Present Day - Jomtien
From their vantage point on the dance floor, Run and Mek watched as Thanwa and Fah kissed.
“Oh my God!” said Run. “Do you think he’ll take him to bed?”
“I'm not sure,” said Mek, excited as well. “If it were Lom, the answer would be yes, but Fah has always been shyer and more innocent. I honestly don’t think he’s ever slept with anyone but Lom.”
“He hasn’t,” said Run. “He told me Lom was his first and he wanted him to be his only. I tried to encourage him to be with other people so he’d have someone to compare Lom to, but he wouldn’t listen. He’s always been blinded by love when it comes to Lom.”
“Wait - does that mean you’re going to sleep with other men to have someone to compare me to?” asked Mek warily.
“No! I only said that because they were apart after the kidnapping and I had no idea if he’d ever see Lom again. I don’t need to compare you to anyone, I’m happy with what we’ve got,” Run assured Mek.
A tap on Mek’s shoulder caused him to spin around. Turning, he saw Manao and Kasem and they appeared upset.
“Manao, what's wrong? Fah met someone he likes, isn’t that great?”
“Sure, that’s great. As long as he keeps looking at that dancer guy,” said Manao.
“Why, what's wrong?” asked Mek. Manao leaned close to Mek’s ear and whispered.
“Behind me, at your 1 o’clock. The two men against the wall, one of them is in white pants and a light print shirt. He’s with a man in light blue pants with a black shirt that’s open in the front. Look at the face of the one in the light blue pants.”
Mek did as she said and gasped.
“What? What’s going on? What are you two talking about?” asked Run.
“Did you tell them?” asked Khun Korn as he, Ohm, and Win joined the others. Mek explained to Run. They all stared at Lom against the wall, talking happily to a man who had his arm around him.
“What the fuck!” yelled Run. “How dare he put my brother through all of that while he is still fucking alive. I’ll kill him!” Mek and Ohm grabbed Run and held him in place.
“Run, calm down. First, you don’t need to end up getting thrown out of here or worse, getting arrested. Second, Fah hasn’t seen them and we need to make sure he never does. Do you have any idea how devastated he’ll be?” Mek held Run by both arms as he spoke, staring directly into Run’s eyes.
“Wait, look!” said Manao. The whole group turned as if they shared one neck to watch Fah and Thanwa. They were walking towards the side exit where Lom and his companion stood.
“We have to do something!” said Win.
“What can we do? They’re going to see each other unless that red drink did a number on Fah’s vision. That’s all we can hope for right now,” said Kasem.
“Oh my God, I can’t watch. It’s like a slow-motion car crash,” said Ohm. Run, Mek, and Manao hurriedly made their way across the dance floor, hoping to block Fah’s view of Lom. The trio arrived and stood in front of Fah and Thanwa.
“Why don’t you go out the front exit?” said Run.
“Because my car is parked on this side. Plus, we might head to the hotel next door for a couple of drinks,” said Thanwa. “Are you Fah’s friends?”
“Yes,” said Manao, speaking a bit too curt and loudly. She’d only wanted to be heard over the music but she spoke at a moment in the song where it was quiet.
“I respect that you care about your friend, especially after what he’s been through,” said Thanwa.
“He told you?” asked Run in surprise.
“Yes, he didn’t want to ruin my night. Which let me know he cares more about other people than himself.” Thanwa smiled at Fah, who was still holding his hand and smiling back at him.
“He is a good person,” said Mek.
“We only wanted to go somewhere where we can talk and get to know each other,” said Thanwa.
“We’re not against you two getting better acquainted,” said Run.
Seeing that they were not getting anywhere and putting all of her faith in this stranger, Manao whispered in Thanwa’s ear.
“His ex-lover, who we were all told had died, is standing against the wall by that exit with another man, and we don’t want Fah to see, please help us.”
