‘How would I know?’

  ‘Look, we’ve already talked about this,’ Mike said, taking his wife’s hand.

  ‘Rican trusts you two as much as I do. If anything happens to me, we have to make sure the plan still goes ahead.’

  ‘But Rican, you can still do it with us,’ Apple said.

  ‘No, Apple. If anything should happen to Mike, I wouldn’t know what to do,’ Rican told her. ‘I’m a cook. That’s what I know.’

  ‘Well, it doesn’t matter anyway. You aren’t going to die for a long time. I don’t know why we’re talking about it,’ Siswan said.

  ‘It will make me happy that everything is sorted, that’s all.’ Mike smiled.

  ‘Okay. If it will make you happy and stop you talking about dying,’ Apple agreed with Siswan.

  That had been three years ago and Mike hadn’t died in the meantime. On the contrary, his marriage to Rican was having the reverse effect. He seemed younger than when Siswan had first walked into his bar.

  Siswan had been keeping her eyes and ears open over the previous few months. She had been reading the papers avidly. Searching all the local adverts posted on the internet. Finally, she found what she had been looking for. She couldn’t wait to show the others.

  ‘Look,’ she said, as they all gathered round. ‘What do you think?’

  She unfolded the newspaper in front of them and they all craned forward to read the advertisement she pointed out.

  ‘It’s got thirty rooms and it’s far enough outside of the town. What do you think?’ She looked at each of them in turn.

  ‘It looks good, Siswan,’ Mike said. ‘Just what we need. Have we got enough money?’

  ‘We’ve got enough to buy it,’ she told them. ‘But that’s all. We’d need to keep the bars going to run it.’

  ‘How much are we making a month now?’ Rican asked.

  ‘Just over three million a month,’ Siswan told her. ‘It’s enough to keep the place running. We’ll have to get it registered and rely on donations pretty quickly.’

  ‘Well, that’s that then,’ It was Rican who spoke. ‘We’ll go and look at it tomorrow.’

  Mike turned to his wife. If there had been any hesitation on his part it would have been because of her. Because he was worried about the hard work he was getting her involved in as well as the risk of losing everything. He leaned towards her, kissed her on the cheek.

  ‘Tomorrow morning, Siswan? About eleven? I’ll make the call,’ he said and smiled.

  Siswan could have kissed him right then and there.

  ‘Apple?’ She turned to her friend.

  ‘Oh, yes! Let’s get started,’ Apple said.

  Mike made the call early the following morning and set up an appointment with the agent. Rican said she didn’t need to go. She had groceries to organise and she wanted to go over some new recipe ideas with the other three cooks. She told Mike that whatever he decided was fine by her.

  Siswan met Apple and Mike outside her apartment block. She was really excited. This was the start. The start of the promise she had made to Sood and Karn. The last of the big waves.

  They took a taxi to the hotel. It was situated a little out of town in a secluded road that looked down across the hills to the sea beyond. There was a small swimming pool, thirty bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms and, on the ground floor, living quarters for the staff. The staff rooms weren’t big but there were three separate bedrooms. Enough for the four of them.

  ‘If we all moved here, we’d save even more money,’ Apple suggested.

  ‘You and I can, Apple,’ Siswan said. ‘Mike, I want you and Rican to keep your apartment.’

  ‘Don’t be daft,’ he told her. ‘Rican won’t mind.’

  Siswan smiled at him. He was so much the gentleman. He never worried about himself. She knew he loved the apartment she had found for him.

  ‘It’s not that, Mike,’ she said. �
�I just don’t think it’s right to have our Papa living with us. Do you Apple?’

  ‘No way!’ Apple grinned. ‘We’d have to in by ten every night!’

  All three of them laughed. To get home by ten would be a real luxury.

  ‘What about you, Apple?’ Mike asked her. ‘With, er, men I mean?’

  ‘Oh Mike. Haven’t you noticed?’ she scolded him. ‘I haven’t been with a man for over a year. I think I’ve had enough of them.’

  ‘Right. Well, if you must know, I had noticed. I just needed confirmation, that was all,’ he said, huffily.

  ‘Oh, sure,’ Siswan giggled. ‘Come on then, let’s make a decision. Do we want it or not?’

  ‘Yes,’ Mike said.

  ‘Yes!’ agreed Apple.

  ‘Okay. When we see the agent, tell him we’ll think about it. Tell him we’ll ring him in a few days with an offer,’ Siswan told Mike.

  Two weeks later they bought the hotel. Siswan had negotiated through Mike to get the price down by almost ten per cent. Three months later, her and Apple moved into the staff quarters.

  Almost as soon as she had put her clothes away Apple ran into Siswan’s room.

  ‘Can I call her?’ she asked.

  Siswan knew what she was talking about. They had discussed it many times before. Both of them had been keeping in touch with Lon via the telephone and mail. She had managed to find some work in one of the factories near her village. She was paid a pittance and what she did earn she had to give to her father. Life hadn’t been too good for her since she’d had to leave the bars. Her spirits remained high but both Siswan and Apple knew she was lonely and miserable.

  ‘Yes. Get her here,’ Siswan answered. ‘She’ll love it!’

  When Lon arrived, she was the first bar girl to be offered a place in the home. After their first advertising campaign, using the local media and the internet, twelve girls turned up. Two had young children, three others were addicted to drugs to such an extent they could no longer work. One had been attacked by her employer and was cut extensively around the mouth and nose. All of them needed help. All of them were suffering. None were turned away.

  When Mike informed Siswan that the authorities needed a name to register as a charity she gave him the one name that she had always dreamed about using.

  ‘Baan Sood, Mike,’ she told him. ‘It means Sood’s Home.’

