The Greatest Lie Part 10

Nancee prepped us on etiquette at Christies. No sex in the bar, nudity OK, no hands on flesh below the waist. Other than that, anything goes. It made the Town House look like Sunday school. If a girl left the premises with a guy, the guy paid a "bar fine", a fee for taking one of the attractions off-premises, of 125 baht. Off site fees were negotiable, but 500 to 1,500 baht (ridiculously cheap, since the official exchange rate is about 40 baht to the buck) was customary, depending on what was on the menu. Anything higher would be considered greedy. God, no wonder these girls are all hookers or do porno. At Third World prices, even Dr. Sanguan’s reasonable prices were a stretch. I started running Nancee through my Transsexual Sex Worker Survey. "Thai society tolerate katoey, but will let us be women. She pulled out her government ID, showing her in the male gender. "If I want female name in passport, I must go to Sweden."

"Or America. The guys in LA will love you."

"America is impossible. No visas for Thai Katoeys."

I pondered the paradox as Christies filled up. Thailand accommodates its transsexuals, but ghettoizes and channels them into the sex industry. Minnesota, like most of the US, oppresses its transsexuals, unless they can pass, and then it lets them assume most of the attributes of women. I scribbled my school address and handed it to Nancee. "Send me a note in a couple of weeks. Maybe I can help."

She thanked me with a wave as a drunken Aussie wheeled her onto the dance floor.

I sat at the bar for a few minutes, nursing a ginger ale, and soon noticed I was fixed in the laser-like gaze of a handsome, well-muscled Thai. I acknowledge him with a bat of my lashes, and he took a seat next to me. From the dance floor, Nancee gave me thumbs up. Oh well, I decided, time to sample a little of the local cooking.

"I’m Eddie, and this is my bar stool. Who is sitting in it?"

"Goldilocks, and this seat is not too hard, not too soft. It’s just right."