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“Call me Tom.” His dad took my hand in both of his and shook it.
“It’s nice to see you again, Tom,” I said.
Collin took a step back. “And this is my older brother, Bob.”
“Hi, Bob.” I noted his upturned gray eyes and misshapen ears. I also noticed he was carrying a large two-inch-thick reference book. I read the title and asked, “Do you like birds?”
“I love them.” Bob nodded excitedly. “Do you?”
“Sure, but I like butterflies more.”
“Oh.” His ears twitched, his disappointment was obvious. “I guess butterflies are okay. Why do you like them?”
“Because they’re pretty and look beautiful floating through the air.” I glanced at Collin, finding he was watching me closely. They all were, so I gave them more. “Butterflies dance in the air like how music makes me feel.”
No one in Collin’s family asked me about my cheek that bore the red imprint of my mother’s hand. They were welcoming, friendly, and seemed genuinely interested in me, even his brother.
We moved to their dining room, just to the left of the small entryway. A glossy table dwarfed the space, not cluttered with empty liquor bottles and overdue bills like the one back in my apartment.
Taking a seat in the chair Collin pulled out for me, I was in a bit of a daze. His nice house, his family, the way they interacted, it was like I’d stepped into an all-new and unfamiliar world, sort of like I saw in sitcoms on TV.
Instead of yelling and snide remarks, there were sincere inquiries about one another’s days. Collin asked his dad if he’d gotten the foreman promotion. Tom said he had. Collin’s mom asked Bob if he liked the new teacher’s aide at his school. Bob said he did.
Collin took a seat beside me. His family filled the other spots at the table, his dad was on one end and his mother the other. Bob sat across from us. There was only one empty chair at the table.
But the tabletop wasn’t empty. It was filled with platters overflowing with food. Everyone began passing around the different dishes. Collin passed me the mashed potatoes. Grabbing the spoon, I put a big dollop on my plate and passed the platter on.
“How did your meeting go with Mr. Skellin?” Tom asked, making eye contact with Collin.
“It went well.” Collin looked at me. This was news to me. Good news.
“Did we get a gig?” I asked, and he nodded.
“Yes. Because Andy and I did so well as openers, he’s putting ABCR on Tuesday night as headliners without us even having to try out.”
“Tuesday isn’t a very popular club night,” I said.
“No.” He forked a couple of slices of roast onto his plate. “But if we do well, we’ll get moved to a better night.” He passed me the meat platter. “We have to start somewhere, right?”
Collin was right. He was basically saying the same thing I’d said earlier to Rachel.
I nodded my agreement and filled up my plate. After staring a moment at the glazed carrots, mashed potatoes, and succulent-looking roast, I glanced around at everyone at the table. It occurred to me that it wasn’t only our plates that were full. It was this room. This house. This was what a family was supposed to be.
It was moving to be included, even if only for a little while. I reached for my glass of water and swallowed deeply to clear the emotion tightening my throat.
“We need to come up with a set list,” I said, catching Collin’s eye.
“We do.” He nodded and forked a huge bite of meat.
“We should call Andy tonight.” There was no time to waste. “Make up posters tomorrow to give out at school. We need to decide what you guys are going to wear.”
“It can probably wait until I take you home.” A grin tugged at Collin’s mouth. “We can get Rachel’s input. For now, I think my parents want to visit with you some more.”
“Right, of course.”
But I was afraid they might ask me about my home situation. How welcome would I be once they found out about that?
In the glow beneath the chandelier, I’d noticed his parents looking at me and exchanging frowns. One side of my face throbbed. What was obvious, they’d want to confirm.
