On Night in Bangkok

It was the loud cackle telling Reggie she was headed in the right direction. Even though it had been over ten years since she had been with Evie or Sarah, she recognised that bellowing hyena laugh anywhere.

Evie scored the title of laughing hyena from Reggie when they were all at school together. Reggie even went so far as to print and frame a picture of a hyena in a supposed mouth wide cackle that hung in the apartment Evie, Sarah and Reggie shared for years.

They had agreed to meet at the famous Vertigo Bar in Bangkok. Evie had flown from Sydney, Sarah from Brisbane and now Reggie, had arrived from Capetown. So as not to waste any time Reggie sent her bags straight on to the hotel, had made her way direct to Vertigo from the plane in true Reggie style. Arriving solo to the bar she spotted Evie and Sarah mid conversation.

‘….and before he could get his gear off, I ducked into the bathroom of our suite, which thankfully was on the ground floor, opened the window, jumped out and ran.’

There was Evie’s trademark cackle, followed by, ‘Oh god Sarah, you always manage to get yourself into the funniest situations.’

Instead of interrupting her two lifelong, friends, Reggie stood back and remembered why she loved them so much. Standing there, lost in a moment of bubbling nostalgia, even with the music pumping and the crowds bumping all over the place, this picture perfect moment wouldn’t be taken away from her.

Not to last, Evie and Sarah, almost on instinct, turned to see the third of their tight pack staring at them in love and warmth.

‘Reggie!’ Evie was up out of her barstool quicker than ladyboy about to make a quick buck.

‘Reg….’ Sarah clamoured up behind her two best friends and joined the hug from behind.

Evie and Reggie, always shared the strongest bond of the three of them. That’s the way Sarah had always seen it anyway. She didn’t mind, she was happy to be a part of this special bond not matter what the conditions.

Once the mess of tangled limbs, exchanged kisses and organic touching of each other stopped, the three of them stood holding hands, silently inhaling the slight differences in each others appearance.

Sarah, Reggie thought, looked just the same. Hair cut to no particular style and pulled back in a ponytail. She was wearing little to no makeup, but then she never needed to. Sarah had been gifted with legs riding up to her armpits, hourglass waist and ocean blue eyes. Guys always fell over Sarah in high school and university. Those are the looks you get when your mum is a one-time supermodel.

Reggie had always been a little bit jealous of Sarah looks. She believed Sarah always got everything too easy because of them. Reggie on the other hand, had to work hard for everything she had in her life.

Sarah had lines around her face now, Reggie noted. She was starting to look old. No longer possessing the youthful teenage appearance Reggie always sought. Reggie felt a twinge of satisfaction.

Evie had lost weight. Evie had never been a size eight in school like Reggie and Sarah had, Evie was a comfortable size twelve, which was by no means never anywhere near overweight, but the simple fact was Evie was always bigger than Reggie, which made Reggie feel one notch up the ladder of social standings.

‘You are looking even more gorgeous than ever Reg,’ Evie said, breaking the not awkward in the slightest silence. ‘You actually look like you’ve become younger, you naughty woman, why are you not sharing your secrets with your best friends?’

‘Let’s just say, I don’t shy away from a little help from Dr Makeover.’

‘What? No? Plastic Surgery?’ Sarah came in.

‘It’s not called plastic surgery anymore you know. More like taking a few fat cells from my butt and repositioning them in my body elsewhere that has more use of them. But let’s not waste time on that just now, we have plenty of time to discuss my anti-ageing plan. Right now, is cocktail time.’

‘I’ll go,’ Evie burst in. ‘I say we start with Espresso Martini’s to give us a kick for the night ahead.’ Without waiting for the others to agree she spun on her heels and headed for the bar.

Reggie came up behind Evie and gave her another hug as they both looked out into the dazzling night lights of Bangkok.

‘God, it’s so good to see you. It’s funny how you can carry on day by day in life and everything’s fine, then I am put here right with you two and I wonder how the hell we let ourselves drift apart. We are always so good together. The three of us. Everyone knew that we were the three that no-one could separate, not ever. Just right now, as I’m standing here with you, I realise I have missed you more than everything else in my life put together. We work, we’ve always worked.’

‘I know what you mean. The trajectory of life spins us to places we would never dream of being. But we are here now. Right now, we are together again. We must enjoy every last heartbeat.’

