Un-Beam My Heart!

52. Start Over!!

                                   It was a small rental house at the first floor which was hardly 600 sq ft, with the owners, an elderly couple staying at the ground floor. There was a tiny kitchen to the right of the main door at the east corner. It had minimal yet necessary appliances and vessels needed for basic cooking. The doorway led to a small living room which had a three seater sofa and a coffee table. To the left of the living room, was a bedroom and next to it was the wash area.

                                   Kimmon took in the small shelf which was completely empty on the wall, and a four seater dining table that was placed close to the kitchen. There were two pots of cactus sitting at the ledge of the French window. Kimmon unbuttoned the third button of his shirt and opened the window panes. The hot air from outside hit his face and the noise from the traffic below penetrated his ears. He closed the window immediately and turned around, allowing his eyes to wander around the house which was not even half  in size of the dorm he used to stay when he was in college.

                                      Kimmon was amazed. He had assumed that Tee would have gone back to swindling people after he had left Tae. In fact, he was waiting for the day when Tae would come to him and admit that Tee wasn’t worth it, so that he could give that ‘told you so’ look. But the reality was much more shocking and uncomfortable to him. He leaned against the window and heaved a sigh. Clearly, the state of the house was enough proof that Tee had quit his conning life for good.

                                    From where he stood, Kimmon could see the kitchen clearly. Tae was chopping bell peppers with Copter, and Tee was frying potatoes. Kimmon could see the happy smile being back on Tae’s face after a long time. The smile actually reached Tae’s eyes and there was no sadness in his loud laughter. Kimmon could hear Copter narrating stories about his GED classes, teachers and a few fellow students whom he had befriend at his coaching class. Copter was squirming in shyness and excitement when he explained about the saxophone class that he would be starting after going back to the country. Tee was listening to Copter’s every word silently, sporting a faint smile on his face.

                                      Although difficult at first, Kimmon had come to terms with the love and affection that Tae and Copter had for each other. As he had never met Tee in person, he had only imagined Tee’s attitude and behavior from the stories Copter had recounted to him about their past. But seeing the three stand close to each other and work comfortably with the happy smile on their face despite the space being cramped in the kitchen, made Kimmon rethink his decisions about Tee.

                                        Kimmon looked up in surprise when he felt a soft grip on his wrist.

              

                                     “Dinner is ready, P’Kim”, Copter smiled, looking intently at Kimmon’s confused face.

   

                                     Kimmon nodded slowly and accompanied Copter to the dining table. They sat across Tae and Tee at the table, and Kimmon couldn’t help but steal a glance or two at Tee feeling uncomfortable again. He didn’t know what was stopping him, but he had invited himself to the trip to Begium, with the determination to thank Tee properly and accept him for Copter. Kimmon waited patiently, as Tee served the dinner to Copter, while Tae filled Tee’s plate and Kimmon’s plate with food.

 

                                       “P’Tae, stop…”, Tee grabbed Tae’s wrist, seeing the amount of food that Tae was placing on his plate.