...
Harvest Sky
flashback
... at the staff house ...
Del and little Joe were welcomed with open arms. The guys saved seats at the head of the table for them. They escorted the junior prince and his consort with great pomp and fanfare.
Del soaked it up and played along. He loved the adoration. Joe seemed oblivious, as long as he got to hang out with Del, he was smiling.
Green and Fair, on the other hand, were teased relentlessly. "Oh, look who's come to dinner. You've decided to slum it, huh?"
The room was buzzing and it was more than just harvest. Every single one of them had their ears tuned to hear Fair's explanation for the big question.
"What the hell is going on? Why is P'Chess dining all alone with the new teacher? You've been relegated to eat with the help, that's gotta hurt."
Before Fair could even think of answering, he had to hear the conjecture being spewed from every corner.
"He's never done this before. Does he know Air from somewhere else?"
One of the guys who worked in the gardens with Green was already finished eating. He stood with his plate and dirty glass. He tossed his two cents into the ring: "How old is Air? He looks sixteen. I don't think you have to worry about Chess and Air. I'd put my money on the vet."
Jet, the best mechanic in the whole region had his own question: "He's not going to fire Air, is he? You should have seen that car when they towed it back. It will cost a fortune to rebuild it, and a whole new interior will have to be found."
Jet looked at the surprised faces. "It's fifty years old, you don't find them on every street corner."
The prince at the head of the table gave his opinion. It poured cold water on the excitement and rampant hypothesizing.
"My dad is not going to fire P'Air." Del's face was screwed up in a defiant and fiery twist.
He talked as if he didn't have all the answers. "I think P' can see that Del is flourishing and happy with Air, and since he's already lasted longer than most of them, he wants to personally meet and maybe encourage Air."
His explanation and Fair's instantaneous agreement with Del, didn't leave a lot of room for more of the guessing game they had all been playing. Air had been the topic of discussion for months and he was turning out to be an inscrutable enigma.
There was too, the fact that Khemp and Sky just happen to be working at the house. They were there listening in on Chess and Air's dinner and not here and in on this conversation. One of the orchard workers pointed that out: "Khemp and Sky know more about him than anyone, even you Fair. But they don't tell us crap. They keep him to themselves."
Fair heard: "I haven't met him yet. He doesn't even know my name."
Fair got some consolation from the two straight and married guys at the table. They weren't involved in the love-showdown. They only snickered and patted the backs of their complaining co-workers.
Del held court again. He put up both hands and raise his voice. "P'Air is not going anywhere. You will all have time to meet him."
Green had kept mostly quiet. He spoke up: "See, it takes a ten-year-old kid to knock sense into you guys." Green winked at Del, who gleamed back at his valiant knight.
...
... in the present ...
Chess planned to give no indication to his guests that he was up all night worrying. He showered and spent extra time making sure he didn't look tired. He would be his normal gruff, but it would be served up with a sidedish of pleasant host. These particular guests knew him quite well. That rough edge was just part of who he was.
He came down much earlier than Fair expected. "P'Chess, breakfast won't be for at least an hour."
He might have taken extra care in the way he looked, but Fair could see the anxiety in his eyes.
"Have you seen anyone moving around at Del's house?" Chess was pushing his face closer to the big window in the living room.
"I have time P'. I'll go over myself and check on him."
Chess surprised Fair. "No, we should wait. I told Khemp to stay with him."
Chess put his hand on Fair's shoulder. He shook him gently. "I'm worried about Del too, he was crying pretty hard when he thought Air was hurt. I promised him I would take care of Air."
Chester was shaking his head and making the saddest chuckle. "Do you remember how much Del hated that teacher from Chonburi?"
Fair lightened the mood as well. "My favourite was when he kicked teacher, P'Kut, in the shin.
...
Khemp dressed Air. He did everything. He washed the boy down in the shower as carefully as he knew how. It was the most intensely erotic nine minutes of Khemp's life, and yet, it was steeped in sadness and empathy. Air sat on a small seat while Khemp washed his feet. He thanked Khemp a hundred times, Air couldn't bend far enough to do it himself.
Khemp fixed and combed his hair. Khemp put deodorant on him and made him giggle. Air said it tickled. When he laughed, he winced, it hurt.
"I think you should go to the hospital, right now... Nong, please."
"But I'm so hungry, P'."
"I can't believe your growling stomach is more important than getting this looked at." Khemp touched Air's lip and the small cut there.
Khemp pulled his phone out. "Sky, are you eating yet? Could you pack up breakfast for three and bring it to Air's house? I'll explain later."
...
Del and Joe were awake by the time Sky came with the food. They ate in their small kitchen.
Air couldn't tell who looked more upset. Was it Khemp with his tired and teary eyes? Or Sky, who seemed afraid to step away from Khemp's side?"
"I'm sorry I've been monopolizing him, P'Sky, but P'Khemp is mad at me today."
Sky was standing behind Khemp. He was rubbing his neck and shoulders while Khemp's attention was on Air's scraped-up knees.