‘Look at you, in any moment of melancholy, you are still here to put a positive spin on things,’ Reggie said squeezing Evie’s cool hands, ‘anyway, how’s Sarah? Does she seem to be on top of things at the moment?’

‘Ah, you know Sarah, it’s hard to tell, she masks everything with humour, she’s not seeing anyone at the moment, so that’s got to be a good thing. From what I can tell, she’s still attracting the losers. It’s hard, you know, I think where she lives in Brisbane is Loserville and I can’t see her moving away from there now, she hasn’t got the money or the motivation.’

‘I’m not sure she’ll ever learn.’

‘She’ll only learn if she really wants to, you know that, you had to.’

Sarah arrives with the barman behind her carrying the three Espresso Martinis. When they each have a drink in hand Evie toasts, ‘to the best friends a girl can ever possibly ask for.’

Reggie and Sarah reaffirm the words in repetition.

‘So Reg, how’s the multi-million dollar business coming along?’ Sarah asks as they settle back into their barstools.

‘It’s not multi just yet. Getting there. It’s hard work, I just have to keep propelling myself forward. Have no distractions, you know, eye on the prize, keep going no matter what and all that jazz.’

‘Listen to you Miss Motivation.’

‘We have to be motivated Sarah, if we want to see change in our life.’

The comment hung in the air for just long enough to have the desired effect of seeping into Sarah’s subconscious. It’s what has always happened with the three of them. Whenever they are together, which is not often at all these days, Reggie and Evie take it upon themselves to coordinate Sarah’s self-help plan.

Of course, it never worked. For it to work they would have to live close to each other, they would have to be there every day to check on her progress, to talk her out of seeing the new deadbeat guy she picked up somewhere, to steer her away from her amazing capability of attracting trouble into her life. But the three of them had been friends forever and therefore when they were actually together, it was their duty to be on guard to help Sarah wherever possible.

This is what makes Sarah the weakest link, Reggie thought to herself. Her inability to take charge of her own life.

‘How are Mike and the kids?’ Reggie asks Evie, the only one of the three of them to get their whole life package together. Evie, in both Reggie and Sarah’s mind, has it all. Beautiful husband, two equally gorgeous children, a career in producing documentaries and of course a dog named Khumbu, after a recent trek the family of four did together in Nepal.

‘Mike’s great, he’s directing a movie in Western Australia next month. Jake and India are so big you’d hardly recognise them. Jake’s off to university next year. India is discovering boys, oh the fun times begin.’

‘Man, we really can measure how time flies by your children. I remember when I came to see you in the hospital with India,’ Sarah says. ‘So long ago, but it seems like yesterday.’

‘It seems like yesterday that we were all in high school together.’ Reggie says. ‘I remember when you and I were elected captain and school captain Evie. To this day I know you only beat me because you were the go-to girl for everyone in the school. I never had any time for the silly nonsense, you always had time for everyone.’

‘And I still believe that if you had of run Sarah, it would have been all three of us up there. Captain, vice-captain and prefect. We would have controlled the whole school.’ Evie affirmed.

‘Oh yeah, but I never really wanted to run anything, not like you two.’

‘Anyway listen, I have to tell you both something, and I don’t want you to get mad okay.’ Evie butt in a bit out of rhythm.

Reggie and Sarah stopped whatever thoughts were currently running through their minds and gave their full attention to Evie. Neither of them ever got mad at Evie ever. To them, she was like the adjudicator for life. She was always on hand for advice and was generally right, she had a surplus amount of love not just for each of them and her family, but for everyone who came into contact with her. And most of all, which was most precious, she always had the time to listen. Whether it be for Sarah to cry on her shoulder about the latest disappointment of love in her life, to listening to Reggie go though, in fine tooth comb detail, every aspect of her divorce. Evie had always been there unconditionally for Reggie and Evie and for this reason alone, they could never get mad at her.

‘Okay, go on then,’ Reggie said, not with impatience, but with such a force of needing to know what was quite possibly going to make her mad right now.

‘Yeah, go on,’ Evie followed.

‘You both promise you won’t get angry?’

‘Oh, we promise, now come on already, tell us.’ Reggie said pretending to be exasperated.

‘Okay then,’ Evie took a breath, giving her time to prepare for their responses, ‘I bought a friend over here with me.’

