Chet Watakeekul

"Is Vincent working tonight?" my dad asked.

"Yes," I said over the phone. I got off the bus and walked the short distance to the shopping center.

"You can come to the house and crash Kannika's girl's night with her friends if you want," my dad graciously offered.

"No thank you," I said. "What are you and mom going to do?"

"I made reservations at that Italian restaurant downtown. And I may have reserved a nice hotel room."

"Dad, don't tell me that."

"What? It's Valentine's Day. Of course your mother and I should have sex and we can't do that here where Kannika and all her friends are."

"Dad!" Some people I walked by gave me weird looks but I didn't care.

"You're an adult now, Chet. I think you're old enough that your mom and I don't have to pretend you were conceived in any way other than sex. You're living with your boyfriend now. You know what's up."

I rolled my eyes as I passed a jewelry store. "Fine, dad," I said just so he would stop talking about it. "Have fun with mom tonight."

"Oh, we will."

I paused and looked at the expensive men's watch in the jewelry store window. I wished I could afford that as a gift for Valentine's Day.

"So you and Vincent aren't going to do anything for Valentine's?" my dad asked.

"I'm going to go to the cafe to eat with him while he's on his lunch break, but that won't be until about nine tonight."

"He doesn't think I'm still mad at him does he? Because I'm over the shower thing."

I really wanted to give Vincent that watch. Or maybe a ring would be more appropriate, but I couldn't afford either. It wouldn't hurt to just go in and look.

"I haven't asked him," I said. "I'll tell him you're not angry with him though."

"Are you getting him something for Valentine's Day? Do you need some money?"

I smiled. "No. We decided to buy more kitchenware for Valentine's Day. I'm supposed to go check out dishes, but take pictures and send them to Vincent before I purchase anything."

"Okay. Love you, Chet."

"Love you too, dad." I hung up and went inside the jewelry store.

"Good afternoon, sir," the man behind the counter said. "Looking for a special Valentine's Day gift?"

"I'm just browsing to get ideas for the future. Is that alright?" It was probably a busy day for them. I might be taking up too much of their time when I wasn't going to purchase anything.

"Of course," the man said pleasantly. "Is there something specific you had in mind?"

"Can I look at some rings? Not wedding rings or anything, just something nice."

"Yes, of course. This section is popular right now." He pulled a display of rings out from the glass display case and set it on top. The rings were all small and dainty and I realized my mistake.

"It's actually for my boyfriend," I said.

"Oh," the man said and put the rings back in the display. "I'm sorry for my assumption, sir." He walked a little further down the display case and pulled out another set of rings. "Do you know what he prefers? Silver? Gold? Platinum?"

"I'm not sure. Do you have anything that has a tiger's eye stone in it?"

He showed me a gold ring with the tiger's eye stone set in the middle with tiny diamonds that lined it.

"I do like it," I said, "and I think he will like it. But the last piece of jewelry I gave him was a bracelet with tiger's eye stones. Do you think that might be too much tiger's eye stones?"

"It might be," the man said. "Maybe a simple gold band would be the way to go for the next gift." He pulled out several gold bands for me too look at.

"I think you're right," I said. I looked carefully over each band. There was a small ache in my stomach that I couldn't afford to get it for him right then. I really wanted to.

The door opened behind me and another customer stepped up to the counter. I barely glanced at him before I went back to inspecting the rings. "Please give me a moment, sir," the man behind the counter said to me. "This other customer won't take long."

"No problem," I said.

"Mr. Kinsington," the man greeted the customer. My body went rigid and I looked more carefully at the customer. He was about my brother's age. His hair color and his eyes were different than Vincent. There were a lot of differences between Vincent and his brother, but there were a few similarities. Their ears were the same. Their foreheads were the same too.

"The bracelet is ready," the man said. He took out a small, velvety jewelry box and opened it for Aiden to inspect. The bracelet was platinum gold with diamonds and rubies.

"It's perfect. Thank you," Aiden said.

The man smiled and began to package the box.

I went back to inspecting the rings, but I couldn't focus on them anymore. It probably wouldn't be good if I confronted Aiden directly while still in the jewelry store. Maybe when he went out, I could follow him and ask him why he tried to sabotage Vincent's job hunting.

"Chet," Aiden said.

I froze for a moment before I slowly looked at Vincent's brother. Aiden was now fully turned to me. He studied me carefully.

"Thank you," I said to the man behind the counter. "I'm not going to purchase one now, but I promise when I'm ready to, this will be the place I come to."

"Of course, sir." The man handed a little bag to Aiden. "Thank you for keeping us in mind." He was very nice to me considering I had taken up his time but didn't purchase anything.

I went out of the store and started down the sidewalk.

