“That was me. You heard me playing the music.” He seemed excited and reserved at the same time. “That’s great.”
“Yeah, it is,” Waverleigh agreed.
“That makes me feel good,” he stated.
“I’m glad. Now about your family?”
He laughed. “Okay. I’ve got a sister and a brother who are both married with kids of their own. My brother and his wife have seven kids, and my sister and her husband have three kids, two of which are twins.”
“Seven kids? That’s awesome. I love that you come from a big family. Apparently, this loneliness that I feel is something I have to grow accustomed to,” I stated in a somber tone.
“Or enjoy the fact that you don’t have to remember lots of birthdays or buy plenty of gifts for Christmas,” Deuce teased.
Waverleigh and I laughed. “I guess. But still, it has to be nice and not so lonely. I would like to marry and have lots of kids one day.”
Waverleigh looked at me somberly and then smiled, but it didn’t reach her eyes. I closed my eyes for a while before I popped them open again.
“So, you’re not married, Deuce?”
“No. I’m not.” He had the same somber look that Waverleigh wore only moments before.
“Do you ever want to be married? Have you ever been married?”
“No, I haven’t been married before, but I think that someday I would like to be married. Need to be in fact.”
“Why is that?”
“Just because of my beliefs. Besides, coming from a large family, I would want to have one of my own one day. I don’t want to be single or without children. I’m getting older, and I definitely want to have kids before I’m too old to play with them, or I’m attending their little league games, school conferences, and graduations on a cane.”
I laughed so hard at that. “Please try that with someone else. You’re way too handsome and young looking to be talking about walking around on a cane any time soon. I’m sure you have plenty of time to have children. How old are you?”
“Thirty-seven.”
“You look good for an old man. I thought you were ten years younger,” I teased.
“Old man?” He choked on his laughter.
“Still handsome.”
“Oh, you think that I’m handsome, huh? I think you’re beautiful, gorgeous,” he teased me.
“Yeah, I caught that, too, Deuce. Look at you flirting with the man,” Waverleigh stated and winked.
My cheeks felt warm as Waverleigh stood and grabbed her purse.
“I’m not flirting. I don’t even think I know how,” I replied in embarrassment.
“You were doing just fine right then, my friend.”
“You’re leaving?” Panic filled me at the thought of being alone. I wasn’t sure that I was ready to be alone with Deuce after that little exchange.
Waverleigh leaned down and kissed my forehead. “I’ve got to head out. My shift starts in fifteen minutes, and I need to do a couple of things before I head downstairs.”
“Which floor do you work on?” I asked.
“Downstairs on the fifth floor.”
“Okay. Would you stop by to see me before you leave?” I asked.
