One Night Madness

68th Madness

"Hey, how are you?" he asked as he tapped my shoulder.

"F-fine. How about you?"

"I'm doing great," he grinned.

Nannon had definitely grown more mature than I last saw him. He also grew a bit taller and gained some muscles.

"Glad to know you're still with my brother."

I glanced at Tay who was helping his parents with their luggage. They were coming towards us, making my heart pound harder than usual.

"G-good day, Mr and Mrs Vihokratana. Welcome back," I nervously said as I hid my shaking hands behind my back.

It was Tay's mother who grabbed me into an embrace. "Oh, dear, I missed you. How are you? You got a bit thinner."

I just let out a nervous chuckle while simply throwing a glance at her husband who was standing just behind her.

"Come on. Let's go. We have a lot of catching up to do," she grinned and locked her arm with mine.

I simply nodded at her and gave her a smile.

***

"Are you okay?" Tay asked as he slid his arm around my waist and gave me a side hug.

"Yeah. I'm just fine. Don't worry about me."

We went straight to his parent's house where a simple celebration was held. The party was just a simple one and there were only us and some of their relatives.

"Okay, I'm just gonna go help. Just call me when you need something," he said and kissed me on the cheek before heading to the kitchen.

"Hi, New!" Namtan approached me with a huge smile on her face. "I'm glad you're here."

"How are you? When did you come back from the States?"

"Oh, we actually just came back yesterday. Tay's been bugging me about coming back here for days already."

"You look good, I must say," I genuinely said.

"Ugh! Don't be fooled because underneath this makeup are several layers of eyebags.  I didn't expect motherhood to be this exhausting to be honest," she exasperated as she placed a hand on her forehead. "I've been sleepless for countless nights already because the baby will just wake up in the middle of the night."

I let out a chuckle as I watched her flail her arms around.

"By the way, where's your baby?"

As if on cue, Rafael who was carrying the baby in his arms approached us. "Hi, there, New."

"Hi, Rafael. How's being a father?"

"Well, I guess you should ask about my situation as a fiancé," he chuckled before glancing at Namtan who already had a brow raised.

"Excuse me?? What is that supposed to mean?" Namtan hissed and slightly hit his arm.

Rafael just laughed. I peeked at the baby in his arms and lingered my gaze longer than I intended to.