Ex Rat Continued

The pool man after waiting patiently at the edge of the pool for the water bottle to bob towards him, scoops it out of the water, shaking the excess back into the pool.

"Anyway."

The woman sits on the edge of her lounger and scrolls through her emails.

"Anyway what?"

The man squats down at the edge of the pool and then quickly stretches out to do a few press-ups in quick succession

The pool man walks slowly up to where the line of loungers are set out for members, pristine white cotton each with a lotus flower placed on the head rest. Quietly he moves to within a few metres. The rat doesn't see him until too late

The pool man retraces his steps. He seems happy with his catch.

The man finishes off his series of press-ups with a few mid-air hand claps before he pushes himself up to standing.

The woman finishes scrolling.

" What time are we meeting for dinner?"

"Meeting? Who?"

" Hurlupta and her husband."

"Where?"

"At dinner."

"And why?"

" The vice counsel is due to be there."

"Oh. Best be there in good time."

The rat is uncooperative as the pool man plunges him into the bottle. He squeaks forlornly, his tail twitching,his wet fur pressed against the sides but with a few more shoves he is in. Squashed and forlorn.

"Anyway maybe we can ask someone at the dinner."

"About what?"

"About a maid who doesn't steal."

"Maybe its someone else."

"Who?"

"I don't know, the guard?"

"Don't we pay him enough?"

" It's all taken care of."

"Someone is taking care of themselves all right. A helping hand helping themselves."

The pool man smiles at the rat in the water bottle. With the tip of his pen he pierces the plastic giving the rat an airhole. His squeak sounds louder now and the pool man looks around. There is no one to hear except the two foreigners at the side of the pool. The pool man watches the man and woman, his stare unblinking for some time. The rat is shifting in the bottle, his small claws scrape at the plastic. The pool man shifts it from one hand to the other as he watches the man and woman. The squeak gets louder.

Gently he lowers the rat in the bottle into the water, gently making waves in the direction of the man and the woman.

Ex Rat: Conversations Overheard

"Oh my god, that maid of mine..."

A rat peeks out from under calentia bush close to where a woman is lounging by the pool.
The woman tuts at web footage on her phone of photographers hounding Air France relatives, white with shock, as they arrived at the terminal to await news.

"How awful."

The pool guy looks up and smiles. The waitress in an ao dai has let a tray of bottled water slip from her grip and one has fallen and rolled into the pool, its slender neck bobbing in the breeze.

" How can they show these pictures, these people deserve to be left alone. Awful.
I can't stand to see people crying."

"Huh?"

The woman's husband lifts his head out of the rippling water, smoothing his hair back as he squints into the sun.

" What did you say?"

"The maid is stealing from us. There was money in the draw and now it's not there."

"Why are you leaving money in a drawer?"

"Why is she stealing the money? We pay her enough."

The man lifts himself out of the pool, his arms tanned, chest white. He nods to the pool man who is scooping dead leaves out of the water while watching the bottle bob.

"It's cultural."

The woman laughs.

"It's theft, pure and simple. Aren't these people Buddhists?"

The man too notices the mineral water bottle floating towards the deep end and he kicks his legs to make waves and the bottle lurches towards the side.

The pool man stops mid scoop when he sees the rat twitching under the woman's sun lounger. He smiles, wags his finger at it with mock admonishment then walks over to where the water bottle is now knocking against the side.

"You want me to fire her?"

"It's awful. The responsibility. She has children. What will happen to them? Is there a safety net here?"

To be continued...