Rialoves2cook: Hey friends! In today's cooking post I'm giving you a taste of my parents' homeland, the Philippines! Sinigang na hito sa miso is a catfish variation of one of my favourite soups. It features amazing tamarind which came in season this month out here. It'll pop up in more of my recipes as I take advantage of the incredibly fresh Thai produce.

#fresh #catfishsoup #fromThailandwithlove #cookingforfriends

Posted: November 23rd, 6:15 PM

YouronlySunshine: Keep living your best life out there, Maria! I'm very jealous. P.S. someone was 100% bragging like a jerk about how he got to eat this delicious meal with you. No more soup for him :P

Rialoves2cook: Hmm, I may have to cut him off.

MagicMitch: Don't be like that, Sun! I'll share the next one. Just jump back on a plane :P

YouronlySunshine: I wish I could <3

Rialoves2cook: <3 <3 I'll make you a feast when I fly home someday.

***

Was she making a mistake?

Maria had agreed to go to the movies with Tom as friends, an activity she hadn't done once yet in the month and a bit she'd lived in Bangkok. Saying yes had felt like she was reclaiming her life after cutting Adrian and his toxicity out of it last weekend. Now with Mitch sharing that Tom was treating this like some sort of competition over her, she doubted her choice. It wasn't that Tom was a bad guy, he was sweet, thoughtful, and loved his family as much as she did hers. She just needed a little more time to figure out who she was before dating again.

As she slipped on her shoes in Mitch's entryway, she reminded herself, he had an agenda too, though each time they hung out left her more confused about what it was. He smiled at her from where he leaned against the far wall, his tall frame almost a full foot taller than hers. His blue eyes reminded her of the ocean they'd sat beside as their lips crashed together, hers hungry for the freedom from her ex. 

Somehow, Mitch had been the responsible one to stop them and coax her to confront the lying, manipulative jerk who'd still been making her life miserable months after their break-up. But Mitch had also offered to take her back to his hotel to celebrate being single, which after his kiss, had been challenging to turn down. Since then, he'd done nothing but hang out and flirt with her, but without expecting anything in return.   

"Have fun tonight, at the very least," Mitch said with a smile that made it harder to leave. 

She wished she could be that carefree. "Thanks." Before she changed her mind, she stepped into their apartment hallway.

Outside Maria's door, Tom waited, arms crossed over his light brown t-shirt. His brow furrowed when his gaze met hers. "Isn't that Mitch's room?" He inclined his head toward the door. While his tone was more curious than harsh, the accusation shook her a little. But they were just hanging out. What did it matter if she was at Mitch's?

"I had to drop something off. Sorry, I'm late." She looked at the ground as she pulled her keys out of her pocket. How much of the conversation had Tom overheard through the thin walls?

His eyes widened. "That's alright. Are you ready to go now?"

"Almost. Just have to grab my purse if you want to come in."

He glanced at his phone and shoved it and his hands in his pockets. "Sure, I guess we have time."

Inside her place, Maria rummaged for her wallet and a small handbag then tossed them on her bed. She grabbed a loose-fitted top and sneaked into the bathroom to change from her cooking clothes. When she emerged, Tom was looking at photos she'd printed at home in Edmonton and sticky-tacked to her wall.

"This must be your family." His finger lay next to a picture of the four of them.

Maria grinned. "Yeah, me, Tina, our mom and dad."

There were pictures with her cousin, Sunshine and Tina, some of her graduations from high school and university. Maria had taken down the photos she'd brought that had her ex in them, so it looked like she had few recent friendships, which was true outside of Thailand. When Adrian had cheated with Kelsey, she'd chosen him over her best friend, which had really hurt Maria. But it showed her she needed better people in her life, like the friends she'd met in Thailand. Now she aimed to keep her life drama-free and surround herself with people who cared for her.

"Your family looks pretty happy."

Maria laughed. Before the photo was taken, her father was lecturing Tina about something trivial. She had made his blood pressure rise with snarky comments like she usually did.

"We seem that way." Maria dug through her purse to find her wallet and fingered the dwindling number of baht notes. Thank goodness she could start tutoring for a bit of extra cash soon. "So this movie we're seeing, is it in English? Because my Thai is semi-functional at best."

"It's in Thai but has English subtitles. I thought it'd be more fun than watching a dubbed Hollywood one."

"How are your Thai skills?"

He ran a hand through his red hair. "Not good enough to make it through the movie without following the subtitles, but I do okay with simple conversations and buying food. Not bad for only seven months of practice." Tom's socked foot tapped against the floor, and he checked his phone again. "Ready to go?" he said gently.

"Sure." She would have liked an extra minute or two, but she'd already spent those with Mitch. His name revived the warm sensation of his arm around her.

Tom opened the door and held it open with a smile while Maria slipped into her well-worn flats. She'd thought this was a hang-out between friends. At least he had promised her that, but he seemed to take everything she did personally. 

