Melted: A MaxTul AU story

Fifty-Six: Looking to the Past for Long-Term Planning

That night, instead of going straight home from the restaurant as he initially planned, Max dodged the guy in the black van and the guy in the motorcycle he knew were watching him and headed out to the hospital. He knew it was late and that regular visiting hours were over; however, he frequently took advantage of his connection to Ki Woo to visit Apasiri Nitibohn. No one would blink when he showed up after dark. And if Ki Woo noticed that Max was in a dark mood, he didn't say anything.

When Max walked into the room and smelled the fresh flowers, he felt as if he was able to breath again finally, breath again since Tul had showed up at the restaurant. He went into the bathroom and washed his hands, face, and neck, hoping to not only remove the grime and sweat from the heat and the ride, but also to make himself look a little more presentable. He knew that Tul's mom couldn't see him but did it anyway out of respect to her.

He pulled a chair up next to her bed and took her hand in his like he always did now when he would speak to her. The nurse had told him and Tul that touch could also be a stimulant, and he knew that often Tul would get a cool cloth and wipe down his mother's arms and face. He would even brush her hair. Max only held her hand, feeling uncomfortable doing anything else since he wasn't her son.

Tonight, he didn't start with what was really on his mind but instead spent time on other news. He went back in his mind about what he had told her last, telling her about people on the team, an award Ann's niece got at school and something new Sukrit said the twins were doing  before he started talking about his worries.

He, of course, had told her all about how good Tul had been to Uncle Pongpat and his family and how his Aunt Clara was so thankful to him and treated him like family already, giving him a hard time about not resting, for example. He told her about how stressed he felt because of his uncle and how hard it was to see that man working so hard every day when he seemed to accept that he didn't have much time left

"My uncle has some sort of goal, I guess," he said to her, patting her hand. "I wonder what that is. I wonder if I were in a similar situation if I would try to hold on until certain things were done."

He finally got her caught up and began to talk about tonight's dinner. He even included Tor's plan to meet the woman that had finally captured Prin's heart. He even laughed a bit while telling her that Prin better be prepared for Tor teasing him for be so cautious around her.

"It's funny how Tor is so invested. You will really like him and Prin. You don't have to worry about Tul. He has great friends." Max paused. He could feel his throat starting to tighten as he was getting closer to what he really needed to get out.

"You know the funniest thing? Tul was at the dinner. I mean not with us. He was on another one of his dates. I actually know her, and you might have read about her, too. Urassaya Sperbund. She is the only daughter of the Sperbunds of the Chaiyaset Foundation. Fancy, huh? But don't worry. She's . . ." Max had to stop here and swallow. In fact, he almost wasn't able to swallow. He reached for the pitcher that was always in the room and poured himself a glass of water. He drank the whole glass and tried to start again.

"She's perfect."

Max could feel the tears starting to fill his eyes, but he didn't bother to touch them. They came unbidden and slow at first and increased even as his voice got stronger.

"I've known Yaya for years. She's smart and sassy and strong and beautiful on the inside and out. We all had crushes on her in university—guys, girls, the animals in the veterinary school, everyone. Everyone wanted to be her friend. At least anybody with any sense did. She had plenty of people who didn't like her, but the people who didn't like her weren't people worth being friends with. They were usually people who had been jerks that she had told off. She was known for that. She'd tell off a bully or one of the snotty princess girls or those guys who thought they were hot shit in a heartbeat. She's genuine."