sleaze

There's a guy with a big magnum PI mostache and inseperable baseball cap at the guest house, with a deep american truck driver accent, who laughs with a sleazy, croaky deep "heh heh heh". It was late afternoon on new years day and he was drunk with a thai local who wanted to enthusiastically wish us happy new year, stumbling up from his seat as though he wanted to hug us all. We told him "It's ok", and he sat down. Later the american came over to where I was sitting with Abacus and asked why we were here and rubbed his fingers together in the universal sign for money, or more correctly, sleazy money, I was confused and answered that we were here on holiday. "Oh yeah, family holiday? Got some business on the side." Rubbing his fingers together once more. It wasn't even a question, more an expectation. I kind of blew him off, though gave up too much when, offended by his remark, I said we were trying to help refugees, remaining as vague as possible, but knowing as soon I said it I shouldn't have. He pushed me further but I evaded the questions, I'm sure he'd be too drunk to remember anyway. But now I kind of wish I'd pushed him further on this business he was talking of, like I could have played along and found out what he was up to. I don't like him at all, he takes young thai women up to his room, there's nothing feminist in Thai prostitution, only a loss of power exploited. He started saying how he remembered when his daughter was abacus age, and how happy abacus seems, and I felt sorry for this girl I had never met. 

Later he was sitting drinking again as we were leaving and he offered by way of apology "All I was trying to say was, you gotta nice family there".