A Rose Amongst Thorns

Chapter Thirty

Six Months Later...

Arthit was fuming. Kongpob was sulking. The wedding planner was scared.

"Gentlemen. Perhaps we should reschedule and meet again when you've both had a chance to decide."

Arthit stood up and stomped off towards the door. Before walking out he turned and said through gritted teeth," maybe I should get another fiancé who cares about what I want."

Kongpob sighed deeply, looked at the wedding planner apologetically and followed Arthit out the door.

A knife could cut the tension in the car as Arthit and Kongpob rode in Kongpob's car.

"Arthit..."

"Don't even THINK of talking to me."

"But sweetheart..."

Arthit glared at him daring Kongpob to say another word.

"Just get us to the restaurant!"

Kongpob sighed and continued to drive.

Phana rushed into the restaurant looking around for the Rome. Rome spotted Phana and waved him over to the table.

"Whew! I thought I would miss them."

"They're not here yet. Did you get it?"

"Yep! It was delivered just before I left the hospital. Achara confirmed the arrangements yesterday."

"Sweet! They are going to be so surprised. They need it."

"Yeah they do. They have been fighting like cats and dogs over every little detail of this wedding and I can't take it anymore."

"Me either. Arthit has been chewing my ear off about how unreasonable Kong is. First it was the venue. Then it was the size of the wedding."

"Did he tell you about the fight over the cake?"

"What the fuck is wrong with them? It's a freaking cake for God's sake. Who fights about cake?"

"I think we've all had enough. This will fix everything."

Phana held up an envelope and waved it back and forth.

"I hope so."

"Oh! Here they come now. Is everything ready on your end?"

"Oh yeah. They won't know what hit them."

They high fived and laughed.

Arthit sat down next to Rome, heavily sighing and crossing his arms across his chest. Kongpob slowly sat down next to Phana, pouting like someone had kicked his puppy. Looking at Arthit and Kongpob, Phana and Rome looked at other with trepidation. They were both afraid to utter the first words. Rome was about to speak when the waitress appears to take their orders.

"Good evening gentlemen. Can I start everyone off with a drink?"

Rome spoke up first. "Sure. How about a nice pinot noir for the table? Does that work?" When no one responded, Rome just confirmed it with the waitress and sent her on her way.

Sensing the tension, Phana decided to be brave and speak.

"So...how was the meeting with the wedding planner?" Phana braced himself waiting for the onslaught.

Arthit glared at Kongpob and then turned his attention to Phana.

"Ask Mr. Everything-Has-To-Be-His-Way-Or-Nothing-At-All over there. How can someone be so damned unreasonable? This is supposed to be the happiest time of my life and all I've done is argue with Kong. I can't take this anymore." Arthit lowered his head, biting his bottom lip to keep the tears from falling. Rome placed his arm around Arthit's shoulder and squeezed. Seeing Arthit's distress, Kongpob walked around to kneel in front of him. He placed his hands over both of Arthit's.

"Love. Look at me." Kongpob held Arthit's chin and made him look in his eyes. "Arthit, come with me."

Kongpob held Arthit's hand and led him outside. They sat on a bench just outside the restaurant. Using his thumbs, he wiped the tears flowing down Arthit's cheeks.

"Kong..."

"Arthit. Listen to me. I'm sorry. Please forgive me. This wedding has become bigger than the marriage and we need to take a step back."

Arthit looked at Kongpob with wide eyes.

"What do you mean? Don't you want to get married?" The panic in his voice broke Kongpob's heart.

"Of course, I want to marry you. That's not what I'm saying. Let's stop concentrating on the wedding and spend some time together without all the stress. I love you and I can't wait to start my life with you as my husband, but I don't need a fancy wedding to do that."

He held cupped Arthit's face in his hands and placed a kiss on both of his eyes, his nose, both cheeks and then his lips. Arthit giggled and threw his arms around Kongpob's neck. They stood and embraced before walking back in the restaurant holding hands.

Rome tapped Phana's arm and pointed at Arthit and Kongpob as they walked towards the table.

"Looks like they've worked it out." Phana nodded in agreement with Rome.

Arthit, with reddened cheeks, kissed Kongpob on the cheek and sat down next to him at the table.

"Sorry for our little display earlier." Arthit reached for the bottle of wine and poured himself a glass. He took a sip before continuing. "This has been a really stressful process for us, but we've decided to put things on hold and spend some much-needed quality time with one another."

Rome looked at Phana and winked. Phana nodded and turned his attention to the lovebirds.

"Rome and I have watched you two planning this wedding and we couldn't be happier for you two. We've been talking and we have the perfect solution for you. Here."

Kongpob reached out to grab the envelope from Phana.

"What is this?"

"Open it up and take a look."

Kongpob opened the envelope with his mouth agape.

"No way! I can't believe you did this for us."

Arthit leaned over to see what Kongpob was holding. Tears formed in his eyes seeing the contents.

"Phana, you did this for us?"

Phana put his arm around Rome's shoulders and smiled.

"We both did. It was Rome's idea. I paid for it and Achara made the arrangements. We saw what planning this wedding was doing to you, so thought this would be a good way to alleviate some of the pressure."

Arthit smiled and held Kongpob's hand.

"We can't let you guys do this. It's too much."

Rome leaned forward and hugged Arthit.

"Arthit, listen to me. You can Kong have been through more than any two people should every have to. We can't think of anyone else who deserves this more than the two of you. Let us do this for you. Okay?"

Arthit smiled and looked at Kongpob.

"What do you think Kong?"

Kongpob met Arthit with his own smile.

"Let's do it!"

"I guess we're going to Japan!"