"Chet," Aiden called out to me again.

I turned to face him. "I'm trying not to tell you everything I think of you and your family so maybe it's best if you just let me go quickly," I said to him. "How did you even recognize me?"

"Can we talk for a little bit? I'll buy you a coffee." He waved a hand to the coffee place nearby.

"I don't drink coffee," I said. "You can buy me a hot chocolate." If he wanted to hear what I had to say to him, I would gladly say it. We went inside. It was crowded. He indicated I should go sit at a table while he went to get our drinks.

I found a small, empty table and sat. I watched him as he the line moved slowly up. He ordered and then waited for the orders to be made. He picked them up and made his way to me. He set down a hot chocolate in front of me.

"So, how did you know it was me?" I asked.

"I saw a picture," he said.

"Oh, yeah. My dad has a picture on his desk. I didn't think about that."

"That's true," he said, "but that isn't what I meant. I saw a picture of you and Vincent kissing in his car way before my mom ever found out."

"What? How? How was there a picture? We were being careful. Who took it? How did you see it?"

He held up his hand to stop me from asking any more questions. "Do you always talk this much?" he asked.

"Yes. Vincent says it's cute."

The corner of his lips turned up into a slight smile before he grew serious again. "You weren't being as careful as you thought you were. Someone at your college took a picture. She is a daughter of one of our employees. She didn't take the picture with ill intent. She didn't even know who Vincent was. She just thought it was cute. Our employee recognized Vincent and showed me the picture. I asked him not to show it to anyone else. As far as I know, he kept it a secret like I asked him to."

"Why did you ask him to keep it a secret?"

"Despite what you and my brother might think about me, I do care about Vinny. I knew what would happen if our dad found out. I didn't want that to happen."

"Then why did you tell potential employers that he stole from Kinsington Plastics?"

He visibly deflated and for the briefest of moments I thought I saw moisture in his eyes, but it was gone the next moment so I might have just imagined it.

"Because I'm a coward," he said quietly. "Jasmine wants to see the best in me, but I'm not half as good as she thinks I am. I want to be, but..." He sighed heavily. "I can't go against my father."

I nodded and I probably shouldn't have said the next words, but I couldn't bring myself to find sympathy for the man in front of me. "Maybe you should get some courage so you don't leave your little brother - who needs you - without anything. He didn't have anything when your mom kicked him out. He didn't have money. He didn't have his phone. He didn't have college tuition. He didn't have a place to live. And most importantly, he lost his family."

Aiden smiled gently. "He has you," he simply said, but it hit me hard. "At that moment," Aiden went on, "you were the most important thing to him and you stood by him. I'm proud that he's not a coward even if I can't say that to his face."

"He met his biological father," I said.

Aiden's eyes widened and he swallowed hard.

"Do you know anything about his father?" I asked.

Aiden shook his head. "That's not something anyone talks about in our house and I would never dare research it. Was his biological father nice to him?"

"He was a lot nicer to him in the short time he met him than your family ever was to him."

Aiden's eyes pinched closed as if my words hurt him. "That's good," he said quietly.

"Why did your dad take away your grandma's car keys?"

He opened his eyes and raised an eyebrow to me. "You're kind of all over the place, aren't you?"

I shrugged.

"Have you met my grandma then?"

"A few times," I said. "She has always been nice to me. She told Vincent when he found someone to love to introduce her to them whether they were male or female. She never had a problem with me being male."

"That's good then," he said. "I don't think my dad taking away my grandma's car keys has anything to do with Vincent if that's what you are worried about. Theresa told me my grandma got dizzy and drove into a parked car. That's why her keys were taken away."

He suddenly looked very tired as he ran a hand through his hair. "Honestly," he said very quietly, "I'm worried about my grandma. She looks weaker everyday. If I ask her, she just says she's fine. If I ask my mom or dad they tell me not to worry about it. Theresa and Priscilla won't tell me what is going on, but at least they don't tell me not to worry about it."

A worrisome knot formed in my stomach. I didn't like that. I liked Vincent's grandma. She was the only decent one in that family. Well, maybe Aiden wasn't so bad, but he still wasn't great.

"It might be nothing," Aiden said. "I have no idea since they won't tell me. I should get going. I have a date with Jasmine tonight. You don't have a date with Vincent?"

"He's working tonight. I'm going there later to eat with him." He started to stand, but I said, "He met your grandparents too."

He sat back down with a confused expression. "What grandparents? His biological dad's parents?"

"No. They are dead. He met your mom's parents."

Aiden shook his head. "Her parents are dead."

