Chapter 15
TAMMY GOES ON A HOLIDAY

Back at home, Tammy was obsessed with the idea of going to Spain on a holiday. Her mum was not keen about it and was very uncertain about the morals of Emilia’s family. She knew the sort of character Emilia was and therefore was not sure she was a good role model to her own children. Maria did not know how to convince Tammy to reconsider her decision; she was a clever girl who would question anyone who offered a reason why she should not go.

Thoughts of Maria’s childhood returned to her vividly. The night that Emilia left her alone with Tyler in Tyler’s flat. She remembered every detail of it. At that time she was naive and did not know that what happened was previously planned between Emilia and Tyler. She thought everything was normal and perfect, and she fell for it. She enjoyed the company and attention that Tyler gave her; he called her a woman, and she loved that. He told her she could do whatever she liked with her body, and she agreed with him. He told her she was beautiful and sexy, and that was flattering. He told her he loved her, and that made her special.

When he touched her breast, she felt great and wanted more of it. She was only thirteen when Emilia introduced her into Tyler’s world of romance. He gave her the first kiss of her life; he was the one who touched her and made her feel like a woman, sensational, irresistible, and receptive. He introduced her into a world of sexual ecstasy. She was deeply in love with Emilia’s cousin Tyler Staples. Her mother did not know what was happening, and other things waited to happen if he had not been arrested. What would her fate have been if he had continued what he was doing to her? She would probably have got pregnant, and God knows what would have happened to her.

‘Honey, what are thinking about?’ Ron asked suddenly. ‘You seem lost.’

‘Nothing, really—just fascinated about Emilia’s appearance. I never thought we would meet again,’ she replied.

‘Well, you have now, so you both should keep it going,’ Ron advised.

‘I will try to, but I don’t like the idea of Tammy going to Spain on holiday.’

‘Why is that?’

‘It’s those two girls, Rose and Martha. They could be a bad influence on Tammy,’ Maria said, looking worried.

‘In what way? Since when did you become so paranoid?’

‘Well, they seemed extravagant, and we don’t want our Tammy to get into that habit.’

‘For Christ’s sake, Maria, Tammy is a grown girl and knows what is right for her. If she wants to go, let her go.’

‘Hmmm. I am just concerned,’ Maria said.

‘No, you are just being paranoid,’ Ron responded. ‘Don’t you trust your friend? Don’t you think Tammy will be well looked after? You know and I know that we cannot stop Tammy when she makes up her mind,’ he reminded her.

The girls got in touch using Instagram and Snapchat. Soon it was clear that nothing could stop Tammy from going to Spain; the flight had been booked, so Maria would have to put up with it and just pray that everything went well. Eventually Tammy returned from her holiday full of news about the things they had done together; the holiday was a success.

 

After they returned from London, Maria began to question her love for Ron. She wanted to think that she loved him wholeheartedly, but the thought of Tyler Staples turned everything upside down, and that was a problem. Her sexual desire was sparked by the thought of Tyler; he was her virtual lover, the love no one would know about. No one could accuse her of cheating; it was good for her and had spiced up her marriage.

Every night when she felt passionate, she would draw closer to her husband, saying, ‘Close your eyes and open your mouth.’ Ron would obey her instructions, and then she would thrust her tongue into his mouth and reach deep into his mouth, rubbing her breast against him. He would hold her tight, and then they would have a French kiss, much like her first kiss. Maria got energized by making Ron do it the Tyler way.

Sometimes she knelt over him and let her breasts drop on his face, squirming to tease his face with her nipple until he grabbed both breasts with his hands and put them in his mouth. She would cry out with excitement and rock her body over him. Then he would turn her over and touch her to feel the warm juice that she discharged, making her ready to receive him. It was always good when it was done the Tyler way.

Emilia’s comeback had done her good even though she was very insecure about her daughter getting closer to the girls. But it was like seeing Tyler. If only she had a picture of him. She didn’t dare ask Emilia if she had one; it would sound suspicious because Tyler was a child molester. His name was never mentioned; no one wanted to hear about him again. He was dead and gone.

Then she thought, There is a place where I can possibly get his picture: Facebook. He may be in an old group picture of some sort, maybe a group school picture.

Tyler was in his school football team, and Maria knew the school he attended and started searching every year’s team. It was not long until she saw something. It was actually a good picture; someone had posted a good picture of the 1978 team, and the goalkeeper for that boys’ grammar school was Tyler Staples. Maria tagged the picture and saved it on her computer. Only God knows why she went that far to treasure someone the world had condemned for his unforgivable crime. For Maria, Tyler was still alive, and she would always keep him alive in her heart.

 

It was Christmas again, and all the clan gathered on Christmas Eve to have dinner together with the newest member of Emma’s family, Darren, who was eleven months old. He crawled around, pulling things down onto the floor, keeping Emma on her toes as she made sure that he did not hurt himself. The baby’s presence brought more joy to the Makintosh family.

At the table, Tammy told them of the wonderful time she had with Emilia’s family in Spain. What she had loved the most was the concert. ‘It was epic,’ she said.

‘That reminds me of a holiday I had a couple of years ago,’ Emma’s husband said and began to tell the rest of the family about himself. These were events that even his wife didn’t know about. ‘When I left university, I decided to go to Thailand for a working holiday,’ he began.

‘On your own or with someone?’ Tammy asked, looking into his eyes. ‘A girlfriend? And why Thailand?’

