Chapter 2

Sesi: polishing chapter two and changing some things around. This is dedicated to my recently deceased aunt who died of cancer. Also deleted scene! I found it somewhere in the bowls of places on my iPod and found it fit here perfectly. Pretty sure it was meant for a later chapter from this or Keeping the sun I need everybody's sincere opinion on the new changes. Is this better than before?

Alfred F. Jones had gone to England for a job opportunity which worked out but life just likes to fuck everyone over. His mother had contracted cancer so he decided to head home. Maybe it would be better if had just stayed home. But there was a feeling like he needed to be here. A strange pull to the rainy island country that had once dominated the world.

Alfred had never felt like he belonged where ever he was. He came to England because he had a friend here with a job offering from an old friend who headed an advertising company that he inherited at a young age. The job was nice and all but he felt lost again. Except for last night. He had a dream where this ethereal creature- like an angel or something- came to him and he actually felt at peace for a moment. The creature looked human but had pale skin, large eyebrows, vivid emerald eyes that seemed to glow with vibrancy, and he was emanating light. The most perfect being in the world.

Unfortunately it was a dream. Alfred would have loved for his life so far to have been a dream where his mother didn't have cancer, he wasn't lost, and he met this being for real. Even so his life is the aforementioned mess. He zipped his bags ready to go since the cab was waiting for him outside. He left the hotel room, dropped the room key at the front desk, and headed out into the cool, dreary fall morning. He climbed into the cab that sped away to the airport to go home.

Alfred hated going through customs. It's a pain in the ass and the British loved to probe people more than the Americans. Even so he sat quietly on the plane thinking back on the conversation he had with his mom not to long ago.

three weeks ago
Alfred had just gotten to his hotel room after a long day when his mother called. "Hey" Alfred said into the phone.

"Alfie" he heard his mother say. He paled at that. She sounded rather hoarse which is odd because normally she had the voice of bells.

"Are you okay mom?" He asked immediately. He dropped his bag on the floor.

"I'm dying Alfie. Please come home" she told him. Alfred dropped the phone. "Al?! Alfred?!" He heard faintly. Alfred collapsed in a fetal position and clutched the phone.

"What is it?" He asked, deathly afraid of the answer.

"I have cancer…It's a late stage and we didn't find it fast enough. It's in my pancreas." She whispered.

"I'm coming home. As soon as I can. I love you mom" he told her hurriedly and grabbed his laptop.

After waiting the horrible minute for boot up he started searching. Symptoms, treatments, plane tickets. Everything he could do. The results terrified him but at least he managed to secure a seat in one week to go home.

Which got him where he was. Sitting on a plane on its way to the states where he would go home to their house in Virginia and care for his ailing mother.

The plane ride was long, the kid behind him kicked his seat, a baby nearby wouldn't stop crying, and it was a really long flight. Overall he was exhausted. When a flight lasted for over a day it definitely takes it out of you. As well as the fact there were two flights.

He rode a cab up to the colonial home that had been in his family for many generations and stepped out to see the windows were all dark still. Alfred entered the house warily and tread quietly finding his mother laying on the couch asleep. She lay on her side and the tv was on turned to Spanish soap operas. He turned the tv off and shook his mother's shoulder.

Her bright blue eyes showed through dark blonde eyelashes indicating she was awake now. She looked up at Alfred and he saw she seemed to age ten years in the one year he was gone. "Hey Alfie" she greeted. He knelt down and pulled her hand into his own feeling the sudden ridges created from an obvious lack of eating food.

"Hi mom, you hungry? I can fix breakfast if you want?" He asked softly.

"Sure. Matthew left some pancake mix on the counter with some syrup" she told him closing her eyes. Alfred went to the kitchen to make breakfast. He poured some mix into a bowl and started mixing it with water when his head started throbbing. His neck pulsated with - no scratch that. It pulsated on one side. He clapped a hand to the left side if his neck and found two bumps there. He tried to ignore it and made his mother some breakfast grimacing the whole time. The pain in his neck pulsates up into his head giving him a head ache.

Eventually he finished and helped his mother into the kitchen. Alfred sat her in a stool and sat a plate of precut pancakes in front of her. His head still hurt but he ignored it not wanting to let his mother know of his pain.

One hour later of chatting with his mother while she ate he cleaned up after and helped his mom back to the couch so that she could continue watching her soaps while she waited for the workers for their fully functioning farm to get there.