"No. Your mom lied to both of you. Her parents are alive. They are major jerks though. I wouldn't go visit them if I were you. And definitely don't take Jasmine. She doesn't need to be subjected to that. I'm only telling you because you might want to ask Vincent about his visit. I don't really like you at the moment, but he only wants a normal relationship with his brother."

"I want that too," he said.

"Then maybe you need to get over your cowardness and reach out to him."

I stood up and left him there. I finally made it to my original destination and browsed the aisles with the dishes. I took pictures of a plain dark green set and another of a white set with a gold rim. I took a few more and sent them to Vincent for his opinion.

My love: I like the blue and white checkered ones.

Blue and white checkered ones? I didn't even see those ones. I looked at the aisle again for blue and white checkered ones and found them tucked back a little beside the green ones.

Me: Those are the ones I'm getting then.

I found some blue bowls that matched the plates. I couldn't find any cups that matched, but there were some plain blue ones that matched the color so I got those. I got some plain utensils and then went to the checkout stand and paid for everything. My first Valentine's Day ever where I had a significant other and we were getting basic dining supplies. I smiled as I walked to the bus stop. It might have been silly, but I liked it. It meant we were happy together and planned to be for a long time.

When I got to our little apartment, I washed our new purchases and put them away in their appropriate cupboards. When it was time, I went to the cafe. It was busy, but I found one table near the back. I sat and watched as Vincent moved through the tables filled with people, as he fulfilled drink orders behind the counter, as he took food out to the customers. He was handsome in everything he did.

One of the other employees started towards my table to take my order, but smiled when he recognized me. He nodded and then went to Vincent to tell him. Vincent's eyes shot in my direction and his lips spread into a wide smile that I couldn't help but reciprocate. He brought a lemonade to my table and then surprised me when he bent down and kissed me chastely.

"I thought you didn't want to kiss at work." Usually when we kissed here, it was outside the cafe not inside the cafe and it was when I was leaving.

He shrugged. "It's Valentine's Day." He leaned down and kissed me again before he went back to work.

It was another half hour before he was finally told to go on his lunch break. He brought me a fresh lemonade and had two turkey bagel sandwiches. He sat down across from me and looked at the lemonade he placed in front of me and the empty space in front of him.

"I forgot to get me a drink," he said.

He started to stand up, but I grabbed his hand. "We can share mine," I said. He sat back down.

"Work seems pretty busy today," I said.

"Yeah," he said. "But I knew it would be. Thanks for coming to eat with me."

"Where else would I be on Valentine's?"

He smiled at that and took a bite of his sandwich. "I'm starving," he said when he finished that bite and quickly took another one.

"I stopped at a jewelry store on my way to get plates," I said.

"Why?" he asked.

I shrugged. "I was just fantasizing about all the things I want to get you one day."

He smiled at that. "What did you decide?"

"The salesman suggested a simple gold band and I liked that idea," I said. "I saw your brother there."

His face immediately changed from the bright smile to hesitation. "How did you recognize him?"

"The salesman called him Mr. Kinsington. Aiden recognized me."

Vincent's eyes flashed in surprise. "How?"

"Someone took a picture of us kissing in your car before your mom ever found out about us. He stopped it from spreading around at work."

"That's why it seemed like he knew," he said. "How did that conversation come up? He just volunteered all of that in the jewelry store?"

"No. When he recognized me he wanted to buy me coffee and talk so we did."

"What else did you two talk about?" His sandwich was forgotten in his hand.

"I told him you met your biological dad. Is that alright?"

"Yeah," he said.

"And I told him about your mom's parents. Not much. Just that they were alive and jerks. I asked him why he tried to sabotage your job search."

Vincent swallowed hard before he asked, "What did he say?"

"He said it was because he was a coward and he couldn't go against his father. He also said your grandma crashed into a parked car and that was why your dad took her car keys away."

"That doesn't sound like my grandma," Vincent said.

"He indicated she might not be well health wise, but no one will tell him anything so he doesn't know for sure."

"I should send her a text," he said.

He set his sandwich down and sent a text. I ate my sandwich while he did so. He got a response immediately.

"What does she say?" I asked.

"I wished her a happy Valentine's Day and told her I loved her. I also asked about her health. She wishes us both a happy Valentine's and says she loves us. She says her health is fine, but what else is she going to say?"

"Maybe it's just a small issue that she just needs medicine for. Mateo's grandpa has heart problems and thyroid problems, but he's doing better with medication."

"Yes," Vincent said. "You're probably right." He picked up his sandwich and started to eat it again, but it was slower and he had a slight frown on his face. He got another text while we ate. This time when he checked the text, he smiled. "It's from Dean," he said.

He held up his phone to me so I could read the message.

Happy Valentine's Day to you and Chet.

That was it, but it was clear it meant a lot to Vincent.