MIKE did not tell anyone including his family about his return to Thailand. He decided to return home after giving the deep thought about his future. He had done many mistakes towards his family especially Aom and his son. He was tired of running away, so he decided to leave San Francisco. This decision was also the answer for his relationship with Pinky.

 He decided to end everything with her, but they had not talked about it yet. They did not keep in touch at all since she left San Francisco. He also did not know where to start, so he just asked his friend, Damian to send Pinky’s belongings to her sister’s house with hope that Pinky would understand the meaning of it.

     “It feels so great to be back home again,” he inhaled the air of his beloved country. Mike pushed the luggage cart to outside and decided to take cab to get home. Mr. Chakrii and Golf were not at home when Mike arrived there, but he was welcomed by his mother and Susan.

     “Son, oh my God! Why you didn’t tell us that you are coming home today,” Mrs. Hathai hugged him tightly as she peppered his shoulder with longing kisses.

     “I just want to surprise you guys,’ he replied and looked at Susan who was standing at the doorway. Her smile showed that she was relieved that Mike finally had come home.

     “Mom, where is Aom and my son?” he asked hesitantly, but the fading smile on Mrs. Hathai’s face was something that Mike did not expected to see it.

 **************

SMILE appeared on Mike’s lips as he watched Chailai wrapped her small hand around his finger while she stared at him with big sparkling eyes. She was such a cute baby. Susan quietly watched Mike played with his niece that he just met for the first time while Mrs. Hathai was busy cooking foods with maids in the kitchen.

     She wanted to cook Mike’s favourite foods today, and she even made the phone calls to both Mr. Chakrii and Golf and asked them to have lunch at home. They wondered what kind of occasion that Mrs. Hathai was celebrating because she sounded so excited over the phone, and they got the answer when she mentioned about Mike’s return.

     “Why did she move out from here?” Mike suddenly broke the silence, but he kept his eyes on Chailai.

     “I’d told you that she is trying to be independent because she doesn’t know what the future has stored for her,” Susan answered as she left the sofa to take out Chailai from the swinging crib.

     “What does it mean?” Mike looked at her in confusion.

     “She probably will stay if you come back with Mom and Dad when they went to visit you in San Francisco last year. Can you imagine how she felt when you didn’t come back to look at your son even for once?” she questioned him back using motherly tone. Mike’s brows knitted as he was trying to find out the answer. Did Aom think that he did not want that child?

     “I…I was not ready at that time,” he admitted guiltily. Yes he was hoping that he could see Aom and Aaron when his parents visited San Francisco but when they asked him to come home to see his son and wife, he suddenly became hesitant and refused to come back with them.

     “Mike, I know that you got trapped in this marriage because of us, and we are sorry about that. I know that apologizing won’t change anything, but you shouldn’t let her carry the burden alone. Now that you are here, I hope you can think what the best for your marriage,”

     Mike looked at Susan with guilt all over his face. He realized that he had been selfish by leaving Aom alone here, and he never cared what happened to her after he left. He did not have any idea what she had been through to carry his child and what the world had done to her when she went around with her big tummy without him by her side.

     “I..I want to see them,”  

  **************

MIKE went to upstairs to take some rest while waiting for his father and brother to come home, but he did not go straight away to his room. Instead he went to the room next to his where Aom used to stay before she moved out from here. He took sharp intake of breath the moment he looked at the decoration inside this room.

     There was a swinging crib beside the bed and at one corner of the room he saw a lot of stuffed toys and toys for boys were placed there. So Aom did not separate the room with the baby like most people in Western countries normally did. Mike went to the closet and noticed that Aom had left some of her clothes and stuffs inside here.

     “She will over night at here sometimes,” Mike startled over the voice behind him. Mr. Chakrii and Golf were standing at the doorway while looking at him with longing smile. Mike immediately went to hug them, and they stayed like that over a minute.

     “So what made you suddenly return unannounced?” Golf asked after they broke the hug.

     “I guess…Life has brought me back to home,” Mike replied subtly but clearly enough for them to catch the meaning behind it. They relieved that Mike finally realized his mistakes, but they would not dig out everything today. He must be tired and needed the rest after long hours of flight.

     “Mike, why don’t you rest first? You look tired,” Mr. Chakrii pointed at his eyes bags, and Mike just chuckled as he recalled how restless he was during the flight until he could not have a good sleep. He had over thinking the reaction that he would receive from his family especially from Aom when he showed up at home later.

     “It’s okay. I’ll rest later. Dad, Golf, can I ask you something? How are Aom and Aaron? Are they doing fine?”

     “So you are worry about them. Then why don’t you go and check on them later?” Mr. Chakrii gave the suggestion, but Mike only quietly lowered his gaze.  Honestly he really wanted to see them especially Aaron, but he did not know where his courage had disappeared to. As if Golf could sense the nervousness inside Mike, he Mike’s back to loosen him up.  

     “Mike, nothing will change if you don’t make a move now. They will not know that you actually care about them if you keep hiding like this. Be brave and stood up for your own family,” Golf gave the courageous advices to his little brother. After the quite a lengthy talk session with Mr. Chakrii and Golf, Mike finally made his mind to pay his wife and son a visit later after Golf gave Aom’s address to him.    

  **************

AOM hesitantly invited Mike inside her house, and she quickened her pace towards her room to put Aaron in bed first. How did he know that she is living here? It must be her family-in-law who had told him about her place since she did not receive any news regarding his return from her family side.

     Mike watched Aom disappeared into her room with disappointment. He wanted to touch Aaron, but something stuck in his throat that made him not able to speak any word at that time. So he ended up waiting for her in living room and stared at the portrait of Aom and Aaron that was hanging on the wall.

     After a while, Aom came out, and she carefully closed the door behind her. Their gazes met, but she quickly looked away. There was awkward and uncomfortable silence between them. Aom bit her lower lip while forcing her brain to think of something. Although his visit was unwelcomed, she could not chase him away because he was still her husband and the father of her child.

     “Please have a seat first. I’ll prepare something for you,” Aom broke the silence, and she headed to kitchen without waiting for his answer. Mike did not stop her either because he did not want to leave this place yet, not until he got the chance to be with his son.

     He watched she disappeared into the kitchen before his gaze shifted to the closed room where Aaron was sleeping inside it. Without wasting any second, he headed to the room and carefully twisted the doorknob. He was trying to minimise the noise of creaking door by pushing it slowly.

     Smile formed on his lips when he had succeeded entering the room without waking Aaron from his sleep. He left the door opened and approached the bed so he could take better look at his son. There was a twist inside his chest that he could not describe with any word.

     Seeing Aaron in person gave him different feeling compared than just looking him in the pictures. He was such a handsome boy. From standing, Mike was on his knees now so he could look at that cute face closer. Truth to be told, he actually disliked to handle kids because he found really awkward and uncomfortable to play with them.

     So he did not mind when kids found him not funny and boring to play with. He even felt grateful if they kept the distance from him but after seeing his child, he had the urge to be loved by Aaron. He suddenly wanted to be an amazing dad to his son. Mike braved himself to Aaron’s head while staring at him with soft gaze.

     Mike did not aware that Aom was watching him at the doorway. She did not consume much time to trace him after she noticed that the door was left open. The way Mike touched Aaron had left Aom in confusion because she always thought that he did not want Aaron in his life. That was why he never came back.

     “I have prepared some foods for you in the kitchen,” Mike looked over his shoulder after hearing her voice behind him, but he did not move an inch from his place. As much as she wanted Mike to leave this place, she had changed her mind and decided to let him spending some more time with Aaron.