Every Kind of Way

Parental approval

I woke up with kisses all over my face.

"Good morning to you too, baby." I grabbed Mon and tickled her.

"Noo, Sam don't be mean." She giggled and squirmed until she got away from my grip. "I wake you up with kisses and you do this to me, that is so disrespectful to your fiancée." I loved the sound of that.

"I am the luckiest woman in the world."

"No, I am." She kissed me and moved away quickly before I could pull her back to bed. I pouted. "Oh no, put that away. We have breakfast with the girls and you know it." Damn it, I should have said no when Kate mentioned it.

We took a shower, got dressed and headed to the restaurant. When we arrived, a couple of people recognized us from the news and wanted our autographs. I bet Mon felt like a real celebrity and this is just the beginning. We were greeted by the girls who had already separated our usual table. Mon and I ordered some food and drinks, and we engaged in lively conversation with them.

"So when's the wedding?" Jim asked. If it were my choice, I would marry Mon tomorrow.

"We still have to talk my parents and Lady Grandmother, so we haven't chosen a date yet."

"We're meeting them later today, right?" Mon nodded.

"Yes, you have to formally ask their permission and little Sam's too."

"I think little Sam and me will be fine, but I'm worried about your parents' reaction."

"I'm a bit worried too, but hopefully they will understand and support us. You know they won't be as difficult to convince as Lady Grandmother."

"That's true. Any idea on how to do that?" Tee inquired.

"Maybe she'll find out from the media and just go with it since it's already public." Kate stated.

"I wish she had been there last night so she would know the truth coming from me, although I know some of the reporters will twist my words and start rumors, but I couldn't avoid them forever."

"Pohn and Aon will be very understanding, and I bet that they will be very happy to welcome you into their family even if it is rather quick, but you're both forgetting someone." Mon and Yuki exchanged looks.

"He doesn't care anyway..." Mon got upset.

"I haven't met Lady Grandmother, but Mon's dad is the same or maybe worse. He's very traditional so to speak. He barely wanted Mon to work when she moved here with her mother. He always checks up on you Mon, and you know he will go nuts as soon as he finds out."

"I know Yuki, but we'll cross that bridge when we have to. For now, we have enough battles ahead."

"Maybe we can go to England to see him and explain everything." Mon's eyes went wide. Does she not want me to meet him?

"Let's just focus on the people in Thailand first." Hmm we need to talk about this. Mon was acting weird.

We finished eating breakfast and tried our best to ignore Jim's insistent comments about the wedding preparation.

"Thank you, Jim. You'll be the first one I call as soon as we start planning it." Jim gave Mon a thumbs up. We said goodbye and headed to my in-law's house.

On the way there I don't know who was more nervous: me or Mon. We barely spoke. Every time we looked at each other we shared a forced smile filled with worry. After one of the longest rides of my life, I parked Ms. Duanpen right outside their house.

"Ready?"

"No, but we need to do this. I don't want to hide anything from them." I nodded, got out of the car and opened the door for her. I grabbed Mon's hand tightly as we headed inside. As soon as Mon saw her mother, she let go of my hand immediately.

"Oh! Look who's here Aon, our daughter and Lady Sam. Come in, come in. Have a seat. We'll be right with you. We were just doing some cleaning."

We sat down on the couch and waited patiently. Aon came into the living room and bowed as a sign of respect when he greeted me.

"Oh, there's no need for that anymore, sir. Not after today."

"Are you two okay? You seem nervous."

"Sorry, I put on some better clothes to make myself presentable." Pohn patted her ironed skirt and sat down on the couch.

"You didn't have to do that, Mom."

"Is something wrong?"

"Right? You can tell us anything, Mon." Her stepdad said.

Mon looked like she was about to faint. I placed my hand on top of hers reassuringly and checked if it was okay for me to speak. She nodded so I cleared my throat.

"Pohn, Aon, we are here to tell you something important. We really hope you're supportive of this."

"Go on, sweetie." Pohn nodded.

"Yeah, what is it?"

"I want to marry your daughter." We could hear the steps of an ant if it walked into the room with the amount of silence that took over after I said those words. It was deafening. I grabbed Mon's hand and interlocked our fingers. "Mon and I have been dating for a while and we feel like it's time to take our relationship to the next level. With your permission, I want your daughter's hand in marriage." They looked between each other and then back at us.

"So you come into our home, date my daughter for a couple of months and just expect us to agree to this?" Aon voiced.

"I must say I'm very disappointed in you, Mon." Pohn uttered. Mon finally found the courage to speak.

"I love her, Mom. I won't apologize for following what my heart wants. I am sorry that you two don't agree with this step in our relationship."

"You didn't let me finish, young lady." Mon hushed. "I am very disappointed that you didn't tell us sooner. We found out from the news!" We blushed. "You know we love Lady Sam. Well, we can call you Sam now right?"

"Y-yes, ma'am. I mean, Pohn." Aon laughed.

"Sam, of course you have our permission to marry Mon. You think we didn't know she was in love with you since she was a little kid? Lady Sam this, Lady Sam that. We were just waiting for her to realize her feelings herself." Mon hugged both of her parents. Pohn looked at me.

"I told you once that even though you don't have your own parents anymore, we can be that for you. So if you choose to become a part of this family, Sam, I want you to know that you have not only gotten a wife, but also a mother and a father." Little Sam ran up to Mon and licked her face. "And a puppy." We laughed.

"It would be an honor to have you two as my parents and I know we haven't officially planned anything, but Pohn it would be my honor if you walked me down the aisle at the wedding so Aon can walk with Mon." Pohn started to tear up.

"The honor is all mine." I embraced her in a hug. Mon and Aon joined in as well. I couldn't have felt happier. "Sweetie? Have you told your dad about this?" Pohn swallowed hard when Mon shook her head.

Ok what is it with Mon's dad?! I'm starting to get worried.