14
Freen POV
“I have something to tell you.”
Becky looks at me, expectantly.
It’s now or never, Sarocha.
Better that she hears it from me than someone else.
I hate lying to her.
I sigh.
“It’s about Nat.”
Her fingers twitch ever so slightly.
I open my mouth then pause indefinitely.
“What about him?” Becky whispers.
“He-…I..He isn’t-”
I struggle to speak, the words clogged in my throat.
Her fingers gently hold my wrists, soothing my nerves.
“Nat…He…” I take a deep breath.
In. Out.
“Nat isn’t my son.”
My shoulders sag with relief now that the words are out.
I stare at her hands.
“He’s my brother.”
I can’t hear anything besides my rushing pulse.
“He’d already thought of me as his mother with Mae working everyday.”
My vision blurs.
“I know he’ll be heartbroken when he realizes that Mae and Phi lied to him.”
I blink my tears back, keeping them at bay.
“He’ll resent me for it but I want to wait until he’s a little older to learn the truth.”
I can’t stop the droplets falling onto our clasped hands.
“Nat loves fiercely. I’m afraid…he’ll never open up again when he finds out.”
My voice feels as raw and tender as my heart.
“I’m sorry for lying to you.”
Becky POV
“You are his Mae.”
Freen looks up at me, her eyes red and cheeks wet.
“As long as Nat thinks so then that’s the truth.”
I give her hands a brief squeeze.
“Mm.” Freen sobs.
I slip my hands out from her grasp and fold my arms around her.
She cries harder.
I hold her close, tightening my arms around her, my hand coming up to stroke her hair.
“I got you beb.” I murmur quietly.
I’ll hold her for as long as she needs the comfort. For as long as she’ll want me to.
Guilt gnaws at my insides.
I am the one who should be sorry for lying.
The truth…it would break Freen’s heart.
I found out Nat was her brother after BillyBabe’s engagement.
“I’ve got you.”
But now I’m sure.
Freen…
She doesn’t know her and Nat are half siblings.
…
The following morning I’m at the dining table with Nat and Sua.
“We can go to the park!”
Sua nods, quietly eating.
“Or-Or..Or we can go to the arcade!”
“…”
The boys…well mainly Nat chats animatedly about how much fun today is going to be.
Gun dropped Sua off this morning and hurried off to track some leads in Gon’s whole disappearing act.
“And Mae really can’t come?” Nat frowns, pushing rice around his plate.
“Not today, buddy.”
Freen woke up with a fever and I’ve tasked Patt with keeping an eye on her condition.
“Won’t Mae be lonely?” Nat asks worriedly. “Maybe…I’ll stay home too.”
“She needs lots of rest,” Patt assures Nat, patting his shoulder. “And I’m sure it’ll bring a smile to her face knowing you’re having fun with Sua.”
She smiles at Sua and the two come to a tacit agreement solely through eye contact.
“We can go to the park.” The boy is as rigid as his uncle.
Unfazed, Nat beams. “Okay!”
He turns to me, motioning for me to hurry up.
I got it, I got it.
I make a show of finishing my breakfast, thanking Patt after my last bite.
“Delicious as always, Aunt Patt!”
She stifles a laugh, shaking her head. “You and Richie. Ever the sweet talker, Becky.”
I shrugged, motioning for the boys to get ready.
“Ready to go?”
“Yes Miss.”
Sua immediately springs to action, pushing in his chair and meticulously grabbing his things.
Nat watches Sua curiously then attempts to copy precisely what Sua did.
“Ready, BecBec!”
His chair is just a tad crooked compared to Sua’s and his backpack half zipped with its straps all twisted. He looks like he couldn’t care less as he grabs Sua’s hand and pulls him toward the shoe rack.
Hm. Looks like Mini Gun’s influence is rubbing off on Little Nat.
I wonder if Art would be open to his son moving schools. I’ll ask Gun later.
“BecBec?”
Nat is all smiles when he calls out from the open door.
“I’m going, I’m going.”
Patt hands me a basket of snacks. “That N’Gun bought too many snacks. The boys can share with any friends at the park.”
I nod, slipping on my shoes and walking out the door.
…
“Do you like the park?
“Yes.”
“Me too!”
“…”
“What’s your favorite game to play? Mine is Hide N Seek!”
“I like that game.”
“Ok! Let’s play Hide N Seek!”
Sua sounds confused when he says, “Now?”
“At the park,” Nat giggles, smiling wide. “There’s no place to hide here.”
I catch his exaggerated motions in the rearview mirror as he waves his arms around the car.
“Right.”
“Let’s play Hide N Seek at the park!”
“Mhm.”
“Pinky promise!”
“…”
“C’mon Sua~”
“Pinky promise.”
Nat continues to fill the space with endless chatter. With a conversation partner who’s as dry as his uncle, it’s a wonder how the two manage to get along.
I catch Nat looking at me through the rearview. He cups his hands around his mouth.
It’s kinda adorable that he thinks I can’t hear him when he does that.
“Do you think BecBec is cool?”
Sua takes a glance in my direction and I avert my eyes to check my blindspot before merging lanes.
“Khun Becky is cool.” Sua whispers. It was so quiet that I needed to strain my ears to hear.
“Yai and Dtaa told me she wasn’t always cool.”
Oh, is that right?
