“I know you didn’t fly me across the world to stand behind you while you negotiate prices.”
“You do it so well.”
He grinned. “I do.”
“And after that, I’m taking you to the night market, the floating market, and the elephant sanctuary. They allow babies as long as they stay in a stroller or carrier. We can do a longtail boat ride if Cairo is in the right mood. There’s a park with the big monitor lizards.”
“Big what?”
“Monitor lizards.”
He stopped walking for half a second. “You takin’ my son around dinosaurs?”
“They’re not dinosaurs.”
“They close enough.”
“You literally shoot people for a living, but a lizard is where you draw the line?”
“A gun doesn’t run out the bushes with a tongue hanging out.”
I laughed as Reek shook his head like I was the unreasonable one.
A few minutes later, we reached Ploy’s restaurant.
The sign was faded the same way it had been when I left. The red awning still dipped low on one side. The front window still had the small gold stickers near the corner, and the same little bell hung over the door. The second I pulled it open, the smellof garlic, lemongrass and basil hit my nose. I had to pause for a second.
I had sat in this restaurant during one of the most confusing seasons of my life, staring out of the window and feeling so alone and lost. I had been pregnant, stubborn, and scared, carrying a secret I didn’t know how to bring home.
Now I was walking in with the secret in Reek’s arms.
“Damn,” Reek said quietly. “It smells good in here.”
I cheesed. “I know.”
He held the door open and followed me inside. The lunch crowd was light. A fan turned lazily in the corner, pushing warm air through the room. Ploy was behind the counter, per usual. She looked up, ready to greet us like we were any other customers, then froze.
Ploy’s mouth fell open. Then she screamed. “Ava!”
Every head in the restaurant turned as Ploy rushed from behind the counter so fast her slippers slapped against the floor. She was shorter than me, round in the middle, with her hair pinned up and a towel over one shoulder. She grabbed my hands, then pulled me into a hug before I could speak.
“You come back!” she yelled. “You no tell me! Why you no tell me?”
“I wanted to surprise you,” I answered through giggles.
“You surprise me too much! My heart, Ava! My heart!”
I laughed, holding her tight. “I missed you.”
She pulled back, and her eyes dropped straight to Cairo.
Her scream got louder. “You bring me baby!”
“Oh my God,” she said, pressing both hands to her cheeks while looking at RoRo. “Beautiful baby. So beautiful. Look at him.”
Cairo stared at her like he was wondering who the hell she was.
Ploy bent down closer. “Hi, baby. Hi. You know Ploy? I feed your mama when she cry and say she not cry.”
