Martoons

Cast of characters

Max

Fred

Coffee Lady

*

Fred stepped forward.

“How are you, Sir?”

They shook hands.

“Hello, hello! My name – Max. Welcome to my pool house.”

Max vigorously shook Fred’s hand but the only problem was that, like a lot of Koreans, he wouldn’t let go.

So Fred held his hand in place for about 15 seconds before casually and adeptly sliding it out.

Max said, “You foreigners seem to like pool.”

Fred positioned himself and took another shot. “Do a lot of foreigners come here?”

“Yes. Actually before you two more. The first guy I meet – his name Thomas.”

Fred nodded. “My friend! You call me in Canada to tell me Thomas was in crisis. Do you remember?”

“Ah!” Max’s eyes lit up. “Yes I remember. Welcome to Korea!”

Fred was impressed that Max seemed to feel familiar and comfortable so quickly. “I’ve been looking for Thomas ever since I got here.”

Max waved him off and sunk into a sullen reflection. “Before, each time Thomas visit here he say many problem at his work.”

“I tell him TKO – typical Korean operation! Then suddenly I never see him anymore and I heard he move out of town. Where he go – I don’t know.”

“He say he will phone me some time but…”

* Will Thomas give Max a call? *

Fred crouched and shot again. “Did you say there was a second foreigner who comes here?”

“Yeah – he came after Thomas. He still here. He spend a lot of money at my businesses.”

Max picked up a cue, lined it up and took a shot.

As the balls whizzed around the table, a shapely, heavily made-up woman of about 30 arrived carrying a tray wrapped-up in a faded purple cloth.

Max directed her to his office.

* Who is this woman and what is she carrying? *

*

Copy? Coffee!      

“Let’s do copy!” Max said to Fred.

They went in the office. Max motioned for Fred to sit down beside him on a couch with a glass coffee table in front of it.

The delivery lady approached the table from the side.

“How do you like my Copy Lady?” Max asked. “Isn’t she beautiful?”

“Hello!” Fred said but ‘Copy Lady’ didn’t answer.

She put her tray on the table and untied the cloth, revealing a coffee pot; some white ceramic cups; sugar and other condiments; and stainless steel spoons.

Fred was impressed as he watched her execute her coffee delivery drill. She had it down to a science.

“Copy?” asked Max.

Fred generally disliked java and its addictive effect, but didn’t want to come across as a standoffish waygook.

He wanted to build rapport with Max. “Coffee? Sure.”

“Preem? Shoe-ka?”

Fred smiled. “Creamer and sugar?” Back home he would have avoided these two substances like the plague. “Sure, thanks Max.” 

Max generously spooned some into Fred’s cup, inadvertently dumping some sugar on the glass table.

Coffee Lady noticed the spill while neatly folding-up the purple cloth and taking it with her as she headed out.

“I’ll be back later to pick up the tray. Before I return – clean up that sugar! Ayeesh!

“Why are men so messy? Is it genetic? Sometimes this job drives me crazy. Being your mom is not in my job description.”

“Bye bye,” Fred said chuckling at her humour, but again she said nothing back.

Max noticed and when she was out the door he said, “These days she is a little angry.

“Recently she had a regular client … oh! I was just talking about him a minute ago – the second foreigner.”

“Anyway, he often gave her big tips but they had a falling out and he doesn’t want to see her anymore.”

“So she is kicking herself for losing a big client.”

* Is Damion the client whom Max is referring to? *

“She thinks it is her fault but she was just being honest with him.”

Max stopped talking and started absent-mindedly etching something with his fingertip in the spilled sugar.

“A triangle?” Fred asked.

*

Tomorrow: Max juggles conversing with a triad of waygooks all at once!