The secret of our true love between us and everything in the middle

Chapter 8

“Eii Kong! Over here!” Oak shouted as he spotted KongPob first walking into the cafe shop. KongPob waved back in acknowledgement as he headed towards the table his whole group of friends already there. “Did you get lost or something, why are you soo late?” Tew asked as KongPob took a seat. “Sorry guys, I was helping P'Arthit take some stuff to his condo today plus I had woken up a bit late.” KongPob said as he looked over the menu to order a drink.
           “Awww, I think it's sooo cute how you and P'Arthit are soo couple. It makes me soo jealous,” Maprang gushed as the rest hummed in agreement. “Well, I have to fulfill my obligations as his boyfriend whenever I can and I am not about to fail in them.” The whole group hollered in excitement and teasing joy at KongPob. “Oii, what a dedicated man you are!” Tew responded raising his eyebrows at KongPob. KongPob just shaked his head at his close friend and looked away.
           “OK, OK guys! As much as KongPob's love life is very interesting to hear, this is not what brought us here today! We have important issues to talk about!” Oak announced immediately taking on the leadership position. “Ahwuu, I thought we were here to just eat and catch up! What importa issues are you talking about Oak?” M asked as he sipped on his coffee latte.
“M, leave Oak alone! You know he's always attention seeking! Let him just say what he wants then we can move on with our business,” Maprang shot as hse intentionally seeked to rain down on Oak's parade.
       

      “Oh Maprang, you wound me with your words,” Oak dramatically responded hand over his heart, “but I do have something important to say. As you all know, winter break just began and we will need something to occupy our minds for the next three months at home. Something that will help us grow and also be fun to experience.”
“And what kind of something do you suggest we partake in?” Tew interjected.
        “Why don't we get winter part-time jobs for fun. We will be able to expand our horizons, make new memories, gain some real work experience and to top it off, we make some personal money at the end of the day,” Oak stated excitedly as he pushed his glasses up.
       “And who do you think would be crazy enough to hire you Oak? All you do is eat and play video games!! You are more likely to make a business go down than be of actual help.” Maprang retaliated effectively throwing the two in an argumentative battle.
“Well, I think its a good idea. It will definitely keep us busy and making money out of it is an added bonus for us.” May agreed making Oak boast at Maprang while she eye rolled.
“I agree. It could do us some good. What do you think about it Kong?” Tew turned to KongPob.

        “I can see the advantages of doing it and it's not a bad thing but I'm not sure about doing it.”
“Why not? I think out of all of us, you are the one most likely to get a job easily.”
“Mhh, plus we will be free to choose where we want to work at. It could be fun.” M added supporting Tew's statement. KongPob sat still in thought chewing his straw slowly.
“I'll think about it then decide. I don't want to make a rash decision just yet.” he finally said as he eyed all of them. “OK, fine by me. We should all take time before we decide on it.”They nodded in response and moved on to other topics of the day.

It was mid-evening when KongPob returned home. He opened the door to the huge mansion and was instantly greeted by the waft of homemade Thai sweets. 'P'Pam must have been in the mood of baking,' he thought. He had barely changed out of his shoes to the indoor ones when he was greeted in a loud warm voice.
      “Ahhh Khun KongPob! You are back just time! I've made some delicious treats for you and your mother. Come, come! The weather must be quite hot outside and we don't want you to get heatstroke.”
   “Sawadee krap P'Pam. It smells wonderful  inside. Are any of my parents home yet?” he asked as he followed the middle aged woman into the kitchen. P'Pam had been a recent addition to the family right after KongPob had graduated from high school. His parents had become alot busier these days and needed someone to tend to the house especially when KongPob ad moved out to University. She was a hard working loving woman who treated KongPob as though he was her won son and it didn't help that he was an only child so she doted on him even more. KongPob had come to love eating her sweet treats which she specialised in and he found her to be a wonderful addition to the family.
    
          “Your father has still not arrived yet Khun KongPob but your mother is in. She's currently resting in her bedroom. That's why I decided to make some treats for the both of you,” she smiled as she placed several plates of traditional Thai delicacies on the table.
          “Thank you so much P'Pam. If you continue like this you are going to spoil me rotten,” he mentioned as he took a bite of the purple sweet. “Ahh, you are only home once in a while now Khun KongPob so I have to treat you to nice things while you are still here. I don't get to make these as often you know.”
      “I understand P'Pam and I am very grateful. Then let me take some to mother. She must also want to taste your delicious sweets.” He went ahead to plate a few of each on a tray then went I search of his lovely mother. His parents' bedroom was located at the far end of the hallway on the east side. He quietly knocked on the door before entering and found his darling mother asleep on the king sized bed. The sun was slowly setting, a warm orangish glow filling the room and shining on her face.

       He walked right upto her bedside before taking a seat next to her and placed his tray on the table side. “Ma, Må, wake up Må,” he whispered as he softly rubbed her hand. The small figurine stirred bit before she fully awoke. “Ohh, KongPob, you're home already? How long have I been sleeping? What brings you here my son?” she asked a loving gaze on her face as she held his hand. Actually KongPob and his mother had the same soft demeanour to them and we'll-breed behaviour. He had taken most of her personality traits. His shyness, reservation, politeness and good behaviour were from her. His outspokeness and passion were from his father. Physically, those was little resemblance between them.

In fact, one would say that they weren't closely related at all. His mother was fair skinned grace with long locks of brown hair. She was small in stature and combined with her soft spokeness, she was more like a delicate flower. KongPob on the other hand, was quite tan than his own parents, his hair was a shining black same as his father and he was of lean built and above average height. His personality was a mixture of the two, the best of both worlds.

      “P'Pam told me you were having a rest so I decided to bring you some refreshing sweets to brighten your mood. Were you feeling unwell Ma?” KongPob asked in concern over his mother's health. He knew she worked hard sometimes too hard even when there was no need for it. They could afford to live well off with just his father's daily income but his mother had taught him that everyone had to do something with their lives and not sit there and wait for others to provide for them.
“It's nothing my son. I just had a little headache but it's gone now. I just needed to rest myself. Ahh, you said that you brought some sweets, let me have some my dear, it's been a while since Pam made any.” KongPob helped her sit up as he fed her a few of them. The two only went downstairs when they heard that his father had finally gotten home and P'Pam called them for dinner.

    “Sawadee krap Pa, how was you day today?” KongPob immediately greeted as soon as he spotted his father. “KongPob! Sawadee my boy. My day was busy as always but was overally good. Business is going well. What about you, how was your day?” his father asked us they sat at the dining table.
   “It was fine. I just spent the afternoon with some of my university friends and then came back home. Nothing much.” He replied as he scooped some rice onto his plate.
“Oh KongPob why don't you tell your father about your earlier discussion with your friends?” his mother added as she passed a plate of food to her husband.

"What discussion?”
“Your son and his friends wanted to get part time jobs so that they wouldn't be idle during the break.”
“Ohhh, that's a wonderful idea. It would definitely build you up and keep you busy. Why don't you come and work at our company? It would give you a chance to get familiarised with the business you are going to own one day,” his father suggested actually getting excited at the prospect of working together with his son.
    “Ohh Pa, I actually not sure if I want to get a part time job just yet. We were just discussing the idea of it. I told them I would think about it before reaching a decision.” KongPob carefully answered in hopes of not hurting his father's feelings.
      “That's OK then. I agree that you should think about it carefully so that you don't regret getting into something that you can't finish. You take your time then let me know.”
“Yes Pa.” They went on with dinner quietly with occasional small talk in between.