“You really want to come?” he asked.
“Sure,” I said.
“Okay.” A pause. “I’ll, um, pick you up in a few.”
It wasn’t like an actual date. But it wasn’t the loading dock at two a.m., either. And where else to let something play out than at an actual gig?
“Do you want me to stare at you adoringly?” I asked. “I mean, just so I know ahead of time.”
“I’m counting on it,” he replied. I smiled. “See you soon.”
Then he hung up. I was heading back to the porch when I heard someone say, “Hello? Anyone home?”
I turned: A man in a white button-down and khakis, holding a file folder, was standing at the screen door. “Hi,” I said. “Can I help you?”
“I’m looking for Kasey Woods? I’m from the Tides eco-design team.”
“She’s kind of tied up at the moment,” Lana told him as she walked up.
“Oh, that’s fine,” he assured us. “I’ll just take a quick look around the property, if that’s okay.”
At the table, my mom and her sisters were all studying their packets, while a man’s voice droned on about tax law. I looked at Lana, who shrugged. “Sure,” I said. “Go ahead.”
He brightened. “Thanks! I’ll try to be quick.”
With that, he turned and started down the stairs. As he crossed the grass, I heard another car crunching up the gravel. Nurse Geralin, arriving for her daily check-in.
“Who was that on the phone?” Lana asked.
“Ben,” I said. “He’s doing that gig at the Tides. I’m going with.”
She raised an eyebrow, appraising me. “Wait. Are you going with, orgoingwith?”
“Those are the same two words,” I pointed out.
“Shhh,” Liz said from the porch.
Lana gestured for me to follow her down the hall. We got to the door just as Geralin, today in green scrubs, came in. She gave us a wave as she passed.
“Don’t get me wrong. I’m all in favor of a rebound for you,” she said, once we were out on the porch. “Ben just isn’t the right person.”
“I’m only going for moral support,” I told her.
“Oh.” She leaned against the porch rail, brushing her hair from her face. “Okay, then. Good.”
Now, though, I had to ask. “Why not, though?”
“Hmmm?” Her eyes were on the water.
“Why wouldn’t Ben be the right person for me?”
She shrugged. “Lots of reasons. Again, you’re on the rebound. Which means whatever happens is temporary.”
“Not necessarily,” I said, then added, quickly, “I mean, I’m just saying.”
“Plus Ben’s just not a fling kind of guy,” she continued. “I cannot have you breaking his heart. Too messy.”
“I wouldn’t break his heart,” I said, offended.
