Ae
Letting Pete go and stepping back is one of the hardest things I have had to do in a long time. But even then we could not truly let go. His grip on my hand was tight and I had laced our fingers together making it even harder to part with him. We couldn't stop staring at each other and I felt everything inside me thundering especially when he ducked his head and blushed as I smiled at him.
Oh gawd. I_ I swallow because this is not the place to be thinking these thoughts. I have not seen him in 3 years and already I want to devour him. Even after all this time, the baby quality in his face has not changed. It continues to emphasize his handsomeness.
"So are we sticking to the plan Ae? Or did you want to change it. I'm fine either way." Mom interrupts our staring and I sigh. I need to step back even more but I can't quite do it yet.
"We're in the middle of a huge job Pete. I had the day off but half of the team is down with the flu including Boss and since this is my design, I have to step up and deal with it."
"I'm sorry to hear that. You have to go back to work."
"Yes but Pond is there so I have about roughly three hours leeway before I have to head back." I take two of his bags and start moving towards the car. "We had plans to take you to lunch if that's ok."
"That's fine. How is Pond? Is he still the same?" Pete looks at me with a smile and I can tell he is thinking about that crazy guy we both know so well.
"Can he change? That asshole is even worse now since he bought the ring then chickened out at the last second. Idiot." I can't stop complaining about this. Even if I was nervous, I would simply say so. He was down on one knee and everything. I don't get him.
"Oh. What? What ring?" Distracted now, Pete took the other bag and his mom took the last one. He had paid quite a bit of money to get all 4 bags on the plane but it was worth it. Most of his things had been shipped but these held personal gifts and he wanted them close, or so he told me later.
"Are you telling me that Pond wants to get married? Is it to Aim? Please say it's Aim." His eyes are wide in shock and his mouth is slightly parted. I blink because the thought of kissing his is already forefront in my mind. I blink and try to focus on what he's asking me.
"Who else can tolerate him?" I ask because it's true. That quarter Italian guy may be good looking, but after 5 minutes in his company, most women are overwhelmed by him.
"Oh Ae." I look over at Mom who is shaking her head. "You are too hard on him. Pond is a great guy. He just panicked. He'll recover. Did you want to go anywhere specific to eat Pete?"
"Flavors please." Pete says with a smile at his mom then you looks back at me. "What about everyone else? Tell me Ae."
"Well Can and Tin are pretty much married now. Can is working with the national football team as their physical therapist. He's really doing well because he also volunteers at the children's hospital. I'll tell you the story of how he got the job later. Tin is currently a project manager for his company. It's weird but he wants to work his way up to the position he's supposed to be holding. I agree with him though. It's better to gain the experience and understand the jobs of those working for the company rather than just stepping into his role as heir and then blundering his way through everything." We step out of the airport and ignore the taxis. The driver is waiting and takes one of the bags from me before leading us to where he has parked. The arrival area is so crowded that the security is insisting that everyone use the parking lot. It helps that they charge parking fines.
"P'Money is doing his masters in London right now." I continue. "When I told him you were coming home, he freaked out and said he was coming home on his next break. Ai'Sun works in Bangkok with his partner for an engineering firm. Ai'Dear works with us now. Since Last year actually. He is on this project with us but he is also sick. Ai'Diew is in the US on a job but he said to give you a big hug. I'm not though. I'll give you my hugs instead." I smirk over at him.
Pete blushed scarlet but shook his head gamely. "Why would you steal all my hugs?"
"Because I'm selfish and jealous." I say it casually but I'm dead serious.
Pete pauses to stare at me in surprised pleasure. We are now in the middle of the pathway, staring at each other intensely before Mom had to break it up. She was so amused by us that she admitted she was tempted to just let us stand there until someone shoved us along.
"Anyway." I shook my head to clear it and start walking again. "My family are also ok. Mae and Pa was doing great with the restaurant. Oh's shop is also still doing well and Nong Yim is doing great in school. I didn't tell her you were coming back. We are all keeping it a secret from her."
I watched Pete's face light up and he chuckled. "I can't wait to see her. She will be eight now right! She will have grown so much!" (Nong Yim was almost 3 in the novel.)
"She will be nine soon. You are the best present she could ever have at this point. She has been asking about you coming back since the start of the year. We told her next month."
"You are terrible Ae. She will have such a shock. I can't wait." Pete is practically clapping his hands in glee.
I chucked as we got to the car. I looked at Mom who smiled.
"Pete. Did you want to go with Ae to the restaurant or will you travel with me?" He looks at the both of us and I give him a reassuring smile. I will always be here but I think he needs to spend this time with his Mom. Our eyes lock and I tell him so much and receive so much from him in those few seconds.
"I'll come with you mom." Pete says softly and takes a step back. I hand the other bag over to the driver who takes charge of them and head over to my jeep. We have already used up just over an hour of the 3 I have to spear so we need to get to Flavors and quickly. I drive out before they do but I know where I'm going so I'm not worried.
Besides, now that I am no longer overwhelmed by him, I can think clearly and my first thought is what now? He is back and we still have that connection but how much has also changed? It is not just a matter of I still love you. He may have met someone. He may have plans of his own. I want to go charging full steam ahead but I can't.
It is so easy for me to overwhelm Pete and I can see that has not changed. I know that I am the dominant one in this, whatever this is. I know that it makes him feel secure to have me in charge but I have to be careful that it doesn't take his choices away. Sometimes he doesn't speak up for himself and I can just steamroll over him. Still, with a father like his, I hope that Pete has learned to hold his ground and stand up for himself. I hope that he can do it with me. I don't want to ever take advantage of him in any way or that would mean I was breaking my promise to him.
