Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6
I t was an accident, she didn’t mean for her hand to brush his, but she managed at the last fraction of a second to not yank her hand away. She hadn’t meant to touch him, but… It felt…interesting.
“That thing looks heavy,” he said, acting like he hadn’t noticed, and she appreciated that. It wasn’t like she was trying to grab his hand or anything.
“It is. It’s the one con to playing the cello.”
“I’d forgotten how well you played. I really enjoyed listening to you this evening.”
She almost said, “I really enjoyed watching you dance this evening,” but clamped her mouth closed just in time. Goodness, that would have been embarrassing.
“Thanks. I love doing it. It’s not something I always get a whole lot of opportunities to do, but I sometimes sit in our B&B and play for breakfast or even in the afternoon when Mom’s manning the desk.”
“Is it just you and your mom, now?”
“It is.”
She could have elaborated. Could have said that since their dad left, they barely squeaked by, but she didn’t want to be doom and gloom, and it really wasn’t bad. They were paying their bills and making a little money. She wasn’t going to be going on any luxury vacations any time soon, but she didn’t really want to. She loved where she was and what she did, and she didn’t want to change.
“I know my parents would like me to come back and take over the family business, but… Do you enjoy working with your mom?”
“For the most part.” She laughed. “Goodness, sometimes we’re at each other’s throats, and I swear if we had weapons, we’d hurt each other with them, but most of the time, I wouldn’t trade it for anything. I’m so glad I have the opportunity to do that. I’ve been so blessed in my life. It’s not everyone who gets to hang out with the best mom in the world.”
“Really? You think your mom is the best mom in the world?”
“Is that too…preschooler? Yeah, I love her. She’s fun and funny, and I can go to her any time and ask for advice. She always has time to talk to me. It doesn’t matter how busy she is or how many things she has scheduled with someone else. If I need something, she makes time, and it doesn’t seem like she’s making time, it’s like she wants to talk to me. She’s always been like that. Even when I was in kindergarten and the thing I wanted to talk to her about was the fact that the teacher made my desk crooked and I couldn’t get it straight.”
“Oh. You’re one of those.” He laughed.
“I’ve been working on that. I’ve gotten a lot better. I am not quite so?—”
“OCD?”
“I was a little OCD, wasn’t I?”
“A little. I think that’s why the home ec teacher left us alone.”
She took a breath. She wasn’t expecting to go there. “Yeah.”
“Sorry. If that’s a bad memory for you. I didn’t mean to bring it up. I… I guess I’ve gotten over it. And I kind of have fond thoughts about it, although I regret that…”
“Yeah?” she prompted, trying not to hold her breath. What did he regret?
“I guess I just regret that we never got to move forward, to…see how things might go between us.”
He kind of spoke slowly, like he was a little unsure about what he was saying.
“I can carry that if you want me to,” he said, nodding at her cello, and maybe that was him changing the subject in case she wanted to.
“It’s okay. I’m used to how much it weighs. It hardly feels like anything anymore.”
“I feel like I’m not being very manly if I’m walking along with you and I’m not carrying anything, and you’re hauling that heavy thing around. So, if you want to give it to me, it’ll help me keep my manly image.”
“We wouldn’t want to tarnish your manly image,” she said, handing the cello over, and he took it from her.
“I regretted that too,” she said, referring back to their earlier conversation where he’d said he regretted they never had a chance to take what they had any further.
There were a few flurries of snow in the air, which gave her the idea that the temps had fallen below freezing. Not uncommon up on the mountain like they were.
Any snow that they got would be gone by morning, if it stayed around at all. But it made evenings and mornings beautiful at times.
“You’re not married,” he said, and her heart did that flutter thing again, only harder.
“No. I… I guess I was hooked on you for a while, and then I was working hard at our B&B, and then Dad left, and…”
“I never dated much either. I always liked your smile. There was something about it.”
“It was your character that drew me,” she said, laughing, and he joined her. Like she had one-upped him by looking at something that was not as superficial as a smile.
“You had character as well, and maybe I was a little bit mesmerized by that OCD that you had.”
“I think you just liked me because I was the teacher’s pet.”
