Kunn’s or Da’s. She tape-recorded some messages too. But no videos. Kunn wanted to film your mother but she wouldn’t let him.’
If Grandma had seen these she would have wept buckets. The day before, she’d been folding away some of Mother’s rugs and coverlets and that had distressed her greatly. Grandpa had said you didn’t need to go and see sad movies anymore, you could stay home and watch Grandma instead.
Kati continued on to Mother’s university years. When she finished her BA, Mother had sat for the Thai Bar exam before going overseas. Mother had gone on to get two more degrees from two universities in England. Kati felt she was getting close to finding out what she needed to know.
She did not notice exactly when Uncle Dong got up off the floor, but now he picked up Kati and carried her over to the rocking chair by the window.
‘There’s something I want to tell you, so let’s leave the drawers for a while, shall we?’
The Suitcase
You were my one true love.
‘That year I went to the flower show in Holland as I do every year. Your mother rang me – she was really keen for me to have a stopover in London. At that stage your mother had started work as an articled clerk. She was renting an apartment with a European friend who was a flight attendant and was always away. Your mother said I could come and stay with her. She promised to take me to see all the sights, but there was something about the sparkle in her voice that made me think she wanted me to see more than just sights.
‘And it was so. Your mother came to pick me up at the airport. She was laughing and happy all through the journey on the underground train. My backside hadn’t touched down on the sofa before she was telling me that she had something she wanted me to see, a picture of this male friend she was spending time with. I thought to myself, this must be serious, because your mother had never been particularly interested in anyone. She was fond of saying that men didn’t go for girls like her. She maintained that men didn’t like girls who were sure of themselves and knew what they wanted in life.’
Kati must have looked puzzled at this, because Uncle Dong laughed and said that if Mother was right, Kati should keep that uncertain look permanently, so that when she grew up she wouldn’t be lonely.
‘At first I thought he must be a Thai but your mother said no, he was from one of our neighbouring countries but had grown up in England. Actually he was even more handsome than he appeared in the photographs. Ti, if you want to have a look, go and fetch me the album from the third drawer down.’
This drawer was labelled with the year along with an English name that Kati guessed was the law firm where Mother had been doing her articles that year.
Mother was smiling beside a tall dark-eyed dark haired man. Kati felt a bit odd looking at the photo of this strange man. She knew right away who he was – his eyes were exactly like hers. She turned her gaze to Mother’s clothes. She heard Uncle Dong say they had gone to a performance of Carmen at Hampton Court. It had been very grand. The whole palace was decorated with white lilies. It was a charity performance which meant you could take pleasure from helping a good cause and enjoy yourself at the same time. Mother wore a black dress which was fashionably off the shoulder. Her hair was gathered up to show off her elegant neck and the tiny diamonds in her ears shone no more brilliantly than her eyes.
Anthony Summer was a webmaster. He’d known Mother from when she started working in internet law. Uncle Dong said he could never forget how happy Mother had been, so he wasn’t at all surprised when they announced their engagement. In fact, Uncle Dong thought they might have run off and got married even earlier had it not been for the fact that her work took Mother to Hong Kong at that stage.
‘I believe that there is a special time for everything in our life, Kati. Your mother
If Grandma had seen these she would have wept buckets. The day before, she’d been folding away some of Mother’s rugs and coverlets and that had distressed her greatly. Grandpa had said you didn’t need to go and see sad movies anymore, you could stay home and watch Grandma instead.
Kati continued on to Mother’s university years. When she finished her BA, Mother had sat for the Thai Bar exam before going overseas. Mother had gone on to get two more degrees from two universities in England. Kati felt she was getting close to finding out what she needed to know.
She did not notice exactly when Uncle Dong got up off the floor, but now he picked up Kati and carried her over to the rocking chair by the window.
‘There’s something I want to tell you, so let’s leave the drawers for a while, shall we?’
The Suitcase
You were my one true love.
‘That year I went to the flower show in Holland as I do every year. Your mother rang me – she was really keen for me to have a stopover in London. At that stage your mother had started work as an articled clerk. She was renting an apartment with a European friend who was a flight attendant and was always away. Your mother said I could come and stay with her. She promised to take me to see all the sights, but there was something about the sparkle in her voice that made me think she wanted me to see more than just sights.
‘And it was so. Your mother came to pick me up at the airport. She was laughing and happy all through the journey on the underground train. My backside hadn’t touched down on the sofa before she was telling me that she had something she wanted me to see, a picture of this male friend she was spending time with. I thought to myself, this must be serious, because your mother had never been particularly interested in anyone. She was fond of saying that men didn’t go for girls like her. She maintained that men didn’t like girls who were sure of themselves and knew what they wanted in life.’
Kati must have looked puzzled at this, because Uncle Dong laughed and said that if Mother was right, Kati should keep that uncertain look permanently, so that when she grew up she wouldn’t be lonely.
‘At first I thought he must be a Thai but your mother said no, he was from one of our neighbouring countries but had grown up in England. Actually he was even more handsome than he appeared in the photographs. Ti, if you want to have a look, go and fetch me the album from the third drawer down.’
This drawer was labelled with the year along with an English name that Kati guessed was the law firm where Mother had been doing her articles that year.
Mother was smiling beside a tall dark-eyed dark haired man. Kati felt a bit odd looking at the photo of this strange man. She knew right away who he was – his eyes were exactly like hers. She turned her gaze to Mother’s clothes. She heard Uncle Dong say they had gone to a performance of Carmen at Hampton Court. It had been very grand. The whole palace was decorated with white lilies. It was a charity performance which meant you could take pleasure from helping a good cause and enjoy yourself at the same time. Mother wore a black dress which was fashionably off the shoulder. Her hair was gathered up to show off her elegant neck and the tiny diamonds in her ears shone no more brilliantly than her eyes.
Anthony Summer was a webmaster. He’d known Mother from when she started working in internet law. Uncle Dong said he could never forget how happy Mother had been, so he wasn’t at all surprised when they announced their engagement. In fact, Uncle Dong thought they might have run off and got married even earlier had it not been for the fact that her work took Mother to Hong Kong at that stage.
‘I believe that there is a special time for everything in our life, Kati. Your mother
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