Hi readers,
A very long chapter this time,
I think it's the longest one I've done so far.
Image taken of Google.
Not sure who it belongs to but it was the closest to this chapter. Credit goes to them.
Dedicated to everyone reading this, leaving comments or voting.
Also dedicated to T <T :-)
Please enjoy.
'Dream
When you're feeling blue
Dream
That's the thing to do
Just watch the smoke rising high in the air
You'll find your share of memories there
So dream
When the day is through
Dream
And they might come true
Things never are as bad as they seem
So dream, dream, dream'
- Dream - Roy Orbison
The main road was bustling with vehicles as Kongpob and Pete manoeuvre their way past last evening commuters. Workers going home from a long day, Shop owners closing up or last minute shoppers. For the time it was the sky was just darkening, leaving lingering shadows. The sky was clear but the weather had stayed only slightly cool for most of the day.
“So, I suppose he’s carrying a copy of a book with a flower” Pete asks as they cross a small street heading in the direction of a small cafe. He looks towards Kong when he gets no answer. He was actually kidding. Kong slows his steps as he tries not to look at him, just looking ahead. Pete chuckles as his eyebrows disappear into his hair line.
“What! Really?” He grins when again Kong won’t look at him. “That is so clinched, dude”.
“Look, I’m only staying ten minutes”. Kong says, as they walk along. “ I’ll say hello, have a cup of coffee and then leave. That’s what I’m going to do.” Pete nods. “ I just hope he doesn’t have a squeaky voice like the mice in the cartoon version of ‘Cinderella’, I hate that”. He stops suddenly almost making a woman, walking close behind, bump into him. He waii’s and apologises as she tuts, watching as she walks away and then turning on Pete. “Why am I even doing this? Why am i even compelled to meet him? Why?”.
Pete reaches over and pats his shoulder. “Kong, serious. You need to relax, dude. You’re just taking it to the next level. I always do that. I always take a relationship to the next level and if that works I take it to the next until I’ve reached that level where it becomes absolutely necessary for me to leave.”
“So, your date went well then from the other night?” Kong asks.
Pete smirks, “you could say that, yes”.
“Huh!, well I won’t be staying that long anyway”. Kong says. “I did say that, didn’t I?”.
Pete chuckles “Yes, you did”.
”huh!”
They start walking again, crossing more streets and passing people hurrying along, until soon they reached a small cafe with the words ‘Cafe Lalo’ on a big lit up sign, over the top of the large front window. There’s a flight of steps with a metal railing that leads up to a set of double doors, covered with a multitude of mini fairy lights, and lighting up the whole of the front like a brightly lit Christmas tree. As he gets closer, Kong starts to slow his steps until he comes to a complete stop again.
“Well, ok. Here we are”. He pulls out his phone and checks the time, fidgeting with it in his hands. “Eight o’clock. We got here fast, didn’t we?”
Pete nods. “Yep”.
“Pete,” Kong says, Pete can feel the agitation in Kong’s voice, “ this man is one of the most adorable creatures I have ever been in contact with and if he turns out even to be as good-looking as a mailbox, I’d be crazy not to turn my life upside-down and marry him”.
Pete ‘hmms’ and pats Kongpob’s shoulder. “He’s going to have a squeaky voice but good luck with that, anyway.” He gives Kong a wide grin and takes a step away only to be stopped with a hand on his shoulder. The hand grips a bit tighter when Pete tries to pull away. He turns to Kong who is giving him very large eyes.
“Would you go and look for me?”
“Really? Me”.
“Please Pete”. ‘No, not the eye’s’. ‘Can those get any wider?’. Pete knows someone else that can give him these eyes. It’s not good when you want to hold your own ground. Although saying that Kong’s puppy eye’s can’t hold a button to the other set of brown eyes he knows of. Pete tries to not look and to pull away but it’s very hard when your being looked at like that. “Just go and look through the window and check him out. Please”.
Pete lets out a very, very, very long sigh. Sometimes.
“All right but do you know how pathetic you are”, Kong grins as Pete shrugs off his hand, “and you so owe me for this”.
Pete walks up the steps until reaches the large double window that looks straight into the cafe as Kong goes and sits on a bench. There was quiet a few people inside, mainly couples but there was a few tables with a single person sat here and there. It was all lit dimly with a soft yellow light.
“Do you see him?”
Pete waves him off as he continues to look through the window. He smirks as he spots something.
“Yeah! I see a guy and he’s very handsome”.
Kong grins and pumps his fist. “Yes! I knew he would be”.
“Ah! Yes, very handsome and cute”. He turns away from the window, giving Kong a smirk, ”but no book”.
Kong, who was about to stand to come over, stops in his tracks and scowls up at Pete. His best friend chuckles to himself as he looks back through the window.
