Chapter 3 The Song of Two Candles
THREE
THE SONG OF TWO CANDLES
ALEX
I carried the woven basket filled with candles through the backyard, already ten minutes late.
Laura had asked me to get them earlier, but after everything with Sebastian upstairs, I had stalled in the hobby room for a few minutes, giving us both some space.
Only once I heard that he had gone outside and made his way over to the old barn that Dany had renovated into a party room, did I head out, too.
Even with the glass door still closed, I could already hear the family. The second I stepped inside, the noise crashed over me. Laughter, overlapping conversations, and ‘80s music crackling from a radio all tried to grab my attention, but they blurred into the background when I heard him again.
Sebastian sat at the table farthest from the entrance, staring down at his phone in the black button-up he had put on. He hummed under his breath, so quietly that no one else seemed to notice. To me, it cut right through everything else.
I tried not to stare at him directly, forcing myself to take in the room instead.
Flower garlands framed the wooden back wall and wrapped around a hundred photographs showing the Draper family’s evolution over the years.
The pictures on the left were black-and-white—one was even just a painting that wouldn’t win any awards—but the ones on the right were in color.
In front of the wall, a table was set up with the buffet.
Aligned with it, four long tables decorated with flower arrangements stood in the center of the room.
My feet carried me from guest to guest, offering candles from the basket. One by one, they chose theirs—some randomly, others carefully, as if they weren’t all the same. Laura had made them by hand and wrapped each one in transparent foil like a small gift.
The cellophane crackled against the woven willow.
Yet I only had ears for Sebastian: the rustle of his clothes as he scratched his chin, the faint thud of his foot tapping against the floor, the deep breath he took, as if his lungs were a violin ensemble, and, finally, after a moment of hesitation, another unbothered hum leading the orchestra that was his body.
When we spoke in the upstairs hallway ten minutes ago, I had trouble concentrating.
Now it was the opposite. All I could focus on was him.
This guy was pure music, and I couldn’t stop listening.
I could hear a million songs in my head that I wanted to write for his voice. The way he held a note and how it vibrated so warmly and purposefully couldn’t be a coincidence. He must have had some training, maybe in a school choir or at least from all the carefree humming.
As I made my way through the crowd, I had to actively force myself not to look at him constantly.
People spoke to me, and I nodded and smiled, but I didn’t hear a word they said.
It was as if I had hit my head and gone crazy.
I wanted to walk over there, get to know him, ask if I could show him my songs, maybe even ask if he could imagine lending me his voice—and if that wouldn’t have been completely ridiculous, I might’ve done it.
His humming only stopped when Mila, his sister, smacked his shoulder, startling him so hard that he knocked his knees into the table, sending the flower decorations rattling as if an earthquake had hit.
“Good to know you’re still allergic to human contact,” Mila teased. She swung her leg over the bench and plopped down beside him. “When you arrived, you seemed happy, but I guess that was just an act.”
“If you say so,” he muttered.
“And there’s the charm I remember.”
I shouldn’t have listened in, using the bad side of my overly sensitive ears, but I couldn’t help it.
“The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, as Dad always says.”
Mila rolled her eyes and scooted a couple of inches away from him. “I don’t know why I thought you’d be over all of this after all these years.”
“At least we can agree on something.”
“You could’ve at least thanked me for paying for your flight and for not telling anyone you were coming, like you asked me to,” she grumbled, leaning her elbows on the table, her hands covering her mouth.
“And you could’ve told me Grandpa only had a cold instead of letting me think he was dying.”
“You wouldn’t have come if I’d been honest, and—I know it’s not mutual, but—I missed you, you idiot.”
“That’s… fair.” He swallowed, lowering his voice. “Thank you.”
Mila shook her head, a grin tugging at her mouth. “I love you too, Seb.” She chuckled and turned toward me, forcing me to shift my attention to Dorian, the grandfather they had just been talking about. I tapped his shoulder to get his attention.
“So? What do you think about him?” Mila asked Sebastian. If it wasn’t so far-fetched, I might’ve thought she meant me.
“Dad always wanted a son who’d do whatever he said. Looks like he finally got one.”
“That’s what you think? Oh man, you’re way too bitter for your own good.”
