Autumn is a second spring

27. Laptop.

"What did you say when he told you everything?" Boun asked pouring himself a drink. He had greatly restricted his alcohol intake in the past few years but he felt that he didn't need to hold back when he was with his cousins.

"I replied positively," Ohm said twirling his drink.

"Positively? Meaning you said that you were okay with all that?" Boun asked.

"I didn't want to put more pressure on him. He was really stressed when he came to me" Ohm answered.

"Then let him be stressed. Whose fault is that the situation is out of his hands? If he had just left her to her own devices instead of taking care of her, things wouldn't have taken such a turn." Boun was mad at Fluke for putting Ohm in such a situation.

"Boun, it's Fluke we are talking about" Kao reminded.

"Yeah, the great self-righteous Fluke we are talking about," Boun said with a scoff.

"He is not self-righteous Boun. He is just too... what is the word?" Kao looked at Ohm.

"He is just too sweet?" Ohm suggested.

Boun gagged hearing Ohm call Fluke sweet.

"No, the right word is 'dumb'. He is just too dumb." Kao said ignoring the Ohm's gaze. "You know once you manage to get close to him, then you can easily exploit him."

Boun chuckled at Kao's words.

"I am not lying Boun. Imagine if today you are diagnosed with kidney failure that needs transplantation and you find that Fluke is a match, then he will readily give you his kidney. You wouldn't even need to ask him. He wouldn't even consider the consequences that he would have to face if he did that. He is the kind that gives a hundred per cent to the people he loves and sometimes it can be over the top as well" Kao said shaking his head.

Ohm nodded agreeing with his cousin. This was a quality he liked and hated in Fluke at the same time. "All the money for Fame's hospital bills all came from his pocket alone. He spent a hell of a lot of savings on her."

"That too just because he feels guilty towards her." Kao sighed.

"Why does he have to feel guilty towards her? It's not like he was the one who pushed her off the balcony or anything. I don't get the point" Boun didn't agree with Fluke's method of dealing with Fame.

"That's how Fluke is, Boun. He has always been like that. Ever since he was a little kid." Kao said with a chuckle. He realised that his cousins had already finished his first bottle of whiskey. He had to take another bottle from his collection to drink.

He sat down with the new bottle. "Let me tell you a little story to tell you how I realised this fact. I was about fourteen at that time and was living with Khun Pu and Khun Yaay in Chiang Mai. That would mean that Fluke was around four years old."

He picked up a few ice cubes with the tongs and put them inside his glass. "One day, Mae left him and Earth with Khun Yaay as she had to go somewhere and couldn't bring the kids along."

"Mae? As in Earth's Mae?" Boun had heard that Fluke was mainly raised by Earth's mother.

Kao nodded. "Khun Yaay really loved them and was very happy to have them over. They were very obedient so she would often volunteer to take care of them."

"Wow! I can't imagine a situation where Fluke and Earth and the word 'obedient' could be used together" Boun commented.

"They weren't actually obedient. In fact, they were very naughty. But they knew when and where they could be naughty and where to be obedient. They wouldn't cause trouble when they were visiting someone's house." Kao said in a serious tone.