“Ok, wait” he says, after a moment. At the far corner he spots a table with a book and a flower. He tries to take a look at whoever is sat at the table but the waiter is in the way. “I see a book and a flower”.
“And?” Kong says, frustrated. “Is there a guy there? What does he look like?”.
Pete shrugs as he answers, “I can’t see because the waiter’s in the way”.
“Damn it”. Kong curses.
Peering in through the window again, Pete takes another look.
“Hold on the waiter is moving”.
“What do you see?”. Kong is almost desperate now.
He watches as the waiter finishes and moves away. His eyes go wide as the person sat at the table comes into view. In a white, T-shirt; red short, sleeved jacket, and blue jeans sits Arthit Rojnapat, sipping on a pink milk as he looks around. He starring so hard that he almost forgets that Kong is still waiting for an answer until he hears his name being called.
“Pete! Can you see him?”
Pete nods as he looks towards Kong slowly. He’s not actually quite sure what to say so he goes with what he knows will be safe.
“Yeah! I can see him now”.
“And?....”
Pete shrugs his shoulders. “He’s cute”.
Kong sighs happily. “He is?” He smiles. “I knew he would be”.
“You know what?” Pete says. Now, how was he going to say this?.
“He looks....” he pauses for a moment, “I mean he almost has the same look as that Arthit Rojnapat person”.
Kong looks at him with a raised eyebrow. “Arthit Rojnapat from the gadget store?”
“Why not? You thought he was attractive”.
‘Yes, ok. He did. So what?’ “Absolutely. Why not?” ‘He’s also mentioned how adorable Arthit is. 'What has that got to do with anything?’ “Who cares about Arthit Rojnapat?”
Pete sighs. Well, might as well pull the bandage off in one go. “Well if you don’t like Arthit Rojnapat, I can tell you right now, your not going to like this guy”.
“Why not?”
“Because it is Arthit Rojnapat”.
Kongpob darts up the steps so fast he slips, having to catching himself on the railings before he falls fully. He reaches the window, peering inside and; Yes, he was there. Pete had seen correctly. Arthit was sat at a table with a small, plant pot containing one white flower and a book resting next to it. An half empty long glass, with the reminisce of a pink liquid inside, on the table next to him. Was this karma? The universe putting two fingers up and saying ‘This is what you get for destroying a man’s livelihood and putting him out of business’. Letting Kong find a person who he actually liked and who he would ‘turn his world upside-down for’. All of it to be thrown back into his face for a guy who hates him, who even despises him now. From next to him he can feel Pete fidgeting.
“So,” Pete says softly, the ‘Oo’ stretched out. “What are you going to do now?”.
What can he do?. If he goes in there and he tells Arthit who he is then Arthit would most likely throw something in his face, most likely the contents of the glass next to him, but if he didn’t go in then what would that make him? A coward. Then a thought comes to him. Maybe, Arthit is waiting for someone else and this could all be some sort of coincident. Kong mentally shakes his head. Yeah! Right, what are the odds of Arthit turning up at the Cafe that Kong was meeting someone at with a book and a flower on the exactly same night.
“Nothing”. Kong turns and starts to walk back down the steps but is stopped with a hand on his shoulder.
“Wait, wait, wait”. Pete frowns. “What do you mean by nothing? You’re just going to let him sit there all night?”
Kong swallows. His heart is in his throat and he doesn’t know what to do. He needs time to process what this is before he will do anything else.
“Yes, I am because honestly, Pete, what else can I do?”.
“You could go in there and explain”.
“How?” Kong says, frowning. “ ‘Oh! Hey there I know you hate me but I’m the guy you’ve been e-mailing for the past couple of months’, yeah! like that’s going to make anything better. So yes!, that’s exactly what I’m going to do”. He brushes off Pete’s hand and starts heading down the steps again. When he gets to the bottom, he turns to Pete, giving him a waii and sad smile. “Good Night Pete, I’ll see you in the morning”.
Pete sighs as he watches as Kong heads down street only to turn the corner and disappear out of view. He sighs, shaking his head, slowly making his own way down the steps and taking the walk home.
Meanwhile in the Cafe........
Arthit takes a sip of his pink milk as he checks his phone. His eyes looking over to the door when he hears bell ring. This time it’s only a young couple entering, going straight over to the small counter, at the other side. He sighs and checks his phone again. A quarter past eight. Where was he? Arthit did say eight o’clock, didn’t he?. On his phone, Arthit brings up his last E-Mail to ‘BK152’ and sure enough there it is in black and white. He scrawls through his messages, looking to see if the guy might of left a ‘not coming’, ‘been detained’ but nothing, nada, zilch. Arthit humphs and crosses his arms, leaning back in his chair. He hates waiting at the best of times.
Arthit picks up his phone again, letting out a sigh and checks the time again, only five minutes had gone past. He looks towards the door, through the small glass windows but no-one was stood there, waiting to come in. Where was he?.
