Chapter 23

The payday bird arrived pretty much as usual at around 0900 on Friday the 28th, and we were setting down in Chiang Rai just after 1030. Sorenson reminded everyone to stay alert in case of a recall before we were all released to get paid. Starling and the others from the Red Tigers headed for their unit here on the Airbase, while Tweed, I, and the other Special Forces people headed for the Team House.

Suenee, Phesila, Noon, and our daughters were waiting there for us when we arrived. Noon seemed anxious because Rick wasn’t with us.

“Noon,” I told her, “Rick is in the Red Tigers. He is paid at his unit on the Airbase. He will be here after he is paid.” She still seemed nervous.

Our wives and Noon went shopping after we were paid, but I waited at the Team House for Starling. This month he was later than usual, and our wives had returned from shopping before he appeared. He had a huge smile on his face when he did.

“Sorry to be late,” he told us before turning to display the SP/5 insignia now sewn on his uniform sleeve.

“Congratulations!” Tweed and I both said, and shook his hand. Noon was very confused. Rick pointed to the new rank insignia on his shirt sleeve.

“See,” he said to her, “I have an umbrella for my bird now.”

“Umbrella!?” Noon asked, not understanding.

“Rom” Suenee told her in Thai. Noon’s face lit up.

“Are you almost a Sergeant?” she asked excitedly.

“Almost,” Rick agreed. “I’ll be getting paid like one, but not until next month.”

“Oh! Good,” Noon finally said, and seemed very happy that Rick had been promoted.

Phesila had been organizing the tuk tuks during all of this, and we were all soon on our way to the house with our women and their packages.

After lunch Rick and Noon went into her room and closed the door. Tweed and I played with our daughters for a time before their mothers put them to bed for a nap. Sometime later when Tweed and I were having a beer, Noon came storming out of her room in tears, and fled into Suenee’s arms.

“He doesn’t love me!” I heard her tell Suenee in Thai. Rick was standing in the doorway with a confused look on his face. Since Suenee was busy talking to Noon, I went over to talk to Rick while Tweed went to get him a beer.

“What’s wrong?” I asked him.

“I don’t understand women at all,” he told me, looking at Noon.

“None of us do,” I told him. “What happened?”

“I was talking to her about the things that we had discussed back at camp, and all of a sudden, she burst out in tears, and says that I don’t love her,” Rick told us, still confused.

“You didn’t say anything about not marrying her, or anything like that, did you?” Tweed asked, and handed him the beer.

“No! I was talking about how it would be different when we left Chiang Rai and went to live in Korat, and that it would be even more different when she went to America with me. Then I asked her if she was alright with moving away from here. She got all upset and stormed out in tears,” Rick told us.

Suenee had been holding Noon and listening to our conversation.

“Is that all that you said?” Suenee asked when Rick stopped talking.

“No. Before that we, or I talked about children and getting used to each others ways. Also, about the differences in food and the kind of houses in various places,” Rick told her. Suenee turned to Noon and began to speak to her very seriously in Thai.

“Noon, nawng sou, (younger sister) there are many changes and adjustments that must be made when you marry a Fa-rung (Non-Thai). Their houses are different, as are their towns. There are even differences here in Thailand. A house in Bangkok is different from the houses here in many ways. Also there is more traffic. You must be prepared to face all of these things and more. There will be differences in foods and in friends.

“There will be many moves when your man is assigned somewhere else. Bill and I have moved many times since we met. If you are unable to deal with these things, then you should not marry a Fa-rung, and especially not a soldier,” Suenee told her.

“Yes, I can do those things if he loves me. I need someone to love me! I can’t go home! What can I do?” Noon moaned in tears.

“But he does love you. That is why he chose to speak to you about those things. He wanted you to understand that things would be different when you leave Chiang Rai with him,” Suenee told her.

“You do love her, don’t you?” Suenee asked Rick then in English.

“Yes, I do love her! I just wanted her to understand,” Rick told Suenee, anxiously.

“Return to your room,” Suenee told Noon, switching back to Thai, “and talk with Rick about what you expect, and the things that you need to be comfortable living with him,” Suenee instructed her.

“Yes, Teacher. Thank you,” Noon replied with a wai and a bow before returning to her room with Rick. Suenee came over to me, and I kissed her on the nose.

“She has been very ... I don’t know the word. She saw her parents in town, and they wouldn’t even speak to her. She was very hurt. How do you say dev... !” Suenee asked.

“Devastated?” I asked.

“Yes, I believe that is the word. She feels very alone now, and needs someone to reassure her. She will be consecrated soon. It would be best if they were married shortly after that,” Suenee told me before we returned to our bedroom for a little privacy. Suenee had gotten quite large and still had several months before delivering the baby.

“Are you sure that you are all right?” I asked her for at least the thousandth time.

“Yes, my Bill. The baby and I are both fine. Leck is anxious to see the baby. She has seen the babies of other women here, and understands that they are not toys. She told me yesterday that she will help me watch the baby, but she does not like it when they cry,” Suenee told me with a little grin.

