They set off for the grocery store. Lom drove carefully avoiding roads he knew were bumpy and kept looking at Fah for signs of distress. They chatted amicably about foods and ingredients. Arriving at the store, Lom pulled into a parking space and turned off the ignition. "We're here. I'm going to go in, you wait here, remember?"

"Er," said Fah. He went to unbuckle his seatbelt but couldn't. His injured arm was cramping up. "Lom, please, can you help?" His pleading tone caught Lom by surprise.

Lom leaned over to try and even he had trouble with it. Wiggling it back and forth he finally undid the seatbelt. Looking up he found himself staring into Fah's eyes. He didn't move. He couldn't move. Fah was looking at him the way he had all day. It was the same way he used to stare at him back at his university condo.

"Fah," whispered Lom.

"Yes," said Fah, his voice barely audible.

"Are you sure you don't remember me? Or us?"

"No, I'm sorry. I'm trying, I'm really trying," he whispered back. Neither looked away from the other. "There was an us?"

"Yes."

"When?" Fah hoped Lom would give him all the answers he'd been waiting for.

"It's a long story. I can tell you tonight if it won't upset you. Will it upset you?"

"It might explain why I want you to kiss me right now," said Fah. Lom looked at him and swallowed hard. He wanted to kiss him but he couldn't walk into the grocery store with a hard-on. He decided to be honest at this point.

"Fah, two things. First, I want to kiss you too. I want to kiss you quite badly. However, if I kiss you, I'm not going to want to stop and it will give me a hard-on. Then I can't walk into the store and buy what we need for dinner."

Fah smiled but never broke eye contact.

"Secondly, I want you to be aware of the whole story before we do anything. I think it's only fair. Afterward, if you still want me to kiss you, I will. If you want more, I will. If you decide you don't want me to kiss you, I won't. I'll respect your decision."

"Okay," said Fah. They stared at each other for a few seconds more.

Suddenly, Fah cupped Lom's chin with his hand and pulled him in for a kiss. Lom stiffened and tried to pull away. Fah used his good arm to hold him in place and plunged his tongue deep into Lom's mouth. Somehow this felt familiar. And wonderful.

He kept kissing Lom and slowly Lom relaxed and kissed him back. This went on for several minutes, neither of them wanting to be the one to end it. Realizing Fah wasn't going to stop, Lom pushed himself back and away from Fah.

"Damn, Fah, you did it again," he laughed.

"Did what?"

"The first time we ever kissed, you did that to me, you caught me by surprise and kissed me like that. You're an incredible kisser. Right now I want to rip your clothes off." Lom took a deep breath. "You can't do things like that to people. Especially people who like you."

Lom stared at his crotch, willing it to go down. He tried picturing the most disgusting things he could think of.

"Are you a person who likes me?"

"Yes, and you know it," said Lom. It came out ruder than he meant it.

"I don't know anything," said Fah. "I never knew about us." He glanced at Lom, his eyes glassy. "How could we have been an us? I've spent all this time alone with you and I never felt it. It's like I'm inhabiting a stranger's body."

"Fah, don't worry about it. I'm not upset. Let me go shopping. I'll be right back, keep the doors locked. Someone might see my car, realize it's expensive, think you have money, and try to rob you. Please, don't get out, don't roll down the windows or unlock the doors. You can keep it running for the air conditioning." Lom got out and went inside the store.

This is it, my chance to escape. But where would I go? I don't have a phone. I'm not sure if I'm familiar with this place, I don't remember it. There's that Mek guy but I have no way to reach him. He's friends with Lom anyway, so he might send me back. And Lom isn't what I expected. He liked Old Fah. He has been kind to me and he's promised to tell me more tonight. Maybe tonight I'll remember something. Okay, I won't run away now.

Having made his decision to stay, he felt relief, which surprised him. He'd been so lost in his thoughts he hadn't seen Lom return. He knocked on the door and Fah let him in.

"Are we going home now?" asked Fah. He couldn't wait to go back to the condo. He no longer felt safe outside.

"Almost, one quick stop. I'll buy your Boba and my iced coffee. I always go to this vendor near our place." He pulled out of the parking lot and traveled back towards their home. Turning down another road he parked across the street from the coffee vendor.

"Can I come with you?" asked Fah. This time it wasn't to run away, he was scared and didn't want to be away from Lom. He didn't even want Lom to be across the street. He had no idea why, he only knew he needed to be by Lom's side. Noticing the panic in Fah's eyes, Lom agreed.

"Sure, you can come. I'm walking across the street, come on, we'll go together." Fah got out of the car and stood up. Lom was out of the car and walking over to Fah when he heard a familiar voice.

"Lom!" They turned to see Mek walking towards them. "Hey, Lom, what are you doing here? Fah! Hi, Fah! How are you?" Mek couldn't believe his luck that Fah was with Lom tonight.

