“He’s your someone,” I finish for him and smile as I remember telling Angie I can be her someone.
“Yeah,” he whispers. “You and Angie look happy.”
“We’re in a good place. She works harder every day to be happy and I want that for her.”
“That sounds like love,” Carter says and dries off the salad bowl that I hand him.
I wash my hands and dry them off, turning to him I cross my arms over my chest. “Well, it’s more than like I can tell you that. But I don’t know if we’re at the love stage yet.”
“I mean, you two aren’t in a rush or anything, are you?”
“To get married and have kids?” I ask, and Carter nods. “No. We actually talked about it. I know I don’t want kids. Angie says she doesn’t want kids, but she’s still young and might change her mind.”
“Would you be okay with that? If one day she wanted kids and you’re still firm on the idea that you don’t want them?” Carter asks and folds the dish towel in half and sets it on the counter.
“She brings a lot to my life. I see music now where before all I saw were numbers and games. And I’m slowly immersing myself into her world at the TapHouse. So if kids are what she wants one day, then I’ll give them to her.”
Carter pushes off the counter with a laugh and pats me on the shoulder. “Hate to break it to you, buddy, but you’re way more than “in like” with her.”
I watch him leave the kitchen with a scowl on my face. The exuberant greeting from the living room reaches my ear. But I have to wonder if I am in love with her and not just in like with Angie. I get to work on wiping down the counters and the stove as I think. I’m a numbers guy who loves equations, but is there a formula that lets you know when you’ve fallen in love at the moment you’ve gotten an answer for the equation?
Leaving the kitchen cleaner than it was, I join them in the living room and drop on the couch next to Angie. She immediately leans into me and I wonder if this is a good day for her. Despite her parents coming home, I wonder if today is a day that’s stayed high.
“What were you two talking about?” I ask, referring to her and Miles.
“Angie’s dream of opening a piano bar. I told her I think it’s a great idea and I’d very much love to be a silent investor.Philly needs more music,” Miles says and pulls Carter into his side.
“Really?” I ask, turning to her.
“B, it’s still just a dream. When I graduate I’ll get more serious about it,” she reassures me.
“I have faith in you,” Miles tells her. I like that they’ve quickly bonded. Carter and I share a look from across the room and I can tell that he likes it too.
When I hung out with James and Emily, they always did their best not to make me feel like the third wheel. Naturally, it would happen because they were a couple. But other times, the roles would reverse, and depending on the day, James or Emily would be the third wheel. At the time, I wished for a significant other so those roles would stay set. But when James died, I threw out my wish and wished for nothing. I did, however, wish for happiness; I didn’t wish for pain. And watching Emily go through that and watching my family crumble, I equated wishing for love to pain. Then Angie came along, and my wish came back. I no longer equate love with pain.
“Thank you.”
The rest of our time together revolves around Miles and Carter, particularly how they plan to navigate when the season starts back up and Miles is on the road. And getting Angie more excited about the possibility of opening a piano bar. I know she can do it, but I need her to believe it, too.
“That was fun,”Angie says when I come to sit back on the couch with her after seeing Cater and Miles off.
“It was. I like Miles.”
“Me too. I’m still shocked that he was here.”
“Yeah. And that Carter is dating a professional basketball player,” I joke.
Angie adjusts and takes her boots off, then gets more comfortable next to me. “You’re gonna give him so much crap, aren’t you?”
“Of course. What are friends for?” I tease and then sober up as I turn to face her. “How are you?”
She props her arm on the back of the couch and rests her head on her closed fist. “Today’s a good day. I’m strangely having more of them lately that I’m terrified of jinxing myself.”
“Understandable. I was worried with your parents popping back in that it would derail you? I don’t know if that’s the right word.”
“To be honest,” she lets out a heavy sigh as her eyes ping pong around the living room, “I still don’t know how I’m feeling about them coming home. I think I’m compartmentalizing and saving that worry for another day.”
I nod, letting her words settle into the room. “And where are you at with the piano bar?”