“I admit he’s cute,” Sebastian added. “But didn’t you say you had a boyfriend, Mila?”
“Wow,” she scoffed.
“Come on. What am I supposed to think? He seems nice, sure, but I’ve barely talked to him.”
A tingle spread through my neck. So they were talking about me.
“Never mind. Sebastian’s in his own world again.”
“Hey. Don’t be a bitch.”
“Then don’t be a jerk, or I’ll start calling you Devin again like everyone else.”
Sebastian sighed, dragging his hands down his face. “Would you please enlighten me?” he asked in the softest voice.
“Obviously, someone has to,” Mila replied. “But it’s not going to be me. You have to talk to Alex yourself if you want to figure him out.”
The moment I heard my name, I glanced over and found Sebastian looking right back at me. I forced my gaze back to Dorian, only then realizing that he had already taken his candle and turned away.
Mila slammed her hand onto Sebastian’s shoulder, using it to push herself up from the bench.
“If you manage to figure it out, feel free to talk to me again. Otherwise, you owe me nine hundred dollars.” Without waiting for a response, she walked over to me.
Her expression shifted from annoyed to bright in seconds as she reached into the basket and picked out the third-to-last candle.
We smiled at each other, but didn’t say anything.
A second later, she moved on to her parents.
I clutched the basket until the willow creaked under the pressure of my hands. I loosened my grip and took in the remaining candles. There were two left, but there was only one person I hadn’t given one to.
The corner where Sebastian sat was the emptiest part of the room, almost as if there was an invisible line drawn around him, keeping everyone away. He tucked his hands under the table, elbows on his knees, lowering his face until it hovered only inches away from the tablecloth.
I stepped toward him. At first, only his eyes flicked in my direction, but as soon as I held the basket out, he sat up and grabbed one.
“Thanks,” he said, a little too sharply.
“No problem,” I replied, my voice cracking.
I cleared my throat and stared at the last candle, frowning.
Laura had told me they always prepared candles for every living family member, even if they weren’t there.
That explained the one for Sebastian. But why was there another one?
I turned in a slow circle, searching for the one person I must have missed.
“It’s for you,” Sebastian said, causing me to turn back to him. “Everyone here participates. It’s tradition. And we follow it without asking questions.”
It was strange. I had spent weeks helping with the preparations, and not once had Laura or Dany mentioned that I would take part in their tradition.
Sebastian lifted his right eyebrow. “First Draper family reunion?”
I nodded, glancing from him to the candle and back again, unsure what to do.
“If you want to back out, now’s your last chance. If you’re staying, sit.” He pointed to the bench in front of me. “I’ll walk you through it. We’re going to have to talk sooner or later anyway.”
I didn’t move a muscle. Maybe I should leave now.
After all, this wasn’t my family. Not to mention I’d never had anything like this with my own—except maybe my stepdad’s fiftieth birthday.
He had more siblings than I could count, and his parents were there, too.
I couldn’t connect with anyone, but Mom seemed so happy.
It had always just been the two of us and whatever boyfriend she had at the time.
That day, she finally had a real family, something she had always wanted.
Sebastian let out a breath. “You shouldn’t believe what the others say. I’m not a bad person. At least… not that bad.”
“I didn’t think you were.” I set the basket on the floor and sat down before I could second-guess it. If I wanted to get to know Sebastian, this was my chance. “I just wasn’t sure if it was okay for me to stay.”
“If my parents didn’t want you here, trust me, you wouldn’t be.”
“That’s not what I meant.” I pressed my thumb into the candle’s wrapping a few times, searching for the right words. “Family gatherings aren’t…” I shook my head. “Never mind.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not exactly thrilled to be here either.”
“Obviously.”
His head jerked back, but after a few seconds, his shoulders, which had been almost up to his ears, dropped a little.
“So, what do we do now?” I asked, turning the candle in my hands.
“Laura told me that your family started this about a hundred years ago or so, when your great-great-grandmother came to this country with nothing but the clothes on her back, twenty dollars, and your great-grandfather in her arms. I know you burn candles to wish everyone joy or something, but she didn’t explain how it actually works. ”
“It’s kind of a two-part thing.” Sebastian loosened the ribbon that held the clear wrapping paper together at the top, his eyes constantly searching for mine.