THE DINNER HE NEVER CAME TO
(Phuwin's POV)
Timeline: Book One
Phuwin started cooking at five.
He spent the afternoon deciding what to cook. He changed his mind a few times before choosing the dishes Naravit liked best.
Garlic pork.
Jasmine rice.
Stir-fried vegetables with less chilli, because Naravit always joked that Phuwin was trying to kill him when he made them too spicy.
The soup was still covered on the stove, and a small mango cake was hidden in the fridge. Nilan had almost spoiled the surprise three times already.
Phuwin moved around the kitchen, feeling more energetic than he had in weeks.
The news arrived that afternoon.
After class, his university supervisor called him into the office, asked him to sit, and spent almost five minutes acting serious before finally smiling.
Phuwin had been selected for the research placement he wanted.
Not Chiang Mai.
That possibility had already passed.
This one was in Bangkok.
It was close enough that he wouldn't have to move Nilan or change their whole routine.
Good hours.
Better experience.
It felt like something that truly belonged to him.
Phuwin had walked out of the university building with the acceptance email open on his phone, and the first person he wanted to tell was Naravit.
He had nearly called.
Then he decided he wanted to tell him in person instead.
So he sent a shorter message.
Can you come home for dinner tonight? I have something to tell you.
Naravit replied in less than five minutes.
Yes. What time?
Phuwin smiled at the screen.
Seven.
The reply came almost immediately.
I'll be there.
That had been enough.
Phuwin bought ingredients on the way home.
Nilan insisted on helping.
Niran was still so little that most of his help meant sitting in his highchair, banging a spoon on the tray, and shouting whenever no one paid attention to him.
"Papa, where this go?"
Phuwin turned.
Nilan stood in the middle of the dining room holding three forks in one hand.
"Beside the plates."
"Which side?"
"The left."
She frowned at him.
"Dada puts his on the other side."
"Dada is wrong."
Nilan gasped.
Phuwin smiled at her.
"Don't tell him I said that."
"I'm telling him."
YOU ARE READING
Book Two: The Husband He Learned to Be
FanfictionNaravit Chakrii thought Phuwin would never leave. It didn't matter how many promises he broke, how many nights Phuwin waited, or how often work, family, and secrets came first. But one morning, Naravit wakes up to an empty bed. Phuwin is gone. Their...
