Forget Me Not

Chapter Nineteen

The factory couldn't have been doing any better than it was. Things were actually starting to go back to normal. To Korn, normal meant better than they had ever been. Most of the repairs were finished. The replacements were ongoing but the limitations were less than they had anticipated.

They were back to operating at their old level. Even with some of the systems out of commission. With fewer returns and failed products, they were meeting their quotas with ease.

The shift translated into Korn having more time on his hands. Time he was ill-equipped to deal with in the face of recent revelations. Not that he didn't have something to do. It was still his job to make sure every machine operated optimally—keep track of overheads and quality improvement. It just felt like idle work after the intensity of the past few months of hyper-activity.

He'd tracked every step of the process in the hope of proposing the application for ISO certification in the coming year. Korn figured if he crossed his T's and dotted his I's before he proposed it to the brass, they would have no reason to turn him down.

It was a good move for them. But his interest wasn't just the overall good it would do to meet the ISO requirements. He wanted to improve the conditions for the workers, not just the efficiency of the system. A purely selfish desire because it would protect him too.

Splitting his time between the factory floor and his tiny office, Korn was glad he didn't invite the scrutiny of his colleagues. They would have noticed he was in a strange haze before he figured it out himself. The questions that would have followed would have been impossible to answer.

It wasn't just that the angst of his position was no longer riding him. There was a feeling of ease that hadn't been there before. Before clearing things with Knock. Before talking to Mew. He caught himself daydreaming more than once. Thinking about Mew had become a regular occurrence. His mind straying to parts of their conversations or times they had spent together. Especially their latest encounter.

Agreeing to date had seemed like a brilliant idea. It turned out, making the decision was only one part. Putting it into effect was another altogether. But they spoke frequently. Conversations that were surprising in their depth and intimacy. The freedom to talk about their hopes and dreams open now that there was the possibility of a future. They made plans—everything they wanted to do together. It was weird but nice.

"I know I said I'd be there this weekend but..." Mew said when he called him on a Thursday night.

"Let me guess...you can't make it," Korn finished as he tossed his keys into the bowl he placed on the entry hall table for that precise purpose.

"No, I can't." Mew sounded so forlorn and Korn was surprised that he felt the same pang of disappointment. "But it's not all bad. I may not be able to make it this weekend but next weekend is a definite maybe. In fact, it's so definite, I'll be there at least once a month for the next three months."

Korn was hard-pressed to keep the surprise out of his voice, "How did you make that happen?"

"Let's just say, this is something I've been thinking about for a while and you inspired me to finally go after it."

Korn could picture Mew's shy smile. The way he looked at him through his eyelashes when he wanted to know what he thought but was too scared to ask.

"You mean..." he prompted hoping it would get Mew to talk.

"It's the same thing I was doing before, training and providing support for our products, but for smaller clinics. I won't be in Chiang Mai specifically, at least not for most of my stay. Most of the clinics are further afield. But for the time I'm in the greater Chiang Mai area, we can see each other."