I closed my eyes to suppress my rising anger. I-Tim is remarkably skilled at pushing my buttons. And that word... 'Uncle.' I never told her to call me that, even if everyone else already misunderstood our relationship.
It's not that I don't notice Khun Net crossing the line. I'm not stupid; I know when a woman is hitting on me. My wife, however, is a different story. No matter how much I look at her, I can't tell what she's really thinking, despite her blunt way of speaking. That's something I have to keep uncovering. And as long as Khun Net doesn't do anything beyond this, I will continue to be a gentleman and avoid embarrassing her.
"If you want to assert your rights, I'll give you the full experience tonight. You know exactly what I'm talking about, don't you?" I-Tim simply pouted and rolled her eyes before moving to an empty seat next to her. A foreigner happened to be sitting right there.
"Hi, I'm Tim. I'm from Thailand," she began. From then on, the two of them engaged in a long conversation in the broken English of a Physics teacher.
And she claimed she was too afraid to talk to foreigners? Look at her now. Even though she was struggling with her grammar, she kept trying. Once the meeting started, they stopped talking but still glanced at each other periodically. I promised myself that tonight, I wouldn't let her off the hook like before.
The seminar was titled 'Crime Reduction and Educational Management.' The Minister of the host country gave the opening speech to discuss educational approaches that help youth become both capable and virtuous.
It started with European countries, whose education systems are world-class. One country revealed an annual budget of over a billion baht for prisoner management—a staggering statistic compared to ours. They found that these individuals became less hardened when meditation teachers visited daily. Consequently, interest in meditation grew, leading the Minister to integrate it into the curriculum.
"I don't expect crime to drop by a staggering amount instantly," the speaker concluded. "I simply hope my people experience less stress through meditation. When there is peace within, peace without will follow."
The room erupted in applause. The following discussion was quite intriguing. But the person next to me? I couldn't tell if she was sleeping because she didn't understand a word or if it was just her nature. Yet, whenever a video presentation started, she'd force her eyes open to take notes in her palm-sized notebook—while still occasionally chatting nonsense with the foreigner next to her.
When the meeting ended, everyone rose to leave, but those two stayed put. I sent her a 'death stare,' hoping she'd take the hint. Not a chance! She was busy typing Thai into her phone to translate it into English for that guy.
"Excuse me, Sir," I said, grabbing her small wrist. I gave him a brief smile to maintain etiquette; surely, he held some high position to be sitting here—perhaps a Minister like me.
After a brief introduction, I pulled I-Tim away. "What do you think you're doing?"
"P'Net, help me! Uncle Nin is going to scold me!" My wife suddenly changed my status. She tried to pry my fingers off her, her eyes pleading with others for help.
"Khun Nin, please don't. She didn't do anything wrong." Khun Net intervened, placing her hand on my arm and squeezing it gently. I-Tim arched an eyebrow; she probably didn't expect Khun Net to get so physical. "I truly believe you're overly protective of your niece." Dammit! This is my wife. I have every right to be jealous or whatever the hell I want! "How about this? I'll take you to try some famous local food to de-stress. Please, Khun Nin?"