How many of us remember the first time we met our boyfriends?
For me, it was in 2003; I had "offed" P from Dreamboys (the Pattaya one) and, after I'd paid him the usual fee for a well-above average encounter, he went to the hotel door and paused. It seemed to me at the time to be for about thirty seconds but memory plays tricks. I recalled TS Eliot's line about "the stillness between two waves of the sea." That silence seemed significant; it was as if there was something left unsaid, an act not completed.
About six years later, P was discussing with me his Buddhist beliefs in the context of our relationship. He told me that Thais believe that two people who truly and deeply love each other may encounter each other in different lives but in very different circumstances. I was aware of the medieval Christian belief (perhaps heresy) of the transmigration of the soul and was able to relate to his belief, even if I couldn't accept it. I found it curiously reassuring.
I reminded P. of our first meeting and the silence and stillness that ended that encounter. "Do you believe that, when you stood at the door for so long, it was an indication that we'd met before, in a previous life?"
"No," he said. "You paid me more than I was used to; I was waiting for you to arrange to see me again."
Fifteen years after that encounter, he retains the ability to keep my feet firmly on the ground.
