My phone buzzes in my hand with a text notification from my mother.
The photos of you on Instagram are beautiful!
I laugh. “That was fast.”
“What?” Noi asks just as his phone buzzes.
“Since when is she on Instagram?” he asks, looking at his message.
I tap out a text, asking Mae how she saw them, and she quickly replies.
I made an account so I could see what Rainbow TV posts about my boys!
I read it to Noi, and he smiles. Then his phone buzzes.
“Pah is texting me,” he says.
He’s called my parents Mae and Pah practically since the day he moved in with us for good. Since his parents have never been there for him, we all encouraged it. But I don’t think of Noi as a brother. It’s not that we’reless, just not brothers.
Looking up, I study Noi as he taps out a message to Pah.
“Do you feel like my brother?” I ask him when he finishes.
Noi frowns. “What?”
“I mean, Mae and Pah think of you as their son, and Ten considers you a brother. But, somehow, calling you my brother doesn’t feel right to me,” I say. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. There’s no one I’m closer to than you. But the word ‘brother’ doesn’t fit. You know?”
“If I thought of you as a brother, I wouldn’t be doing bl with you.”
Another message comes in on his phone.
“Mae again?” I ask.
Noi shakes his head, and I notice his ears are red. “Pah says that next thing he knows, we’ll be getting married,” Noi says, cheeks going pink. “He’s ridiculous.”
A dozen possible reactions to that statement flit through my mind, most of them dismissive or flippant. What I end up saying surprises me.
“You never know.”
Noi ducks his head, avoiding my gaze. A flood of warmth spreads through me, and I have to look away, too.
It’s on the tip of my tongue to say something snide about P’Wisit, likeI wonder what your boyfriend would have to say about that,just to test the waters, but I know if I start doing things like that, I won’t be able to stop, and we’ll fight again. So, I leave the subject alone.
Later, when I’m at home, Pah calls me.
“How is work going?” he asks.
“Okay so far,” I say. Ford is making a lot of noise in the kitchen, so I move to my bedroom to talk, shutting the door behind me.
“Those photos of you and Mee Noi certainly are good. It was kind of odd seeing you like that, though. You and Mee Noi aren’t finding it difficult acting in a romance together?” he asks.
“Not really. I told you before that I’m comfortable with him.”
“I remember. I just want to make sure it’s playing out like you thought it would. Do you think Mee Noi’s okay with it?”
“Why wouldn’t he be?” I ask, frowning.
“You know he’s not as advanced as you are in the relationship department. You’ve had several girlfriends, but he hasn’t had any, or am I wrong?”