"I won't go to the hospital and I'm in trouble with P' now."
Del saved all of them from what could be an awkward conversation, he was pissed that he couldn't take his buddy Joe and go to the main house.
When he got grumpy, he was remarkably like his dad. "Whenever P'Ing is around, I get sent away."
Del spouted out something that only Fair could see the wisdom in: "P'Ing is fake."
Khemp did his best. "You don't really want to be there anyway. They're just a bunch of boring adults. They talk about farming and bushels per acre."
"Do you guys know them?" Air looked at both Sky and Khemp when he posed his question.
Sky eagerly provided an illuminating reply.
"Yeah, one of them is after our P'Chess, big time. He's been sniffing around here for more than a year. P'Ing has three younger brother's and he will inherit his parent's farm. It's about 20 kilometres down the road. They're rich and they act like it."
Sky decided he'd elaborate. "He's twenty-five, eight years younger than Chess and he's gorgeous."
Sky turned quickly and put his eyes on Khemp's face. "Not me, I don't think that, but, but that's what everyone says."
...
Air was still eating when Khemp called Chess directly. That breaks normal farm protocols, but, Chess did put Air's care in his hands.
"P', I know the house is full of guests, but I think you need to see Air. He's hurt more than we thought."
Khemp had just put his phone away and sat beside Air on the loveseat when Chester flew by the window. He yanked the screen door open and almost fell over the threshold. He was asking where Air was when it became obvious that he was sitting right there. He kneeled down in front of the seat. His first concern was Air's injured knees. They did look worse today.
He was speaking to Khemp: "Last night, Fair cleaned him up. I didn't see..."
Khemp lifted Air's shirt with great care. Chess saw a single dark purple bruise and was standing again. He clasped a hand to his forehead and anyone could see in his wide eyes, that he was thinking frantically.
"You're right. Let's get him in the jeep right away. I'll take him myself."
Chess started firing off orders.
"Sky, go to Fair, get the jeep keys and bring it here." Chess pointed to the grass just outside the still open screen door. "Tell Fair to call ahead to the hospital. Tell him to text someone to open the drive gate. Khemp, get some blankets and a pillow. The jeep is uncomfortable..."
"Hey, hello... hello P's, don't you think that someone should ask me how I feel?"
Air was still seated and looking up at the three of them. He had pulled his shirt back down and was holding it by the hem.
"I'm ok, I don't need to go to the hospital. I don't want to."
Chess could only watch. Khemp sounded almost angry. "Oh yes you do! You have open cuts and stuff, you could get an infection."
Air reached up and took Khemp's hand. He looked right at him when he spoke.
"You can bandage those for me, can't you? I don't want to go... really P's."
Khemp turned into mush. He shifted to Chess with his lost look. "P', Nong'Air doesn't really like hospitals. I think he's right. I should do it."
"Fine, stay here and take care of him."
Like always, and as you may have guessed, Chess had one more thing to say before he left.
"Do whatever you have to do. Ask Fair for anything you need. Air is important to my son and we want him fixed up as soon as possible."
...
That very afternoon, Chess sent his guests home. No one, including Fair, heard what excuse he used. All Fair knew was he had to cancel dinner with cook, and all the guest's beds needed changing.
"Ing must have been disappointed P'."
Chess chuckled: "I'm sure he was."
Fair tried to flatter Chess: "He's so handsome and it's clear he admires you."
Chess chuckled again. This time he was walking away. "Uh-huh, he admires my money."
Fair followed and ran past Chess. He stopped and turned in front of him. "Last night was really bad, P'. Was Pool trying to rape Nong'Air?"
"No, he was trying to kill him."
Fair stepped back. Not because he wanted to, but he was looking for a seat to sit on, he might fall. His esophagus burned and he heaved as though he could vomit.
"What did you say? Why? P', what are you going to do?"
"I'm going to break my promise. I'm going to find a proper place where I can put Pool and where he will be cared for."
His head was hanging down and his tone was filled with the disappointment he felt for himself. He said it over and over... "Break my promise... break my promise."
Fair wasn't privy to the details. Who that promise was made to, and why, would remain a mystery.
A full two minutes passed. Chess raised his eyes to Fair. "He refused to go to the hospital. You should have seen his ribs and back."
Fair came right out and said what he'd begun to suspect. What spurred him to do so was Chess's own actions and behaviour. He just wasn't the kind of man to get attached to anyone, and especially to do it quickly.
So far, Fair had shrugged-off Chester's odd interest in Air. It wasn't difficult to persuade himself that Chess was sick of hiring teachers and might get more involved. Fair could come up with as many reasons as necessary to convince his own eyes they were not seeing what they were.
Even more shocking was that Chess, after dedicating so much time, effort, and money to housing Pool, was now about to change all that. From what Fair could tell, Chess was doing it for Air.
"P', I know that this is none of my business, but, do you have feelings for Nong'Air?"
Chess's eyebrows raised and the tiniest nod indicated positively, yes. "Honestly Fair, how long have you worked for me? When have I ever...?"