We kissed and cuddled for a time, and eventually had sex, but very carefully. When we emerged for dinner, Noon and Rick were returning from the bathroom, and Noon had a big smile on her face. I presumed from that, that the things were all right between them again.

Tweed and Phesila soon came out of their room also. Our daughters had been playing in the main room while Bua Gal cooked dinner and kept an eye on them.

Over dinner Tweed and I told our wives about the enemy attack, and what all we had done that month. Our daughters wanted more of our attention, and we played with them after dinner. They had certainly grown over the last few months. Of course, seeing them for only a few hours a month probably made us notice the difference more than if we saw them every day.

Everyone retired early, as we would need to be up early tomorrow to catch the vehicle to the Airbase. Suenee and I only cuddled and kissed before going to sleep that night.

Suenee woke me early the next morning. She was very passionate, but the room was also very chilly outside of our blankets that early in the morning. We had sex in the spoon position under our blankets, and we managed to get up before Tweed did today, and woke the others when we were finished in the bathroom. Bua Gal had breakfast made for us, and we were on our way to the Team House by 0645.

“We will try to get married next payday,” Rick told us, as we hurriedly ate breakfast. “Payday is in the middle of the week next month, so the office where you get the marriage license should be open,” he told us.

“Do not worry. We will make all of the arrangement. We will have the marriage ceremony here,” Suenee assured Rick before we left. Noon looked very happy that morning.

At the Airbase while waiting to load on the helicopter, Starling had a question for me.

“Will I get in trouble for getting married?” he asked.

“It’s better to ask for forgiveness than it is to ask for permission,” I told him quoting an old military saying. “Don’t worry, we’ll speak to the Major about it,” I assured him.

“My Company Commander is a real stickler about following the regulations,” Starling said, still nervous.

“We’ll see about changing that,” Tweed told him. “The Amulets are very good at having things their way.”

We were back at camp by around 0900, and the others were on their way to Chiang Rai soon after that. The Thai Paymaster had flown out with us again to pay the Rangers here, and to pay those at Nawng-awn later that day.

I took first watch on the radio and let Starling get some sleep, as he looked like he’d had a long night. I was sure that was why Noon had been smiling this morning. He came in later to relieve me for chow, and that was when Sorenson noticed his new stripes and congratulated him.

The 1st of March was very quiet, and we had nothing to report to Desk Jockey other than it was payday weekend. Everyone was back on Monday morning, the 2nd, and things remained quiet. Actually, it was too quiet, and Tweed and I started looking at each other, not saying anything, just looking. The Major noticed it after a while, and he finally asked what was wrong on Wednesday.

“Okay! What is it now?” he asked after we had glanced over at each other for maybe the tenth time that day.

“It’s too quiet again,” Tweed answered

“There have been no signs of trouble,” the Major pointed out to him.

“There weren’t any signs of trouble before that first group came down the river either,” Tweed remarked.

“Do you think they are coming down the river again?” the Major asked.

“No sir, not the river, but I wished I knew what High Flier was seeing,” Tweed told him.

“Didn’t they say that they would call if there was trouble?” the Major asked and paused but no one said anything.

“Well, they haven’t called,” he said a few seconds later, answering his own question.

“Maybe you’re right, sir,” Tweed told him, reluctantly. I agreed with Tweed, but kept my mouth shut this time. I admitted to myself that Tweed could be wrong, but somewhere in the back of my mind a little voice was saying that he was right.

Nothing happened the rest of that week, or the beginning of the second week of March. We were beginning to believe that maybe we had been wrong, and things really were okay. Four weeks plus had passed since the second incident, and nothing more had happened. The Salween was now approaching its lowest point of the year. The winds of February had died down considerably, and it was beginning to warm up, not a lot, but enough to be noticeable. We relaxed even further.

All of these hopes and good feelings were shattered by a radio call at around 0600 on Friday morning, the 13th of March.

“Old Hand, Old Hand, this is High Flier 33. Over.”

“High Flier 33, this is Old Hand. Go.”

“Old Hand, Flier 33. Be advised that aerial traffic over Menglang has increased substantially in the last half hour. We have ... hold on Old Hand. Break.” High Flier went off the air for several minutes then.

“Old Hand, Old Hand, High Flier 33. Be advised that we have 45, I say again figure four five ... No, make that 55... Damn! ... make that 60, I say again figure six zero plus, transports on the screen, and they are all headed in your direction along with at least a dozen fast movers.

“We are calling for back up, but it will take time for our fast movers to get up here from Chiang Mai and Chiang Rai. I hope you people have strong bunkers.” High Flier was quiet for a couple of minutes then.

“Old Hand, they are nearing the border now, and have split into two groups. One is still headed due west toward you, but the second group is now headed in a southwesterly direction. The total count of transports is now 80, I say again figure eight zero, transports, and more fast movers are accompanying them.

“They have crossed the border now, Old Hand, and we estimate that they will be ... WHAT!? ... Wait one, Old Hand, we have something going on here.” There was static on the radio for a short time, and someone said ‘DAMN!’ on an open mike before High Flier came back on the air.

“Old Hand, Flier 33. The strangest thing just happened!! I’m not sure that I even believe it, but our instruments appear to be operating perfectly, so I’ll have to!