“Listen,” the mamasan had said, “there’s one thing you can do. It only works for girls like you, because any man with sense can see you’re no natural to the Game, to say the least. So you find the best prospect you can, give him everything he wants from you, and allow yourself to fall in love with him so you don’t have to keep faking it. Nine times out of ten the farang will fall for you too and marry you or at least take care of you and your family for a few years, which is a lot better than selling your body in a bar.”

How to fall in love? She shared a room with three other girls, all from Lalita’s home village near Surin on the border with Cambodia. Together they spoke in a dialect of Khmer, which made things seem cozy and happy. The three others knew all about Lalita’s problem with sex, for they told each other everything. After her little chat with the mamasan, Lalita had gone home to her friends and burst into tears. It was so frustrating. If only she could open her legs and screw with exaggerated abandon like the others, she would be able to save her mother’s sight and her father’s life and her brother’s future in less than a year. Nong, her best friend, realized that a radical solution was called for.

“I know what you’re going to say,” Lalita said, “you’re going to say aim for one special guy and give him everything so he can’t live without me, but I don’t have a clue how to do that.”

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