Once And Always

Chapter 6

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Tee awoke early in the next morning to the sound of birds chirping in the tree outside his windows. Rolling over onto his back, he gazed at a bright blue sky filled with huge, puffy white clouds, the sort of sky that positively beckoned him outdoors.

Washing and dressing hurriedly, he went downstairs to the kitchens to get food for Willie. Khun Luang Tae had sarcastically asked if he could push a plow or drive a nail or milk a cow. He couldn't do the first two, but he had often seen cows milked at home and it didn't look particularly difficult. Besides, after his trip coming here, any sort of physical activity was appealing.

He was about to leave the kitchens with a plate of scraps when a thought struck him. Ignoring the outraged stare of the man in the white apron, who Prama had told him last night was the chef and who was watching him as if he were a madman invading his pot-bedecked kingdom, he turned to mrs. Pawat. "Mrs. Pawat, is there anything I could do – to help here in the kitchen, I mean?"

Mrs. Pawat's hand flew to her throat. "No, of course not."

Tee sighed. "In that case, could you tell me where I will find the cows?"

"The cows?" Mrs. Pawat gasped. "What – whatever for?"

"To milk them," Tee said.

The woman paled but said nothing, and after a puzzled moment, Tee shrugged and decided to find them himself. He headed out the back door to search for Willie. Mrs. Pawat wiped the flour off her hands and headed straight for the front door to find Mr. Pawat.

As Tee neared the compost pile, his eyes nervously scanned the woods for a sign of the dog. Willie – what an odd name for such a large, ferocious animal, he thought. And then he saw him lurking just inside the perimeter of the trees, watching him. The short hairs on the back of his neck stood up, but he carried the bowl of scraps as close to the woods as he dared. "Here, Willie," he coaxed softly. "I've brought your breakfast. Come get it."

The huge beast's eyes flickered to the plate in his hand, but he stayed where he was, watchful, alert.

"Won't you come a little closer?" Tee continued, determined to befriend Khun Luang Tae's dog, since he could never befriend the man.

The dog was no more cooperative than his master. The beast refused to be coaxed and kept his threatening gaze focused on Tee. With a sigh, Tee put the plate down and walked away.

A gardener directed him to where the cows were kept, and Tee walked into the spotless barn, his nose tickled by the scent of the sweet-smelling hay. He paused uncertainly as a dozen of cows looked up, regarding him with huge, liquid brown eyes as he walked along the row of stalls. He stopped at one with a stool and bucket hanging on the wall, thinking that this cow would surely be the most likely prospect for milking. "Good morning," he said to the cow, patting its smooth face reassuringly while he tried to bolster his courage. Now what the moment was at hand, Tee wasn't at all certain he remembered exactly how one went about milking a cow.

Stalling for time, he strolled around the cow and plucked a few pieces of straw from its tail, then reluctantly took down the stool and placed the bucket in position beneath the animal's pendulous udder. He sat down and slowly rolled up his sleeves. Unaware of the man who had just stalked into the barn, he stroked the animal's flank and drew a long hesitant breath.