Miss Bangkok: Memoirs of a Thai Prostitute Read Online Free Page B

oblivious to the events that had just taken place. As it transpired, I need not have worried because he didn’t come home after the incident.
    I fell asleep at some stage, only to be woken by the sound of someone howling.
    It was mae . I crept downstairs and saw her standing in the middle of the room, screaming and waving a broom. Her outbursts of anger were nothing new to me. What was new was the other woman standing beside my father, holding a suitcase.
    I recognised her. She worked as a ‘singer’ in a nightclub which my father frequented.
    You farang s might not understand what these ‘singers’ do. In my culture, such labels are given to conceal the true nature of such a woman’s work. These women entertain men by offering them a mixture of song, sexual favours, and conversation. They engage in long-term relationships with men and like to be showered with presents and money in return for their attentions.
    I was immediately struck by her presence, not simply because she was there, but because she was unmoved by my mother’s distress and rage. She ignored her threats and, instead, calmly surveyed our house.
    My father stood firm beside her. His eyes were void of any emotion. Mae had gone too far this time. In truth, I knew this moment signalled the end of my family as I knew it. I had been through some hard times because of mae , but I didn’t like her replacement at all.
    I had seen this woman before in a photograph my father had taken. I had disliked her immediately, though I recognised what my father saw in her. In Thailand, we say that an old ox likes fresh grass. This woman was alluring and younger than mae , who had unfortunately not weathered life too well.
    Although my father wasn’t a rich man, this woman knew she was approaching an age when she would no longer be able to work—time waits for no woman.
    So she fell in love with por . I suspect that he loved her in return and had confided in her, making him more vulnerable to seduction.
    Such relationships are normal in Thailand. It is called surviving, and the fact that por had a wife and three children was not relevant. I think she thought we could all live together. You might consider this an outrageous proposition, but polygamy is not a strange concept in Thailand. Although it is illegal, it is still very common and accepted. Wealthy men often maintain more than one mia , and each one is categorised. The official wife, the mia luang , usually comes from another family of equal standing. She would be permitted to accompany the man to social events.
    The second wife is called a mia noi and is chosen by the man. In past times, the third wife was usually a slave whose parents sold her to the groom. She would do the chores, but she could also be called upon to produce children. In my culture, the number of wives a man possesses is a reflection of his wealth and virility.
    As I sat there watching my parents’ marriage fall apart, I couldn’t help but wonder if mae would accept this woman into our home.
    My only experience of such situations was gained from watching soap operas where the first wife was usually depicted as evil, though occasionally she could be tolerant.
    Mae was neither tolerant nor generous, which became ever clearer during this confrontation.
    There was no reasoning with her. She screamed, shouted, and issued insult after insult. She raised the broom and repeatedly attempted to hit por and his mistress on the head, then tried to sweep them out the door.
    While my mother screamed obscenities and issued undignified threats, por ’s lover continued to ignore her as if it was beneath her dignity to react in any way.
    She never even squinted her eyes. If I had been an objective witness, I might have admired the dignified stance she adopted in the face of mae ’s rage.
    Por also remained calm and showed no visible reaction. In fact, neither he nor his lover spoke; they just waited for my mother to tire herself out.
    I now believe por had