With or Without

34. Tong

We didn't have long to drive. I thought he said a road trip so my expectation was somewhere further out of town. We didn't make it out of the suburbs. We pulled up to a house. It didn't look like a hotel but with Airbnb's springing up everywhere, it was hard to tell the difference. Pok rang the bell and we waited.

A woman, who looked surprisingly like Pok, opened the gate.

"Welcome home, son," She said pulling him into a hug that he returned, "Congratulations on your win at the competition. I am so proud of you. I can finally say those early morning training sessions have finally paid off."

"Thanks, mum."

Did he say mum? What the hell was going on?

"Mum, I'd like you to meet my friend...this is Tong. Tong..." he started, "I'd like you to meet my mum."

I was so surprised I couldn't say anything. I at least had the wherewithal to wai deeply.

"Nice to meet you, Tong." She said to me with a bow of her own. Then she turned to Pok, "Come in. Your dad is home."

She walked ahead of us and I grabbed Pok and pulled him back, "What the hell is going on?"

"I thought it was time you met my family...and they met you."

"Pok..."

"Come on. I don't want my parents to think that you have no manners."

He was too casual about the entire thing and I wanted to strangle him. But he pulled me into the house after him. There was no way to avoid the meeting without being rude. His parents obviously knew we were coming because the spread they had out for us was huge. I was the only one who seemed to have been taken completely by surprise and they were very sympathetic.

"I'm sorry," Pok's mother said with a smile and it was so disconcerting to see the same mischievous glint in her eye that I had seen on Pok so many times. "It seems that Pok didn't tell you he was bringing you over. But you can relax. He told us all about you."

"He did?" Surprised by that information I looked at Pok.

"I told him that you're my boyfriend. That I asked you to live with me but you haven't given me an answer. I told them that I love you."

"Pok...!?"

"Do not let him pressure you into anything. I think he was hoping that bringing you here would help you understand that he's serious." His mother explained.

I already knew he was serious I just didn't know how to let the past fear and pain go. But there was one thing I was certain of, "I love him too."

"But you don't want to live with him."

"I do..."

"You do?" Pok asked like he hadn't known that already.

"I never wanted to leave. I just I'm scared that you'll change your mind and..."

"...throw you out again?"

I nodded almost imperceptibly.

"Don't let me."

"What?"

"Don't let me throw you out again. If I try to, feel free to knock some sense into my head. Because I was wrong. I was wrong to push you away. I was wrong to punish you. I was wrong and if you let me be wrong, we will fail. You have to stop me from doing the wrong thing."

"It wasn't without reason," I said excusing his actions.

"But we should have talked about it. And we did eventually, didn't we?"

"Yeah."

"So..."

"You realise this is a form of blackmail. I can't exactly say no with your mom and dad staring at me like that."

"Yeah, it was kind of like the plan. But you did promise to give me anything I wanted so..."

"You are terrible," I said but I couldn't stop smiling at him.

"I think it says more about you. You're the one in a relationship with me."

"Oh ho...this is my son?" His mother said with feigned shock at Pok's behaviour. "I didn't know he was like this. Perhaps I should come and visit you more often just to make sure that he's not bullying you."

"That would be nice mum," Pok said and I could see the love between them. It warmed my heart.

"Eat. You are both too skinny."

"Yes, mum..."

"Yes, ma'am..."

"Well, it seems like everything is covered." Pok's father finally said catching me by surprise with how much he sounded like Pok. "I just want you to understand that if you cause trouble for my son, I will also cause trouble for you."

"Dad!" Pok exclaimed and reached for my hand to try and comfort me.

He didn't seem to realize that nothing his parents said could bother me. Not when I could see how much they cared about him. Not when they were so much like the man I loved. I would probably figure out how they were different if I spent more time with them (and I hoped I would get the chance) but right now, all I could see was what each of them had contributed to making the man I loved.

"What? You think I was just going to sit here and say nothing. He doesn't get to break my son's heart. If he does, I will break his legs."

"Dad...you're going to scare him away," Pok said. When he turned to me his smile was gone and I was tempted to reach over and comfort him but I wasn't sure of what I was allowed to do. "I think he's more worried that I'll break his heart...again!"

"I taught you better, son." His father admonished softly.

"Yeah, you did."

He took my hand right there at the table and I would have pulled away but Pok stopped me. I understood when his dad took his mother's hand and raised it to his lips. I understood Pok was showing me another part of his heart. The people he took after; the ones he learned to love from.

His fierce yet protective father. His no-nonsense attitude reminded me of Pok's tenacity; his perseverance. His mother's softness was a counterpoint. She was kind and gentle in the same way Pok could let everything go when he was determined. His ability to take care of me probably came from her.

I wanted as much of this man as I could get. It was easy to make my decision when I finally understood what he meant to me. I wanted to find out what our future would look like. If I played my cards right, it could look a lot like his parents.

My decision was made, I was ready to live with it.