Chapter 101 Mother's Job

The day finally arrived, and many important and high-profile guests came to the door of SkyView Hotel one by one. With guests and family members inside the ballroom, Decha stood at the entrance waiting for Asnee to arrive. He hasn't seen Asnee in months and he's not sure how Asnee is doing. Just as he reached out to grab the phone from his pocket to call Asnee, his hand bumped into Laddawan.

Decha turned around quickly, "Oh, I'm sorry."

Laddawan smiled and said, "It's okay, Khun...?"

Decha smiled and said, "Dudar."

Laddawan said, "Oh, Nong Dan's brother. I'm Laddawan MeeChai."

Decha laughed and said, "Khun Meechai. Do you know my brother or brother-in-law?"

Laddawan said, "I know both of them."

Decha asked, "How do you know my brother? May I ask?"

Laughing, Laddawan said, "I met nong Dan on the side of the road. He had a disagreement with KK. I bought him coffee to cheer him up."

Decha asked, "Then you know my brother likes KK?"

Laddawan said, "At first I didn't know, but after listening to nong Dan, I found out that he likes Pi K very much. Even myself, I like Pi K at one point, because Pi K is the kind of guy who will make it clear if he's not interested in a relationship with you."

Decha asked, "You fall in love with KK too?"

Laddawan said, "I was at one point, but I had to back off because he was so serious about Santichai." She smiled. "After he let Santichai return to Asnee, I have nothing but admiration for him."

Decha asked, "So you know this brother-in-law of mine pretty well?"

Laddawan said, "Yes, I told nong Dan that he was lucky to win Pi K's favor." She laughed. "It's funny how things turned out like this, I always thought that one day it would be me who would have a relationship with Pi K, but Pi K made it very clear that he would not like me more than a little sister, so that day I sat and talk with nong Dan for a long time about what kind of person Pi Ki likes."

Laddawan and Decha start talking affectionately. After a while, Decha smiled and said, "So it was you who instilled this idea in Danya."

"I just told him that if he likes someone, there's no reason to wait," Laddawan said with a laugh. "I didn't know he would take my word for it and be brave enough to declare it in front of everyone, especially Grandfather Suwannarat."

Decha and Laddawan continued their conversation as they waited for Asnee to arrive at the front door.

Mrs. Cole came out of the ballroom for a breath of fresh air and found Mrs. Siriporn standing outside by the flowerbed. She walked back to Mrs. Siriporn. "Khun Siriporn, what are you doing outside? The party is inside. It's also very hot today."

Mrs. Siriporn looked at Mrs. Cole who was talking and smiled brightly. She wondered if the smile on Mrs. Cole's face was real or not. She asked, "Khun Cole, knowing your son likes men, how do you handle yourself?"

Mrs. Cole asked confusedly, "I'm not following your question?"

Mrs. Siriporn asked, "You have a son who likes men, do you feel embarrassed in front of others?"

Mrs. Cole said, "No, never. I'm proud that KK is bisexual and happy. He used to have a girlfriend, but that woman was a witch in human skin. She took everything from my son."

Mrs. Siriporn said, "I'm sure if he looks patiently there will be a woman for him."

Mrs. Cole said, "Love is something we parents cannot choose for our children. The more we try to control them to like what we like, the more they will alienate us. I know not everyone thinks like me, but khun Siriporn, at the end of the day, no matter what other people think of them, they are still our children. So, I tell my son, as long as he is happy, I don't care who his partner is."

Mrs. Siriporn looked at Mrs. Cole, who had a huge smile on her face and seemed unconcerned with the fact that her son was engaged to a man. "Does it bother you that your son has a man as his partner?" she asked. "The gossips, and the stares of other people, does it bother you?"

"No, I don't mind at all. As long as my son lives happily, I don't care about other people's gossip," Mrs. Cole said with a smile. "My son has been through a lot over the years because he's bisexual. He was bummed with depression, and I had to go through my son's two suicide attempts. Every time my son attempted suicide; I felt the knife stabbing my own heart. Even today when he finally found love and happiness, the nightmare of losing him has not subsided at all." She sighed heavily. "At one point I did think it would be better for him to marry a woman to keep his grandfather happy, but when I thought about how sad and scare he would be if he had to face it all alone; I made a promise to myself that for the rest of his life, he will never have to hear anyone speak ill of him, endure their ugly stares and accusations alone. I will stand by him, encourage him, protect him, and fight with him." She smiled and sighed. "When I almost lost him, it made me realize that a mother's job is to always protect her child, because his sorrow is my sorrow, and his joy is my joy."

Mrs. Siriporn asked, "How do you know he will be happy?"

"I don't know, only time will tell. I gave him life, I raised him, but I'm not the master of his life; he has to pave his way to get his own happiness," Mrs. Cole pointed at the grass under the trees. "Do you know why the grass on the side we're standing on isn't as green as the grass under those trees?"

Mrs. Siriporn looked at the chartreuse grass, then at the green grass under the trees. "I don't know," she said.

"Because the grass under our feet is in the open. The grass under our feet has to withstand the wind and the sun, and the grass under the trees has trees to shelter from heavy rain and the sun. That is why the grass is greener on the other side than the grass on our side," Mrs. Cole said with a smile. "It's the same in life, if we don't protect our children, who are going to protect them from other people's gossip and maliciousness. If we don't support them with a smile on their face, how will they have the courage to fight the oncoming negativity of others with a smile?"

Mrs. Siriporn sighed and said, "You are very wise, khun Cole."

Walking from behind Mrs. Siriporn and Mrs. Cole, Mr. Cole stepped forward and said, "Khun, everyone is looking for you."

Mrs. Cole said, "Sorry. Khun Siriporn let's rejoin the party."

Mrs. Siriporn held back her tears and said, "You go in first, I will stay for a while."

Mrs. Cole said, "Don't stay too long." Mrs. Cole and Mr. Cole left together.

Mrs. Siriporn looked at the grass around the trees and the grass on the fields. Thinking of Asnee and her heartache, she burst into tears.

(Memory)

Asnee shouted, "What kind of a mother are you? If you really consider me as your son, you will not send someone to hurt the person I cherish and love as much as I cherish and love you. Don't think I don't know. You send someone to hurt Chai. You have created the most indestructible obstacle that stood in my way. Tell me, is this love? Huh? What kind of love is this? What kind of mother would like to see her child mentally tormented?" He looked at Mrs. Siriporn hatefully. "You have won. Are you happy?"

Mrs. Siriporn was taken aback and did not answer. Her lips trembled, "You..."

Asnee said sadly, "If you hadn't hired that person to hurt Chai. Chai would have supported me through college and now Chai and I will have our own little house far away from you. Although, we don't have much, but do you know, the bland and tasteless food we ate at our little old dining table tastes so much better than the luxurious dishes I ate with you at home. When my life is perfect, and I'm at the happiest, you burned it all. This tumor." He hit his head twice with his right hand. "This tumor in my brain wasn't going to kill me, but it was you; my mother, the one who was supposed to protect me from harm, was actually the one who pulled the trigger." He took two steps from Mrs. Siriporn. "Ma... you don't want me to be happy, why should I make you happy?"

Mrs. Siriporn burst into tears, "Asnee...ma… ma did everything for you."

Asnee shouted, "You didn't do anything for me, you did it for yourself. So... don't put your greed on my shoulders." Tears slowly ran down his cheeks. "It's too heavy, I can't bear to carry your greed alone."

(Memory End)

As the image of Asnee slowly faded from Mrs. Siriporn's memory, Mrs. Siriporn sobbed softly with tears in her eyes. "Asnee...ma...ma's sorry."