“And you?”
“Oh, I expect I’ll find someone one day. I’d like to have a kid or two. But I want a woman who loves living here. Who wants the same things I do, who will be content here in Smoky Hollow. Someone who puts family above all else. Not looking for fame or a fast lifestyle.”
“Nice, if you can get it,” she said.
“And if I don’t, I’m content with the way things are going now.”
“Except no kids.”
“There is that.”
She was silent for a moment. Trying to see into her own future. She had never met a man she wanted to spend her life with. Most of the men she dated were older, more patrons of the arts than looking for a wife.
In one case, she might have had a chance as a second wife. But Marshall had not made her heart flutter and after only a few dates they stopped seeing each other. She was young yet, she didn’t feel any urgency to get married. Now she wanted to explore more of the world before getting tied down to one man.
Looking away, she tried not to compare Kirk to those other men she’d dated. Or figure out how he could become the one. He and she would never make a couple. He lived here. Her life was in New York. And from the way he spoke of Alice, the thought of living in a big city never crossed his mind. He seemed to let her go easily enough. Had he really loved her? Had he been devastated when she left?
She’d never fantasized about getting married. Did she even want children? She’d never been much around them.
Yet, she enjoyed the encounters with Sam and Teresa Ann. And she liked looking at babies. How would it be to have a child, raise it up, teach it her values, teach it to appreciate music?
One thing for sure, she’d never pressure a child as she had been.
“You’re not married, anyone on the horizon?” he asked.
She shook her head.
“I haven’t dated much, except for musicians or men who love the symphony. That’s going to have to change. I don’t want nothing else in my life. I want variety and change and something different.”
Looking around at the diner, she smiled.
“This is different.”
“Not trendy like New York.”
“Maybe not, but still very nice. Everyone seems to know everyone. That’s definitely different from New York. I like it.”
When the waitress brought their burgers, fries and sodas, Angelica ate with relish. She didn’t have to rush through meals in order to make an appointment or a rehearsal. She could eat what she wanted, enjoy every mouthful.
Then take her time deciding what to do next.
“These are great,” she said a few minutes later.
“Different. Variety,” he said.
She grinned. “Right you are.”
After lunch they drove to the store so she could pick up a few items. The two old men sat in the rockers.
“Afternoon, Miss Cannon,” one said.
“Good afternoon. What’s happened around here today?” she asked, pausing on the porch.
The men gave her an update of who had been shopping that morning, who was at the library and the rumors that were going around about her playing at the festival.
“I might just do that,” she said. “I’ve been practicing,” she confided, leaning closer as if conveying a secret.
“Do tell, what will you play?”
