“There’s something very wrong with you,” I joke. “The mansions alone would make me ecstatic. Like, smile so hard I break my face.”
“Fame is a cage and money doesn’t matter.”
“Only someone with money would say that.”
He laughs.
“It’s true, though.”
“Oh, I know.” He downs some more beer, then stares off at nothing down the shadowy length of the river. “There wasn’t much of the stuff around when I was growing up. Mom workedhard to make sure we always had what we needed. But wanting things was a luxury we couldn’t afford, you know?”
“She sounds like a good mom.”
“She was a great mom.” And he says no more on the topic.
“Are you close with your sibling?”
He jerks his chin. It’s a definite no. And given his demeanor, he doesn’t want to talk about it.
Which is when something else occurs to me. “I haven’t seen or heard a guitar.”
“It’s still in the Jeep.”
“If it’s worth so much money, should you bring it into the house just to be safe?”
He frowns. From the idea of theft or due to the instrument being a reminder of his music career, I don’t know.
The first star has appeared high up in the sky. I tip my head back and say, “Star light, star bright, first star I see tonight. Wish I may, wish I might, have the wish I wish tonight.”
“What’d you wish for?”
“I can’t tell you that.”
“How about I trade mine for yours,” he teases.
I take another sip of beer and shake my head.
“So mysterious,” he says. “You know, I’ve smiled more here with you and Audrey than I have in years. I can be alone here, like I was working in the garden the last few hours, but it doesn’t feel lonely for some reason.”
“Good,” I say simply.
We sit in silence, watching the fireflies and listening to an owl hooting somewhere nearby. I need to record the soft sound of the water flowing to play when I can’t sleep. It’s so soothing. Or maybe I just want to hear Nash talking about things.
Then he whispers, “I wished Audrey would lose her stick.”
And I laugh.
Grandma doesn’t come home until after ten. I’m seated at the table on the back deck doing some work. The money I need to fix my car isn’t going to make itself and it’s too beautiful a night to be inside.
“Have fun?” I ask.
“The local drag queens always make bingo fun. You should come with me sometime.” She smiles. “Has our guest gone out?”
I shake my head. “He went to bed a while back.”
“The gardening wore him out. Good. He needs to keep his hands busy to get out of his own head sometimes.”
“Overthinking can be a curse.”