Fair was bewildered and interrupted him: "I thought something was going on when you went to the guest house that first night, and then when you went to the temple."
Fair quit speaking and let his head be filled with memories, images and thoughts from the past. His boss had had a thousand opportunities to date eligible men who worked for him. There were plenty who would have jumped at the chance. Even the dinner he had with Air, Fair knew many that would have traded places in a heartbeat.
"Does Air know this, P'?"
"No, damn, I frightened the hell out of him. He's too scared of me to look me in the eye." Chess huffed and talked with a conceding resonance:
"You know how I am, Fair... He got in my way, I crashed my car... I might have said some things."
Chess stared at Fair as if he could help. "I can't change, ah, I can't change overnight."
Now looked like a good time to say something that might make Chester feel better. It was a tiny thing, but Fair noticed it early, when Air first arrived.
"Air always asks about you when you're away."
"He does? Like what?"
"Sure, he asks if I've heard from you or if I know when you're coming back."
Fair had a weird look on his face. "I thought you gave him that phone so that you could talk to him directly."
He witnessed a very rare moment. Chess made fun of himself. He smiled at Fair and rolled his eyes: "Ok, not all of my ideas work out."
"P', you do know that Air already has a bunch of admirers. I don't know if you know it, but he's really close to Khemp."
"Ah, yes, I'm aware."
"Hmm, if you are starting to like Air, why would you send Khemp to spend the night in Air's house, and to take care of him?"
By the look on Chester's face, Fair was sure he didn't have an answer, but he did.
"Air is eighteen years old. I'll be thirty-four on my next birthday." Chess huffed. "I feel like an old man keeping an eye on the candy."
Chess stopped himself and the cutesie discussion, he returned to the one that made Fair feel ill. "Pool, I really do believe that Pool was trying to kill Air. I have to start today, start fixing it today."
At first, Chess told Pool that there was someone new on the farm. A teacher and for Del. Much later and on another visit, Chester told Pool that he had feelings for the teacher and that it was time for his heart to move on from where it had been stuck for so long.
When he told all of this to Fair, Fair could begin to understand.
...
Chester called it a harvest vacation. He declared that school classes were suspended for two weeks. The orchards would be stripped of their fruits. The fields would be gleaned. The work hours would double for everyone else, but for Air, it was time off and healing time.
The grass path had now officially become dirt. Air was pampered and waited on. It made him uncomfortable.
Exactly fourteen days later, and on a Friday morning, Chester returned to Air's house. It was still dark when he entered and checked Del's door. Chess saw that Air must have helped them build a tent out of sheets. Del and little Joe were camping.
Sleepy-head Del sat up. "Hi, Dad."
Chess whispered: "Doesn't Joe have to go to school today?"
"No, his mom said he can have harvest vacation too."
Chester nodded and told the boy to go back to sleep. He laid down and put his arm back over his friend.
He thought he was being quiet, but as Chess turned he discovered Air standing half-awake in the hall. His door was open, Pilot came out and sat beside him.
He was loud enough to wake Del for sure. "What's he doing here?" Chess spoke to the dog. "You traitor, you faithless canine. How did you get out of your kennel?"
Air's hair was sticking up and once more he was in nothing but boxers. "I don't know P'. He comes here and sleeps with me a lot."
"Where's Khemp?"
Air looked down at his own chest. He held his arms out from his body and spun. It's been two weeks P', I don't need a babysitter."
Air couldn't tell why, but Chester seemed pleased to hear this. He smiled.
Air walked past Chester in the hall. He had to turn sideways and moved with his back to Chess's chest. Chester closed his eyes when Air was at his closest. He smelled so good.
The bruises were gone from his back. Chess stared at it as the boy walked to the top of the stairs. Air twisted around. "You haven't said why you're here so early P'. Don't worry, I know school starts again on Monday. Would you like a cup of tea?"
Chester followed Air down the stairs. He stayed closed as he turned and entered the narrow galley kitchen. Chess stood behind Air when he was filling the kettle with water.
Air's eyes were down and looking into the sink. "Khemp said your friends are coming back this weekend, and that you're going to continue with the party that I messed up."
Chess reached over Air's shoulder and took the kettle, it slid across the counter. He used Air's shoulders to crank him around, face to face.
"That's not true!" Chester realized how tightly he was holding Air. He loosened it and softened his voice too. "You don't ever have to worry about Pool again. I'm, I'm taking care of that."
Chester saw something indefinable in Air's eyes.
"I'm not telling you to come to the party tonight, I'm asking."
He took Air's hand. "Please come and be my special guest."
The house was so quiet. Actually, everything everywhere was. The sun was barely lighting the sky. Air and Chess both turned their heads at the same time. Del and little Joe were holding hands and standing in the entrance to the kitchen. Del moaned: "Why is everyone awake so early?"
...
... to be continued ...
FanFiction and Novel Adaptation by Kramdrof, all rights reserved, January 2021