“Forty-two acres.”
“Holy hell. That’s a lot of lawn mowing in the summer.”
“And my groundkeepers are worth every penny,” Felix confirmed. “Otherwise I’d be out here night and day.” He glanced over his shoulder at Alan, who’d fallen behind us as he tried to type and walk at the same time. “You okay?” he called.
“I’m reading,” Alan muttered.
Felix shook his head. “All things considered, I lucked out on the teenager lottery. He doesn’t talk back or sneak out, helps at the orchard in the summertime, comes home and does his homework every night….”
“He’s a good kid,” I confirmed. “I really like him.”
“You have no idea how happy that makes me,” Felix answered. “Alan… he’s my entire world. He comes first, always.”
I reached out to put an arm around Felix’s waist, pulling him into a sideways embrace. “I do hope you’ll allow yourself to be first now and then.”
Felix stared at me. “I think… I can do that.”
I slid my gloved hand into Felix’s as we started down the hill.
Alan caught up as we reached the base, dodging in front to cut us off. He held up his phone. “Is this really a thing?”
“It’s a thing,” I confirmed.
He looked down at the screen, swiping with his finger. “But like—I don’t get it. People can taste sounds or smell colors?”
“And some see sound,” I said. “Sound-to-color synesthesia.”
“That’s fucking wild,” Alan murmured.
“Language,” Felix and I said at once.
Alan gave us a brief, annoyed look. “This article says perfect pitch can be obtained for some synesthetics because they can see the notes.”
“That’s right.”
“So, do you see, like… all music?” he asked, tucking his phone away.
“Yeah.”
“Does it ever get annoying?”
“Sometimes. It looks like fireworks.”
“What’s your favorite?”
I chuckled and followed Felix as he motioned for us to enter a row of trees. “I like all music. Classical has the prettiest colors, but blues is the only music that behaves differently.”
“Does everything in the world make color? What about banging on pots and pans?” Alan asked next.
“Some synesthetics see color from everyday noise, but not me. Thank God. I’d probably have gone insane.”
“What about when people talk?”
“That I do see.”
“What? Really? What color are you?”
“I don’t have one.”
