The shopping expedition has come to an end, and Gam and I return to Mojos. She scurries off to work with her booty; I cross the street to the hotel to freshen up before joining her at work for cocktails.
The minute I arrive back at Mojos, M.E. ,the singer with the band, comes over; she wants to know all about our day from my perspective, as she’s already heard from Gam. M.E., you might recall, has served as a go between and translator for us at Mojos. I might add, she, along with Apple, has apparently been serving as matchmaker as well.
For at Mojos, Gam and I are already considered to be a couple. In fact, we are described as “a lovely couple,” and the other girls all refer to Gam as my girlfriend. (Not that that has stopped one of the others from attempting to move in on me) I’m not sure how we got to this point with the limited amount of time we’ve known each other and spent together thus far, but hey, this is Thailand. I just try to go along with the local customs. I’m that kind of guy.
As the evening continues, I find myself surrounded by several of the coyote dancers when they’re not up dancing. They’re all chattering away happily in Thai, I am enjoying my wine and the music. Life is good. But I begin to notice that I’m hearing Gam saying “Brown” a lot, or at least her version of Brown, which sounds something like B-lau-en.
As the conversation continues and I start paying more attention, Gam is ever more animated. I am seated on a bar stool and she is standing next to me, one arm around me, the other waving in the air. She is bouncing up and down, and it is Blauen this and Blauen that. I realize she is telling the story of our day, and the other girls have now surrounded us in a semi-circle and are gazing at me in awe, their eyes big and round, so I’m guessing Blauen is getting a good review.
Why the awe? Well, to begin with, this little expedition, while not particularly expensive to me, represented more than one month’s salary to them. It is clear they believe Gam has struck gold, or at least gold in the form of a gold card. 
My suspicions as to the gist of the conversation are confirmed, when Gam, miming what I would describe as akin to pulling a gun from a holster, with her arm fully outstetched in front of her, accompanies this gesture with two words I fully understand, as they’re pronounced in perfect English: “American Express!”
