Flickering Memories

Chapter 32

A/N: The image above does not belong to me. It belongs to the person who uploaded it on the internet.

Kimmon's POV

I walked slowly towards Copter and when I reached him I enveloped him in my arms.

I did not ask for any explanation for the tears. I just hugged him wordlessly and gave him the comfort that I felt he needed.

We stayed that way for a long time until he finally broke away from my embrace.

"I'm sorry, P'Kim," he said as he pulled away from me, "I would like to be alone with my thoughts for now."

"It's okay, Copter," I replied, my chest feeling inexplicably heavy. "I understand. Well, to be honest, I don't, but I will respect your wishes."

"Thank you, P'Kim," he said, "I appreciate that you are not showing any hurt or anger about this."

"I'm a little hurt but I will survive," I said with a smile, "and thank you for calling me P'Kim. You have addressed me as Kimmon for too long but that was because we were in a doctor-patient relationship."

As I was talking, he was walking me to the door.

Before I stepped out, I gave him one last hug and said, "If I don't hear from you within the next three days I will pester Nurse Juliet to pester you to call me."

That made him smile. Although it was a weak smile, nevertheless it was a smile.

When I got home, my butler Bernard greeted me at the door.

"I have a hot bath running for you, sir," he said.

"Thank you, Bernard," I said, "I will definitely need that to help me to get some sleep tonight."

Although Bernard can sometimes be a little dense, he is a loyal employee and always looks after my comfort and well being. He was the most trustworthy and loyal butler that one could ever have. I was really grateful to have him in my life.

I dipped my toe in the tub to test the temperature of the foamy water before immersing my whole body inside it.

I closed my eyes as I tried to rehash my whole evening with Copter.

I could tell that he was suffering from the memories of a tragic past that he was not yet prepared to talk to me about. I realized sadly that it could take an awfully long time for him to recover from whatever it was that he had gone through. I cursed at whoever it was that had caused him so much pain. The painful memories were coming between Copter and me and I couldn't do anything about it.

I was not really a patient man but with him I was willing to wait. He was not the kind of person who could be rushed into anything, much less into a committed relationship.

I stepped out of the tub and prepared for bed, expecting to have a fitful sleep.

The following morning I received a call from my company manager, Earth.

"Hey, big boss, how are you doing?" his perky voice served to lighten up my morning.

"Not bad," I said, "how about you?"

"Lonely for love," he replied.

"Then what are you doing talking to me," I scolded, "go find yourself someone to love."

"It's not that easy," he said with a laugh, "he seems to be taken already."

"By whom?" I asked, dreading to hear the answer.

"By you!" he said in an accusing tone.

I knew it!

"Stay away from Copter," I warned, "I will cut anyone's throat who tries to get near him."

"I was just kidding, big boss," he said with an uneasy laugh, "hey, are you planning to come to work tomorrow?"

"Only for a few hours," I said, "just to catch up a little bit on what has been going on during my absence."

"I'll see you tomorrow then," he said.

"Sure," I said before ending the call.

As I ate my breakfast of cinnamon sprinkled oatmeal with thin apple slices and a side of cranberry flavored turkey sausage all cut up into bite size pieces, I tried to plan what I was going to do for the rest of the day.

I decided that since I was not yet fit to do any strenuous physical activity, I was just going to laze around the house, watching TV or some home movies.

By afternoon, I was starting to get bored. I felt I needed to go out for some fresh air.

Maybe a stroll at a nearby park would do me some good.

I climbed into my car and as I started to ease it out of the driveway, I pressed the remote to open the gate.

I almost crashed into Newwie's car that had suddenly appeared in the middle of the street, blocking off my driveway.

Without turning off the engine, he jumped out of his car and rushed towards me.

I turned off my car engine as he pulled my door open.

"We need to talk," he said firmly, pulling me out of my car, "you never gave me a chance to explain things. You just jumped to all the wrong conclusions and judged me without any fair trial."

Newwie opened his passenger car door and placed his hand on top of my head, to protect me from bumping the roof of the car, and made me sit in the passenger side.

I found myself blindly obeying him simply because he had taken me by surprise.

He grabbed the remote that was attached to my car key and pressed it to close the gate before driving away.

My mind was in turmoil. Should I listen to him and give him a chance to explain himself and risk falling in love with him again if I find out that I had judged him wrongly?

My  brain was whirling again. I was in a serious dilemma.

Should I go with the one who loves me, or should I pursue the one I love?

I gripped the handle on the side of the passenger door as Newwie revved the engine and drove away with me to who knows where.