The Nothing (24 page)

Havi
ng to walk by herself to the agency was upsetting. In her mind, this was supposed to be the greatest day of her life. But without any family or anyone around to help carry her two bags to the Thaiworld office, the day was quickly becoming the saddest day of her life. People walked past her as they did everyday on her journey from home to work and vice versa. No acknowledgements or goodbyes. The town was going about their business as usual and would continue to do so long after Katy was gone. No one besides her family knew she was leaving. Katy was just another person walking down the street and going about her daily business. And as filthy as some parts of the street were, it hurt Katy that this would be the last time she would walk this street, smell the food venders, see the street salesmen, and hear children playing. Everything around her went on normally as if the world wasn’t changing. Yet for Katy it was. She felt invisible and unessential.

Thaiworld opens at eight
in the morning. Katy arrived at eight-fifteen. She opened the door and saw Mr. Cruise sitting at his desk watching her walk in. He said, “Glad you prettied yourself up girl. Now have a seat and read a magazine or something until you get picked up.” Then he nonchalantly looked back at the newspaper he was reading and ignored her. All she could do was sit there and stare at the ground. For the first time, Katy noticed how filthy the office was. The floor was cheap vinyl that was pink and blue. There was dirt and road dust on the floor that you could hear crunching anytime you walked around. The air smelled like cooked chicken and cabbage. There were many pictures on the wall of Thai women. Katy wondered if any of them were women she might have known or seen around. Mr. Cruise looked up, “Oh hey, those women are from all over Thailand. Don’t panic if you don’t see someone you know.” And he was right. Katy didn’t recognize anyone. Katy decided to go to his desk to talk to him; she had questions and wasn’t feeling very good about the whole thing.

“Mr. Cruise?”

“What is it now girl?”

“Isn’t there
a packet, pamphlets or information that I need to have? I am going to America and I don’t know much about it. Don’t I need a ticket or something?”

“
That is Nick Simmons’s responsibility. You have to ask him.” Mr. Cruise annoyingly shook his head and continued reading his paper. To him, the sale was over. The money had been deposited. Any more time spent dealing with Katy was a waste of time. All he was thinking about was the next deal; Katy and Nick were old news.

“But what if he has no packets or information?”

“Then you are shit out of luck.” Mr. Cruise waved his hand directing Katy like a dog to scatter away from the desk. Tears formed in Katy’s eyes along with a heavy sense of dread. She let out a small sob, which caught Mr. Cruise’s attention. He slammed his pen viciously on his desk and leaned back in his chair frustrated and angry. “Dammit girl, I have work to get done. I could have made you wait outside in the dust, but I am trying to be nice here. You belong to Nick Simmons now. You are his business now. You and I are through here!”

H
elplessness engulfed Katy as she went back to the hard plastic chair by the front door. The urge to walk back out the door was high, but it wasn’t enough to drum up any courage in Katy. She was stuck. She then leaned forward to her knees and huddled there crying. As Mr. Cruise sat there watching her, he felt bad for talking to her in the way that he just did. In a business like his, young girls always get sent away to an uncertain future. There are no guarantees or international regulations. If you get in harms way, there is no one to help you. Cruise knows this yet he needs to make a living. He decided to at least try to ease her fears.

“Ok miss, I am sorry for taking that tone with you.
I know you are nervous and scared. But let me assure you that Mr. Simmons is a great man. There have been many men that I wouldn’t even let near my dog. But I would say you are a lucky one. He is rich, a preacher, and loved by many people. You are probably the luckiest of all girls to walk through here. All you need to do right now is sit back, relax, and think about the great life you are going to have. Now if will pardon me, I have work to do. Good luck to you.” Mr. Cruise then turned his attention back on some forms on his desk and began doing whatever it is that he does. Katy felt somewhat better. “Thank you Mr. Cruise, good luck to you too.” He never looked up again. Not even when a taxi pulled in front and a fat African man waved through the window for Katy to come out. She never imagined that she would be whisked away to her prince charming in a filthy taxicab.

