One Hot Summer (boyxboy)

Chapter 20: The visit

"Did you win the fight?"
☆

After a more than entertaining morning of his uncle's anecdotes of how to woo the fairer sex, Jasper is now sat in the farmhouse kitchen tucking into a bowl of vegetable soup. He had been graced with the afternoon off due to his uncle having to go to the bank to sort out some invoices, which Jasper had been quick to highlight that he could have done online, if he had the internet. 

Molly is busying herself with what looks like a small picnic hamper. Jasper watches as she fills the wicker box with the remainder of the apple pie, some bread, cheese, apples and a flask of soup. "Are you and uncle going on a picnic Molly?" Jasper asks. 

Molly picks up the basket and turns around to place it on the table. "I wish!" She smiles. "This is just some food for grandpa. I'm dropping it off on the way to the bank with Jim. 

Jasper thinks for a moment about Thomas. He would be there. He wanted to see him after their strange falling out last night, plus Jasper had been feeling a little differently about him, since learning a little about his homelife. "Molly can I come too?" Jasper suddenly asks.

Molly looks at Jasper a little confused. "What? To the bank?" 

Jasper laughs shaking his head. "No to your grandpa's. I'd like to see how Tom is." 

Molly pulls a cute face. "Ah sweetheart. That's so sweet of you. Of course." Jasper beams, feeling rather low key excited to see Thomas. He had seen him every day since his arrival on the farm and didn't realise how much he was actually missing his company.

***

Thomas felt the breeze of the open window brush over his naked torso. He felt ill. It was purely self inflicted but that didn't stop him feeling sorry for himself. He could hear his grandfather banging around the house, just adding to his already painful head. "Boy! Boy! Are you getting up? I need my breakfast!" Thomas tries to block out the cries. His grandpa had been more demanding of late and Thomas, who usually got on with it, just couldn't face it today. He had already contacted Molly to tell her he wasn't helping out. "Boy, can you hear me?"

"Yes grandpa I'm coming!" Thomas groans, heaving himself off of the bed and pulling on a pair of shorts which were laying on the floor. 

He heads into their small kitchen to see his grandpa trying to get the gas ring alight, his frail slightly shaking hands making it all the more difficult for him to steady the match. Thomas hurries over to his grandfather. "Grandpa let me do that." 

His grandfather backs away and lets Thomas take over, who soon has a pan of water ready to boil some eggs. "What time did you get in this morning hmm?" His grandfather questions, with a clear detection of being unimpressed. 

"I don't know grandpa." Thomas honestly answers. All he knew was that he'd not had enough sleep and felt dreadful. 

"You need to grow up. You're 20 this year. Focus on your studies. Maybe find yourself a nice young lady." Thomas rolled his eyes as he pulled three eggs from the ceramic chicken bowl on the kitchen shelf. It wasn't the first time he'd heard the remark. 

"Yes grandpa." Thomas replied. He would never tell his grandpa he is gay. Not in this life or the next. His grandpa's way of thinking was too regimented. It was easier to keep up the pretence, at least in front of his grandpa. 

The old man looks again at Thomas' face, which was still a little swollen, though not as bad as yesterday. "Did you win the fight?" He asks. 

Thomas subconsciously touches his face. Making himself flinch. "It's kind of a stalemate grandpa." Thomas replies, thinking back to how he'd left things with Jasper, still not knowing how he felt about the younger and his actions. 

Thomas continued to make his grandpa breakfast in silence, the urge to crawl back into bed, ever more pressing. Eventually, three boiled eggs with toasted soldiers are placed before his grandpa who sits down in front of it without a word of thanks. Thomas watches his grandpa a moment before heading back to his room and flopping on his bed.

***

'Knock knock.'

Thomas opens one eye at the sound of the knock on his door. "Mmmm?" He groans before the door handle is turning and a head pokes around the corner. 

Thomas forces his other eye open to try to focus on who is now standing in his bedroom doorway. "Jasper?"