Several hours later Khun Adi parked in the lot by the restaurant. He didn't want to be out of view should someone follow them. The bodyguards parked across the street for a vantage point that covered all angles. Each of the restaurant's tables sat on tent-covered platforms on the beach.

The family and their posse of guards made their way to the dining area in the sand.

"Tin, wait up!"

"Hurry!" Tin was running as fast as he could to the water's edge. Run finally caught up to him.

"Let's look for crabs and shells," said Tin, already crouched down and digging. Run squatted down to help.

"You'd think they'd never been to the beach," said Khun Adi, shaking his head.

"They're excited. We forget how little they get out because we go out ourselves. I must admit I feel guilty about that," said Mint, her voice trailing off in a whisper.

"Well, let them have fun together now. It will give me some time with the most beautiful woman in the world," said Khun Adi, covering Mint's hand with his. When she smiled back at him she appeared as beautiful in his eyes as the day they'd first met. "Let me talk to Chakan and find out his team's strategy for today."

Having split into two groups the bodyguards sat at tables on either side of the family. One guard remained with the cars but for fairness, they agreed to rotate to allow everyone beach time.

As the sun set, the family and bodyguards relaxed. Everyone ordered dinner and enjoyed the iced teas and coconut fruit juice mixtures offered to them. While waiting for the food, Khun Adi said he had important news to share.

"On Monday I will announce my retirement."

"You will? You never told me you were thinking about this, Sweetheart," said Mint. She rubbed his forearm, beaming at him.

"Really? Does this mean Tin and I will get to go out more often?" asked Run. Khun Adi gave a slight nod.

"I've accomplished much of what I hoped to do when I started. We have enough money for our needs. If I retire, our family will be safer, and that's what is most important. Plus, if I'm retired, a certain someone and I can take those trips she keeps hinting about." Mint smiled and squeezed his hand.

Everyone raised their glasses and said, "Chaiyo!" The bodyguards at the nearby tables joined in the toast as well. At that moment servers arrived with their food and soon everyone was busy eating. Run and Tin had a war trying to steal food from each other's plates without their parents noticing.

On their way home, everyone was sleepy. Tired from a day in the sun and with full bellies, it was hard to keep their eyes open. Run wondered why it always took forever to get somewhere but trips home were so much quicker.

As they entered the far side of town they hit traffic. Run, lying with his head against the window, stared at the people on the sidewalks, the street vendors, and the stores they passed. Stuck at another stoplight he watched a street vendor selling coffees and milk tea.

Suddenly, Run realized he recognized a customer. He wore different clothes and was smiling now instead of threatening him with a gun, but Run was sure it was Lom. Lom bought two drinks and then walked down an alley.

He was about to tell his father but changed his mind. His father would want to start a police search in the area and Run worried that might make Lom take Fah somewhere else.

Now he had an idea where to begin looking for his brother. If he told his parents, they would try to find Fah and forbid Run from leaving the house with Lom so close by. Run noted the street corner and time. His need for sleep disappeared and he knew he would be up late. He'd have to let his mother blame the coffee.

The next morning he rose early, leaving before anyone woke up. Knowing his parents would freak out when they discovered he wasn't home, he left a note saying he was out shopping.

Bypassing the places where the bodyguards patrolled, he slunk to his car. Putting it into neutral he pushed it silently to the gate. He hit the button to open the gate, jumped in his car, turned on the ignition, and sped down the street. In his rearview mirror, he caught a glimpse of a guard running out of the house.

Using the GPS on his phone he located the intersection he needed. Thirty minutes later he was there. After parking his car he explored the area. Unsure whether Lom came from his condo on foot or parked on another street the night before, Run decided to investigate the neighborhood.

Before starting, he lined up for coffee at the vendor where he'd seen Lom. He brought up Fah's photo on his phone. When it was his turn he ordered his drink and waited. While the vendor made his iced coffee he asked her if she'd ever seen Fah. She glanced at the photo and said no. Next, he showed her a photo of Lom from an old news item. This time the vendor said he looked like a man who came every evening for Boba and coffee. Run thanked her and paid.

If he comes every night, his condo must be nearby, thought Run.

He walked in the direction in which Lom had disappeared the previous evening. Soon he realized the futility of his plan. One block over was a residential area; there were condos in every direction. He wandered the streets looking for Lom or Fah. He figured Fah was probably still inside recuperating which is why the vendor had never seen him.

After an hour, he gave up. What should he do? Should he tell his father? Then a different plan came to him; a better plan. Pulling his phone out he made a call.

"Hello?" said a tired voice. "Whoever this is, do you realize how early it is and that it is a Sunday morning?"

"Mek, it's Run."

"Oh, hey, what's up? Why are you calling me so early? Is everything alright?" Mek's tone changed to friendly once he realized it was Run.

"Can you meet me somewhere as fast as possible?"

"Why? Where?" Mek still sounded sleepy but he heard him getting out of bed.