Stepping back, she searched Thanwa’s face to determine if he would empathize or if he only cared about getting into Fah’s pants. Her reward was an expression of sheer horror. One look at his face let Run and Mek guess what Manao told him. Unfortunately, Fah had seen Thanwa’s face as well.
“What’s going on?” asked Fah, still laughing from the effects of his red drink. No one spoke. “Okay, I’m sick of this. The past two years all of you tried protecting me from everything.”
He turned to Thanwa, his eyes narrowed as he stopped laughing. “Thanwa, we’ve only just met, but I need you to be honest and tell me what Manao told you.”
Thanwa looked stricken. “Is her name Manao?” he asked, playing for time.
“Yes. Thanwa, please, if you can’t be honest with me, go home!” yelled Fah.
“I’ll tell you outside, c’mon,” said Thanwa, trying to pull him backward toward the other exit.
“Why are you trying to go that way? There’s an exit right there,” said Fah as he gestured at the nearby door.
At that moment he noticed two men kissing. One wore white pants, the other was in light blue. Something about the one in light blue pants seemed familiar. It wasn’t possible though. Still, Fah couldn’t stop himself. Letting go of Thanwa’s hand, he pushed his way through the crowd until he stood 5 feet away facing the two men.
The couple stopped kissing and leaned against the wall, laughing. The shorter one in white pants put his head on the other’s shoulder and looked up at him flirtatiously. Their interactions indicated they were an actual couple and not two people hooking up for the first time. Fah noticed their couple rings. Then he noticed something else.
Manao, Thanwa, Mek, and Run, were now by Fah’s side, Mek moved in front to block as much as he could. Fah couldn’t move, he couldn’t speak. He was unaware of the tears that rolled down his cheeks. His mouth hung open and he kept shaking his head as if to make the scene disappear.
“Fah, it’s okay,” said Manao. “He does look a lot like Lom,” she said, trying to persuade all of them it was only a doppelganger.
Fah turned his head towards her, anger and disbelief mixed as he spoke. “It looks a lot like him? It is Lom!”
The sound of his name caused Lom to turn their way. Immediately he stood up straight and pushed the man next to him aside. The man reacted by putting his arm around Lom and pulling him back, possessively.
“If that’s Lom, and he’s alive, then who sent me those photos?” asked Fah.
“I don’t know,” said Mek, also shocked by who they were seeing.
“Did he send them to get rid of me? Was the whole one-year-apart plan just a way to dump me?” Fah’s voice quavered.
“I don’t think so, that’s not his style. He was probably unconscious and someone else sent it,” said Mek.
Lom and Mek continued to stare at each other. Lom turned and said something to the man next to him and disengaged himself from the man’s arms. The man with him became angry but Lom ignored him.
Lom took a few steps forward, saw Fah, and froze. Noticing their interaction, Lom’s partner stepped in front and spoke sharply to Fah and Mek.
“Excuse me! Why are you staring at my boyfriend? If you like him, sorry he’s taken. Leave us alone!”
“Somchai, enough!” Lom shouted as he pushed Somchai out of the way. “You’re alive? Fah, you’re alive!” Lom’s tone moved from anger to disbelief and landed on ecstatic.
“I am,” Fah said warily. “Who is this and why are you letting him kiss you?”
“Why is he letting me kiss him? Who are you to ask that? I’m his boyfriend, we’ve been living together for two years. How do you know him?” asked Somchai, waving his ring finger in the air, his words slurring slightly.
“This is Fah,” said Lom, once again pushing Somchai behind him. Somchai stared at Fah, his hatred apparent.
“You’ve been living together? For two years?” asked Fah in disbelief. Once again Somchai skirted around Lom and stepped to face Fah.
“Yes! So back off!” Somchai stood with his hands on his hips, leaning so far forward that his face was mere inches from Fah’s.
“Somchai, I said to stop!” Lom’s anger was palpable and Somchai didn’t need to be told twice. Stepping behind Lom, he said nothing more but he continued to glare at Fah.
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