Hmm. You two aren’t the only ones with stories. Game on, Mum and Dad.
Sua shakes his head deliberately.
“Ah Gun and Phaw said she’s always been cool.”
“How do they know?”
Mini Gun puffs his chest out. “My Ah and Phaw worked with the Armstrongs for a long time.”
“That’s cool.”
“Ah always tells me stories of Khun Becky.”
“What kind of stories?”
“How she stops bad people from doing bad things and Ah also helps and my Phaw helps with his research…”
“Woah…”
Aww Gun.
It’s nice to know how he feels about our friendship. He won’t always show it or say it but I wouldn’t have anyone else watch my back in this business.
…
“Sua and BecBec will hide first,” Nat says seriously, tugging on our hands. In his haste to get to the playground, he nearly jumped out of the car when I rolled to a stop.
Once we made it onto the playground turf, Nat covered his eyes with both hands, turning his back to us. “ONE! TWO! …”
Sua gives me a curt nod before slipping away. It’s so eerily similar to Gun that I nearly snorted.
I duck behind a familiar large boulder, crouching down as Nat continues his count.
“... TEN!”
He definitely won’t check here again, will he?
No, no. He wouldn’t.
Once I’ve got a grasp on his position then I’ll change locations.
Hide N Seek isn’t too hard.
It’s all about the long game-
“BecBec?”
“Nat?”
I blink.
“You really like this spot, huh?”
“I do..”
How did he-
“How’d you know I was here, Nat?”
He takes my hand, pulling us away from the boulder.
“I didn’t.”
“You didn’t?”
“Nope. I can see the whole playground from over here.”
“…so that’s why!”
“Why what?”
“That’s how you found me last time!”
Nat shakes his head, laughing.
“Last time I saw BecBec’s head by the boulder.”
“Oh.”
“Time to find Sua!”
“Right!”
I have a feeling that Mini Gun is just as good at Hide N Seek as Little Nat.
…30 minutes later…
“I think he’s over by the swinging bridge!”
I raise an eyebrow. “Didn’t we check there already? Five times?”
“I really saw him!”
“Ok ok,” I let Nat pull me along. “Then we should admit our loss.”
Nat nods, a determined look in his eyes. “I know he’s there.”
When we get to the swinging bridge, Sua is nowhere to be found. I’m getting a bit worried now. I promised Gun I’d look after him.
“SUA!” I yell while Nat overturns rocks and seriously checks for any trace of the boy.
“Miss.”
“Shi-”
“AHH!” Nat yelps.
I whip around to find Sua standing behind me.
Geez. It’s like he materialized out of thin air.
“BecBec’s turn!” Nat takes off, leaving Sua and I.
He nods at me then walks away.
I take a deep breath.
This is going to be a long round.
…30 minutes later…
I haven’t found either Nat or Sua. Eventually the boys come out of hiding when I’ve circled my “favorite” for the twentieth time.
“I can seek,” Sua volunteers, raising his hand high.
Nat pats my arm placatingly. “BecBec can hide. I will be seeker after Sua.”
I smile. “Thanks Nat, Sua.”
“Anytime BecBec!”
“No problem Miss.”
And once we’ve got our roles sorted, Nat and I take off while Sua counts down.
Unsurprisingly Sua finds me first then quickly uncovers Nat’s hiding spot.
True to their word, the two alternate between being seeker every other round. Nat squeals with excitement every time Sua finds him.
I might not be great at this game but everyone’s smiling.
Even Mini Gun who loosens up the tiniest bit when he manages to find Nat before me.
“AHhahahah!”
I hear Nat’s boisterous laughter from across the playfield.
…
On the drive back, Nat promptly falls asleep after a truly tiring day at the park.
“Did you have a good time, Sua?”
“Mhm.” He hums, blinking back the weariness in his eyes.
“I’m glad you and Nat get along.”
“Mhmp. Nat is nice.”
“He is. He’s very energetic.”
Which feels like an understatement.
“Mhm. It was fun…”
I glanced up at the rearview mirror at Sua who stopped abruptly, mid-sentence.
His eyes finally shut, head lolling against the seatbelt.
Shortly after, we get to the house where Gun waits in the driveway. He greets me with a quiet,
“Miss.”
He gently picks up Sua and softly shuts the door. He steps out onto the sidewalk, turning back briefly to nod his thanks.
I wave him off. Then I start carrying little Nat to his room only for him to mumble,
“Mae.”
I hum. “Ok. Let’s go to your Mae’s room.”
I rap my knuckles softly on the door before turning the knob.
Freen seems better than this morning, looking as elegant as ever reading a book in bed.
She smiles when she sees us, putting her book aside.
I lay Nat down beside her, tucking him in.
“Thank you,” she whispers, stroking Nat’s hair as he curls into her.
“I had a lot of fun.” I grin, lingering in this moment.
I turn to leave but I’m stopped.
Nat grabs onto my hand, eyes drooping.
“Stay.”
Then he twists around to Freen. “Can BecBec stay, Mae?”
Freen nods, smiling. “Only if she wants to.”
“BecBec?”
I nod slowly, not quite believing that this is happening. I slip under the covers, turning over to find Freen’s clear eyes.
“G'night Mae, BecBec.” Nat murmurs.
“Goodnight.” Freen echoes. Her eyes fluttered shut.
“Good night.” I mumble, letting myself succumb to the day’s events.