บท 10: The First Night at Sławek's House
Sławek smiled apologetically. Suddenly he realized that he had invited someone to sleep in the same bed with him, and he felt terribly ashamed. Especially that Konrad saw his extremely meaningful sculptures.
He turned to hide the flush that had begun to burn his face.
It's a necessity, he thought frantically. There are no overtones here. Neither of them likes guys. They just only have one bed.
"I need to feed the dog," he announced, and quickly left the yard.
If they had winter it would have been dark for a few hours now, but in summer the sun was slowly approaching the horizon, and even when it went down it would still be bright. The days and evenings were still very long. Until recently, Sławek and his grandfather would sit next to each other on a bench and plan their figurines. Of course, Sławoj didn't see the most gay ones - the boy would never dare to show them to him, but nudes, yes. Grandfather said that one should not be ashamed of the human body, that this shame is just a cultural invention. After all, man comes into this world naked. Sometimes he even advised him to remember that all people are slightly different from each other, to remember about these differences in his sculptures. Sometimes Sławoj told a lot, sometimes they worked in silence, but Sławek always felt his love and support.
The boy crossed the yard and reached the kennel where the resigned old dog was lying.
"Hey," he greeted him. "Sorry, I forgot about you a little. You're not angry?"
The dog raised its head and licked the boy's stroking hand. His eyes were very sad, but they lightened up a little at the sight of him.
The curl was not tied. He had a tub of water nearby that all animals used. Slawek walked away for a while and brought him dry food, but the dog completely ignored it. He clearly missed his master, whom he knew from a puppy. The dog was as old as Sławek, so he was already very old. They had known each other all their lives, but before the boy began living with his grandfather, they rarely saw each other, so the bond between them was not that strong. Even so, now they only had each other.
"You don't want dry food? I'm going to cook the pasta and bring you the leftovers. You probably know we have a visitor."
Saying these words, Sławek felt a feeling of excitement and involuntarily smiled at the animal. It was really nice knowing that he wouldn't be spending the night in an empty house.
The dog looked at him with its large, wise eyes, as if to say he knew, but he was not very interested in a stranger.
The boy stroked him again. Kędzior was an animal that must have missed Sławoj no less than he himself. But he could, at least today, be with someone, with Konrad, Kędzior will be alone again, like a finger, too old even to scream with longing at night.
Domejczuk returned to his old house. Konrad, his new friend, was sitting politely in a chair at the table.
"You must be hungry" said Sławek. "Sorry, I didn't think about it before."
"Come on! It was such a crazy day that I didn't feel like eating! Besides, I'm an unannounced visitor, so no stress. I have brought some packed lunches with me, I have Chinese soups and canned food, so just lend me some boiling water."
"The stove is at your disposal. I'm going to put on the pasta with sauce. I'm not a top cook, but I can cook pasta and heat up a sauce from a jar. I will share with you."
"Can you really cook?"
"Just a little."
Sławek poured water into the pot and turned on the gas underneath it. From the cupboard he took a packet of pasta, not any expensive, ordinary for less than two zlotys. He also took out a jar of Mexican sauce and some country sausage from the fridge which he tossed into the pan. Stirring in the pot, he thought that since he had a visitor, he would have to change the sheets before they went to sleep.
***
Konrad stretched in bed, glad that he finally had it only for himself. It was an old couch, a relic of the old regime. Inconvenient, not very big, but despite their fears, they both fit on it and didn't even have to crowd. The night was warm, so they slept under separate blankets instead of under one duvet, which was a good move, as Skalski, not used to such a bed, turned around quite often. He got the impression that Sławek also had trouble sleeping. However, they did not speak to each other because they still lacked topics for conversation.
For the first time in his life, Konrad lived in such miserable conditions. The house was well-kept and clean, but horribly old and had no hot water. It is a miracle that there was a toilet at all, although Spartan, and running water. The dinner served by Sławek was large, but modest in ingredients - another element of local charm. Skalski knew that some people were much less off than his family, so he did not complain and he approached the living conditions as an adventure. Finally, he realized that Sławek, like himself, is on the verge of adulthood and must be completely independent. And if he doesn't look through his father, he's in financial trouble.
Domejczuk slipped out of bed at dawn. Whether it was his morning duties, or the lack of comfort in sharing a bed with someone else, Konrad did not know, and to be honest, he was not interested in it. Sławek thought that Skalski was asleep, so he got up quietly, without a word, and disappeared into the kitchen. Konrad then rolled over on his back and looked around the host's room.
The room was three by four meters and one wall facing east, that is, over the overgrown backyard flower garden and the road window. The wallpaper with green stripes did not really suit the teenager's room and looked cheap and laid a good few years ago. The furniture was old, like the couch they had slept on. A floral curtain and green curtains hung in the window. There were no posters of music, cinema or sports stars anywhere. The only thing that looked relatively new was the flat panel computer. The monitor itself, that is, because the computer looked like brick from at least fifteen years ago. At least both of them were from that age.
There was a cardboard box that Sławek presented to them yesterday. It was closed. Konrad was tempted to see the intriguing sculptures of his friend once more. He slipped out from under the blanket and walked barefoot to the box. He opened it and held his breath as before.
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