A/N:  The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Cooheart's POV

At the same time that I was saying, "no, Mom, no!", Kao was saying enthusiastically "Yes! Yes, of course, Mrs. Namwirote!"

"It's settled then," my mom said, as if she never heard my protests.

I mean it's not as if I don't trust Kao not to do any monkey business in bed because he's straighter than a metal ruler.

It's just that I know I would not only feel awkward but anxious that any movement or sound I make while he's asleep might wake him up and then he would resent my sharing the bed with him. I know I would resent it if my sleep was interrupted by some noise or movement during the night.

"Come," Kao was telling me, trying to help me up from the couch, even while his heavy backpack was still on his back.

"No," I said, "I'm not going to bed yet. I haven't eaten dinner yet."

"Oh yes, sorry, I forgot that dinner has yet to be served," he said with an embarrassed laugh. Did I imagine the pink tinge that crept from his neck to his cheeks?

"Let me go and tell Rose that you are ready to have dinner," he said, turning quickly away to walk towards the door.

"You can join us for dinner here in my office if you feel lonely eating by yourself in the dining room," my mom called out just before Kao stepped out the door.

"Thanks, I will do just that," Kao replied.

After Kao left my mom's office, I turned on Mom.

"Mom!" I said, sounding a bit upset, "why are you letting me sleep in a stranger's bed?"

"He's not a stranger, son," my mom said, looking at me reproachfully, as if she was offended that I was questioning her judgment, "I feel that I have known him long enough to be able to tell that he is a good and kind and trustworthy person. And he seems to have a good head on his shoulders. He doesn't seem to be the kind of person who would lead you to do foolhardy stuff like Title just did. Look how you ended up."

"Mom!" this time I was the one looking at my mom reproachfully, "how can you think of Title like that. He has been like a son to you all these years!"

"I know, son, I know," my mom said in an apologetic voice, "what I really meant to say was that because Title is still very young, he will tend to do dangerous stuff without thinking much about it, and the problem is you tend to follow his lead."

I did not have the chance to contradict my mom's statements because there was a knock on the door and Rose and Kao walked in carrying a tray each.

Rose and Kao initially placed the trays on my mom's office desk before pulling the food cart that had wheels, from a corner of the office. They placed the trays on the cart and pushed it towards me.

Since it was an informal dinner, Rose had brought disposable plastic plates and bowls and utensils which we could eat from while holding them in our hands instead of resting them on a surface.

My mom told Kao to pull one of the visitor chairs that was in front of her office desk and bring it close to the food cart. Mom had already pulled the other chair and had positioned it on one side of the cart before sitting on it.

Mom then got one of the plastic bowls and ladled some of the potato and corn chowder into it. I held out my hand to receive it from her. My mouth hung open as I watched her hand it over to Kao instead of to me.

What in bloody hell is happening to my mom. Who in bloody hell is the recuperating patient here.

I angrily grabbed one of the plastic bowls and ladled some of the potato and corn chowder into it and handed it over to my mom.

"Here, mom," I said, my voice dripping heavily with sarcasm, "I wouldn't want you to lose your energy having to serve yourself some of this soup."

I do believe that Kao caught my sarcasm because he quickly handed over his bowl to me, saying, "Take this bowl, Cooheart, I'm not much of a chowder person."

At the same time, my mom caught on as well because she hastened to say, "Cooheart, I was going to ask you first whether you liked this kind of soup or not because the last time that Rose served this kind of soup, I remembered you rejecting it. You said that you preferred clam chowder if she was to make any chowder at all."

Suddenly I felt guilty about acting like a brat. I guess I was just feeling jealous that my mom was treating a total stranger like her own son. I had been so used to being the apple of her eye because I was her only child.

I turned to Kao.

"Thank you, Kao," I said sincerely, "I appreciate your offer but as my mom just said I really don't like this kind of chowder."

"Would you like me to ask Rose to fix you a different kind of soup then?" Kao offered.

"No, thanks," I replied, "I'm alright with starting off with the main dish."

I took one of the plastic plates and scooped some of the chicken curry with spinach and coconut lime rice into it.

It tasted so good that I was only half listening to Kao's and my mom's conversation as I greedily stuffed my mouth with the food. I made a mental note to myself to thank Rose for this wonderful dinner.

I was so focused on getting a second serving of dinner when I was startled by Kao's sudden loud laughter. My mom was laughing along with him and they were both looking at me.

"What?" I asked wide eyed, the serving spoon still in mid air, waiting for its contents to be poured into my plate.

"You didn't hear the anecdote that your mom just told me?" Kao asked in surprise.

"No, I wasn't listening," I confessed, "what was it all about?"

I noticed my mom silently motioning to Kao not to repeat her story.

I set down my plate onto the surface of the food cart.

"Kao, I insist," I said firmly, "I do believe that the anecdote was all about me. I have the right to know what it was all about."

"Honey, it wasn't just all about you," my mom said in a voice that tried to pacify me, "it was about Title as well."

"Then that makes me want to hear it all the more," I insisted.

My mom shrugged her shoulders and said in a resigned tone, "Fine, go ahead and tell him, Kao."

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Kao's POV

I tried to recount the anecdote to Cooheart as accurately as I could.

"Okay, so your mom was saying how when you and Title were as young as five and seven year olds, Title had been invited to your birthday party and Title kept on chasing you around the garden where the party was being held outdoors. You had been running away from him as fast as you could and when he finally caught you, you both lost your balance and fell on the grass with Title on top of you. Title then held you tight on either side of your face and gave you a long moist kiss on your lips. You pushed him away and got up and disappeared into the house. After a while, you came back out with an empty aluminum pot and while Title's back was to you, you rushed up to him and knocked him on the head with the empty pot. Because the pot was empty, it made a loud sound on Title's head. Your mom came running to Title and asked him if his head hurt and Title said to your mom, no, his head didn't hurt but his heart did."

Mrs. Namwirote laughed out loud once more and I did the same but for some unexplained reason, my heart was hurting just like Title's five year old heart.

Did Title and Cooheart's love affair go as far back as that?

I set down my bowl of chowder and poured some iced water into my plastic tumbler from the assorted fruit designed plastic pitcher.

I could not swallow any more food. I drank all the water from the tumbler and poured some more water into it and emptied the contents down my throat once more.

"If you would please excuse me," I said to both Cooheart and Mrs. Namwirote as I stood up from my chair.

"But you haven't eaten the main course yet," Mrs. Namwirote protested in surprise.

"I'm having the beginnings of a migraine," I said.

"If you wake up feeling hungry during the night, just go and find yourself something to eat from the kitchen," Mrs. Namwirote said, looking at me with a worried expression.

"I will, thanks," I said, and quickly walked out of her office.

I hated myself for why I couldn't understand that tears were forming in my eyes.