Gemscentric

Written by Julian Robov


Sixty Four


There was joy and greetings when Rudy arrived at a private condominium on Sathorn Road belonging to James. They had all the reasons to celebrate. Their enemies have all disappeared except a friend-turned-traitor Meechai.
“I have some interesting info for sharing,” Toni said, holding a report in hand. “In fact, it should be corrected as we.”
“What’s up boys?” Rudy asked.
“After digging up the demographics data in the United States, Western Europe, Asia and South America, we have come to the conclusion that there is a huge untapped market among twin-income-no-kids group. Professional men and women are opting to lead a kids free life. What do they have? Money—disposable income. What do they do with their money? Nothing but spend. Some are going on exotic cruises, while others are busy spending on jewelry and gemstones, lacking product knowledge, buying the wrong stones for wrong occasions. There are quite a few who have already burned-up their savings playing in the stock market. We are going to fill that vacuum, by impregnating new ideas, persuading them to buy big, but good stones—with a story and little bit of history so that they have something to talk about, for the rest of their lives holed-up in their posh condominiums. We want gemstones to replace the hapless and amorphous kids. That’s the good news,” Bill explained.
“Great,” James said, tapping the table. “Kid free families—it’s a double-edged sword, but there is a market. A virgin territory. Blue sapphires are a perfect alternative for men and women who don’t want to raise a family. They don’t bark at you, they don’t abandon you, and they are always with you flashing and smiling like an angel. And they are like children from all over the world. They speak Thai, English, Burmese, Khmer, Laotian, Spanish, Chinese, Hindi, French, Swahili and numerous endangered African dialects. They are attentive when you talk. They listen when you sing. And they watch when you dance. Do you think our children have the patience when we need them? NO. Blue sapphires speak a language we understand. That’s why we buy them. That’s why we like to parade them—yet they don’t complain. Do our children like what we do? NO. It’s a perfect idea.”
“I have something more exotic,” Gary added. “Gays and lesbians. Think about it. They are all coming out of their caves begging to be recognized as humans but different. What do they have? Money—double income. Maybe they want to adopt kids. Who cares? But the point is dual income, and in most cases, they are more financially well-off than the families with screwed-up kids. They are educated, at least look healthy, well informed and curious—with discretionary incomes. In most cases, they are gentle people expecting the world to recognize them—like any other species on earth. It’s just the attitude, which I think with time will change. If we can work with the rocket gem scientists who have better knowledge and technology, we should be able provide blue sapphire pairs, confirming the stones origin—from the same rough. Gays and lesbians would love to collect blue sapphires coming from the same rough crystal. We sell them—rarity, beauty, quality, history—and a good fucking story to be remembered for the rest of their lives. Think about it.”
“What’s missing now is pets,” Rudy said, looking serious.
“Is it a joke?” Toni asked, rising from his chair.
Rudy paused. “No. It isn’t. It’s a long term goal, but look at America and Europe or may be parts of Asia, Australia, and South America. The affluent families are pet addicts. Gosh, if you look at the time they spend grooming them with this and that, what do you think they are missing? Gemstones! Blue sapphires should make a cat or dog beautiful and lovable—like a human. Like we said earlier perfect timing, education, and an affordable quality should make the animals and their owners feel happy and content. All we are saying is we want to make someone happy, and guess what? We have a product that others don’t have. That’s our niche.”
There was a moment of silence, as Rudy slumped back in his chair. Then everyone laughed loudly. It was expected.
“Okay guys, we need a break. The chef is waiting for us,” James reminded, moving to the dining room. Others followed eagerly wondering the surprise specialties on the menu.
“The Blue Color City project is nearing its completion,” Rudy said, tasting Thai-style kuoy tiew rua with beef in a large ceramic bowl. “It’s going to be a big bang for the colorful city. A lot of celebrities are coming.”
“Must be Potch’s idea, is that right?” Toni asked, scooping green mango salad.
Rudy paused. “Yep.”
“I would have loved to see Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Bangkok, holding blue sapphires in hand, at our office,” Gary said, fumbling around with Vietnamese noodles. “It will boost more tourism in the country and guess what? We get the credit.”
The chef was seen explaining to Gary the right way to eat noodles. Everyone laughed.
“But you said earlier Madonna would be coming,” Toni said, trying ja daeng (Sargent Red) with a bowl of glass noodles in spicy soup with marinated pork. “Has she changed her mind?”
“Let’s keep the world guessing,” Rudy commented, sipping the Taiwanese iced tea. “It’s good for publicity.”
The chef was seen doing some new cooking tricks with kuoy tiew—like how gem dealers sort and grade different quality blue sapphires and other popular gems—with their loupe and tweezers. There was marinated pork, boiled pork, pork ribs, spicy pork ribs, pork balls, fish balls, wantons, crisp fish skin, tofu, and the five musketeers of sen yai, sen lek, sen mee, ba mee, and glass noodles. The mother of all spicy combination was in the offing. It was a hot experience.
“What are we going to do with Meechai?” Bill asked, tongue-testing ba mee poo, egg noodle with crab meat, and ba mee ped, egg noodle with duck. “It doesn’t look like a good omen.”
James answered, “We are watching closely. No one knows his whereabouts. He must be out for some sort of revenge. Who knows?”
“What do you hear in the gem market?” Rudy asked.
“As you know too well, its full of fucking rumors,” Gary opined. “No one knows the true story. Instead people are left guessing. When people like Seri and Jeffrey are found missing, all sort of speculation should be expected, especially when they all know we had been doing some business with them, you know, one way or another. Everyone knows what had happened to Rudy in Cambodia. And now you are back, and we are all involved in resurrecting the business—then people are going to ask a lot of questions. That’s human nature. Nothing to be ashamed of. I don’t know if it’s good or bad, but I think we need to come up with a clean believable story as the dust settles. One way or another the world is going to know what had happened behind the scene.”
Rudy pursed his lips, letting out his breath. It was an encouraging comment, though far short of what he had in mind. But to his own amazement everything was falling in its right place without any hiccups. That’s how events were unfolding to his advantage. There was always someone coming from nowhere to help him out just in the nick of time.
“Do you think the establishment is with us?” Bill asked trying dim sum.
James interrupted. “Of course, yes. Everyone benefits. And most important we have the right people running the show. We are just good facilitators.” Rudy nodded.
“How about adorning flowers and exotic plants with blue sapphires? That’s an untapped market. Some people are more concerned about them than their children or husband. You will see them spending hours grooming them as if they are the most important thing in their lives. Think about it. We are selling romance. They will do anything sacrificing their lives making their plants and flowers look beautiful,” Toni said, whooshing pearled iced tea.
“This must be a joke,” James answered, holding a plate of Italian spaghetti. “If there is such an untapped market, I am telling you, Toni—you have our full cooperation and moral support. Go for it.” Everyone applauded.
After the dinner, Rudy holding a paper cut-out, brought everyone’s attention to a curious standstill—man-and-dog duo. The sheer simplicity of the pair had the power to forget the whole trouble for awhile. The Alsatian standing on a wooden board secured onto the back of its master’s motorcycle was an eye-catching shot.
“What’s the message?” Bill asked.
Rudy said. “Friendship. That’s all I can absorb from the shot. Natural friendship.”
A few minutes later, he handed an invitation card to everyone. They opened the envelope, and after reading the content they looked up at Rudy in a surprise shock and disbelief, except James.
“Is it true?”