...
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."
YOU ARE READING
P'Air
FanfictionThis is a boylove-style adaptation of Charlotte Brontë's classic coming of age novel, Jane Eyre. It was originally published in 1847. This version will turn Jane into a gay man and leaves behind the period time and setting. all photos and artworks...