Mail and Gadgets

Chapter Fourteen - It's business

Hi here's another chapter,
Hope you enjoy it.
Picture taken off Google.
Dedicated to all whose read it this far but especially to T for being my chingu. :-)

'And it's too late, baby now, it's too late
Though we really did try to make
Somethin' inside has died, and I can't hide
And I just can't fake it, oh, no, no.'
           It's too late - Carole King

Arthit turns the sign on the store door to closed, looking through one of the small glass widows into the darkening street, watching as the last of the evening shoppers walked past. For most of the day the store had been busy with customers coming and going but things had died right down very quickly as the day had worn on. It was a big difference from a couple of weeks ago when the store had been swarming with reporters and packed full of customers but like everything that is good in life things had changed.  The reporters and camera’s had soon gone off to report other new stories, or some other new news had taken over and the store had soon gone back to being very quiet. Arthit knew that that wasn’t always good.

A draft from a crack in the door travels over Arthit’s bare skin and he shivers. It had been nice and warm all day, so much so that Arthit had only warn one of his old band T-shirt’s to work. The name ‘Nirvana’ written across the front over the large, yellow, smiley faced logo. He rubs his bare arms trying to warm them up as he moves away from the door.

He walks over to the small table near the front where Burtie is sat. There’s a laptop set up with paper work strewn around covering most of the surface. Burtie has a pair of reading glasses perched on the end of his nose as he concentrates on the screen, frowning every so often at what was written there. Arthit approaches the table and sits in on one of the small plastic chairs. He watches as Burtie does a bit more typing, looking intensely at the screen, and moving the mouse around. There’s a steaming cup of coffee on a coaster next to the computer which Burtie takes a sip at as he sighs and stares at the screen. The frown on his face growing deeper with each click of the mouse or type of a key. After a bit he looks up at Arthit and is about to say something when a noise in the back makes Arthit put a finger to his own lips. They both turn as Kao wonders out of the back room, fiddling with his bag. He has on a grey long sleeved top and a pair of blue jeans. He looks up and smiles at the pair watching him.

“Right, so first” he says making his way through the store, “I need to fetch some scented candles because it makes my room smell nice. I was thinking maybe eucalyptus because P’Rome said it has a really nice mossy smell”.

Arthit nods. Rome had left earlier for a double date with Emma and her boyfriend, P’Porsche.

“And then I will be going to the market, and I can’t decide whether to get meat sauce for Pad Gra Poa or chopped beef.......”

“Spare us”. Burtie says so quietly that only Arthit can hear him. He rolls his eyes making Arthit chuckle.

Oblivious, Kao carries on, “....and make beef stir-fry, one of my Ma’s best dishes”. He stops, putting his bag on the counter, searching through it until he pulls out a blue glasses case and putting his glasses away.

“You know what?” Kao says, after closing his bag back up and turning back to the pair still watching him. “I’ll get clam sauce for Stir- Fried Clam. It is a big date after all”.

Earlier that day, while Rome had been teasing him, Kao had finally revealed that he was seeing someone. He never mentioned a name and only said that he had met him, just before Loi Krathong and after one of his tutoring sessions at Sky Blue Cafe. Something about nearly tripping over the guy and accidently falling on top of him. Kao had blushed as he had re-laid what had happened. He was planning to see the guy tonight and had mentioned that he was a bit nervous. After all, it had been years since he had actually had his last boyfriend and although he had loved A’Waii, the out come hadn’t been that great. But he was making a real effort this time. His mother and sister had gone away for the next couple of nights, leaving him with the whole house and Kao was taking full advantage. Arthit was glad for him. Kao’s taste in men wasn’t always that great.