Of course.

By the time we got to the park, the event was in full swing. I don't know why I assumed everyone would wait for Piya and Yui to arrive; I found myself thinking as the three of us walked up to the three picnic tables covered in table clothe "of course the world doesn't actually revolve around them. That's just my world."

Kids were running around, playing games, laughing and weaving through adults. The adults were talking and setting out food. Most everyone was dressed in modern fashioned clothing. Some of the older people were dressed in more traditional eastern sari looking wraps and tunics but the women mostly dressed like Yui and Piya, sundresses. The men, to some degree, were wearing exactly what I was wearing save for a couple men wearing head wraps. I tried to be respectful and not show my ignorance of their culture.

I quickly pieced it together that the girls had dressed me to blend in as much as a white guy can. I was going to do everything I could do to just that. I was a good head taller than the majority of the people forming the crowd around the tables and I have never felt more lily white in complexion than in this exact moment.

Yui and Piya help me break into the crowd and begin introducing me to people around the table. Cousins, cousin's sister's best friends, Mums, husbands, family friends of the cousins we just met. I caught very few names that I could remember. The voices swirl in mixes of English and Thai talking to each other and to the girls and me.

People begin to stop their conversations and check on me as we move deeper into the nucleus of this gathering. Checking with Piya and Yui to see if I belong here. They nod and introduce me and we move through towards a table where we see Aor breastfeeding her son. She sees us and enthusiastically waves us over.

There are three older women sitting with Aor at the table. One I immediately recognize as Yui's mum. She hops up from the table and gives me a hug. We say a quick hello as I enjoy the warmth of her greeting but I feel a need for my best manners come crashing into my mind as it makes me think her husband is around.

She smiles and quickly corrects me, "My husband couldn't make it today. He's on a business trip but I want you to know he was very impressed by you at lunch and looks forward to speaking with you again."

I'm relieved at the prospect but don't fully relax as Aor steps in to introduce one of the other women as her mother. She looks a lot like Aor and gives me a penetrating, knowing look before saying "hello" and then turning her attention to her grandson.

"And this is my and Lawan's mother," Piya says, indicating the final elderly lady at the table. She is much smaller than Piya and is wrapped in a very gorgeous sari and scarf. She looks up at me and speaks to her daughter in Thai.

Yui leans in and explains "She doesn't speak English but she wants to know if you're "the guy.""

Piya says "Mum says its nice to meet you." I turn to Yui to verify and she shakes her head no. Piya shoots Yui a savage look and then looks back at me.

"Tell her it's an honour to meet her," I say, choosing to embrace the lie. Sure I'll find out who "the guy" is supposed to be soon enough.

Piya mouths a "thank you" to me before saying something to her mum in their native language.

As Piya says what she said, Aor's mum looks up and says something in Thai that, given the context clues, I'm pretty sure translates to "The guy" and Piya's mum agrees.

Aor's mum immediately reaches for her phone and Aor tries to grab it away from her but with the baby in her arms, she can't quite reach. They scold each other before Aor turns to us and apologizes.

I ask Yui's mum what that was all about, clearly my only ally of the mums.

"Oh, nothing to worry about." She pauses, "there are just a lot of rumours going around. They all seem to be centred around you dear."

"Rumors huh?" I say looking to Aor. "I wonder how those get started."

Aor blushes, smiles, and quickly changes the subject to her baby. Talk of tummy time distracts the moms as Yui, Piya and I back towards the food table.

We mingle and eat. The food is delicious but I can't for the life of me keep straight which dish is which after Piya, or Yui, or Yui's mum explains to me what I'm eating.

Person after person comes up to Yui and Piya to talk and say hello, introducing themselves to me and asking one of them if I'm their boyfriend. They never correct the audience who asks, both of them saying yes but no more than that.

Most of them do not care about me in the slightest and are more excited about Piya's big position at the Sydney Conference

Lawan and Dawn meet up with us for a bit, saying hi and chatting about this and that, we all excuse ourselves to under a big tree at the edge of the gathering. Aor joins us there a few moments later to warn us who her mum was texting.

"Piya, she was texting your idiot Ex. Well, our idiot exes."

"Oh, I hate that guy," Lawan says.

"I'd let him fuck me," Dawn says. Nobody responds so she says it again.

"What? Why?" Piya responds flabbergasted.

"She thinks they have a right to know. Mine because of the baby, yours because you're bringing a guy to these community functions. Both of them were invited here but before the text, I didn't think either of them was coming."