That would be unacceptable.
I arrive at the restaurant ahead of the car. Flavors is very popular so I don't wait but go in a secure us a table. We are lucky. The rush hour is just beginning.
Pete
I am not sure what Ae is driving so when we pull out behind a jeep, I know immediately it's him. I look over at my mom who smiles at me and takes my hand. I squeeze hers.
"How are you feeling?" She asks me and I break out into a huge smile.
"I'm so happy and excited. I can't believe I'm back home. Mom. I feel like I'm in a dream."
"Oh baby. You are wide awake. Trust me on this. Oh. Ae came with these but he was so panicked that I was holding them for him." She finally handed me the roses she had been absently holding this entire time. I had been wondering about them but I had been too distracted to ask.
I took the roses and my heart shook. Damn it. I love him so much. Why did he have to make me feel so weak in the knees? I sucked in a deep breath and tried to let it out slowly. I didn't want to cry again. Not now. I didn't want to distract from this important reunion.
"Dad wasn't pleased with my decision to come back." I admitted as I buried my nose in the bouquet.
"Is that so?" She asks quietly. I can feel how tense she suddenly becomes.
"He felt it would be a step back. He's also upset that I plan to run the hotel chain myself. He expected me to work at the co-operation. I told him that Alvin should decide what to do with that. I am making the hotels a separate entity. I don't want it to be connected to the company."
"Is that why you had me set up the Cooperation?"
"Yes. Everything has already been signed. The hotel chain is now ours free and clear. The rest is up to him."
"Oh Pete. I am proud of you."
"Thank you Mom. I know how much you put into it and how much you made it grow from a simple hotel into what it is today. I'm not going to let him control us any longer." Tears slipped from her eyes and I wiped them away quickly.
"We have more time to talk. Let's just enjoy this right now."
That reminds me. I need to know Ae's schedule. We really need to talk and soon. I need to know where he stands. I mean, I have a good idea but I want to hear the words from his mouth. There are some things I want to know too. It's selfish of me to worry about it but I want to know who he's been with, where and how many times. We simply said we would wait for each other but I don't expect him to be a monk and not be with anyone else. He has needs and unlike me, he has options.
I only like men. Ae has at least bi-sexual. That gives him 2 options to choose lovers from. Maybe I am being petty but I want to know what he has been up to and Ae is not a liar. He will tell me. I can count on that. You may wonder why I want to know.
It is simple selfish jealousy.
Now before you call me out, I can tell you that I have not actually had sex with anyone else (blush). That is the plain truth. It is not that I have been saving myself. I have met several men who have tempted me. But most importantly, I want to tell my truths to Ae. Please be patient.
We get to the restaurant and I realize immediately that Ae has gone to secure a table because the rush hour appears to be starting. We get in and inform the hostess that we are with Ae. She leads us to Ae who is on the phone. I can actually head Pond shouting through the phone. It's good to see some things never change.
"Traitor! How could you get everyone to keep Pete's arrival a secret from me! I'm stressing out, wondering what's taking you so long to come back when I find out from Dear that you had to meet Pete! That today was supposed to be your day off! I will fucking kill you! Dog friend! Son of a bitch, grassroots, bastard. DIE!"
"I'll see you in a couple of hours Pond. Just make sure you do what I told you." He cuts Pond off and silences the phone but leaves it on the table.
"Well. He told you." Mom teases Ae and he chuckles.
"Just wait until I get back to the site. The whole of Thailand will hear him then. Just listen out for him."
The waitress comes with glasses of water and offers to take our order. I know what I want to eat so I don't wait. Neither does Ae. Mom orders an appetizer. She always eats light.
"So what are you building?" I ask once the young lady is finished taking the orders.
"The private residence of a Chinese-Thai idol. His mother is Thai but he was raised in China. He's building a place here for them to use easily. He's sick of hotels. I've given it a dual feel. Made some sections of it with a more Chinese aesthetic. At first he wanted it strictly Thai but I gave him more options and he fell for it. I know he would. Most people like a bit of home wherever they go. It's natural."
"Where do you learn to draw housing plans? I don't remember you doing that in engineering." I ask him because I'm surprised. When P'Forth was requiting Ae, he gave me the impression that they were your basic automotive and civil engineer company.
"I did a certification course the first year you were gone. I've been using part of my salary to take classes I think I need. Right now I'm doing some art ones." I nodded but I didn't quite get it. Why would Ae need art classes? Was it to help with the planning? His phone lights up and he excuses himself and takes the call. I can see it's Pond again. This time it's business. I can tell by the look on his face.
I'm not angry thought. I'm proud of Ae. He has been working hard these last three years and even before that. I am glad that he is getting the recognition he deserves. I am his number one fan after all.
The rest of the dinner goes smoothly but I can see that now isn't the time to ask him about his schedule. So when he has to leave, I let him. We have time.
"So what do you want to do now Pete?" Mom asks me softly. I look at her with tired eyes because I'm suddenly exhausted.
"Go home and sleep for a few days." She chuckles but she ushers me along to the car. I watch all the buildings and other cars pass by but I don't really see them. I don't start working at the hotel until two weeks from now. That's two weeks I have to get settled and figure out what to do next with Ae.
Am I moving too fast though? Am I being impatient?
We arrive at the house and I see some beautiful changes but I'm too tired to comment on them. There are some new paintings in my room but I only glance at them. Instead I shower and lay down. If I had only looked at the artist name sooner, I wouldn't have been so worried before I fell asleep.