After that first sighting, I shadowed the woman as she tapped along her walking staff. I visited the vegan Nepali restaurant where she ate, the Shakhti gift shop where she worked. Inside the employee-owned Café Assisi, I ordered a Rooibos tea and mimicked her blissful smile into the rising steam. I lingered by the community bulletin board. Reiki sessions. Bikes for sale. Missing pets.
An Interview | Mai Nardone on Thai Identity, Class, and His First Story Collection
“Only you farang are so easy to come and and leave,” yells Nam to her American husband, Rick, in “Easy,” a story that sits at the emotional and temporal core of Welcome Me to the Kingdom, Mai Nardone’s debut collection of short fiction. The reason why Nam is upset is that their family has just moved from their high-rise condo back to their old townhouse. It’s 1997 and Rick—like so many others in Thailand, foreign and local—has seen his fortunes reverse due to the Asian financial crisis. This reversal puts strain on a relationship already on shaky ground.