The Smiling Pinky

Pinky always smiled. If she were not so beautiful people would have said that she was simple. She was called Pinky because of her dewy skin and rosy red cheeks.

Like many old stories her mother gave birth to nine children and Pinky, who was the eldest, had to work to support the family. At seventeen, when asked, “What do you want to be?” She raised her hand and said, “I want to drink and dance.” And so she did.

‘Singapore Dance Hall’ was the best cabaret in Taipei in the seventies. The manager there immediately saw the potential in Pinky. Not only was Pinky an excellent dancer, she could literally drink like a fish. Big glasses of neat brandy went bottoms up one after another, her cheeks were already pink anyway! The thing about her that amazed everybody was that she never got drunk.

“Drink up!” customers ordered.

Large glasses of brandy were poured and Pinky never said no. Drink after drink, the customers would be lying plastered under the table while Pinky just kept smiling. This made her the most profitable asset in the cabaret and her reputation travelled fast. All the rich boys in town crowded into the dance hall to marvel at this treasure. Each swore he could make Pinky drunk, but no one ever succeeded.

Among the suitors were two guys who came every night. One was the son of a famous artist, the other the son of a rich merchant. The former was thin and tall with a melancholy look. Pinky noticed that he had the long fingers of a pianist. The latter was fat and ate like a pig. He always came with business associates and made them pay for the bill. Well, you can guess which one Pinky preferred.

One night, tragedy occurred. A fight broke out between the two men, but the manager was able to deal with it and stopped the brawl. However, when the artist’s son came out of the cabaret, he was ambushed by the merchant’s son and his gang who set upon him with samurai swords.

The artist’s son tried to defend himself and three fingers were cut off. The police arrived and the gang ran away. The artist’s son was rushed to the hospital. The fingers were sewn back on but there was no chance he could play the piano ever again.

Pinky quit her job and married him. They moved to live in Tokyo where the husband worked for a big company. They had two babies, and the kids grew up in no time.

The husband came home less and less, yet Pinky never complained.

One day Pinky declared, “I am going to work as a Mamasan.” A Mamasan is the head hostess of a bar.

“You must think of my reputation!” the husband yelled at her.

Pinky did not argue, she smiled and did as she pleased anyway.

The bar she worked in was in Ginza. Only rich businessmen could afford to visit this place. Although Pinky was now thirty-four, her waistline was still twenty-four and she still drank like a fish. The husband eventually accepted the situation. “The Mamasan never sleeps with the customers anyway,” he thought to himself.

One evening a Taiwanese man walked in.

The bar girls told him that they had a Mamasan who never got drunk. He got curious and he called for her.

“Drink up.” He ordered.

The girls were surprised to see the Mamasan got tipsy on only one drink, and they were even more surprised that she agreed to go to his hotel.

In the hotel room they ordered drink after drink until the businessman collapsed unconscious. Pinky put down the bottle, pulled the man up, placing his right arm in between two chairs. She climbed onto the side table and then jumped onto his arm. The man cried loudly but he was too drunk to move. She placed his arm at a different angle and did the same again to make sure the bone was completely shattered.

Then she left smiling. You can guess who the man was.

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Published on October 18, 2024 16:00
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