From Something To Everything (Bounprem)

138. Mothers

Tears rolled down Tessa's cheeks as she looked at the photo of Boun and Prem on Boun's birthday celebration. Boun was smiling widely holding the birthday cake.

She covered her mouth as happy tears continued to escape her eyes. She never thought she would be able to see the day when Boun would actually celebrate his birthday.

"Khun Tessa, Kha." Tessa quickly wiped her tears hearing Jassy call her name.

She turned around. "Kha?"

"Are you okay, Khun Tessa?" The red-rimmed eyes of the other lady didn't escape Jassy's eyes.

"Kha." Tessa smiled softly. She didn't want Jassy to see her vulnerable side.

"Here's the dress. You can change in there." Jassy didn't want to push Tessa to speak up even though she knew that something was bothering the latter.

Tessa thanked her and took the dress. She excused herself to change.

Jassy looked at the photo Tessa was looking at and then at the closed door behind which Tessa was changing. Something clicked within her. She sighed and went to the kitchen and poured a glass of water for Tessa.

Tessa walked out of the room in the new clothes.

"That dress looks better on you than it looked on me," Jassy commented handing the glass of water to Tessa.

Tessa smiled at the compliment and took the water, thanking Jassy.

"Khun Tessa Kha, if you don't mind, can I ask you something?" Jassy asked as they settled down in the living area.

"Kha, go ahead." Tessa smiled.

"Are you Boun's birth Mae?"

Tessa froze upon hearing the question. She couldn't believe that Jassy actually figured it out. She sipped the water wordlessly.

Seeing Tessa's reaction, Jassy knew that she was right. "I kind of guessed it from the way you were looking at the photos."

Tessa didn't speak. She didn't know if she was qualified to call herself Boun's mother.

"I am not judging you, Khun Tessa." Jassy patted Tessa's hand.

Tessa looked up with glossy eyes.

"Please don't look at me like that. I know you love Boun more than he thinks you do. I am a mae too, Khun and I know how you feel." Jassy felt bad for the other women.

A tear finally escaped Tessa's eyes. All these years other than her parents and Ann, no one had actually understood how she felt about her youngest son. He was the apple of her eye.

She had always known that her actions might seem unfair to Boun. But she also knew that she had to keep a safe distance from Boun for his own security.

"Prem once told me that Boun is actually not very close to his birth Parents." Jassy sighed seeing Tessa holding back her tears. She found the latter pitiful. "It's not easy for us women, Khun. Most of the time we would have to make choices regardless of what we want.

When I got married, I actually thought that I would be able to handle both my family and career together. But when I had Prem, I started understanding that my line of work is not suitable for a mother of a newborn. There, I had to make a choice. And my choice was to give up my career and concentrate on Prem."

Tessa was listening to Jassy narrating her story.

Jassy looked at Tessa and continued. "The choice wasn't easy Khun. There were many times that I regretted my choice of leaving my passion behind. But seeing Prem came back home from school and eagerly sharing the whole day's account, would make me feel that it was worth it." she smiled.

She stood up and grabbed a box of tissue from the cabinet. "I know that your decisions and choices might have caused scars in your relationship with Boun. But that doesn't mean that you love him any lesser than me loving Prem." She handed the tissues to Tessa.

"Thank you, kha," Tessa mumbled taking the tissues from Jassy.

Jassy waited for Tessa to calm down. "Would you like to see other photos of them? I have a few more with me." She offered.

Tessa's face lit up at the offer. She eagerly nodded.

Jassy whipped out her phone and showed the photos the boys had sent her.

The two mothers smiled looking at the photo.

"Where was this taken?" Tessa pointed at a photo of Prem piggybacking Boun.

"I think that was in Phuket," Jassy said after thinking for a while. "When Boun took Prem on a graduation trip."

Tessa hummed swiping to the next photo. "How long have they known each other?"

"To be precise, I actually don't know. Maybe around a year." Jassy smiled lovingly at the photos. "I only got to know of him after he started tutoring Prem for his final exams."

Tessa bit her lips, mulling over the question she had wanted to ask for a long time. "Khun Jassy kha."

"Kha?"

"What do... you think about... them being... together?" Tessa spat out the question. She knew that her son and the boy weren't 'just friends'. She wondered what Jassy thought of the matter.

"Boun and Prem?"

Tessa nodded.

"They are not together. Khun." Jassy chuckled. "I mean, not together- together. They are like... what do kids these days call it?... friends with benefits, yes, friends with benefits"

Tessa's eyes widened at Jassy's acknowledgement.

"I too kind of thought that they were dating from the way they were interacting with each other. But they denied it when I asked them.

I initially thought that they must be lying to me because they weren't ready to let us know. But when I asked Prem's friends, they said the same. They lightly hinted to me that Boun had some commitment issues. Maybe someone broke his heart in the past."

Tessa remained quiet. She wanted to sneer at herself for having to hear about her son's whereabouts from an outsider.

"But I really feel assured by the fact that Prem has Boun by his side, na." Jassy smiled looking outside the window. "I know they will take care of each other."

"I wish they would," Tessa mumbled. Seeing how much Jassy supported Boun, she really hoped that her son would be able to stay with Prem for long.

"Boun is a good kid, Khun." Jassy patted Tessa reassuringly. "He is sweet, kind and responsible."

"Kha." Tessa swiped to the next photo. Her fingers froze when she saw a group photo. There was no Boun in it. it was a photo of Prem with his best friends and Kao in the middle. "This is..."

"Oh, this one?" Jassy looked at the photo. "This one is from their high school days. These are his best friends. Kao... since you are Boun's Mae, then, he should be your nephew, right?"

Tessa nodded silently.

"Kao took the kids on a road trip back then..."

Tessa tuned out as Jassy continued to speak.