A&B Chapter 2
Chapter 2
After having a long and exhausting day, Alex finally arrived back at his house. He carefully cleaned his hooves before going into the bathroom. Sneezing another time, the deer quickly took off his damp clothes and got into the shower.
Filth was washed off in the shower, but the fatigue was still present. When he finished cleaning himself, the telephone in the house rang which he quickly went to answer.
"Hi. It's Alex."
"Hey! It's James. I heard you and Blake were caught in the rain on the mountain. I'm sorry for that! How are you feeling now?" James asked with concern.
"He told you, huh? Well, it was a disaster, and I totally caused that, but I'm good now. Thanks."
James chuckled, "I was worried that he would take you to somewhere dangerous, and then you came back so late."
"No, he didn't. As I said, it was all my fault. Besides, without him, I'd probably still be lost in the mountains."
"Okay, good! You must be tired, right?"
"Yeah, pretty much."
"You'd better get to sleep earlier today. I'm sorry that I must be going to work now. Hopefully it will be done tonight earlier. If so, tomorrow I'll go to see you!" said James cheerfully.
"That's great!"
"So, take a good rest! I'm leaving now. Goodbye!"
"Thanks! Hope to see you tomorrow. Bye!"
After the call, Alex got on his bed with a novel in his paw. It took only reading a few lines to let him realize how sleepy he was, so he put the book aside and turned in.
*
Alex got up after a good 10-hour sleep, but he didn't feel refreshed. When he sat up, the lightheaded feeling and the nose congestion made him aware that he was sick, definitely from the previous day's excursion. He was glad that he didn't need to get up today since it was Sunday, otherwise he would have to call in sick for work.
However, he needed money now! Even though James didn't ever ask to pay him back for the truck, Alex felt obliged to do so. James had generously given him his old pickup and the house to Alex without asking for payback. Alex, though, insisted that he would pay him back some day, and he needed to find some way to earn money beside his wage at work.
Not wanting to get up, or thinking about his own situation right now, Alex rolled his furry body on bed and hoped to sleep the whole day off to get better.
However, the telephone's ringing dragged him up from the bed again.
He struggled to get to the sofa and picked it up, "Hello! This is Alex."
So far, only James had called him so it surprised him when he heard a less sonorous sound from the other side of the line.
"Morning, Alex. It's Blake." The bear sounded as shy as he acted.
"How nice! You got my number from James, didn't you?"
"Yeah, hehe. I thought it would be good to give you a call."
"What's your number?"
"It's..."
Alex wrote the number on the paper with a pitifully small number of contacts. Little did the deer know that there wasn't a large number of contacts on Blake's either.
The bear continued, "I have four roommates. They'll let me know if you have called me while I'm not here."
"Okay. I'll remember that."
"Uhh... Alex, are you okay? You don't sound well."
"I have a cold. It's not serious though. Thanks for asking. How do you feel?" said Alex.
"I'm fine, I don't have a cold or anything. Do you need me come there for you?"
"Nuh. You don't need to do that. I'm okay, just need some more sleep." Alex yawned after that.
Blake was silent for a moment before saying "Fine, if you say so. I should leave you alone. Have a good day and uh... take care!"
"Thanks. You too."
The deer scuffed to his bedroom, and dropped into bed.
*
Half an hour later, someone knocked the door of Alex's house.
"Ohhhhhhmmmmmmmmmmmm..." Letting out a moan, the deer rolled off the bed and dragged himself to answer the door.
I told you to not come. Alex thought, expecting to see the bear when he opened the door, but...
"James?" He said, surprised at first, but then remembered the gorilla having mentioned to coming to visit.
"Heyyyy, my buck buddy! Haven't seen you for a whole week."
"Yeah, come on in." Although he liked to see James, honestly between staying in bed and seeing James, today he prefered his cozy bed. Besides he didn't want others to see his sickly face.
"Okay." The large gorilla got himself inside and sat into the sofa with the deer. He gave a small bag to the deer, "Our bear friend told me you're caught by cold, so I brought some medicine for you."
