Page 75 of Friend Ship
“Still able to nag me even when you’re half asleep,” I say fondly as I lie down again next to him. I stay until he falls asleep.
Music is coming from Ten’s closed door when I slip out of my room. I consider going in to talk to him, but I have a feeling my parents are downstairs waiting for me.
I’m right. Mae and Pah are in the living area talking seriously with one another. The way Mae looks at me when I walk in, I know Pah’s told her what he saw.
“Noi would want to be here with me to talk to you, but he fell asleep. It would upset him to see you angry with me, anyway,” I say, sitting down on the couch.
“Is this true?” Mae asks me. “You and Mee Noi are…” she leaves off, looking unsure what to call it.
“We’re in love,” I say, the words sounding both crazy and earth-shakingly true to my ears. I’m scared, but an hour ago I thought I might lose Noi forever, and I knew in that moment that nothing would ever be harder to face in life than losing him.
“Sud.” Pah’s voice is low but has a sharp edge. “I warned you about this.”
“I know you did, Pah, and at that point I thought the idea was ridiculous. I wasn’t lying to you.”
Pah shakes his head. “You were already close, and acting in love scenes together has confused you, just as your mother and I were afraid of.”
“I don’t feel confused, and neither does Noi—not anymore. We’ve been working through this and we know how we feel.”
“When were you going to tell us about it?” Mae asks, looking hurt.
“Soon. We’ve been so busy, we’ve barely had time to discuss it.”
Pah sighs. “I walked into your room this morning and saw you two wrapped around each other in bed. I wondered then, but I told myself I was wrong. Although he didn’t say it outright, Mee Noi allowed me to believe he had another nightmare and that was the reason he slept with you.”
I didn’t mean for Noi to stay with me all night. We should have been more careful, but at the moment, I can’t find it in me to care that Mae and Pah now know about us.
“Sud,” Mae says softly, “I didn’t even know you were attracted to men,” Mae says.
“Neither did I. I still don’t. I just know that I’m attracted to Noi. That’s all that matters.”
Mae presses her lips together. I don’t think she knows how to feel about it.
I look at my father. “Please don’t be mad, Pah. It will destroy Noi if you are. I know he’s worried about losing you guys.”
Mae makes a distressed noise. “When will that boy understand he will never lose us? But…what about Ten? He’s not going to understand. Maybe you shouldn’t tell him yet.”
“He’s twelve-years-old, Mae. He’s not a baby. If we don’t tell him, he’ll be hurt when he finds out that we all kept it from him.”
“Kept what from me?” Ten’s voice comes from the doorway.
I guess that makes the decision for us.
“Nong, come sit with me.” I pat the cushion beside me.
Ten looks wary but crosses the room and sits down on the couch next to me.
“Are you mad at me for getting P’Mee Noi to go out to the treehouse where we came across that snake?” he asks, looking stricken. “He saved me from getting bitten by yanking me back.”
“Of course we aren’t. And P’Mee Noi didn’t want you hurt. He loves you, Ten,” Mae says softly.
“I know that. I was scared. He told me to run. I thought…I thought the snake bit him.” A tear rolls down Ten’s cheek and drips off his chin.
I hug my brother. “Noi’s fine, Nong. The snake didn’t bite him. Everything’s okay.”
“Then why do you all look so serious?” Ten asks, wiping his face with his sleeve.
I take a deep breath. “Noi’s and my relationship has changed recently.”
