Boots in a Flowerbed

8. Riverside

The small cloud that has momentarily dimmed the sun drifts onwards and Kim squints, lifts an arm to shade his eyes. It's so warm and he feels so wonderfully lazy.

Everything seems unreal as he lies there, on his back on a blanket. Wind hisses quietly in the trees and he hears a swishing sound; one of the horses whisks its tail to chase away a fly. Every movement looks slowed down, like something seen in a dream.

He turns his head and looks at Chaim. The man is lounging on another blanket, and the contents of the hamper have been spread on a low folding table between them. Sandwiches, pastries, fruit. Chunks of cheese, the soft and sticky kind. Smoked beef in thin slices - a regular treat ever since their first drive, four weeks ago, when Kim has declared his fondness for it. Small cakes. White wine, surprisingly cold in its heavy stone cooler.

Chaim has stretched his long legs, ankles crossed, he's leaning on one elbow and holding a half-full glass in the other hand. His eyes are closed, face dreamy, a small tight line in the corner of his mouth. Kim tries to guess what he might be thinking of, then gives up.

"Penny for your thoughts," he says and then chuckles at himself. Does Chaim even know what a penny looks like? The man slits his eyes, lips pulling into a smile.

"That's more than they're worth right now," he says.

"Tell me anyway."

"If you really want to know... I was thinking about yesterday."

"What did you do?"

"Met with a few solicitors and some business people. Was bored to death. Wasted a perfectly good day." Chaim sounds airy, but when he tosses back the rest of his wine, the movement is jerky. "Wondered why I bother at all."

Kim tries to imagine it and decides that he can't. "Don't think about it now," he says. "The sun is shining, and just look at that river. And the trees. Don't think about business on a day off."

Chaim smiles again, a little sadly this time, and Kim closes his eyes. He's not able to picture what Chaim does when they aren't out, driving or picnicking. Surely the man doesn't actually need to work? But then, he's met business people? What does he do? How does he pass his days?

Kim is looking forward to Sundays, he knows it. For him, they crown the entire week. Climbing into the carriage, exploring quaint little roads, holding on to the sides of the carriage while the man next to him urges the horses into a gallop, looking for a suitable spot to tie the horses under a shading tree and dig into the treasure trove tucked under the seat. He's counting days to each time. But what does it mean to DelChaim? Kim can only guess, and he's always as thrilled to see the boyish delight on Chaim's face when they set out. What are these adventures to him?

Kim is not wary any more. Chaim has not once said a single thing to make him uncomfortable. Chaim hasn't touched him, except when helping him climb into the carriage. The man's eyes are warm, and he likes to rest them upon Kim. But he treats Kim with respect. Like a friend.

Kim looks again at the man. Chaim is looking somewhere far, Kim sees his profile. Now his eyes are hooded under dark brows, and something in them makes Kim sad.

"Hey," he says. "It wasn't wasted. Obviously they were things you needed to do, and you did them. But that was yesterday, now we're here, and we're enjoying today. Right?"

Chaim looks at him, hair falling over his eyes. He pushes it away, then the smile breaks through again.

"Yes," he says. "You're right. No use regretting things one can't do anything about."

"No," Kim agrees with a nod. He's relieved. A frowning DelChaim makes him feel strange, and he's not sure it's a good thing. It makes him feel like hugging the man. Hug him like a friend, although he's just a funny young foreigner working in the parks, someone Chaim for some reason wants to take for a drive every Sunday. They hardly know each other, except that Kim sometimes feels that he knows Chaim far better than many people he meets every day. That, of course, is just his imagination, but that's how he feels.

Chaim picks another pastry from the table and grins to him. Kim grins back and relaxes again.