UTT almost dropped his coffee when Aom told him that Mike had returned to Bangkok yesterday. They even had met, and Mike followed Aom to drop Aaron at nursery this morning. Utt looked at Aom’s face, and she seemed lost like she really did not know what she should do next. He could not wait to meet Mike and punch his face later, but he had to hold back his anger since he did not want to complicate this matter.

            “What’s your plan?” he asked and carefully sipped the hot coffee while observing Aom’s face. She just quietly looked down at the cup of chocolate drink in her hand which she had yet taken a single sip of it. After a while, she finally lifted up her face with a heavy sigh escaped from .

            “Honestly to say, I don’t know what to do,” Aom replied, and she finally sipped her drink before continuing her talk.

            “I was surprised when I saw him waiting in front of my door. Yes he had left me hanging after we got married, and I thought he didn’t want Aaron but when he said that he was happy to see Aaron, I was relieved because at least I know that he don’t hate our son,” Utt quietly listened while trying to endure the heaviness inside his chest.

            He should be happy for Aom, but he could not help to feel threatened and insecure because Mike was going to take everything from him later.  When Mike left, he was hoping that he could fill Aom’s lonely and broken heart. However he had never succeeded in making Aom looked at him more than just her friend or senior. He even suggested her to get a divorce, and Aom did consider it actually.

          However after giving the deep thought, she finally rejected that idea because she wanted Aaron to grow up in complete family although she had no idea when Mike would return or how long this marriage could last. Utt patted her shoulder for comfort because he knew that she was in mess right now. Even though he could not have Aom’s heart, he at least should stayed by her side as a good friend.

          “You should talk with him about your marriage,” he said with small smile on face. Aom was quiet as she gave a deep thought on Utt’s suggestion to talk with Mike about their problem. She could see that Mike seemed ready to carry out his duty as a father, but what about his duty as a husband? Was he ready for it too? If he was ready, then what about her? Was she ready to live together with Mike and carry her duty as a wife?

**************

MIKE leaned his back on swivel chair inside his room as he wiped his face with palms. The creases on his forehead became more visible when he looked back at the screen laptop on the table. After he returned from nursery, he quickly switched on the laptop and searched the information about children. They were totally different from adults where it would be a new challenge for Mike to learn to understand and find the smartest way to approach them.

          His mind now was fully occupied with the ideas and strategies to captivate Aaron’s heart, but he didn’t know where to begin. Never in his life he was so eager and enthusiastic to get closer with children, and he might be determined because was not going to captivate just an ordinary child. He was going to make his own son to like him so he could have strong bond with Aaron later.

          ‘He really resembles me,’ suddenly a smile bloomed on his lips as the image of Aaron crossed his mind. Even though more than a year had passed, he still found difficult to believe that he really had become a father. The fact that he was a married man had yet to disclose to his close friends including Pinky. How would Pinky react after she found out that he had left San Francisco?  Mike snapped out from his thoughts when someone knocked his bedroom’s door.

          “Bro, come in!” said Mike after Golf’s head popped out through door ajar. Mike did not realize that it was almost the lunch hour. So it was not surprised to see Golf at home since he always had lunch at home after Susan gave birth to Chailai.

          “So how is Aaron?” Golf asked after he sat with dangling legs at the side of table. However he just received the heavy sigh from Mike as the answer. Based on Mike’s reaction, Golf knew that something must have happened this morning.

          “Why? Do you have any problem with Aom or Aaron?” he questioned with frowning face. 

          “He doesn’t like me,” Mike looked at his brother with bitter smile on his face. Golf blinked his eyes few times before he burst into laughter. Mike frowned because he found no reason for Golf to laugh at him in this situation.

          “That’s it? Man, I thought you have a big serious problem,”

        “Isn’t that serious because my son doesn’t want me to come near him,” he retorted while glaring at Golf who was trying to stop laughing by covering his mouth.

          “Bro, you just have to be patience. You can’t expect him to like you immediately. If you always spend time with him and make him happy, he will like you eventually,” he patted Mike’s shoulder for encouragement.

            “Ah, I really hope that he can accept me sooner. I just don’t know what to do whenever he cries out. When I’m able to spend time with him? Aaron will spend most of his day in nursery, and I probably can only see him at night or during weekend,” he sighed again. Golf chuckled because Mike acted as if there was no solution to his problem.   

            “You can spend more time with him if you stay in one house with Aom,” Mike’s eyes sprang open after Golf finished his sentence and looked at Golf as if he just gave him the craziest idea in this world.

           “Why are you looking me at me like that? Am I just said the wrong thing? You guys are married, so there’s nothing wrong to live under one roof. Aom is your wife, and Aaron is your son. They are not stranger Mike. They are your family, and this is the only way you can spend more time with Aaron,” Golf gave the long speech and advice to Mike as he reminded Mike the status of Aom in his life.

 **************

AS what Mike had promised Aom this morning about fetching Aaron from the nursery together this evening, he did not break that promise. He straightened the body when noticed Aom’s car approached the building, but there was another car followed hers from behind. After Aom stepped out from her car, the person who parked behind Aom’s car followed Aom shortly.

            Mike’s eyebrows knitted as he saw the familiar face who he had forgotten that person name. However Mike remembered that guy as someone who was very close with Aom’s family. Mike saw Aom approached that guy and they were talking something briefly before they walked side by side as they approached him. What was that guy’s name again?

            “How long have you been here?” Aom asked after she stood in front of him.

            “I just arrived,” he lied although he had arrived here almost 30 minutes ago. Then his gaze shifted back to Utt, and he took it as the cue to introduce himself again to Mike. He probably did not remember him after these two years.

            “Long time no see Mr. Nitipaisalkul. I’m Utt Utsada. We had met before but I just introduce myself again in case you don’t remember me,” Mike’s arched his eyebrow when his name sounded familiar to him, and he immediately recalled the name that Mrs. Lea mentioned this morning. So he was Mr. Utt that Mrs. Lea was referring to. Mike looked at Utt’s hand as he offered to have handshake, and he just accepted it but regretted afterwards.

            “Argh!” Utt purposely squeezed tightly Mike’s hand until he was struggling to pull away his hand, and Utt only let him go when Aom interrupted him. He could have punched him in face but as he said just now, that might complicate the things between Aom nad Mike later. At least this hat he could do for the meantime to ease his anger a little.

            “Let’s go,” acting as if Mike was not there, Utt then grabbed A