—It was no different than their aunt who hustled a marriage out of him years ago. Kindliness and loneliness, from what I can tell, have always been his weakness. It was a simple calculating maneuver on Kazem’s part, really. Kazem affected being uncomfortable and shy. He waited until this uncle asked directly about his circumstances and then he gave a modest biographical summary of their move to Bangkok after selling their parents assets. He was careful not to mention Kumpee, the need for money, or any real description of how they were living. The uncle’s attempts at finding out information on those putrescent issues were only marginally successful. As a result, it seemed to the senator that Kazem was earnest and unassuming. He became more curious and anxious to help these pariahs as a result.
—And can you be more specific on how this was done?
—It’s rather mundane. I don’t wish to really.
—Human studies and our intellectual copulation require more information. One would have to be ignorant to not know that or male.
—He chitchatted, my dear, in a logical sequence that was a bit desultory at times. Humans call such an inexact order “variation.” After he told the location of where they were living and that the move had taken place because of Kumpee’s desire to be near his girlfriend, he answered the senator’s question on what his brothers were doing in their state of unemployment (Jatupon with his comic books and Suthep with his snookers). Then he moved to large ideas outside of his personal life: the upcoming elections for prime minister, the question of the government’s role for the flood victims in Hattayai, and if the senator would run for re-election in a couple years. It was done to create a mystique about he and his brothers as well as to elicit the approval of the senator who preferred people who could break out of their own skins. It was deferential. It was noble. It was all of those things that were manipulation in a consummate performance. Kazem played the part so well that he even began to think that he was this shy, vulnerable, unpretentious, and caring person despite trying circumstances.
—Did he directly attempt to exploit the man’s feelings of sympathy for their plight or the senator’s loneliness?
—In some respects he did. He reminisced about his mother whom this high governing uncle had sympathy. The senator of course entertained this sympathy because his wife (their mother’s sister) had always carped, disparaged, and vilified her for such a marriage to an illiterate street person. The senator never forgot his sister-in-law’s birthday even after his divorce. To be specific, Kazem was seated before the senator drinking coffee and eating doughnuts when he ironically spoke of how he missed the scents of flowers his mother would bring into the home or the smell of a freshly cleaned floor. It belied the truth of this porcine creature whose domestic tendencies had surrendered to male nastiness early into marriage and motherhood. The sad lonely tone resonated with the senator. It strummed the harp of his heart.
—What are these three brothers doing at present?
—At present they are drinking beer and celebrating with some of the money that the senator gave to them.
—Did the senator give money that quickly?