Sarah looked confused. Reggie spat, ‘WHAT?’

‘I bought a friend over here with me, she’s never been to Bangkok and one night in the spur of the moment I asked her if she wanted to come.’

‘O-K-A-Y,’ Reggie was forcibly trying to keep her emotions in tact.

‘Sorry Evie, I don’t get it, you’re the one who organised this trip. You were the one who said, “we all need to get together, just the three of us,” I’m not getting mad here, but doesn’t an extra person make four of us?”

‘Forget about that. Who is she?’ Reggie was clearly frustrated.

‘She’s just a friend from Sydney. Really you guys will love her. If you give her a chance that is. She’s Irish, she’s bundle of laughs. Her name is Kat.’

‘So where is she?’ Reggie.

‘She’s either back in the hotel room, or she’s wandering the streets. I asked her to give us three time together before I introduced her to you guys.’

‘This is so weird Evie, sorry, I just don’t understand. Why would you bring someone else?’ Sarah said.

‘Oh, come on you guys, just go with the flow a bit will you. Meet someone new. She really is great and I would like it if you guys make her feel welcome instead of getting pissed and ruining our time together okay.’ Sarah and Reggie stared at each other. ‘Okay?’ Evie repeated with force.

‘Sarah’s right, it’s weird, even weirder you didn’t tell us beforehand. I actually can’t believe you did this to us. It’s completely left field and I don’t get it at all.’ Finishing her drink in one hit, then inhaling deep enough for Sarah and Evie to make note of her agitation, she said on the exhale, ‘But, for you Evie, I will try my best. She had better be a good laugh I don’t want to be babysitting anyone’s emotions this trip. I guess that’s the rooms sorted then. you will be with KAT and Sarah and I will share.’

II.

They had agreed to meet at eight the following morning to go and eat Bangkok street food for breakfast. In the late hours of the previous night, Evie had a hankering for fried banana.

‘Okay come on open the door then.’ Reggie was banging on the door from the hotel hallway. ‘We want to meet this secret friend of yours.’

‘I’m coming,’ Evie dragged herself up off the bed, while Kat moved everything that needed to be out of sight into their bathroom. ‘Good morning girls,’ Evie gave them both a hug as they entered. This was a commonplace greeting from Evie over the entire span of their lives. Whenever they saw each other for the first time that day, Evie would be ready with an all-encompassing hug. It was her way of showing just how much she loved them.

‘God Evie, I think you need to put on some weight.’ Reggie said offhandedly, ‘there’s thin and there’s thin, I bet Mike likes at least a bit of ass to grab onto.’

Evie allowed the comment to wash through the air like a wave in the ocean before saying, ‘Girls, meet Kat. Kat this is Reggie and this is Sarah.’

‘Hi,’ both Sarah and Reggie said in unison and rather flat.

‘Hi’ya, so happy to finally meet you two. Evie didn’t shut up about you guys the whole flight over, I feel like I know you already.’

‘Well, we only found out about you last night, so you will forgive us if we need to catch up a little.’ Reggie squeezed these words out.

‘My bad, I should have told you earlier, but we are all here now, so shall we go eat?’ Evie calmed the tension right out of between Reggie’s brows.

‘You guys go ahead,’ Kat said, ‘I just need to grab a few things I will meet you in the lobby.’

After having walked in silence to the lifts, once inside, Reggie said, ‘she better not be holding us up all day like this.’

‘Oh just be nice,’ Evie said.

‘I think she seems lovely,’ Sarah interjected.

‘You think everyone seems lovely until they shit on you,’ was Reggie’s reply.

Down in the lobby, the three of them waited in silence watching the doors of the elevators. Kat arrived with an already jam-packed daypack,

‘You do realise we are in Bangkok to shop all day then drop by the pool in the afternoon right?’ Reggie said to Kat. ‘And it’s like hot as hell out there already, and you want to carry a full backpack?’

Kat smiled at Reggie. ‘Just the essentials,’ she said.

III.

After seven hours, four tuk-tuk rides, sweat beads forming permanent residence under each of their eight breasts, six beers, a light lunch, armfuls of shopping bags and four sets of aching feet between them they arrived back to the hotel. By this time, Reggie and Sarah had allowed Kat a temporary pass into the tight trio that was three best friends.

