Chapter 03 A friendly Advice

When it was announced overhead that the plane would land in forty-five minutes, Asnee called Santichai to let him know he would land in less than an hour, but no one answered. It appears that his phone is currently off. He dialed Decha's number.

Decha answered, "Hey, what's up?"

Asnee said, "I'll be landing in forty-five minutes."

Decha complained, "I know...I know...I'm on my way."

"I'm going to hang up now," Asnee said. "They just announced that all electronic devices will need to be turned off."

Decha, "Okay, don't forget to call Chai."

Asnee frowned, "I did, but he didn't pick up. His phone was off." He giggled. "That person never charged the phone unless someone told him."

A flight attendant said, "Sir, please turn off your phone. We're landing."

Asnee said, "Hey, I'll meet you at the terminal gate."

Decha, "Okay."

Asnee took the suitcase and walked out the door, seeing Decha waiting for him in the distance. Asnee approached Decha and said, "I'm sorry to bother you to come pick me up. It's all Chai's fault. I told him to ask off, but he told me he couldn't."

Decha said, "He's a hard worker, he's the kind of guy who just can't say no to someone who asks him." He looked at Asnee. "That's how you swept his heart away...Did you forget how you end up with him?"

Asnee frowned, "Tsk...shut up."

Decha, "So, did you bring him a present?"

Asnee frowned, "Ah...shit, I forgot." He looked to the right, and they seemed to have just passed a gift shop. "Wait..." He handed Decha the suitcase and rushed into the gift shop. He grabbed the first thing he saw was an artificial rose worth thirty baht and walked back to Decha. He laughed. "Let's go."

Decha looked at Asnee and said, "Ai Nee, as a good friend, I advise you to be nice to Chai. My mom used to say, 'It's good to treat that person who's always by your side no matter what hours of the day or night well, because one day when you look at their empty chair, you will realize that that person is the most important person for you'."

Asnee said, "I've always been fair to Chai."

Decha looked at Asnee strangely and asked, "Really? Do you really believe it?"

Asnee said, "Everything before I do, I will ask Chai. I will only do it if Chai agrees."

Decha knew the conversation had nowhere to go, otherwise if he kept pushing Asnee, Asnee would end up getting angry and walking away from the airport. He said, "I can only advise, he is your man. You know him best."

Decha's sports car parked in front of Asnee's apartment. Asnee got out of the car and waved to Decha. Asnee watched Decha drive away. He walked into the apartment. He took the elevator to the tenth floor. He got off the elevator and put the key in the door. He went in.

"Chai, honey, I'm home," Asnee said loudly. He dropped his bags and suitcases on the floor in front of the living room sofa and threw his tired body on the sofa. "I bought you a present." He heard nothing. He raised his left hand and looked at his watch. "Oh...it's only after seven...Chai will not be home until eight-thirty." He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

When Asnee woke up from his nap, he checked his watch again, it was past midnight. He wondered why Santichai didn't wake him up to sleep on the bed. Then he realized that Santichai might still be mad at him.

Asnee got up from the sofa, grabbed the rose, and started walking towards the bedroom, saying, "Chai, I bought you a present." He opened the bedroom door and turned on the light. He was taken aback when he saw an empty bed. He was so angry that he threw the artificial rose on the bed and took out his phone. He dialed Santichai's number, but Santichai's phone was still off. He quickly dialed Sanitchai's work number, but it kept ringing, and no one answered. He sighed heavily. He dialed Decha's number.

Decha picked up the phone and said sleepily, "What's the matter?"

Asnee asked, "Ai Frank, is Chai there with you?"

"No," Decha said. He sat up, becoming more alert. "What's wrong?"

Asnee said, "He hasn't come home yet."

Decha asked, "Have you called him?"

Asnee, "I did, but his phone is still power-off. I don't know where he's going except to you."

Decha said, "He might have another friend. Check the car. If the car is gone, he might still be out. If I were Chai, I'd be mad at you."

Asnee frantically said, "Shut up." He ended his call with Decha.

Asnee quickly took the elevator downstairs to the ground floor, and from the elevator door he could see his car parked in the same spot where he left the car. He knew that Santichai have not driven the car because the rear of the car was parked against the wall. Santichai doesn't know how to do a reverse park.

Lying in bed that night, Asnee couldn't sleep. He tossed and turned in bed and stayed up all night until the sewing factory opened at nine in the morning. The phone rang for a while, and someone finally picked it up.

Asnee said, "Can I talk to Santichai...Santichai Kittibun."

The woman said, "He's not here."

Asnee said, "What do you mean?"

The woman said, "He quit his job three months ago, and the boss asked him to stay for an extra month to train the new workers who took over. He said his mother was very sick at home, so he wanted to go back home to take care of his mother."

Asnee's heart sank, "Really?"

The woman said, "Yes, we threw him a farewell party like three days ago." She paused. "Who are you?"

Asnee said, "I'm a good friend of his." He hung up. Heartbroken, he sat back on the sofa. He grinned. "He has no family to go back to. His old house has been returned to his parents." He turned and his eyes fell on the table. He walked slowly to the table and saw the memory tin box of Santichai. He looked over the tin box and saw his car keys and Santichai's keys on the table. He opens the tin box and finds all the pictures of them posing together, and Santichai has cut himself out of the pictures. He crushed the pictures tightly in his fist. "Santichai Kittibun...how dare you leave me...I'll make you regret it."