The driver d
idn’t say a word and didn’t even bother to open the trunk for her two bags. She had to pile the bags next to her in the backseat. When her door shut, the car took off. “Excuse me driver, where are we going? Why isn’t Mr. Simmons with you?” Unconcerned eyes looked at her through the rearview mirror. “You are going to airport. I drop you off at gate. Then you fly away.” Katy began to realize she was now at the mercy of the real world. A world outside of Pai she has never been to. “Do you know Mr. Simmons? Is he meeting me there?”

“
Don’t know and don’t care.”

No?
Oh no! What is happening? I want to go home. Never has a hug from my mother been more important to me. Will I ever get another hug? Can I at least have one more hug?”

“Driver, can you take me home.
I want to go home. I have made a mistake.”

“No.
Shut up!”

“But please!
I can’t do this!” The Driver laughed and then was silent for a few minutes before he spoke in a thick African accent.

“I have driven several girls like you to airport.
You are all the same. Scared, frightened and halfway through, you want to go back home. I tell all the same thing, you can’t go home. The money has been paid. I get my money after you are dropped off. My instructions are to take you no matter what and not let you out of cab until then. But hey, you are going to America! Be happy!” His grin revealed a set of teeth rotting from consistent pipe smoking of meth.

“You think I will be?”

“Of course! It be on TV all the time. I would love to go myself but personal circumstance do not permit.”

Fifteen minutes later, the cab arrived at the airport.
When Katy got out of the cab with her bags, an airport valet came and handed an envelope to the driver. Who speedily drove off without saying a word. The valet then handed Katy an envelope as well. “This is your ticket and passport. Your gate is straight ahead once you walk in the front entrance. Flight AC819 is your flight. Good luck.” He walked away before she could say anything.

Where is Mr.
Simmons? I have to go on the airplane alone? I have never flown before. He said he was going to fly with me. Oh God I want my mom.

It was a very depressing event for Katy.
No one met her at the gate. The envelope had one hundred and fifty Thai Bahts in it. A young man who saw her open the envelope walked up and offered her a relaxation pill for one hundred, which she bought. While waiting at the gate, Katy felt a dread that she had never felt before. She felt nauseous. Katy’s thoughts were racing as well. One moment she would be imagining living in a nice house with kids, being married and loving Mr. Simmons. Then she would think how she had only met the man she is marrying for a few short minutes. He didn’t even look at her much. Katy made herself think of good food in a fancy kitchen that she had only seen in magazines. But it always led back to the idea of leaving her family and the life she has known in Pai since she was born. It wasn’t a great life, but it was home.

***

Germany and New York were the only stops on Katy’s route to Houston. The flight lasted a total of sixteen hours. Her fears had subsided due to the effects of the relaxation pill. She was glad she waited to take her seat before taking the pill. Yet afterward, Katy barely remembers being told that she was in the wrong seat twice. Eventually she got seated next to a window where she passed out from the relaxation pill. She slept from the small airport in Pai, all the way to when the plane was in the air between New York and Houston. As she woke, it occurred to her that she missed seeing Germany, New York and any other awesome views seen out of the side window. A stewardess informed her of where the plane was and that they would be landing in an hour and forty minutes. Effects from the relaxation pill were still making her woozy, which helped eliminate anxiety for the time being.

Bush Intercontinental Airport was large and fancy.
It was around midnight when the plane landed. The futuristic look of the architecture was amazing to her. The place was also calm and somewhat deserted. Katy nervously started walking through the terminal after getting off the plane. She just kept moving one foot in front of the other. It was almost as if she didn’t care where she went. Mainly because she had no idea where she was suppose to go. It was as if she was on another planet. Home seemed so very far away. She thought of her legos and wanted to cry.