‘I need the pool, get changed and get up there pronto,’ Reggie demanded as Evie swiped the access pass in the door to her room.

‘Can’t I just have a little nap first?’ Evie asked, ‘I’m really stuffed.’

‘No, you cannot, we have forty-four hours left together, let's not waste them.’ Reggie kept demanding.

‘Okay, okay, give us five minutes.’

Reggie and Sarah were already up at the pool when Evie arrived with Kat. Reggie was wearing a hot pink bikini which showed off her ‘enhanced’ breasts buy having the smallest triangle of material covering each nipple. Sarah wore a plain black one piece.

‘We’ve ordered cocktail’s, come in, it’s lovely,’ Sarah welcomed them both.

Reggie and Sarah both watched as Evie undid her sarong, lay it over the pool chair in the shade and make her way to the shallow end to wade her skinny frame into the pool.

‘How long has Evie been that skinny?’ Reggie asked Kat quietly from her side of the pool.

Kat seemed a bit put off by the question at first, then after recovering slightly, ‘oh, um, I think she’s always been that thin since I’ve known her.’

‘She’s too skinny now, she’s never been this skinny in all her life, your job, as her friend in Sydney, is to fatten her up. Next time I see her I want her to be back to a size fourteen.’

‘I will do my best.’

Reggie wasn’t convinced with Kat’s answer. Kat, to Reggie, seemed like a likeable person. In fact when they shared a tuk tuk her and Kat got on like a gelato on a hot day, talking about men mainly, and how hopeless they are in general. Kat didn’t have a boyfriend and with Reggie’s recent divorce, there was never going to be a win for the opposite sex in that conversation. Within one tuk tuk ride, Reggie and Kat they formed a strong solidarity, and the fact that Kat was, like Reggie, a woman with a self assured personality, there wasn’t much about her that Reggie couldn’t like.

‘You better do your best.’ Reggie said reaffirming the task was not to be forgotten.

It was when Evie hauled herself from the pool and was walking back to her towel and pool chair that she fell.

Landing hard and heavy the three other girls felt a thud so loud they momentarily believed the rooftop of the hotel was shaking.

Kat was up and to her aide first. She knew exactly what to do. Talking to Evie, asking her what happened, how she was feeling, resting her head on her own thigh.

‘Weak, slipped, tired,’ Evie’s only response.

‘Shit Evie, what happened? What did you slip on?’’ Reggie was hovering, wanting to be where Kat was but relived that Kat seemed to know exactly what she was doing.

‘We need to get her back to the room, can you get some help?’

‘I’m on it,’ Sarah said and was off and running to the bar to ask for some kind of assistance.

‘Must have been too much time in the sun, mixed with the alcohol. That must be it, surely.’ Reggie said, more in an affirmation to herself than Evie.

‘That’s it.’ Evie responded in a whisper.

A hotel worker arrived with a wheelchair, by this time Evie was sitting up with her legs dangling in the pool.

‘Help her into the chair please,’ Kat requested of Reggie.

With an arm each around their shoulders they carefully guided Evie into the wheelchair.

Evie motioned for Kat down to her. She whispered in her ear. ‘Not yet. I will do it.’ Kat nodded, briefly looking at Reggie, who was still holding Evie’s hand, then looking away.

‘I’m going to take her back to her room. I think it’s best if you two stay away so she can sleep. Let her get some rest, she will be fine after a good sleep.’ Kat said.

‘Hey, you don’t get to tell us what’s going on.’ Reggie said as she motioned to take control of the wheelchair.

Sarah grabbed reggie’s arm. ‘She needs rest Reg, just let them go, we will pop by the room later, okay?’ She said to Kat.

‘Sounds good,’ was Kat’s reply as she pushed Evie away from the two women who she would do absolutely anything to keep them happy.

‘Get some rest Evie, Sarah and I will come by later,’ Reggie said placing Evie’s hand back to rest in her own lap.

IIII.

Evie slept through the night and didn’t wake until the next morning. At Kat’s request neither of them woke her. There was a gentle tap on the door after nine, Kat opened it to Sarah, with Reggie hanging in the background.

‘How’s she feeling?’ Sarah asked, full of concern.

‘Much better now, come in.’

