Blue's Rose

Chapter 22 Boys Will Not Apologize

Kool

Standing motionless, face blank, mind blank, Kulap listened to the strange echoing sound that resounded throughout the front foyer. The sound shocking and out of place in the elegantly civilized Somboon home. The sound of a mother hitting her son.

Reflex dictated Kulap raise his hand to his stinging cheek. He resisted. He would not give her the satisfaction of reacting in anyway.

He repeatedly told himself, keep your face blank, keep your mind blank as she, with no thought of the violence she had perpetrated against him, launched into a vitriolic rant, her finger in his face, her lips sneering as she literally snarled every word at him.

"Your behavior is disgusting!" she hissed.

Kulap froze.

What exactly was she referring to? Did she know about Blue? Barely breathing, he repeated silently to himself once again, keep your face blank, keep your mind blank, as he waited for her to continue.

"First you disrespect your father and I. Your family. Mia and her family as well by not attending dinner Friday. Without a valid reason you simply did not show and that alone is completely unacceptable. But what do your father and I do?" she asked as she puffed her chest out and crossed her arms arrogantly, "we excuse you. In front of our family and guests we graciously suffered the humiliation of our son being inconsiderate and manner less and apologized on your behalf," she explained magnanimously.

Standing there listening, Kulap really did not know for the life of him how he did not up and start clapping at her award winning performance or better yet in congratulatory appreciation for living through such a horrendous ordeal as they must have for him not showing for one dinner for the first time ever in his life!

Keep your face blank, keep your mind blank, he told himself again for what felt like the twentieth time in the three minutes he had been standing there. Inside he was seething, shocked, confused! His mind had been bouncing like a pin ball since her hand had made contact with his cheek. He had never been struck before in his life. He himself, was not a firm believer in spare the rod, spoil the child. But to be a grown man at that, taken to task for typical and completely acceptable behavior boggled his mind.

He managed to stay silent as she continued listing the horrendous crimes he had supposedly committed.

"Not only," she accused her finger once again back in his face, "did you not come to dinner on Friday but you basically up and disappeared the entire weekend!" she practically screeched her finger running up and down his length. "And look at you! You are coming home tonight in the same clothes you left home in yesterday morning. Unacceptable!" she declared. "You are acting like a... like a..." she hesitated searching for a befitting term. "A commoner!" she suddenly professed, saying the words as if it was beneath their feet. As if regular human beings, less off than a Somboon were nothing. Kulap's stomach roiled. His mother was his mother. She had always been high maintenance, over reactive, snobbish, demanding,  unpleasable, all in all pretty much a pain for him, but to hear her right now, he could honestly say for the first time in his life, he really didn't like her. He was actually ashamed.

Keep your face blank, keep your mind blank he chanted over and over again. If for no other reason than to protect the next three weeks for him and Blue, he must get through this confrontation. If he reacted any differently it would only fuel her suspicions and she would start digging. He had to bear the unbearable.