"He is mine too!"

Yui's father reaches a hand out to shake my hand and try to explain away his hostility towards me, "I thought you were trying to date MY daughter." He says as if that somehow clears things up.

Trying to be polite I reach to shake his hand while looking over to Yui trying to see if she is okay. Piya has moved over to hug her friend as Yui is shaking. Piya whispers something in Yui's ear and Yui rolls out of her friends hug and stands in front of her parents. "He's mine too," Yui says

Both of her parents look confused, but her mum pieces it together a little quicker than her father, possibly because she knew her daughter was seeing a white guy or possibly because she's smarter than her husband. It's hard to say but she gives me a very intense looking over while her husband tries to have Yui repeat what she just said.

Yui does, more assertively but less fragile than the first time she reiterates "Dad, this is my boyfriend."

"But I thought Piya just said...," the old man gets out.

"She did, we're both dating him."

"I don't understand Yui...," he begins again only to have his daughter interrupt him.

"Dad, I want to be with him. Piya wants to be with him. He wants to be with me, he wants to be with her. It isn't that hard to understand."

I can sense the confusion turning to anger and back to confusion again in the man so I step between Yui and her parents again and try to calmly reintroduce myself and tell her parents how much I care for their daughter. Before I can get much said though, Yui's mom says something in Thai to her husband that seems to completely stun him. She then turns to me and says, "it is nice to finally meet you, we really must be going," and with that she starts guiding her husband away from the group, saying polite goodbyes to the rest of the girls who are all just as polite to her.

As they walk past Yui her mom kisses her forehead and her dad says, "we're not done talking about this!"

"I know daddy but you're going to have to get used to it," Yui asserts herself, using her firmest teacher tone on her father before then saying, "I love you, talk soon."

"I love you too Babystar," her dad says before walking off with his wife, awkwardly holding hands as they walk out of sight.

Lawan, Piya and Aor all start clapping and cheering, circling around Yui for standing up to her dad like that. Yui's whole face goes a crimson red and she wipes some tears away from under her eyes before a giant smile cracks through and she starts laughing along.

Aor bouncing her baby boy on her hip says, "we have to celebrate tonight! this is huge!"

Piya tries to duck out, citing her thesis but Aor won't hear of it, "everybody is coming out tonight."

"Even me?" Lawan asks.

"Yes, even you La-La," Aor says, "we'll get you in."

Still holding Yui's camera I snap a couple pictures of the four of them as a group.

"I know of a private party at The Loft," Aor starts

"Ohh A.F. can get us in?" Lawan asks before getting scolded by Piya and Yui for calling me that.

"We don't need him to get us in. I was invited!" Aor boasts before turning to me and saying, "but its a big surprise so don't go telling Holly whats going on."

"ME?" I ask incredulously, "I don't think I'm the one Jessica needs to worry about."

Aor laughs, "not after tonight!" Then turning to the girls, "okay ladies, let's go get showered up and ready for tonight. Big night everyone, dress up!"

We all went our separate ways from there to get ready and I arrived at The Loft, showered and rested a good fifteen minutes before my shift started, seeing a sign announcing the loft was closed for a private party.

Jessica is the only person in the building when I arrive and she tells me I'm only going to have to look like I'm working for the start of the evening to sell the surprise to Holly. "You need to be a part of the celebration once things get underway." She then hands me a small black felt box and asks me to hold on to it until the right moment and she takes off to go check on something at the bar.

Other employees and familiar faces start filing in but no Holly yet and none of my girls. A half hour later I hear a pounding on the front door and my phone buzzing in my pocket, shaking the ring box Jessica has me holding on to.