Page 5
“Elodie.”
“Let’s do it, El-o-die.” He tries my name on like a jacket.
Ten weeks of him.
I’m so unbelievably screwed.
I cannot wait.
two
Two Days Later
By the grace of God, nobody in Piedmont Cafe seems to recognize me.
Hell, only one or two people on campus have given me a second glance.
It’s the freest I’ve felt in months.
No joke, I’m the oldest fucker around by thirty years. Easy.
The kid at the register made me tap my phone against a screen because they’ve quit taking cash. Apparently, paper money is from the ancient past. I hate those fucking kiosks. None of them work the same way. I managed to figure it out, but not without a bit of grumbling.
Out of habit, I arrived early to secure a seat in the back in case someone recognized me. So far, not one person has looked at me twice.
Huh.
Back home in Madison Park, I can’t drag the recycling to the curb without a neighbor doing the thing with their face. The sad, poor-Beau frown. I’ve had eighteen months of it and it’s exhausting.
In here I’m an old hipster guy with gray in his beard. In a sea of teenage undergrads, I couldn’t be more invisible and I love it.
My daughter signed me up for the class. Sat me down at the kitchen island a month ago and patched Theo in on speaker from his apartment in L.A. The two of them tough-loved the shit out of me. Told me flat out I had to get out of the house more before I vanished into it.
My kids were terrified of me continuing to lose myself in grief. I get it. I’ve spent over a year rattling around a twelve-thousand-square-foot house talking to my dead wife’s side of the bed. Billie found this class close-ish to the house. She reasoned, since I make my living writing songs, maybe this would be a little pick-me-up.
To be real, the truth is I said yes because she was crying. I’ve never been able to hold the line when one of my kids hurts. Besides, she went to all the trouble to register me. There was no reason not to try it out if it would make her feel better.
When Elodie sat next to me, it was the first time in decades I’d had an inkling of attraction to a woman other than Yolanda. They couldn’t be more physically different. My wife was tall, cool grace. This girl, with her messy chestnut waves, curvy pin-up vibe and whirlwind personality, somehow made me feel something for the first time since my wife died.
At first I thought her attempt at flirting with me was adorable, if misplaced. Then I realized she had no clue who I am, which made me feel equally ancient and relieved.
She’s too young to have real interest in me. Once I figured out there was no need to panic, I decided to play along. I haven’t been on tour in over two years, so a little female attention was the first thing to make me feel like a man since I buried Yolanda.
She asked to be partners for no reason other than she happened to sit in the open seat next to me. So, here we are. Having our first meeting for the assignment.
She’s late again. Hurriedly, she pushes through the door out of the rain. Shakes water off her denim jacket and the whole room amps up a few degrees warmer with her in it. She spots me in the back. Her face lights up, no guard anywhere on it. I chuckle. A younger, less-controlled version of me would be in real trouble.
Objectively, Elodie is gorgeous in a way I’m not used to. Freckles across her nose. Big brown eyes. A wide, wicked mouth. She’s small, with natural breasts most women in my world would’ve paid a plastic surgeon to double. A slight belly, round hips, and thick thighs straining her jeans. The thought of her naked makes me hard, especially wondering if the pussy between those thighs is every bit as lush as the rest of her.
When she smiles, open and guileless, I remember she’s twenty-one. Maybe twenty-two.
Young enough to make every filthy thought feel indictable.
She drops into the chair across from me, unwinding her scarf, already talking before she’s settled. “Okay. We have an hour. My poli-sci seminar is at four, so handle me with care.” She pulls a face. “Kidding. Ran out of feelings months ago. Ask around.”
My chest does something fluttery. I shut it down immediately. Remind myself my children are older than this girl, for fuck’s sake.
Yeah. There it is. Cold water, right when I need it.