Just then a waiter appears, a young man in his early twenties, with a name tag that reads ‘Guitar’. He picks up Arthit’s empty glass and asks him if he wants another one. Arthit contemplates for a moment. He might as well have another drink. It keeps him calm and ‘BK152’ could still turn up. He needs him too. He needs his advice. Arthit nods at the waiter who leaves, saying he will return with his drink shortly. He tidies the table and moves the flower and book closer to the edge.
Hearing the door bell ringing, he looks over, only to see Kongpob Suthiluck stroll in. As quick as a flash, Arthit picks up the book, opening it and placing in front of him. What is he doing here? Of all nights too. Please, not tonight. He tries to hide as Kongpob walks over but then someone clears their throat and he knows he’s been seen. Damn it!.
“P’Arthit, what a coincidence”. Arthit looks up to see Kongpob smiling and waiing at him. “Do you mind if I sat down?”
Kong sits down quickly before Arthit can stop him. Arthit scowls at him.
“I do mind actually, I’m expecting someone”.
Kong leans over, looking at the book that Arthit has open and Arthit gets a strong scent of white musk. He has to stop himself from breathing in deeply.
“ ‘ The Hitchhiker’s Guide To The Galaxy’ “.
Arthit closes the book quickly. “Hey, do you mind?”.
Kong just grins at him, “I bet you read that book every year. I bet you just love the idea of mankinds intelligence over the dolphins. Arthur’s what’s-his-name and the guy who saves him from being blown up with planet earth”.
The waiter brings over Arthit’s drink, placing it onto the table before turning to Kong.
“Can I get you something?”
“No, he’s not staying”. Arthit says quickly.
Kong smiles at the waiter, “an Americano, please”.
Arthit growls! “Kongpob, your not staying”.
“I’ll just stay here until your friend gets here”. Ignoring the death glare that is being thrown at him, Kong looks at his phone. He smirks, “gee, is he late”.
Arthit glares at him some more.
“The main characters of Hitchhikers are Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect. It is one of the best examples of British comedy. Not that you would know. I bet you haven’t even read it”.
“As a matter of fact I have read it”. Kong says smugly.
Arthit crosses his arms and looks away. “Well, good for you!”.
“You’d discover a lot of things about me if you really knew me”.
Arthit turns to look at Kong again, narrowing his eyes as he does. “If I really knew you, you know what I would find?. Instead of a brain a cash register, instead of a heart, a bottom line”. He stops suddenly, surprised. Did he really just say that?. Kong notices Arthit’s expression.
“What?”
“I’ve just had a breakthrough and I have you to thank for it”.
“Oh, really”.
“For the first time when I’m confronted with a horrible, insensitive person I know exactly what I wanted to say, and I said it”.
Kong looks down, frowning.
“Well, I think you have a gift for it”. Kong fidgets with his phone. “That was a perfect blend of poetry and meanness”.
Arthit leans forward, pointing a finger at Kong. “Meanness?” he says, “Let me tell you about meanness”.
Kong jumps in. “Don’t misunderstand me. I’m just trying to pay you a compliment”.
The waiter ‘Guitar’ brings over Kongs coffee, placing it in front of him before giving both men a waii and leaving. Kong takes a sip of his coffee before he picks up the flower and smells it. The scent reminding him of the guy in front of him. Arthiit goes to grab it.
“What is this? A rose?”.
Arthit snatches the pot out of Kong’s hand. “Don’t touch that!” he snaps placing the pot back on the table. “And for your information, it’s a Gardenia”.
The bell above the door rings again and Arthit quickly turns to look. Kong turns too and they both watch as two old ladies enter through the door and head towards the counter. Arthit lets out a very long, a very deep sigh, as he looks over at Kong, who is still watching the door.
“Please, leave”. Arthit says this so softly that he’s not sure if Kong actually hears him until the other man looks at him. “Please”. He really doesn’t want to beg but he might do if that is what it takes for Kong to leave.
Kong can hear the slight desperation in Arthit’s voice so he nods and gets up from his seat, collecting up his drink and moving but he doesn’t move far. He can’t bring himself to. Arthit watches him leave and he feels relief flood through him but it’s not there for long when he notices the guy go and sit in the seat directly behind. Picking up his phone, Arthit uses the reflection on it to see what Kong is doing behind him, only to suddenly find Kong starring at him. He quickly puts down his phone.
“You know what that flower reminds me of is the first day I met you”. Kong’s voice drifts to him.
“The first day you lied to me, you mean”. Arthit says as he turns around in his seat to face Kong only to find their faces very close. He pulls away quickly, his checks reddening.
“What do you mean, I didn’t lie to you?”. Kong’s puzzled. When did he lie?.
Arthit turns in his seat again to face Kong “You did too”.
