“Aren’t you going to ask why?”
“Why?” he asked obediently.
“So I can listen to you getting—oh—ah—hi,Alan!” I dropped my hand from Felix and stared at the door over his shoulder.
Felix quickly turned.
Alan stood in the doorway, looking from me to his father and back again. “D-Dad?”
“Come here,” Felix said.
Alan kept his eyes on me as he walked into the room.
My face was burning. I was probably as red as my hair. Not that I was embarrassed about wanting to date his dad—it was mostly that Alan had walked in on hearing me say something very inappropriateabouthis dad.
“Alan,” Felix began, voice low. “I guess it’s a good thing you came in.”
Alan’s mouth drew into a tight line and he listened in silence.
“I met your band director….Bowen, last Sunday.”
“Uh-huh…,” Alan muttered.
“It shouldn’t have taken me a week to figure out how to tell you,” Felix continued.
“You guys are sleeping together?”
“What?” I said suddenly. “No!”
“No,” Felix quickly answered, much calmer in his delivery.
“Not yet?” Alan corrected himself.
“Not… not… yet,” I managed to agree without my voice squeaking.
“So that date on Tuesday was myteacher?” Alan asked Felix, pointing at me.
“Yes,” Felix replied, nodding. “And I’m sorry I didn’t sit down and tell you that sooner.”
Alan didn’t say anything for a minute. He stared at the floor, scuffing the linoleum with the toe of his shoe. “Are you, like, officially dating?” he finally asked.
Felix and I looked at each other.
“I think—yes?” I answered.
Felix smiled and nodded.
“Is that okay?” I asked Alan.
He shrugged a shoulder. “I guess. But… did you do all those things for me because you liked my dad?”
“No,” I said firmly, shaking my head. “Absolutely not. I made those decisions based on your skills and performance. I didn’t even know who your father was when I decided to move you to first chair.”
That response was the first to make Alan crack a smile. “Okay,” he muttered.
“I invited Bowen to the orchard tomorrow,” Felix stated. “Do you want to come too?”
Alan shrugged again. “Sure.” He looked back up at me. “What am I supposed to call you?”
