Rich People Problems-Kwan 2017 (WWT)

meeting. I’ve heard so much about you over the years!”
“Really?”
“Yes, your grandmother was inordinately proud of you. She talked about you all the
time. Come, sit, sit. Do you take tea or coffee?” Jirasit asked as a flurry of servants
appeared with trays of refreshments and food.
“Coffee would be great.”
Jirasit uttered a few words in Thai as the servants began setting up an elaborate
breakfast on the wide stone ledge of the pavilion. “You’ll have to excuse the mess, I have
been indulging in my favorite pastime,” Jirasit said, as he moved his cameras to one side
of the table to make room for the coffee service.
“That’s quite a collection you have there,” Nick said.
“Oh, they’re all rather obsolete at this point. I prefer shooting with my digital Canon
EOS these days, but I do enjoy cleaning these old cameras. It’s very meditative.”
“So you were in quite frequent contact with my grandmother, then?” Nick asked.
“Off and on, over the years. You know how old friends are…we would skip a year here
and there, but we did try to stay in touch.” Jirasit paused for a moment, staring at an old
Rolleiflex twin lens on the table. “That Su Yi…I shall miss her.”
Nick took a sip of his coffee. “How did you two become acquainted?”
“We met in Bombay in 1941, when we both worked at the British India Office.”
Nick sat forward in his chair, surprised. “Wait a minute, is this the Indian branch of the
War Office? My grandmother worked there?”
“Oh yes. She never told you? Your grandmother started out in the code-breaking office,
and I was in the cartography department, helping to create a detailed map of Thailand.
The cartographers didn’t really know Thailand well, especially in these remote northern
parts near the border, and we needed accurate maps in the event of an invasion.”
“How fascinating. I always pictured her luxuriating away in some maharaja’s palace
during the Japanese occupation.”
“Well, she did that too, but the British, you see, enlisted her to do some…sensitive
diplomatic work as soon as they realized what she was capable of.”
“I had no idea…”
“Your grandmother had a certain allure that’s hard to put your finger on. She was never
one of those typical beauties, but men just fell at her feet. It came in very useful during
the war. She was good at influencing those rajahs in certain directions.”
Nick reached into his satchel and took out the leather box that Su Yi had entrusted to
him, placing it on the table. “Well, the reason I’m here is because my grandmother
wanted me to return these to you.”
“Ah, my old Dunhill case! I never thought I’d be reunited with it after all these years,”
Jirasit said like an excited child. “You know, your grandmother was a very stubborn
woman. When she insisted on returning to Singapore during the height of the war—
complete madness, I tell you—I gave her a few of my most valuable possessions. My