“No, I did not”. Kong crosses his arms.
“Yes, you did”.
“I did not”.
“You did too”.
“I did not”.
“KONGPOB!”. Arthit snaps, raising his voice slightly. It attracts some of the patrons near them. Giving them a waii, he doesn’t miss the grin on Kong’s face.
“Yes, Pi’ “.
“You did too. I thought all the Leo stuff was so charming. L-E-O”.
“I didn’t lie about it”. Kong smirks.
Arthit scowls “Kong?. ‘Just call me Kong’”.
“Sure!”.
“As if you were some sort of cocktail waitress with no last name. ‘Hi, I’m Kimberly’ or ‘Hi, I’m Janice’. Don’t they know your supposed to have a last name”.
Kong gets up from his seat and goes sits in the seat opposite Arthit again.
“Look”, he leans forward and this time Arthit gets a slight scent of coffee as well as the musk, he has to stop himself from groaning. “I am not a cocktail waitress”.
Arthit puts his hands up. “That’s not what I said”.
“And when I said the thing about the prize club and the cans of cooking oil, that’s not what I meant either”.
Arthit looks at him. “Oh! You poor, sad, multi-millionaire. I feel so sorry for you”. His voice is just oozing with sarcasm.
The door of the cafe opens again, pulling Arthit’s attention away from Kong to look. Kong turns too just in time to see a man in a red and black cloak, wear a large black hat on his head. Kong smirks as he turns back to face Arthit.
“I’ll take it that’s not him, either.” Arthit ignores him. “So, who is he, I wonder?”. Certainly not I gather the greatest living expert on Julius and Ethel Rosenburg but somebody entirely different. Will you be mean to him too?”.
“No, I will not because the man who is coming here tonight is completely unlike you.” Arthit says fiercely. “The man that is coming here tonight is kind and funny. He’s got I wonderful sense of humour”.
“But, he’s not here”. Kong says.
“Well, if he’s not, he has his reasons because there is not a cruel or careless bone in his body but I wouldn’t expect you to understand anybody like that. You with your theme park, multi-level, homogenize-the-world mochaccino land. You’ve deluded yourself that you’re some sort of benefactor bringing gadgets to the masses but no one will ever remember you, Kongpob Suthiluck. and maybe no one will remember me either but plenty of people remember my ma and they think she was fine and they think her store was something special. You are nothing but a suit”.
After arthit stops talking a silent falls between them. They sit there starring into each others eyes for a while. Arthit really can’t believe he has just said all that. He feels a strange ache in his stomach, like he’s pulled a muscle, and it seems to get slightly worse when he notices the sadness in Kong’s eyes. But why? What he said was true. He watches as Kong doesn’t say a word but reaches into his trouser pocket and pulls out his wallet, taking out some money for his coffee.
“That’s my cue”. He says still not looking at him.
Kong stands, pushing his chair back in and gives Arthit a waii, his eyes only glancing at him for a minute before he looks away again.
“Good night , P’Arthit”.
Arthit watches as he leaves. There goes that ache in his stomach again. It also feels like he’s got butterflies trapped in there too but that makes absolutely no sense. Why should he feel any sort of guilt? Kong needed to be told and Arthit was just so exhausted and angry these days. He tries to drink some of his milk but it’s not working like it’s supposed to. The one thing he always turns to, that helps keep himself calm and it’s not working. He growls, pushing the glass away. Turning his phone back on he looks at the time. Nine thirty. That’s it. He’s not staying. He really hopes ‘BK152’ has one very good reason why he hasn’t turned up.
Placing his own money down, Arthit stands, picking up the book and the flower. As he pushes on the double doors, feeling the cool late night breeze on his bare arms, he exits. He slowly makes his way down the steps and walks home.
Patrica was already asleep when Kong gets home. He’s glad because the last thing he wants right now is a ton of questions fired at him. He’s already had his pride hurt tonight but that doesn’t mean he’s surprised. He knew what would happen once he had walked into that cafe. And would be totaly justified. You can’t destroy a mans business, even if it’s ‘not personnel’ and expect them to be ok with it. You could blame his guilty conscious that had plagued him as he had walked away from Pete and had forced him to go back or you could say it was his curiosity. Either way it went exactly as he thought it would. Now he knew exactly how Arthit felt. A full on slap in the face might of been better because that probably wouldn’t of hurt him as much. As he walks in, he’s met with Berkeley, wagging his tail. Kong kneels down, burrowing his face in the long golden fur and just staying there for a moment. Later, he goes to bed, his mind still processing. One thought going around and around in his brain.
Arthit Rojnapat was ‘Gadgetboy’.
OMG that was long.
So... What did you guys think? An almost whole chapter with Kongpob and Arthit.
Please leave comments and vote.
All are very much appreciated.
Thank you
:-)