"Before the text?" Yui asks

"Yeah, that's why I came over. They're here."

The two exes come stomping over towards the women. Aor's ex-husband starts asking where his son is and demanding she is grown up about the divorce. Piya's boyfriend begins begging her to take him back. They're causing quite a scene and my bouncer conditioning has me pushing Yui, Dawn and Lawan behind me as I try and see how this is going.

Piya, of course, is already two steps ahead of me and is first confronting Aor's husband. Aor is boiling over with rage and about to say something when Piya steps in and says. "You cheating lowlife good for nothing asshole. How dare you come here and try and embarrass Aor in front of everybody. Fuck off and fuck you.

You know damn well your son is well taken care of. He is with his grandma right now. Try taking this bullshit attitude over there and pry him away from his grandmother. See what that gets you."

Aor's husband slowly just backs away from the tree we are all under. He seems to know damn well he can't stay on the high horse after Piya screamed all that so everyone can hear. Even Piya's mother, who doesn't speak English got the gist of what her daughter was screaming.

"As for you." Piya says exasperated to her ex-boyfriend, the former "Piyas_guy", "just go home."

But he doesn't wilt away as Aor's ex did. He instead changes his demeanour from a grovelling lovesick pleading to cold wrath. He stands up and steps close to Piya, leaning in and whispering something in her ear. I can't hear what he said but I can see how it affects Piya.

She simply shivers at first, her eyes look up into his and she opens her mouth to say something but can't find the words. Her hands clasp over her mouth and she begins to sob as the full weight of whatever he said hits her.

He steps back from her, seemingly very pleased with the effect he has had. "Does he know yet?" he asks, pointing at me. "Do I get to be the one to tell him?"

Whatever it is he is going to say, I don't want to hear it and begin to step up to attack the guy.

Before I can get to him though Yui is there, one leg planted, the other leg swinging like a free kick in footie, sending her foot right between his legs with all her ****. It lifts him off the ground and he crashes onto his shoulder, balled up in pain.

Nobody saw how he left or where he went from there. Everyone's attention turned to Piya and making sure she was okay. The other party goers brought her tea and her mum hugged her as Piya tried to pull herself together, which she did but it took a good 10 minutes. Gracefully wiping tears from her eyes and letting out a feeble laugh as she called her ex a fucking asshole in Thai. I'm assuming. Everyone laughed and agreed.

Lawan asked everyone what he said and Her mum chastised her with a slap on the back of the head. Lawan then just hugged her sister and said, "he's a fucking asshole."

Piya rallied and stayed strong but that was pretty much the end of the picnic for us. I took Piya and Yui to Piya's place, offering to stay over as well. "thanks honey but I think I just need my girls tonight. Aor is going to come over later with the baby and Lala and Dawn, they're going to help me make sure Sydney is the best thing ever. I deserve it."

"Yes, you do," I say giving her a kiss at her door.

"We deserve it." She reiterates while giving me a deep long hug before walking into her place.

Yui kisses my cheek and hugs me, assuring me Piya will be okay. "He just knows how to get to her. She'll be right. She's lucky to have you now."

"She's lucky to have you." I answer, "We both are."

Yui smiles brightly as she walks inside, saying something to Piya in Thai in a silly cartoonish voice.

I left and went home to pack for the trip with Piya. I packed my suit that Yui's mum made me, I packed a couple of dress shirts and a swimsuit and a few pairs of clothes.

Around three hours later I got a video call from the ladies. They were all wearing PJs and facial masks with their hair up. Piya was smiling and seemed to be completely relaxed from the earlier drama. She promised to tell me what it was all about but "damn it it's not going to ruin my good time with my ROOOOOOOO!"

All the other girls called out "ROOOOOOOOOOO!" in response and they all broke out giggling.

Explaining the masks, Aor's face shoots into the frame of the camera and says "Piya insists on looking super fuckable for you and that's what's going to happen."

Giving a small chuckle, "I don't doubt it. We're going to have a great time."

Piya takes the frame back and says she loves me and gives me the details for where and when to meet up tomorrow for our trip.

Asking her again if she is okay seems like all I can think to do but I don't want to push it so I assure her I love her and this trip is going to be everything she's dreaming of.

We agree to meet and say good night. Addressing the group of them as one I say "Don't do anything I wouldn't do."

Which is met by another round of "ROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"