Fah glanced at Mek but had no memory of him. The voice was familiar; it was the man from the phone. Fah grabbed onto Lom's hand and moved behind him. Lom glanced over his shoulder at Fah and realized how scared he was. He turned, put his arm around him, and pulled him close.

"Hi Mek, can you calm down a little, you're scaring Fah. Remember, he has no idea who you are." Lom rubbed Fah's back to reassure him.

"Oh, sorry! Hi Fah, I'm sorry. I'm a loudmouth. Lom and your brothers, Run and Tin, will all tell you that. I didn't mean to scare you. How are you?"

"Okay," was all Fah said. He wanted Lom to take him home immediately. He didn't care about Boba tea, he wanted to be safe with Lom inside the condo.

"We're getting a couple of drinks on our way home. We're going back to cook some curry together," Lom said. He hoped Mek would take the hint and back off.

"Why are you getting drinks in this part of town? Don't you live about an hour away?" Mek kept pushing for information.

"I'm not where I used to be. We stopped here because we saw the stand as we were driving past. I don't live near here, I just thought we could drink these on our way home."

"Oh, I was wondering because I shop around here a lot, and I never saw you here before," said Mek, trying to explain his presence. "Can I join you guys? I won't eat but I'd love to visit with you."

"Another night, perhaps. Fah just got off oxygen and the IV today. His immune system is still weak so he is supposed to avoid other people for the time being. We'll invite you over, I promise. Tonight is a little too soon, you understand, don't you?" Lom spoke sweetly, leaving Mek no choice but to agree.

"Okay, sure, another time. Don't forget! I'm holding you to your promise." Mek hid his disappointment.

"Sure, sure, we'll do it soon. We can do lunch when Fah isn't so tired."

"Hey Fah, it was nice seeing you. I know you don't remember me, but I am a friend. I'd love to talk with you sometime and remind you of fun things we did together and people we know." Fah nodded his head but said nothing.

"Come on Fah, let's get our drinks so we can go home, okay?" Lom kept his arm around Fah and guided him across the street to the coffee vendor.

"Hi, how are you tonight? May I please have the usual," said Lom.

"Sure thing. Oh, a boy with a phone asked me about you. He showed me your picture, and, well... your friend's picture too, and asked if I'd seen either of you." The vendor hoped his customer wouldn't be angry.

"Was it that guy across the street?" The vendor turned to look at Mek who was still watching them.

"No, not him. A tall thin boy in his late teens, early twenties. He came from money because his clothes and his car were expensive." She hoped he'd pay her for this information.

"What did you tell him?" Lom was worried but tried to hide it.

"I said you came every night but that I'd never seen this guy. I'm sorry, I thought he was your friend trying to find you."

"It's okay, you had no idea. He attacked my friend so we moved without telling him where we live now. Thanks for telling me. Here," Lom paid for their drinks and added a generous tip with it. The vendor nodded and smiled. Mek was still standing by his car when they walked back to theirs.

"Are you two sure you don't want to come to my house maybe?" asked Mek.

"No!" Fah shouted. Lom and Mek were both surprised by his outburst.

"Mek, you heard him, he's really tired and just wants to go home. We'll see you another time. It was such a coincidence running into you like this. I'm glad you got to say hi to Fah. Now we'll find out if it triggers any memories. Drive safely," said Lom as he helped Fah into the passenger seat. He walked around to the driver's side and got in. He noticed Mek was in his car but not leaving. Lom buckled up Fah.

"Fah, are you okay?"

"Mm," said Fah. He reached over and grabbed Lom's hand. "Please don't let that man in our home."

"I won't. Like you said, it's our home. That means you have to agree if someone wants to come inside. Don't worry, I'll protect you from everyone. I'm going to have to drive fast because I think he's trying to find out where we live. I don't want him to know so I'm going to head to another part of town first, okay?"

"Okay."

Lom pulled into traffic. Although they'd sat in the car talking for five minutes before starting the car, Mek had not left. As soon as Lom pulled out, Mek pulled out behind him. Lom tried not to make it obvious that he was aware that Mek was behind them. He went down a few side streets then took the on-ramp onto the highway. He headed across town to where Mek thought he lived. Lom looked in his rear-view mirror and then turned to Fah.

"Fah, I'm going to have to go fast for a little bit. You might want to close your eyes." Lom worried Fah's body was still weak and he didn't want to scare him and cause him to pass out.

"Okay," said Fah shutting his eyes. Lom accelerated and took off down the highway. He watched Mek try to keep up with them. A friend of Lom's raced cars and had his mechanic do some work on Lom's car. At the time, although he appreciated the gesture, Lom thought it was a waste of time and money. Now, however, he was grateful for the gift. Weaving from one lane to the next, he lost Mek easily. He took an off-ramp, headed to a back road, and made his way back to their condo.