Alex chuckled dryly, "I told him I'm okay." But he took the bag and checked the medicine, and added, "Though these would really help. Thanks."
James stood up and went to get a cup of water for the deer, who thanked him again and took the medicine. After that, they both sat on the sofa and started to chat.
"Well, what happened yesterday? It seems that it really got you." James asked and chortled lightly.
Alex summarized the past day in the mountain, of cause skipping the part he was contemplating whether James wanted to be friends with him anymore, as well as the part about him drooling over Blake's bare chest. He blushed when he reminded himself that, but James just thought it was due to the cold.
"That's crazy! You two were walking in the rain for 4 hours? No wonder that made you exhausted."
"Actually, more than 4 hours. Blake sounds totally fine though. Is he okay?" Alex started feel a little regret, thinking that he should care more about others than only himself.
"That young lad is very robust. You can't expect him to get sick. In the... hmm... about 6 years since I knew him, I've never saw him get caught by a cold or fever."
"Wow, really! But 6 years? You two have known each other for so long?"
"Yeah, it's a long story. 6 years, even I can't believe that. Speaking of Blake, what do you think of him?" James asked curiously.
Alex was surprised a little by the question, and the sudden mood of James becoming more serious, with a hint of mischievousness. He replied, "Hmmmm... I don't know. He is a nice guy, and uh... he is dexterous. He knows a lot about the Kul mountain. Besides these, I don't know. Oh, wait! He mentioned that he doesn't have many friends."
"Why did he tell you that?" said James, confused.
"I can't remember. He just suddenly told me that." Back then, Alex's head was full of James so he didn't listen to the bear very carefully.
The gorilla was pondering for a moment, scratching his jaw with his paw fingers, "Hummm, not only does he have little friends, he is also very concerned with that." Letting out a dry smile, he continued, "It doesn't help to make new friends when you keep leaving others with the impression that you are a lonely fur, does it?"
"It's fine by me. Besides, I don't have many friends right now, either." Alex said honestly.
James chuckled heartily, "Don't worry. I'm sure you'd get a lot of friends here."
"Thanks. I hope so." Alex said wearily.
"How's your work going? And the coworkers? Are they treating you friendly?"
"Yes, the work is fine, and so are the colleagues. The chief engineer of my department, Mr. Lee, is a nice fur. He is quite experienced and is helping me a lot to learn of my work."
"That's great. Mr. Lee huh? Is that Jonathan Lee, a mid-aged goat?"
Alex was truly surprised, "Wow, yes! Seriously, is there anyone you don't know in town? And it's really a huge town!"
There was another hearty chuckle from the gorilla. "There sure are. I know Jonathan Lee because our team has consulted him for quite a few times, but we are merely acquaintances. He is nice, knowledgable and he is always very formal and decent. I think it's good that he's your instructor."
"Yeah. I guess I am. You certainly are good at remembering people as well as their personalities."
*
They talked about their work for a while, before Alex found he had nothing significant to talk about, so he reverted the conversation back to the bear.
"Just out of curiosity, why is Blake a lonely fur? He doesn't seem unsociable to me."
"I know. He's a tender and good-hearted boy. It's really unfair that how people see him." James, the ever so prudent fur, suddenly realized that he might have slipped out something he shouldn't, so he put a grimace on his face.
"People see him like how, and why? Should I ask?" Alex was uttered confused.
James chuckled drily, "It's fine you ask, but I shouldn't probably answer."
"Is that because of the scar?"
The gorilla scratched his cheeks, and said, "Well... more or less I guess." Then James' composure came back, "But, Alex, I assure you Blake is good fellow. I've known him for 6 years, and the young lad is someone I like and care for, as a big brother. I really hope you two get along well."
It was hard to not be affected by James' sudden, heartfelt emotion.
Alex nodded, and said, "Sure. Your friends are my friends. Your bros are mine, too."
James' paw fell on Alex's shoulder and gave it a friendly squeeze, "You're the best, Alex."
Surprisingly, Alex kept calm from the physical contact with the handsome gorilla. The two furs gave each other a nod with smiles on their faces.
*
James left Alex's house after that, remembering to tell the deer to take the medicine again at night.
