If You So Desire (sequel to Turn... and Walk Away)

Chapter 6

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Max's POV

Yes she was pretty. Jan was pretty. Very much so. But I was in no mood to fall for some pretty face just because that bastard husband of mine had been unfaithful to me. I just wanted to leave him for some time to make him realize that if he really loves me he should discipline his emotions and not just go falling for the first good looking face that gives him special attention.

I smiled back at Jan who opened the door wider so that I could enter the apartment.

"Mmmaaaxxx!" the over dramatic Debbie came running into the living room squealing my name.

I braced myself for the tight hug that she gave me. Ugghhh. That unbearable perfume again. It would stick to me all day until I get the chance to shower later this evening before I change into my pajamas. Ugghh this was the same perfume that got me in trouble with Tul because he had been suspecting that I was seeing someone behind his back  because her perfume would stick to my shirt and Tul could smell it when I got home from work. But there was nothing I could do about it right now. I had to grin and bear it because she was giving me a roof over my head until I'm able to get myself settled in my own apartment unit.

I was lucky that I did not have to go back to work yet until next week. I had extended my honeymoon vacation because I had been looking forward to a blissful newly wedded life with Tul and then this had to happen.

"Are you sure you don't want to have any lunch?" Debbie persisted. "I cooked my very first jambalaya dish and there is so much leftover of it. I really want you to try it and let me know if it tastes good enough to bring to the office for when we have some company potluck parties."

My stomach was actually still feeling queasy from the emotional turmoil that I was going through, but I had to give in to Debbie and give her jambalaya dish a little taste test.

"Let me settle in first and then I'll join you in the dining room," I said, trying to buy myself some time before Debbie rains down all her investigative questions on me.

Thankfully, after I tried to make the tiny room as comfortable as possible for me to live in, there were no curious questions from Debbie.

She spread out the jambalaya dish for me when I joined her in the dining room. She motioned for me to sit at the head of the table.

"Jjjaaannn!" she called out to her cousin who had sat back in the living room watching some lakorn on TV. (A/N: 'lakorn' is the Thai word for a drama film)

Jan walked into the dining room. She bowed to me when I caught her eye and I did the same.

"You wanna have some more of the jambalaya?" Debbie asked.

"No, P'," Jan replied. "Thanks but I'm still stuffed. But I might have some more of it for dinner."

She was about to turn away to go back to the living room but Debbie called her back into the living room.

"Jan, I have not yet officially introduced to you my coworker Max," Debbie said. "He will be the transient occupant of the extra room of this apartment until he finds an apartment of his own."

I stood up from my chair at table and extended my hand to Jan.

"And Max, this is my cousin Jan," Debbie said.

Jan accepted my extended hand with a smile.

"Welcome to my cousin's humble abode," she said. "I am a transient occupant here myself except I will be staying for a longer period of time. A year specifically. Then I go back to my hometown of Kanchanaburi."

"I have never been to Kanchanaburi," I said. "I would like to visit it one day because I would like to see that worldwide famous bridge called The Bridge over the River Kwai."

"Oh, I have been there!" Debbie said excitedly. "Let me know when you plan to visit. I can be your tour guide!"

I was about to thank her, but she added. "For a fee, of course."

I just shook my head and smiled because I did not know whether she was serious or just kidding.

To my surprise, after I took a few spoonfuls of the jambalaya, I found myself finishing up the whole bowl. It tasted very good indeed. I should remind her to cook it for when we had any special potluck occasions at work.

Thankfully Debbie was very talkative and to her eternal credit, she never once tried to dig into why I had chosen to separate from Tul. Her lively chat served to temporarily distract me from my miserable situation.

By evening, just before Debbie came knocking at my door to tell me that dinner was ready, my phone started to ring. The ringtone told me that it was Tul calling. I let my phone ring until my voicemail feature came on.

After the phone stopped ringing, I noticed that he had not left any message on my voicemail, which was just fine with me. I did not want to hear his voice at all.

I tried to do justice to Debbie's dinner offering of tomyum soup and beef basil dish but I found that I could only eat a small amount of it. But I had to hand it to Debbie. She is a really good cook.

I thanked Debbie for the lovely dinner and reminded her that the payment for the room that I would be giving her would include my meals and she was fine with that arrangement.

Before I stepped into the shower I picked up my phone from my bedside table and went into my list of contacts. I tapped on Tul's number and placed it under my list of blocked callers.

The following morning I noticed that I had a missed call from him just before midnight. Thank goodness I had remembered to block his number. I had every intention to never talk to him again.