Face the Music (12 page)

“Would you keep it down?”  The living room was just on the other side of her bedroom wall.  “It’s not like that.”  I mulled over the fact that I’d just had this same conversation with Lauren.  “I have no interest in hooking up with Chris Knots.
  Did you gi
ve him my number, by the way?”
I
asked, thinking about the text he’d sent
.

“
Nope,” she said, giving me a blank look.  “How can you be so indifferent about him
?  Don’t you think he’s sexy?  Because if you don’t, I
-
.”

“You’ll nothing,” I said.  “Ju
st stay out if it, Em.  Please.”

After Emily left,
I
went to
the bathroom and examined my hair in the mirror.  The wind had taken a toll
on my ponytail
; flyaways stuck out in all directions.  I yanked out the rubber band, shook it down, and ran a brush through it before going back to the living room.  Molly was o
n Chris’s lap
, showing off her princess
book.

“See that mouse?” she said, pointing.  “It gonna be a horse.  Isn’t that funny?”

“What?  I think you’re crazy.  Mice can’t be horses,” he teased. 

Determination tugged at her brow as she flipped ahead a few pages.  “See?”  She stabbed at a picture with her little finger.  “I told you so.  It’s magic.”

The two of them were so cute sitting there.  It wasn’t often that Molly had the luxury of male company.  “Molly, do you want to go outside?”
I asked.

They both looked up at me.  Molly’s
eyes
were
round with excitement.  Chris’s were round too, but I didn’t know why.

“The park?”
Molly asked.

I nodded.

“Yes!” she squealed, jumping
off Chris’s la
p
and running
for her coat. 

Chris was still looking at me.  “Your hair looks really nice down.”

I felt myself redden
as I
played with the hair
-
band around my wrist.  I never
left the house
without one.  “Thanks.”

Molly tugged on my pants. 
“
Aunt Allie, i
s Chris coming too?”
she whispered.

“Why don’t you ask him?” I whispered back.

She walked right up to him
but stopped short of his knees.  With her hands on her hips, she batted her little eyelashes and gave him a sweet smile.  “Sup-a-star Chris, do you want to go outside and play with me?” 

He looked at her with complete adoration.  “How could I possibly refuse
?  Are you ready?”

She took his hand and pulled him towards the door.

“How long
have you been singing?” I asked once we were outside.  The breeze was having a field day with my hair.  I really wanted to pull it back.

“As long as I can remember.  I’ve always loved music. 
My mom
put me in
piano and guitar lessons when I was six.  I’ve been playing ever since.”

“So
,
you always wanted to be a musician?”

“I wouldn’t say always.  I hit a rough patch as a teen.  It took a few years for me to pull my head out of my ass.”

I
didn’t want to pry, but
curiosity got the best of me.  “Rough patch?  What happened?”

He frowned a bit and shrugged.  I
wanted to kick
myself
for asking
.  “Let’s just say
I had a rebellious streak.  Found some trouble.”

Fascination doesn’t even begin to describe what I felt. 
If I
had been
a cat I would have
suffered
nine
deaths
to
find out
more.

“I was working as a mechanic when I auditioned for the show.  Some friends and I had a garage band.  We
did okay,
played
a few nights a week at a local club, did a wedding every now and then.  It was pretty low-key.
”
  He laughed.  “I’d never even considered going out for the show.  My sister was the one who convinced me to try.”

“Are you close with your family?”

“Oh yeah.  They’re great, I couldn’t ask for anything better.  I’ve got three older brothers and a sister.”

“You’re the baby?”

He
nodded
.  “Yep.”

“I’m so jealous- I’ve always wanted a big fa
mily.  It was just Emily and me
. 
Things were always so quiet. 
Someday I’m going to have lots
of kids.  I want a whole house
ful
.”

“Me too,” he said, fixing his eyes on my face.  “Someday.”

I shuddered.

“What about you?” he asked.  “
What’s
your story?”

I gav
e him the run-down on
my family,
composed
entirely
of me, Molly, Emily, and Grams.  “Grams suffers from dementia.  She’s in a nursing home in the city.  Most days she doesn’t even know her own name, much less mine.”