Alex got back to his bedroom. As the effects of the medicine were about to kick in, he thought he was going to fall asleep soon. But yesterday's events came to his mind which clouded his thoughts.
He started to introspect about what he had done, and why he was so sulky yesterday. Then he realized something.
Expectation, it is the thing that caused him to think and act the way he had. He just realized that he had some expectation, not only imagination of James to be more than his friends, which he really shouldn't have. Secretly, he was expecting James to have the feelings back, and then maybe hug him, kiss him, or more. That's why he was so disappointed and became sulky when James didn't show the affection back, and he even started thinking things in more negative ways.
In fact, James was nice to him and selflessly treating him, but it doesn't mean James would give anything he wanted. Alex now realized he really shouldn't expect so much from the gorilla.
But he didn't regret coming out to him.
Alex felt relieved to clear his mind out, but there is one more thing the deer was ruminating. Was he being a jerk to Blake yesterday? He wasn't paying attention to the bear when his mind was so full of James. He could have some conversations with Blake, but he simply refused to talk, remaining sulky.
He felt apologetic for ignoring Blake, who had kindly taken care of Alex and brought him back from the mountain safely. He felt more so when thinking about the bear being a lonely fur.
Alex sighed heavily, and got out of his bed again. He walked to the living room, picking up the phone. Breathing deeply for once, he dialed the bear's number which he just wrote it down this morning.
"Hello?" the sound was not from the bear.
"Hi! It's Alex. Is Blake there?"
"Hold on... Blake! It's yours!" Alex heard it called from the other side of the line, "He's coming."
"Okay, thanks."
Alex heard footsteps on the stairway.
"Hello?" This time it was from the black bear.
"It's me, Alex."
"Oh, hi! How are you feeling now?"
"Sick but not seriously so. Thanks. And thank you for telling James about me. The medicine he gave me helps a lot. Are you feeling any discomfort?" Alex asked again.
"No. I'm fine."
The deer laughed lightly, "That's good to hear. You're indeed as robust as James says."
"Hehe, I guess I am."
There was a moment of silence, before Alex spoke out, "Look, Blake. I know I was being an asshole to you yesterday. I'm really sorry for that."
"What? No! You were not." Blake was surprised for Alex's sudden apology.
"I was, and I really shouldn't have been. Is there something I can do to make it up?" Alex frowned a bit for what he had done.
"No, you weren't being mean to me at all. And you don't have to do anything. I think you were really nice to me. You... uhh... you shared your food with me, and you picked me up and dropped me at my home."
The deer soon felt warm in his heart, and the tightened eyebrows became loose again. He said jokingly, "Food, huh? Are you suggesting food is what you want from me to make up what I've done?"
"No, no, no! That's... that's not what I mean." The bear sound almost panic.
Alex laughed lightly, before said, "Calm down, big guy. I was kidding. Say, are you free on next Tuesday night?"
"Yes after I get off from work at 8 pm. I'll be free."
"You work till 8 pm? That sucks."
"Yeah."
"But it's okay. I can wait for you. I'll get my first salary on Tuesday, and I want to have dinner out on that night. How about you bring me to a restaurant you like, and have a dinner with me? It'll be my treat."
"You... you really don't have to do that." Blake spoke in low voice with shyness and happiness. He had seldom been invited to a dinner.
"Come on! I haven't been to any restaurants since I got here. Think of it as you taking a tour of the town with me, okay?"
"Fine, I guess. I... I mean, I'd love it. Thanks." Blake couldn't hold the smile on his face.
"Where do you work?"
"I work at the cement plant, near my house."
"Okay! How about I pick you up at 8 pm there, and then you bring us to a place for food, a restaurant or a bar, wherever you like?"
"Yeah."
"Great! So, see you on Tuesday 8 pm?" Despite of the cold, Alex became spirited now.
"Yuh. See you then, Alex."
"Bye!"
*
Perhaps it was due to the medicine, Alex felt more energetic after the phone call with Blake. Realizing it was noon now, he cooked an easy lunch for himself, and then head to bed. This time, he had a nice and long sleep.