Page 179 of Roberto

“I don’t – ”

“Say yes,” he said with a slight smile and a sly look.

His repetition of the phrase triggered a memory.

During my vacation in Thailand – before the final, dramatic night in Bangkok – I visited a mountain city called Chiang Mai.

On the third day there, my boyfriend wandered off to run an errand.

While I waited for him at a roadside café, a little Thai boy no older than six came walking up with ten red carnations.

He was one of hundreds of street urchins I’d seen during my trip: kids who sold flowers and tchotchkes to tourists to help support their families.

At first, I was shocked that children that young weren’t in school, but it became a depressingly familiar sight.

He was dressed in dirty shorts and a grubby t-shirt, but he gave me a movie star smile as he held out a flower. “Tenbaht.”

He was only asking for the equivalent of 30 cents, but I had no desire for a carnation.

“No, thank you,” I replied.

He repeated the phrase again, but in a different tone of voice – like,Come ON, it’s a bargain!“Tenbaht!”

“No, thank you.”

He tilted his head to the side and said, “Tenbaaaaaaht,”like the price was nothing – a mere pittance – so how could I possibly refuse?

By that point, I had started to smile a little. “No.”

“Tenbaht!”he said with a shrug, likeWho could resist THAT?!

“No,” I said, but now I was laughing.

“Ten…baht.”

Come ON, lady. I’m giving you the deal of the century here.

I kept saying no, and he kept using different tonal variations with slightly different meanings. He never repeated the same one twice.

“Tenbaht?”Are you SURE you’re going to pass on such a great deal?

“TENbaht!” Not 20 baht – not 30 baht – it’s only TEN baht!

“TenBAHT?!”Oh my goodness – can that price even be RIGHT?!

By then, I was snorting with laughter. My resolve was weakening.

He grinned and showed me all his baby teeth.

“TenBAHT!”You know you want this carnation, lady!

At that point, I broke down and gave him 100baht– $3 US – and took all ten of the flowers. I also gave him another 100bahtso he could buy some candy or a toy.

The sight of him skipping away down the street was one of my favorite memories of the trip.

That, and his repeated variations ofTen baht?

The Italian’s boyish charm called to mind my tiny salesman from Thailand, and I laughed in spite of myself.

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