Once they'd made it downstairs, they walked down to the street in silence. He flagged down a bright blue taxi cab, which blasted cold air-conditioning the whole ride. A lanyard of orange and white flowers hung from the rear-view mirror and emitted a floral fragrance.

The meter started at 30 baht. "We could have taken the bus," Maria said.

"It's not too far, plus this is more comfortable."

Tom gave their destination to the driver in Thai, and they sat. Their familiar neighbourhood flew by, one tall mouldy building and convenience store at a time. Tom pointed out places he liked to visit or eat at, but otherwise, their conversation was limited. Her eyes kept darting to the meter, which jumped to the hundreds far too quickly.

When they arrived at the mall, he refused her money to pay the driver with a grin that made her uneasy. They rode the escalators to the top floor, and he offered to buy her whatever snack she desired at the concession that reminded her of home. That cost would only add to the movie tickets he'd bought in advance without consulting her and the taxi ride he'd paid for. She crossed her arms and rubbed her palms over her cold skin.

"I think I had enough to eat for supper. But I appreciate the offer."

Tom nodded and looked away. They entered the theatre without popcorn or candy and found their assigned seats.

"What were you dropping off for Mitch earlier?" Tom asked. The dark tone he used for Mitch's name felt far too familiar to her ex's. But maybe she'd just imagined it. His influence had been hard to shake.

"He's helping set me up to tutor his student, so I brought him some soup to thank him."

"Oh yeah, I saw your post and it looked delivious. Why are you tutoring his students?"

Maria stared at her shoes and leaned back in the large, cushioned chair. Did she have to say it? For the same reason she rarely took a taxi or frequented movie theatres whose ticket prices could feed her for a week. Tom continued to stare at her.

"I need the money, and he mentioned some of his students' parents wanted tutors," she mumbled.

Tom's expression softened, and he frowned. "I'm sorry. I never know Mitch's intentions, and I wanted to make sure it wasn't weird."

Scratching at the back of her neck, she refocused her attention on the large screen, which featured the Thai king and his charitable acts. Someday she'd spend more freely, but for now, she needed to pay off her student loans and the remnants of the debt she'd accrued paying for far too much when she was with her ex. 

Soon Tom told her they had to rise for the Thai national anthem, which played to a montage of photos of the king serving his royal duties around the country. There were so many temples, mountains, and charming people she had yet to meet or discover. She sighed. One day. At least she'd taken Mitch's advice and taken that trip out east to the beach with everyone last weekend.

After a few trailers, the movie began. Its story followed the lives of two brothers, one of whom had a dying girlfriend who dreamed of finding Shambhala in Tibet. The man reluctantly accepted his brother's help, so he could get photographic proof that they found the mythical Buddhist kingdom.

Tom kept leaning over to compare the area to places he saw in Nepal and comment on how he longed to visit Tibet someday. Maria tried to focus on keeping up with the quick subtitles, but he made it challenging. He brushed his fingers against hers twice, but she pretended not to notice then drew her hand away. He was as bad at being just friends as Mitch, but at least with Mitch, it was fun.

When she left for the bathroom partway through the movie, she found unread messages on her phone. Seeing the ridiculous nickname Mitch had put for himself was a relief.

MitchisSexy: How's your hot date?

MitchisSexy: Drinks tonight or dancing? I know you can't turn that down ; )

MitchisSexy: Shawn and Emma are coming so we'll have a couple of distracted chaperones : )

As much as she was enjoying the movie, Tom's company was awkward. She wasn't sure of his plans for later, and it would be rude to plan something without him.

Maria: It's going well. Probably won't come tonight, but maybe next time. Thanks for the invite.

MitchisSexy: Won't be the same without you. Who will we sacrifice to the rain gods?

She grinned at the subtle reminder of their weekend together at the beach. Drenched, inches apart, and seconds away from his lips pressing against hers again. Although she was relieved she stopped herself that time, her mind loved to tease her with what could have happened if she caved to his charm.

Maria: Some unsuspecting stranger

MitchisSexy: That's dark all because you can't drag yourself away from your date.

Maria: I'm not ditching Tom, and it's not a date.

Maria couldn't tell what Mitch's intent was, but it seemed underhanded. Until a moment ago, their text exchange had brought a smile to her lips.

MitchisSexy: Who said anything about ditching him? Bring him too.

Maria: He won't come drinking.

MitchisSexy: He will if you're asking. He'd be dense not to.

Maria: We'll see. I'm heading back to the movie.

MitchisSexy: Aw how cute. You left to chat with me.

Maria: That's not why I left.

Mitch didn't answer before she reentered the theatre. She settled into the seat next to Tom, who focused on the movie enough that he didn't comment on the time she'd spent away. She considered bringing up Emma and Mitch's plan, but she didn't want to spend the night dancing with Tom or watching Mitch grind against other women. Perhaps in a few weeks when her attraction to Mitch cooled off, and they got paid, she'd go out with them again.

***

The movie they went to see is a real Thai movie call Shambhala.