December 3 （visa expires in 42 days）
The Central Phuket mall was pretty close to my apartment.
For safety’s sake, I decided to cross the busy street rather than take the bridge.
Yep, safety not speed. The stairs up to the bridge, and even more so those down from the bridge, were designed for feet about half the size of a westerner’s feet.
A fall was all but guaranteed. I looked at the busy road and told myself over and over, like a mantra, that no one would accelerate just to run me down.
I waited for a relatively safe gap between two cars and bolted for the opposite sidewalk.
A vehicle whizzed behind me, a split second after I got out of its way.
I felt the whoosh of air as it passed. I breathed a sigh of relief and headed for the nearest entrance.
There was no one there. Just an improvised altar.
The mall is huge and easy to get lost in.
There are three Starbucks branches, but I guessed an Instagram influencer would choose the fancier one further in.
I walked past the first Starbucks and through an area of high-end stores that I never go into.
I took the escalator up a level to another Starbucks.
I was right. There he was, finger on his iPhone, probably watching reels on Instagram.
Time spent with Keren had given me a bit of a clue as to what the app is for.
He got up to greet me – with a hug it turned out. I heard him sniff above my head. “You showered? Your hair smells nice.”
“Umm… thanks, I guess.” Two seconds and I was already blushing. He was dressed in black – head to toe. Not a common look in sunny Phuket.
“Want to go order?”
We joined the line at the counter. The guy in front of us ordered a latte.
My standard order at Starbucks was a caramel Frappuccino – sweet, cold, better than any of their weird coffees.
When it was our turn, Daniel ordered a red macaron and something else that started with “hot” that I didn’t catch because I was focused on his cute accent with the elongated vowels that I was used to hearing in the movies.
The barista turned to me and I refocused.
I hadn’t noticed she was finished with his order.
I blurted a dumb “hot Frappuccino,” and Daniel burst out laughing. The barista’s look said, “are you for real, dude?” I quickly corrected to my usual order, trying to ignore Daniel’s laughter.
“345 baht,” said the barista and I realized Daniel hadn’t paid for his coffee. I handed her four 100 baht notes and Daniel didn’t seem to notice. He wasn’t through making fun of me.
”Did you see her face?” he asked when we sat down, mimicking her expression. After the child calmed down he looked at my cup and I could see he was wondering how to pronounce the name written on it.
“Your name is Liam?”
“Uh, my name is Amit, but this is my Starbucks name.”
Daniel laughed again.
“A Starbucks name? That’s a new one for me.”
“I don’t come here often. The baristas always spell my name wrong. I saw they didn’t have a problem with Liam’s name, so I started using it. That way I know I’m getting the right drink and don’t have to worry there’s some Thai called AMITZ waiting for his Frappuccino.”
“Genius. The world outside America has to go through so much to enjoy the best… I never thought about it before.”
I wanted to toss something at his head but made do with rolling my eyes.
“Was Liam your friend?”
“Liam is my adopted little brother. I mean, physically, he’s my big adopted brother, but still.”
“You adopted a brother?”
“Yeah. Not officially, of course. An Israeli family lives across the hall, and I decided to become one of them. But Liam went back to Israel to do his army service.”
“Bummer. Miss him?”
“Yeah. But I’ve gotten used to video chatting.”
“I get that. It’s like that for me all the time.”
It was my turn to check out Daniel’s drink. It looked good – light brown with foam. I wondered how it tasted. He noticed.
“Want a taste?”
“Just wondering what it is. Latte?”
“It’s called Caffe Misto, but in the inferior non-Starbucks world it’s a café au lait. Try it. It’s good!”
“Why do you know it’s non-Starbucks name? Don’t tell me you’ve had coffee somewhere other than Starbucks?!”
“Well sometimes life is rough, and you have to make hard choices. Low points. I’d prefer not to talk about them if it’s ok with you. C’mon, try it.”
My eyes lingered on the drink cautiously, as if it might be poisoned. He pushed it toward me. I picked it up and took a sip.
He looked me in the eye.
“Good, right?”
“It’s ok.” I didn’t want to stroke his Starbucks ego too much.
“It’s more than ok. It’s fantastic!” It was good, but fantastic was over the top. I rolled my eyes and pushed the cup back towards him. He put his hand over mine before I could take it back. Something inside me did a backflip.
“You’re cute when you try to hide what you’re thinking, but you’re as transparent as a Thai jellyfish.”
I hoped he was referring to my thoughts about the coffee – not something else.
“Did you just call me a jellyfish?” I pulled my hand away a little too abruptly and nearly spilled the coffee.
“I called you cute as a transparent jellyfish.”
“Transparent jellyfish are cute? They’re deadly!”
“Have you ever seen one? They’re the cutest.”
In a split second he was showing me a clip of swimming transparent jellyfish on his phone.
Seemed like he really did think they were cute and was waiting for me to agree with him. I would have rolled my eyes for the tenth time, but I was afraid they’d get stuck in that position.
“It would actually be nice to be a transparent jellyfish. I could be deadly to annoying people or just invisible when I didn’t feel like… like being seen.”
Daniel looked at me open-mouthed. “I think you’re missing the meaning of life. If you aren’t visible, you don’t exist.”
“Sounds like Instagram philosophy. I don’t think you’d understand.”
“Maybe I understand more than you think I do.”
I looked at him. What did he mean?
“I’m not in the mood for a philosophical discussion,” I said eventually.
Strange. It seems like it should be easier to open up to a stranger you don’t expect to see ever again, but I don’t feel like revealing too much because I want to make a good impression.
He saw I was serious and didn’t push it.
I changed the subject. “How long are you staying in Phuket?”
“I’m not the type who stays anywhere for long.
I like moving around and checking off the places I’ve been.
It feels good. I get judged a lot for not being present, not experiencing reality deeply, not committing to anything.
But it’s not like that at all. I try to experience every moment in every place fully, no reservations, because I know it’s fleeting. ”
He hadn’t answered the question directly, but he’d let me know that he wasn’t afraid, like I was, to reveal something deeply personal. He was clearly a skilled conversationalist, but I could see through the slick words. It’s my job after all.
“You didn’t say when you’ll be leaving.”
“Right,” Daniel said with a smile.
“Do you even know?”
“I just like to keep my departure date flexible in case something makes me want to stay longer.” Did he blush or was I imagining it? Hard to tell since he was popping a piece of red macaron into his mouth.