It was the June of 2008, and Alfie’s immediate future looked bleak.
He left the two sisters and grabbed a taxi to Phuket airport, bound for Bangkok and the bi-annual Jewellery Fair. Lehman Brothers declared bankruptcy; the Federal Reserve bailed out AIG Insurance; money market funds lost one hundred and forty-four billion dollars in a day, and investors were running to gold. The price had doubled since Alfie bought the business in 2004, and now it looked set to double again. How soon was anyone’s guess, and speculating on anything was a longer odds gamble than usual. He always enjoyed the four days with friends who flew into Bangkok from around the world, twice a year, for the Fair. But he worried about his business in South Africa and was glad he was returning to Cape Town.
June came and went so fast, Alfie hardly noticed. When July took over, Thailand had seduced him. He even called the Kata Bungalows Resort, home, without a moment’s thought that his home was in Cape Town. Never one for convention, Alfie was comfortable in the role of non-conformist. If he’d been a Frenchman in World War Two, he would have played a part in the resistance and thought the war was fun. Maybe as the owner of a Bistro in Paris. He would have entertained German officers, plying them with cognac and gourmet meals, while members of the resistance, dressed as onion sellers and peddlers, were plotting their demise in his cellar. When August kicked July out the door he owned the beach in the early morning, until lazy holidaymakers drifted down to fry themselves in Ambre Solaire as the day grew hotter. Alfie, the odd local and a stray dog or two, had Kata Beach to themselves. He tried not to think how fast the hundred-day holiday was winding down, or that by mid-September home would be Cape Town again.
It was hard to relax in the final days before leaving, and people must have noticed a tinge of sadness as he said his goodbyes. A special one for Pong, in the laundry room, when Nin was working her last day, gave him a guilt complex he couldn’t hide. His obvious discomfort showed he wasn’t a callous philanderer, which endeared him to Pong. Despite feeling uneasy, he was elated to have made a good friend of a special person. It had taken time, but he realised he meant more to her than he thought, and he told her she should make her feelings clearer in future.
“This is the way I am. And now you know me better. Who knows what the future holds?”
“Will you keep in touch?”
“If you want me to, I will. And remember what Ot said about Nin, back in July.”
“I will.”
She leaned across and kissed him softly, a silent tear rolling down her cheek. And when he held her, more tears flowed, like a river to the sea. Pong’s grip was so tight, he would have struggled to free himself. Not that he wanted to.
A man can easily miss things that are obvious to a woman.