  A month later they were given their registration. Sood’s Home became a refuge for bar girls who, for whatever reason, had had enough. Those that couldn’t work anymore. Those that found themselves in trouble.

  Rican left Mike’s Bar, found another cook to replace her, and worked full time at the home. She worked tirelessly tending to the girls needs. Siswan campaigned constantly, using the press, the internet, and anything she could think of to get the necessary publicity. Mike discussed the home with all the other bar owners, farang and local. He managed to convince them that the home was worth investing in, that they owed the girls who needed help, a chance to recover. A chance to start again.

  The four bars supported the home. They made enough money to ensure it kept open whilst other funds were being sought.

  Eventually the funds did start coming in. Money was donated, sometimes anonymously, sometimes amid a great fanfare of publicity. More and more money started reaching the home.

  The rooms began to fill. Twelve girls became twenty, twenty became forty. They were given medical care and counselling. Education programs were made available to them. They were given food, clothing, a good bed and as much time as they needed to heal. That was the most important aspect of the home. The girls were allowed time. Time to recover. Time to step away from their lives. Time to think.

  Before long the home had a steady stream of visitors. Teachers, who kindly offered a few hours of their week. Nurses and doctors who all gave their help free of charge. Sheets and blankets were donated. Soap, toothpaste, food. Everything the girls needed was made available.

  Siswan was amazed at how many people were willing to help. How many people were willing to offer their support, both their time and their money. She was amazed at how many farangs wanted to help. Both those that lived locally and from overseas. It seemed that she had tapped into something she hadn’t expected. Something she didn’t even know existed. It was Mike who explained it to her.

  ‘You’ve pricked a conscience, Siswan. A huge conscience. Farangs have been coming here for years, decades even. They’ve all indulged. They’ve all been a part of a bar girl’s life at some time or another. Now they see a way of repaying. You’ve offered them a way to make retribution. A way to ease their guilt,’ he told her.

  ‘I didn’t set out to do that, Mike,’ she told him. ‘I just wanted to help.’

  ‘You are. You’re helping the girls and you’re helping the men who use them. Both sides win,’ he said.

  Siswan received countless letters and emails from farangs who wanted to help. One letter summed up what Mike had told her. She had a copy printed and framed. She hung it in the foyer for all to see and read.

  To Sood’s Home.

  I served in the Army and was stationed in Asia for four years. I met a girl who worked in a bar when I was on a two week pass. She was a beautiful girl and her name was Lin. I was a young man then, and foolish. I spent the whole of my two weeks with Lin and she took care of me well. I gave her some money. It wasn’t a lot. Not compared to the money I earned at the time. I never saw her again.

  I finished with the Army and returned home. I married a lovely lady and had three children who are all grown up and living their own lives.

  I’m an old man now, and just as foolish. My wife died two years ago from cancer. I’ll be following her soon. I heard about your work from a magazine article and looked for more information on the internet.

  You see, after all these years, I still remember Lin. I remember her smile and her laughter. I remember her long dark hair and how soft it felt. I remember how she took care of me. The little things she did. Things she didn’t need to do.

  I loved my wife, and I believe I was a good husband and father, but I never did forget my little Asian bar girl.

  I hope the enclosed helps you to take care of girls like my Lin.

  Even the bar girls, themselves, helped. They started making small donations. They saw it as a good investment. If they were ever in trouble, they’d have somewhere to go, somebody to take care of them.

  As those girls in the home became stronger, as they became well and fit, they were helped to find work. Many of them ended up working in one of the four bars owned by Mike. They were never expected to go with farangs. Were never expected to meet any bar fine allocations. They could earn enough to survive without taking any risks.

  On a few occasions, the families of girls who had taken refuge, turned up to demand the return of their daughter. She hadn’t sent home any money. Her baby was starving. The bills needed to be paid. Siswan would arrange for the girl’s baby to be brought to the home. She would only concern herself with the welfare of the girl and her child. The rest of the family were told, in no uncertain terms, to find a job. Earn their own money.

  If they became violent, the police were called. They always came. The home was too high profile to be ignored and anyway, Siswan was still a very good customer.

  Eventually Siswan and Mike opened more homes in other towns. More centres to help bar girls in need. The donations poured in. Very often, the girls who had received help, were the ones that were employed in the centres.

  When Mike died in his sleep, seven years after the formation of Baan Sood, there were twelve homes up and running. He and Siswan owned a total of sixteen bars that earned enough money to support the project. In his will he left all that he owned to Siswan and Apple with the proviso that they take care of Rican.

  He had been
like a father to Siswan. More than that. He had been a friend to her. She cried at his funeral. Not tears of sadness. Tears of joy that she should have met such a kind and selfless man.

  Afterwards, after the guests had left, Siswan walked down to the beach alone. She sat on the sand where her and Karn had sat so many times before. She sat and said a silent farewell to the only man that she had truly loved.

  She watched the waves. They kept rolling in. Kept rushing towards her. She knew now that they would never stop. She smiled as she watched their progress.

  Her life had changed on the day of her twelfth birthday. She hadn’t chosen that change. Hadn’t asked for it. Where would she be now if her life had taken a different course? If Bak hadn’t touched her? If her father hadn’t beaten her mother? If her mother had been stronger? Would she be married now? With a child of her own? Would her husband beat her as her father had beaten her mother?

  She didn’t know. She had walked away from her village as a young girl determined to take control of her own life. There was still so much to do. So many girls who needed help. Her and Apple were already looking at buying two homes upcountry. Homes that may prevent the girls from ever getting here.

  She looked at the waves and allowed herself a small smile. All in all, she hadn’t done too badly. Not too badly at all…for a bar girl.

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