“That must be really hard,
” he said.  “I can’t imagine.” 
We stopped to let a car zoom by
, and I held onto Molly’s hand
as we crossed
the street.  “I guess Emily was pretty young when she had Molly?”
he asked once we got to the park.

“Yep, she was a senior in high school when she got pregnant.  Molly’s father was a few years older and took off when Emily told him she
having a
baby.”

Chris groaned.  “That’s too bad.”

“Yeah, it was tough,” I agreed.  “But Molly’s great.  I wouldn’t trade her for anything.”

“
Of course not. 
What about the rest of your family?  Where are your parents?”

I looked at the ground and kicked a rock.  It rolled a few times before coming to a stop against the curb.  “We never knew our dad.  He ran off before Emily was born.  I was barely out of diapers, so I have no memories of him.”

“And your mom?”

A
painful pressure filled my chest. 
“She passed away about three years ago.”

I could feel his eyes on me as he waited for me to say something more, but I remained silent.  Mom’s death wasn’t high on my list of conversation topics.  Chris must have understood because he didn’t ask
for details
.

“I’m sorry,” he said.

Molly
broke away from my hand and
ran for a swing.  “Chris, will you push me?”
she called over her shoulder.

“Of course I will!”  His expression brightened as he
chased after her
.  “How high?” 

“As high as the sky!” she cheered.   “Higher…higher!”  She yelled with each push. 

I sat on the swing next to hers and watched as the two played.  It warmed my heart to see her so happy.  When Molly was satisfied
with Chris’s pushing
, I looked up at
him
and poked out my lower lip.  “Will you push me?” 

A gust of wind rustled the branches overhead.  “Alright.”  He grabbed my swing and pulled.  “How high?”  Not waiting for an answer, he let go of the chains and gave me a hefty push, launching me forward in a rush of air.

I leaned into the swing, arching my head back and pushing my legs out in front of me.  I closed my eyes as the breeze whipped through my hair and leaned forward when the swing started to descend.  He pushed me again.  “Okay,” I giggled breathlessly as the swing flew up.  “That’s high enough!”

We were outside for about an hour before the wind started to really blow.  The swings twisted around their chains, and the flag whipped about its pole.  Dark
clouds rolled in from the west.  I gave up
on my hair
and twisted the band around
it
.

“Burr, I’m cold
,
Allie!” Molly said, wrapping her arms across her chest.

I pulled the hood of her jacket up over her head.  “Okay.  Let’s go in.  What do you want for dinner?”

“Blueberry oatmeal and popcorn.”  She answered as though it were a perfectly normal suggestion.

Chris and I looked at each other and burst out laughing.  After catching his breath, he knelt down
on one knee so that he was eye-
level with her.  “That’s quite a combination, and it sounds absolutely delicious, but how about if I take you and your aunt out for pizza instead?”

“Pizza!” yelled Molly, clapping her hands and jumping up and down.

“
You don’t have to do that,
”
I said.

“I want to,” he said, looking up at me.  “There’s a good place a few blocks down.”

The
restaurant was
war
m and smelled of dough. 
We ate mostly in silence, and after we finished, I glanced at my watch.  It was
a little after
seven.  “Don’t you h
ave to get back for rehearsal?”

He frowned.  “Yeah
.  But how about I walk you two back home first?”

Molly and I put our coats
on
and waited for him outside
while he paid
.  Fluffy
,
white flakes fell from the sky, dusting the sidewalk and trees with tiny crystals of ice.

It was only a minute before Chris came out.  He stomped his feet and rubbed his hands together.  “Wow, it got cold!”  He picked up Molly and pressed her against his chest, wrapping the
front of his coat around her.

For half of a second
I was jealous of my young niece. 

The
wind was sharp.  W
e walked
in silence
towards my building.  “Thanks for dinner,” I finally said when we rounded
my
corner.

“Sure!  Thanks for letting me barge in on your family time.  It really means a lot.”  His voice was soft as he glanced down at Molly.  “Sometimes I feel like I’m all alone here.” 

“You, alone?”  I laughed at the thought.  “You’re always surrounded by people.  How can you possibly feel alone?”