Katy looked around for someone who might be waiting for her
; for anyone that might be holding a sign with her name on it. She looked for Nick, but couldn’t remember exactly what he looked like. Katy wished she had looked at him more when he was in the office. Luckily a TSA agent noticed her wondering around lost and guided her through customs and sent her in the direction of the terminal hub. It made her feel better that the lady was so nice to her. After walking down a long corridor, Katy came upon a large open area, which served as the terminal hub. At that time of night, all the concession stands were closed. A Starbucks in the center reminded her of a medical clinic with all the glass and metal containers. She thought the cappuccino machines looked like alien spaceship controls. It would be months before she remembered back to that evening and realized it was a coffee shop.

Another airport employee, noticing how lost Katy still looked and asked if she needed any assistance. Katy was feeling more at ease with all the people willing to help her. Strangers have never been nice to her like this. She began to feel very excited about being in America. The male employee walked her to baggage and helped her locate her suitcases. Then he showed her to the waiting area for passengers being picked up; wondering to himself who could possibly be picking up this foreign woman in the middle of the night. He assumed correctly that she was a mail order bride.

Houston
’s air, though not perfect, was a pure joy to Katy. In most villages and cities in Thailand, the air always had a smell to it. Primarily from pollution and poor sanitation. In Pai, some streets were soaked with feces and urine thrown out of chamber pots from apartment windows. But the streets for tourists were kept much cleaner.

Katy walked out of a set of glass doors to the passenger pickup and dropoff area of termina
l D. She got to see her first limo. Plus she saw a Mercedes, Toyota SUV and a pickup truck, which amazed her because she had only seen pictures in a magazine. Then a valet much different than the one at the airport in Pai approached her. In America, valets were dressed nice and were very polite. She also noticed that people here were taller, muscular or fatter. To her, it was much like watching Star Trek because the Americans looked like aliens to her. And that was because in Thailand there was little to no obesity. Everyone was short and skinny with no muscle mass. Poor nutrition meant poor growth. Native foods that Katy grew up on held insufficient protein. And the word vitamin was non-existent in their vocabulary. The valet pointed her to a concrete bench to sit and wait on. But she didn’t know who to wait for, or when they were coming. It was twelve-thirty. All Katy could do was look out to the darkness and wait for whatever happens next.

Three hours later,
Frank pulled up. Katy saw his BMW pull into the area and thought how beautiful it was, not knowing it was for her. She watched as a fat man exited. To her, this man would be more handsome if he wasn’t so fat. She was disgusted.
Oh my God, they make leather jackets that big? Must cost a fortune because they would have to use the whole cow!

Katy wasn’t
merely amusing herself. She was just shocked at how large some Americans were. When Katy locked eyes with the fat man, he began walking over. As he got closer, Katy stood up. Frank, in a thick Jersey accent that made Katy want to laugh, asked, “Yo, you the chick from Thailand?”

“
Chick? Do you mean chicken sir? I didn’t bring chicken from Thailand.”

“No woman, are you the girl from Thailand for Nick
Simmons?” Katy yelled an enthusiastic, “Yes, I am Mr. Simmons’ bride! Where is he?”

“Anyways, Nick might be
home in bed. It’s the middle of the night you know. I would have been here earlier but things at the club were going good for me. That’s my car there, put your bags in the trunk and get in.” Katy enthusiastically grabbed the handles of her suitcases, happily skipped to Frank’s BMW like a child, and put them in the trunk. Her body was shaking with the excitement of riding in a BMW.

“Sir,”

“Hey call me Frank.”

“Frank, can I ride in the front?”

“Wouldn’t’ have it any other way baby!”

***

Two acres surrounded the house in River Oaks. $3.4 million dollars had bought a 6,477 square feet mansion with a huge pool in the backyard. This was more than Katy could have ever dreamed of. But she wondered how a house like this could possibly belong to a preacher. Preachers weren’t supposed to be rich. At least according to the bible they weren’t. Katy then wondered if this was Mr. Simmons’ church, but it didn’t have a cross anywhere. She was excited either way. “Umm Mr. Frank?”