Autumn is a second spring

58. Mae

"Swadee Khrab, Khun Boun," the kinder garden teacher welcomed him. 

Boun waied back and entered the room meant for the teachers that was only separated from the children's classroom with a glass wall.

"Please take a seat," The teacher gestured at the chairs in front of her.

Boun settled down on one of the chairs.

"Actually, I requested you to come over personally because I wanted to ask you a few questions related to Bew," She said amicably.

Boun glanced at the classroom where Bew was playing with his classmates and then at the teacher. "Khrab, Khru."

"Recently, we have been noticing some aggressive actions from Bew's side. He had gotten into quite a few arguments with other children. There was a time when he hit a child as well." The teacher said.

Boun was shocked at the revelation. Bew was never the kind that argued or got into fights. "Khru Khrab, I am sure that something must have happened that he is behaving like this. He is an obedient child Khrab." He vouched for his son.

"We know that Bew is a very obedient child. That was why paid more attention to him when he started being aggressive." The teacher gave Boun a thin smile. "We found out that all the trouble started from this."

She placed the family picture that Bew had drawn. It was the one he had redrawn and only had him, Boun, and Prem. "The students who saw this picture started teasing him for not having a Mae. There were a few name-calling included. We have already taken actions against those students, but we are really concerned about Bew."

Boun felt his heart sting. His son had hidden the fact that he was being bullied at school from him and Prem. He could understand that the child didn't want to burden them. It might have been the cumulative effect of finding that neither he nor Prem was his parent.

"We would really like to have some info on Bew's mother. We have never seen her in any of the parent's meetings or any functions. Are you separated from your wife?" She asked.

Boun was aware that this was only a part of the protocol, and that the teacher wasn't being nosy about their family matters.

Seeing Boun not giving any reply, the teacher spoke. "I know you might be hesitant to share the information. But we are doing this for Bew's sake. He is in a stage where he needs a lot of attention from his both parents. That's why we are asking you about her. And please don't worry, the information you share here would be confidential."

She knew Boun was a big star and his personal details should be kept a secret.

"Bew is my foster child. His Dad was my Phi. Phi died in a road accident." Boun paused for a second. "His mom... she got admitted to a university in France. We wanted her to pursue her dream. So, I took on the responsibility of raising him."

The teacher nodded. "Do you raise him all by yourself? Who is this person whom he refers to as 'Dami'? I have heard him talk about that person quiet often."

"That's my fiancé. We have been raising him together." Boun didn't hesitate to address Prem as his fiancé. He didn't want the teachers to think that his Pao was an outsider in Bew's life.

"Fiancé? How much is she involved in his care?"

"If are asking me like that, I think he is more involved in Bew's care than I am. Bew used to be a sickly child when he was a baby. My fiancé had always been the one who took care of him." Boun said proudly. 

He could hear the sense of doubt the teacher had towards Prem's significance in raising their child.

"He?" The teacher asked to clarify. "Is the Dami he talks about Khun Prem?"

She had seen Prem picking up Bew from the kinder garden several times. Since the latter was a registered guardian in the school database, she hadn't raised any questions about it. Now that Boun said that he had a male fiancé, the first person she could think of was Prem. Especially because of the fact that Prem was Boun's onscreen partner.

"Khrab," Boun smiled seeing the absence of usual disgust that certain people show when he said that he was with a man. "I hope that you could keep it a secret for us."

"Oh, that's for sure. We all have signed non-disclosure documents." The teacher answered.

The kinder garden was a reputed international school. Most of the students studying their hailed from wealthy families. Each and every staff working in the kinder garden had to undergo background checks and sign non-disclosure documents to ensure the children's safety.

"Khun Boun, please don't mind me asking, but when is Bew's Mae coming back?" The teacher asked in concern. "Whenever there have been instances where Mae was mentioned, Bew would always go quiet. He often refused to participate in any of the activities that involved the requirement of Mae."

Boun went mum at the question. Merlin, Bew's mother, hadn't contacted them for a while now. The last time she contacted was when she was graduating the university with a post graduate degree in ballet. She had started her own dance studio there after graduation.

Ever since then, she hadn't contacted them or checked on her kids. It was a friend of Oreo who told them that Merlin had become one of the most demanded ballet instructors in Paris and her studio was doing extremely well.

All of them had been proud and happy for her for being able to leave her past behind and start a new life. 

But the thing they failed to realize was that her actions were leaving a major impact on the three children that she left behind with them.

When Lyra and Leah had accepted that they could live even without their mother by their side anymore, they had thought that it would be the same for Bew who was still a baby when Merlin left him with Boun and Prem.

"We have no idea, Khun Khru. There are high chances that she might be unwilling to return here," Boun said hesitantly.

Merlin's parents wanted her to marry someone else as soon as her husband died. She had run away from her family to pursue her dream. Thus, she would never want to return, in the fear that they might capture her and get her married to someone forcefully.

According to Boun's assumptions, this fear was also the reason why she didn't contact them anymore. It wouldn't be that difficult for her family to trace her if she kept contact with them.

"Khun Boun, I think you should have a talk with her. You and Khun Prem might be giving your best but the love a child wants from his Mae cannot be replaced. So, I hope that you can get in touch with her and also let Bew know more about his Mae." The teacher spoke/