Sarah and Reggie walked in to find Evie with colour back in her cheeks and her usual loving and welcoming smile.

‘I’m just going to go out for a bit. You’ll be okay Evie.’

‘Yes, I’m fine, go.’ Evie said, trying to sound as healthy as she imagined she could.

No sooner had Kat left the room did Reggie say, ‘alright Evie, no more bullshit, what’s going on? Sarah and I have been up all night worrying about you.’

‘Come, sit with me,’ Evie said, tapping a hand on each side of the bed beside her.

Sarah went and sat with a worried look on her face. Reggie said, ‘I am fine here, just tell us what’s going on.’

‘Alright, Reg, Sarah,’ Evie started, ‘I’m sorry this happened, I so wanted this weekend together to be just us. I wanted for us to laugh, and just be together one final time. I never wanted Kat to come along, I am sorry that she did, but Mike refused to let me come if Kat didn’t come. Kat’s my nurse.’

‘What do you mean one final time? And why do you need a nurse?’ Reggie almost spat.

‘Reg, please come and sit with us,’ Evie requested.

‘I’m fine…’

‘Please come and sit with us, please sit for me,’ Evie asked again.

Never being able to say no to Evie for anything, Reggie complied.

Holding each of her best friends hands in her own, she looked from one to the other, then back down to the trio of clasping hands.

‘I’m dying,’ Evie said. ‘I’m dying and I wanted this weekend to be perfect. I wanted for us to have one final beautiful memory to share with each other. I wanted to end this beautiful relationship we share on a high note. I wanted you guys to forever look back on this final time together fondly. I ruined it all when I collapsed and I’m sorry.’

Evie looked up as the tears rolled down her face, dripping and falling wherever they needed to. Sarah’s eyes were welling up. Reggie held a look of refusal.

‘What do you mean you are dying godammit?’ Reggie said, now in a broken rhythm.

‘I have cancer,’ Reggie was just about to interject when Evie continued, ‘and before you start telling me the stats and survival rates of cancer patients these days, before you Sarah pull out all your homeopathic remedies, don’t bother, the cancer is in my lungs, liver and kidney. There’s no going back for me now, my one way ticket is soon coming to an end. Last stop paradise.’

‘But Evie, I ….’ Sarah started before her emotions took hold and she sobbed into her free hand.

Squeezing both of her friends hands Evie said, ‘it’s okay you know. Mike and I, even the kids have known for a while now, at least six months, I’ve come to terms with it. I don’t know if Jake and India are just putting on a brave face for me, and Mike too for that matter, but I talk to them about it all the time. I tell them what I want to tell you.’

Reggie, for the first time in her life had resigned herself to stay quiet as Evie continued.

‘I’m one of the lucky ones. I’ve lived. More than that, I’ve loved. Everything I ever wanted in my life I have been fortunate enough to get. I have a beautiful family, had a great career that has allowed me to see the world, and I consider myself to be one of the luckiest people in the world to have had you two as my best friends.’

As Sarah continued crying, Reggie stood to get the box of tissues she knew would be in the bathroom. When she went in there, she saw at least fifteen medicine bottles all with Evie’s name on all lined up in a row.

Grabbing a fresh towel from under the sink she pressed her face to it and silently screamed. Not Evie. Not Evie. Evie her rock, her confidant, the only person who knew her inside and out. The moment didn’t seem real. How? Why? Not Evie.

‘Reg, are you okay,’ she heard Evie, who must have been standing right behind her witnessing her face buried in the towel.

‘Of course I’m not okay, what sort of a stupid question is that?’ She said turning and falling into Evie’s tiny arms.

‘Are you absolutely sure there’s….’

‘My doctor says it’s only a matter of time now. I’ve stopped chemo, I’m pretty much just waiting for my body to shut down.’

Reggie and Evie felt Sarah behind them and they both opened their arms for a trio embrace, each resting their head on anothers.

‘Now I have something else to tell you, promise you won’t be mad at me?’

‘No, sorry Evie, not this time, I won’t promise any more. Just spit it out.’ Reggie spoke for both her and Sarah.

‘Well, Kat’s been taking my vitals all night and she thinks it’s best I get home to Mike and the kids as soon as possible. She’s out there right now finding the earliest flight.’

None of them said anything, instead they all put their heads back on each others and cried. Stood and cried for a long, long time.