“I wouldn’t have had time alone with you if you hadn’t been.”
They were just a block from the B&B, and Tris wished that they still had another mile to go. She enjoyed talking to him. She’d forgotten how easy he had been to chat with.
They had never really dated, although they spent a lot of time in school talking. They’d been seated beside each other in study hall and had ended up eating lunch together and even walking the halls together, always having something to say, but it had never really developed into anything. And she wasn’t sure whether it was because of her or Fisher.
“Why didn’t you ever ask me out?” she asked, thinking she probably shouldn’t have asked that question, because she might not like his answer.
He seemed thoughtful, and he took a few steps before he answered. “I’m not sure. I guess I just really liked the way things were. Maybe that’s why I felt like I needed to go to the city. Because sometimes I just get too content in my life, you know?”
She didn’t say anything to that. She didn’t know what to say. It didn’t sound like he liked her very much. Except… He admitted that he’d never been that interested in anyone else.
“Maybe I didn’t realize what I had. But I suppose my parents were big on the whole don’t ruin your life by getting involved with the girl now, you want to wait until you go to school and are settled in your job and secure, and then you can think about girls.” He laughed. “Now, like your mom, every girl I see they’re practically trying to set me up with. Although, they’ve never set me up with a fire hydrant. ”
“Oh, that’s just me then?” she said, laughing with him at the way he had referenced her earlier joke.
They reached the door of the B&B, and he opened it for her, allowing her to walk in first before struggling to get in with her cello.
“This makes things awkward,” he said as he managed to get in, only bumping it lightly once. “Sorry about that.”
“Not a big deal. Trust me, I’ve done it before. And you get used to it. Eventually you figure out how to swing it so that you’re not banging it into things, but it does take a little bit of technique.”
“Thanks for great musical entertainment this evening,” he said. “And thanks even more for a really nice walk home. I enjoyed it. Actually, I wouldn’t have minded if it had been a little bit longer.”
She chuckled. “I was thinking the same thing. About wanting the walk to be longer, not about great musical entertainment.” Awkward! She wanted to put her head in her hands, but she managed to smile and nod as he said good night, and then she also managed to not watch him walk the entire way to the hall but turned and saw her mother sitting at the reception desk.
“Was that the boy you started the fire with?” she asked, like she was digging up ancient secrets.
“The very one,” she said.
“You always glowed when you were around him. And you still do.”
“I’m not glowing, Mom. We’re just chatting. He works in Richmond, and he’s not interested in moving back to Mistletoe Meadows.” She took her cello and put it behind the piano where she kept it when she wasn’t playing it.
“Your dad flipped out about that, but I was inclined to give you a break, since you had never done anything terrible before.”
“I didn’t notice that you were inclined to give me a break.” She wasn’t bitter anymore, and while she was a little nostalgic about the past, she didn’t hold it against her parents. They had done everything they could to ensure that she had the best childhood possible, and they only did what they did because they loved her.
At least her mom. She wasn’t sure about her dad. He had left and didn’t seem to want to talk whenever she called.
“Isn’t it about time for you to close up?” she asked as she walked over to the desk and leaned on it. “Are we waiting for someone? Do you want me to sit here?”
“No. I was just waiting for you to come in. Everyone who is supposed to be here is here, and it’s after eleven, so I’m sure we’re not going to be getting any more guests this evening.”
“So you’re going to bed?” she asked, looking at her mom, noting the deepening crow’s-feet around her eyes, the sagging skin, the graying hair, but the same kind, wise, loving eyes. The same smile that was easy and quick. The same joy that seemed to radiate out of her without her having to do anything, and the same steadfast faith that her mom had always had and that Tris wanted to have one day as well.
“I am,” her mom said. She powered down the computer and straightened up the already neat desk.
“All right then. I’m going to bed too. I love you.”
“I love you too, kiddo,” her mom said as Tris leaned over the counter and gave her a hug, and then walked slowly to her room.
She’d walked home with Fisher Ames this evening. The first time she’d talked to him since before high school graduation, and… It had been very, very nice. Too bad he wasn’t staying in town.