Run filled him in. Almost as soon as they hung up Mek was on his way. Run waited by his car so he could watch the coffee vendor. Mek parked nearby and joined him.

"Mek, that's the vendor. She's never seen Fah before so he must not leave the condo. Last night Lom bought two drinks here and when I showed Lom's photo to her, she said it looked like a man that came every evening. Of course, the photo I showed her was this one," Run handed his phone to Mek, "so that might be why she wasn't positive. He was here last night. After he got the drinks, he disappeared down that alley. He was on foot. I walked that way but there were condos everywhere. I hoped Lom would be out walking around so I could follow him but no such luck."

"What do you want to do?" Mek asked.

"I'm going to have to go home soon. I'm going to be in trouble as it is. Oh, if my parents ask, I was shopping and we ran into each other and had a coffee together, okay? I left before anyone woke up and dodged the bodyguards."

"Shit, you are going to be in trouble when you return home," laughed Mek.

"I know. Anyway, I thought you could come here each night and wait until Lom shows up. Then casually walk over like you just happened to bump into each other. Get him talking about Fah, then ask to see him. He can't say no without a good reason if you're right there."

"Okay, what time did you say you saw him?"

"It was a little after 10:00 last night. If you park here a half hour earlier you can be sure not to miss him in case he comes early. Of course, he might come late. You'll need a cover story about why you're in this area. Don't mention me or the family."

"I won't. I want to see Fah. Getting shot, almost overdosing on morphine, and losing his memory, I wonder how he is."

"The coffee vendor says Lom always gets a coffee and a Boba tea."

"The Boba is definitely for Fah. Whenever he is stressed he drinks Boba tea. That means Lom isn't angry anymore and buys Fah what he wants because he cares about him. Okay, I'll come back tonight. As soon as I meet up with him I'll call you."

"Oh, hey, my dad is going to retire. He is putting in his resignation tomorrow."

"He is? He and my uncle are going to be men of leisure. Too bad your dad isn't gay, then he and my uncle could hit the bars together!" They laughed at the thought of Khun Adi in a gay bar. "Your mom must be happy."

"She is, but right now she wants Fah home."

"You're lucky, do you realize that? Your mom is a great lady. If you knew Fah and how sad he was about not having a family of his own, you'd understand why your mom accepting him the way she has is a huge deal. He's going to love being part of your family."

"If he ever remembers us," Run said under his breath but Mek heard.

"He doesn't remember me and I was," at this point, Run joined in saying it with Mek, "his first kiss." They burst out laughing again.

"Mek, why are you always bragging about being his first kiss?"

"Run, I wasn't his first kiss with a man, I was his first kiss...ever!"

"Didn't you meet in a bar?"

"Yes!"

"He'd never been kissed? He had his first drink before his first kiss?"

"Yes!"

"You got my brother drunk and took advantage of him?" laughed Run.

"Took advantage of him? Please! If anyone was taken advantage of, it was me. Your brother has a set of lips on him that can make a gay man's clothes fly off. It might have been his first kiss but I'm telling you, he must have been practicing on a vacuum cleaner!"

"Should I hear you talk about my brother this way? I feel like I'm hearing something I shouldn't," said Run, barely able to speak he was laughing so hard.

"He's your brother! Hopefully, we'll all be out clubbing and teasing each other soon."

"Did you tell that to Lom?"

"Oh God no, Lom is in love with him. It pissed him off that Fah and I kissed. But Lom had just kissed me, so I don't know why he was angry."

"Wait, what? You kissed Lom too?" Run was laughing even harder now. "Mek, as long as I've known you I never knew you were this much of a dirty whore!"

"Excuse me? Dirty whore? More like an emissary of carnal love! A cupid of delight."

"Emissary of carnal love? Cupid of delight? One of our mutual friends at Uni told me instead of calling condoms Mechais we should call them Meks!"

"No! Who would say that? Although, hey, at least they know I use protection," said Mek, his face crimson.

"Still, I can't believe you kissed them both."

"Do you want to know the funniest part of that night?" Mek asked, cocking his eyebrow as he spoke.

"I'm almost afraid to ask."

"After Fah kissed me, Lom told us to stop. Then Fah grabbed Lom's face and kissed him and I would like to point out that at no time did Lom try to stop Fah or end their kiss. Your brother was very drunk though; he couldn't walk without our help. We put him on my couch to sleep and this is something that I'll never forget. Fah looked up at me and Lom and said he must be a hottie because, for his first kiss, he had kissed two men. The word 'men' was still coming out of his mouth as he passed out. It was hilarious."

"Now I need Fah home even more to tease him about this and hear more about these exploits. Fah can tell me the stuff about you that you don't share! It's pretty cool that Fah is gay. I like having someone in the family who can relate to me that way."

"Yeah, well, if we're going to bring him back home you better go. You should buy coffee for your parents, that might help calm them down when you show up. I'll call you and let you know if I succeed tonight." They got into their cars and left.