‘I planned to go with my coursemate, but he pulled out, and I had to go on my own,’ he answered. ‘I chose Thailand because it is a warm country. It is a pleasant place to be, especially in December when the weather is a bit cooler. Rich and colourful festivals are celebrated during that time. The streets are decorated with lights during Christmas. I wanted adventure, I wanted to do crazy things with no one to stop me. Moreover, I had been told that the people are friendly,’ he said.

‘It was a good adventure, exploring the unknown. I was excited and planned many things that I would like to do. I checked the country and decided what town to live in. I wanted to live among the people so I would know the culture well and understand. I had planned to eat mainly Thai food and wear Thai clothes. When I told my mum about it, she thought I was crazy. I remember the exact words Mum used: “Book an all-inclusive holiday for seven days, sit in the sun and eat English food at the restaurant, and come back here,” she said.

‘“Mum, I am going away for two years, I have already applied for a job in a local secondary school, I have not got the job yet but I am positive that I will get it,” I told my mother.

‘She turned to my father for help. “Tell your son not to say things like that.”

‘My father seemed to ignore both of us and carried on watching a cricket match between India and Australia. Then he said, “Woman, he can do whatever he likes. He is a graduate and has his life in his own hands. I trust my son; he will be all right. Now can I watch my match?”

‘Mum was not happy at all with my father, but he said nothing, I could see she was getting frustrated about my idea of going to live in Thailand. I had to reassure her that I was a grown man and would be all right. I told her I had done my research and would be fine.

‘In the weeks that followed, I learnt some few words in Tai-Kadai, the official language for Thailand and repeated them over and over again until I mastered pronouncing them well.

‘Then I received the million-dollar letter! I had been successful with my application and would teach English in a secondary school in a small town called … … near … … …

‘I was excited and made my final preparation to leave home. My mother had mixed feelings about it. She was happy that I had got a job and unhappy that I was travelling thousands of miles away. Mum was a bit apprehensive that I was leaving the family to be on my own. She told me to keep safe and avoid bad company. She said she had heard that some locals lure unsuspecting foreigners into traps so they can steal from them. She said I should be aware of such people, who might look like friends. I assured Mum that I would be all right and that someone from the college would look out for me. It was then that she became a little reassured.

‘The governors of the school had arranged accommodations, and someone was going to meet me at the airport. It was a very long journey—more than ten hours in the air. I wonder how these pilots do it.

‘At the arrivals I saw my name on a placard. A young man about my age, twenty-four, waved for me to come to where he stood. He introduced himself as Ananada and spoke enough English for my understanding.’

Emma cut in to ask, ‘Ah, is this the Ananada who’s your friend?’

‘Yes,’ Tim replied.

‘You two have come a long way then,’ she noted.

‘Yes. As I was saying, he was pleasant and said he was going to take me home in his car. The car in the car park was no compact, it was the newest model of Mercedes. “Is that the car that is taking us?” I was astonished.

‘“Yes, that is my car,” replied Ananada.

‘“That’s a nice one,” I said.

‘“I bought it not long ago,” he said.

‘We travelled for about a hundred kilometres talking about life in Thailand. He told me he was also a teacher in the school, and I wondered how much he earned to afford such a car. A feel of inferiority overtook me, but I pretended it was okay.

‘Ananada asked me about life in the UK, and I told him the truth, yes, the truth. “It is not an easy life over there. Everything is expensive, especially accommodation, and all our earnings go into paying bills,” I told him.

‘“I would like to go to the UK; everybody here wants to go to the UK,’ he said.

‘I was surprised. “For a visit?”

‘“No, to work and live there,” he said. He was sure life would be much better in the UK.

‘I did not know what else to tell him. It was his choice; the United Kingdom was Ananada’s dream paradise.

‘This gentleman became my friend and took me out to places; Then one day, he suggested that we go swimming in the nearby stream. I agreed readily because it was extremely hot that afternoon. He had explained that the water was clean and safe for swimming, so I took my swimming costume and we went. It was nice, so I decided to swim a little bit farther. Then in front of me I saw a huge red eye staring at me. I froze and stared back.

‘Ananada had seen the crocodile, but it was too late to alert me. He said, “Stay calm, we are going to distract it.” Then there was a splash between me and the red-eyed crocodile. It was a whole chicken thrown at him, and while it devoured the chicken, I managed to get away.

‘It was a narrow escape. I was shaken when I got out of the water. The local people came round to find out if I was hurt, but I wasn’t. I could have lost my life. If Mum had heard about that, she would have flown down to drag me home by the neck, so I kept it to myself and learnt to be careful while I was in Thailand.

‘The locals are used to the animals and know how to live with them. They have learnt their behaviour and know when it is safe to go closer to them. We foreigners must be careful when we go on holidays and visit such places. The thought of that incident makes me sweat. I cheated death! My two-year contract finished quickly, and I returned home.’ Tim ended his story looking grateful.

Emma laughed. ‘You were indeed very lucky and I wouldn’t have got a gorgeous man to marry.’ She gave him a peck on the cheek and ran her hands through his hair. ‘So how come Ananada is here in England? Did he accompany you here?’

‘We spoke on Skype for a while when I returned home. He later repeated his interest in visiting the UK, so I invited him for a two-week holiday. While in England, I took him round London and showed him 10 Downing Street, Buckingham Palace, and other historic places. He was excited by everything he saw, and when he went back to Thailand he applied for a job as a translator in London. He then moved to stay here permanently.’