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Gaipa doesn’t need to look up to know it’s Saleng who pushes aside the curtain and perches himself on the stool right behind his mother’s stall.
Without turning around, Gaipa only huffs a laugh, finely dicing the meat of a chicken thigh and weighing it to a kilogram.
“You’re here early. If you’re looking to bother me for extras, I don’t think I’ll have any from today,” Gaipa says lightly, scraping fat to the corner of his cutting board.
There’s a pause as Gaipa finishes, before Saleng sighs behind him, and it’s the heaviness of it that has Gaipa turning around.
At Saleng’s expression, frayed at the edges, Gaipa pauses, slightly apprehensive. “What? What is it?”
Saleng blinks slowly, his face unreadable as he regards Gaipa with a look that has Gaipa unconsciously straightening his shoulders. Saleng glances around for a moment, confirming that no one else in the clearing is within earshot.
“You should maybe put the knife down,” Saleng says.
A little wary now, Gaipa places the knife on the edge of the cutting board.
“What is it,” Gaipa echoes again, gentler this time.
Saleng’s brow furrows in frustration as he looks at the ground, before huffing and dropping his palms to his knees with a twack so loud that Gaipa startles.
“Sorry, I’m not trying to drag this out. I don’t know why I’m worried, it’s you—okay, I’m just gonna say it,” Saleng finally huffs.
Gaipa blinks, before saying, “okay.”
“Praew’s pregnant.”
As soon as it sinks in, Gaipa whacks Saleng on the shoulder with a towel.
“Don’t—shit, does that have chicken juice on it,” Saleng yelps, swatting Gaipa away, but Gaipa only hits him again.
“I was imagining the worst, are you serious? You were starting to scare me,” Gaipa drops the towel in favor of grabbing Saleng by the shoulder and shaking him lightly, but with a slow-stretching smile, “are you—congratulations. That’s—this is good news?”
I don’t know what I’m doing, Saleng wants to say. Taking out loans is a nonstarter, but I don’t know where else to start. I think I’m getting married next month. I don’t know the first thing about being a father.
“It is. It is,” Saleng huffs, laughing a bit hysterically, knocking against Gaipa’s shoulder, “just—I’m getting married soon, or her parents might actually kill me.”
“I think you need to worry about a dowry first,” Gaipa snorts, but he shifts on his heels for a moment before exhaling.
“Shit, you're serious? I know you wouldn't joke about this, but Praew's really pregnant?”
“Yeah,” Saleng huffs.
“You're getting married. You're having a kid.”
“Yeah, that's right,” Saleng says again, but it's a bit stilted.
“I’m happy for you,” Gaipa says earnestly, and Saleng only stares at him, eyes watering a bit. Saleng nods quickly instead of replying.
“Leng?” Gaipa cautions.
“Hm?”
“I'll come over to talk to you tonight, but—just, you know I’ll be there for you and Praew, with anything you need, yeah?”
And just like that, Saleng chokes up again, dramatically throwing himself forward and forcing Gaipa into a hug, fully ignoring Gaipa’s stained apron. Saleng wails nonsensically into his chest, finally catching the attention of nearby vendors, to whom Gaipa merely nods at and raises a hand in greeting.
“Alright, alright,” Gaipa complains, though he makes no move to extract himself from the hug, “I need to set aside a few more orders, but—here, grab my other knife and help me finish up here. We'll drink to this later.”