Cross Currents by John Shors

Author:John Shors [Shors, John]
Language: eng
Format: epub, mobi
Publisher: Penguin Group USA, Inc.
Published: 2011-08-10T22:00:00+00:00

THE MOSQUITO NET RIPPLED, GIVEN life by the wobbling ceiling fan. Lek sat at the end of their mattress, rubbing Sarai’s feet. She wore her thin cotton pajamas, as well as panties and a bra. Lying on her back, she watched his face and smiled faintly.

“You rubbed a lot of feet today,” he said, massaging her toes. “It’s only right that you get yours rubbed too.”

“Does your hip hurt?”

He shook his head, though his old injury ached as usual. “It’s fine. Better now that I’m with you.”

“Six hundred baht. Can you believe it? I made six hundred baht rubbing feet.”

“A small fortune. Though you barely got to the restaurant in time. Our guests were getting impatient.”

“True. And you need to learn how to shop like a woman. I need firm tomatoes that can handle heat, not those old mushy ones you got me.”

“They were cheaper.”

She grinned. “Because they were half rotten, you simple man.”

Lek pinched her smallest toe and she let out a muffled squeal. Asleep beside her, wearing a cloth diaper, was Achara. Lek watched their daughter stir. “Do you think she’s dreaming?” he asked, his fingers growing tired but not pausing.

“She always dreams. I can see it in her face.”

Someone laughed outside, and foreign voices passed by. Lek wondered where they were going. He couldn’t identify anyone he knew. “I see that Patch brought more wood down for the tree house.”

“I saw it too.”

“Suchin and Niran can hardly wait.”

Sarai noticed a hole in the mosquito net and made a mental note to mend it the following day. “Have you heard anyone talk? About Patch? He’s been here so long. People are going to talk.”

Lek remembered pulling down the police flyer and was tempted to tell her the truth about Patch’s situation, but he didn’t want to argue. He was afraid that Sarai would immediately send Patch away, which Lek believed was unnecessary. “I’ve heard nothing,” he finally replied, pretending to focus on her toes.

“But you’re not a woman. Women hear everything. And men hear nothing.”

“I hear you and your mother all day. That’s enough for me.”

Sarai glanced at Achara. “What do you think he’s hiding from?”

“Knowing Patch, it must be something small. Something not worth worrying about.”

“Ask him. Stop acting like a man and ask him.”

“After he finishes the path and the tree house,” Lek replied. “I’ll ask him then. I promise.”

“You’re so good at waiting. You realize that you’re not fishing, right? That life isn’t about holding your spear gun and waiting for a tuna to pass by?”

He stretched her toes, one by one, until they popped. “That’s how you catch the biggest fish, the best fish. That’s how I caught you.”

Her smile was broad and pleasant. “I should have swum faster. You wouldn’t catch me these days.”

“Yes, I would.”

She jerked her feet away from him, laughing quietly.

He grinned, crept up the mattress, and began to rub Achara’s heels. “She’s had a busy day too.”

“She’s a busy girl. And I’m going to teach her how to be busier, how to swim so fast that no spearman will catch her.

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