Alfred grew up on the alfalfa, tomato, and soy bean farm. By now the tomatoes should have been harvested and the alfalfa seemed to be needing that as well to store for the horses use in the winter. They traditionally kept four horses and two cows which got milked everyday to provide them a wholesome sustenance. One of the worst parts or living in London was that Alfred didn't get to drink the fresh from the cow milk he grew up on.

The workers usually trucked in from somewhere in the city and harvested the land, made sure the plants were well cared for, and took care of the animals.

Alfred gave his mom a quick kiss on her cheek and went upstairs to his room with his suit case and collapsed on the bed thinking back to the day that he accepted Tinos job offer. He smiled at the memory

The young boy Alfred and his twin Matthew grew up with gave Alfred a call one day out of the blue one month after Alfred graduated school. Currently he had been working on the farm for his mother and got some pocket change from that. She helped him pay for his truck and insurance as long as he worked hard.

It had been a long day in the sun caring for the crops and animals. Alfred's main job for the day had been to care for the horses mucking out their stalls and making sure they each got adequate exercise. Meaning Alfred got to ride the majestic and wonderful beasts around.

Alfred had a minor sunburn from riding the horses shirtless around the property to the stream at the edge of it which they used to irrigate the farm. His brother had been rubbing aloe onto his burnt body when he got the call.

Tino is four years Alfred's senior and moved away eight years prior to go to a over seas academy with his long time protector/boyfriend/shadow. This had actually been the first time they spoke since the Finn and swede moved away. The conversation was most definitely unforgettable.

"Hei hei Alfred!" The cheerful boy said on the other end.

"Heya Tino what's up? It's been a long time" Alfred chuckled into the phone.

"Sorry about that. School here was crazy! Ah so I have been in this one company for a long- Hanatomago don't lick there! Stop licking the couch!" The boy had apparently put down his phone to scold something. Alfred guess a dog. The scolding continued saying that the dog shouldn't lick there that is a nono square. Alfred silently laughed hearing the boys cries to get Berwald to get the dog (still Alfred's best guess) and keep it from doing that. This went on for about five minutes.

The audible crashing sound of Tino picking his phone and putting it up to his head could be loudly heard. "As I was saying earlier and sorry about that Al. So my family has owned this one company for a long time and it was recently passed to me, well kind of, and there's talk of hiring people to do some advertising. I immediately thought of you for the job because in thought of how easy it seemed for you to get people to follow your lead and do something" Tino explained. "The hours are from 9-5 Monday through Friday and wherever you live would be easily covered by the company. Please say yes"

Alfred covered the phone with his hand. He turned to Mattie to get his opinion. "Tino says he's got a good job for me. What do you think?"

Matthew stopped rubbing the aloe. "What are the benefits?" He asked. "Ask Tino about how much is the pay, medical, vacation and whatever"

Alfred did just that knowing that his brother brought up good points. He put the phone on speaker so that Mattie could listen on.

"I think it's 26 an hour. Or something like that. Let me ask Berwald." Alfred waited as Tino got the details. "Okay so it's about 26 pounds an hour and berry said that roughly equates to 43 dollars an hour which is probably more than what you would make on your moms farm. The full on benefits are a weeks vacation, three sick days, and medical is covered"

"Wait where do they use pounds?" Alfred asked puzzled by this bit of news.

"They use it in Britain. Your going to be working in Britain bro" Matthew explained.

"Did I forget to tell you that part?" Tino asked. "No Hanatomago! Oh yeah. The job is in London for a toy company. Well we sell other things than toys but for the most part it's toys" Tino finished explaining. "If you want yo can come for a trial run and if you like it you should stay?"

Matthew grabbed the phone and took it off speaker he pushed Alfred as he said "Alfred will take it. I'll submit his dismal résumé to you soon. Bye Tino. Send Berwald our love as well" Matthew pressed the lock button as he ended the call.

"You have a lot of nerve Matthew Williams!" Alfred yelled launching after his brother. Both brothers had been very into sports in school and each was physically strong. The boys rolled around on the living room floor as practiced hands tried to get a grip on the other one the grab on and the other to push off.

"Boys!" Their mother said once she saw the scene. "You nearly broke the TV take this out side where you won't break anything! Be mindful of the plants" she warned.

Alfred soon fell asleep smiling at the nostalgia surrounding him in the smells of his childhood him, the look of how nothing here had changed, the quiet chirps of some remainder crickets that hadn't taken shelter in the cool nights. All of it instilled some peace through the throb in his neck.