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“I love it. Sounds like the kind of place that Cal would have loved,” his mom said.
“I agree. She reminds me a bit of Cal,” he said. They had never talked about his brother after his death and as reluctant as he was to trigger his mom’s depression as it sometimes did, he wanted to be able to talk about Cal. It was as if Cal had never existed at times when he was with his parents.
“In what way?” his dad asked.
“That energy he had and she wants to help everyone,” Max said, thinking about the connection for the first time as he spoke to his parents. “She has a huge family, so her support network is huge.”
“Unlike ours,” Mom said.
“In a way. We have our own support network,” Max said though he knew he didn’t believe it.
“I guess we do. Sometimes. I know I haven’t really been here for you in the last few years,” Mom said. “I just needed time.”
“I did too,” Max said. “I could use your help with a project if you’re interested.”
She sat up a little straighter and nodded at him. “I could use something to do.”
He told her about Sox and the work that Reg was doing. His mom was really good at putting on gala events and raising money. But she also had a lot of connections in the art world. She’d been the muse of Vlad Dominsky—a popular modern artist—when she was sixteen. Vlad was in his seventies then. His mom had loved the world that Vlad had introduced her to and still had many connections.
“I’ll get to work. Maybe a New Year’s Eve soiree…would it be here?”
“I think so. She’s reluctant to travel. That might be too soon for her mural to be finished,” Max said.
“We can talk details in the morning. I’m so excited to get started on this project,” she said. “I’m going to call it a night. Can you show me to our room?”
“I can.”
After his parents were in their room he headed to his. The room bore traces of Angelica and it made him miss her. Tonight had been unexpected.
*
Angelica told herselfshe wasn’t waiting to see if he’d text after midnight as had been their habit but she kept her phone in her hand and when it vibrated, she was almost scared at how happy it made her. She felt like things were weird between them and really had no idea how to fix it. When she hadn’t known she loved him the stakes hadn’t been so high. She could be bluntly honest and not worry about the consequences but that was no longer the case.
She glanced down and felt a thrill in the pit of her stomach that the text was from Max.
Max:If you’re awake, can you talk?
Angelica:I am. FaceTime?
She fumbled for her AirPods in case he said yes. The walls in the town house were thick so she didn’t think that Cosima would be able to hear them but she liked the low timbre of his voice and how it sounded in her ear.
Instead of texting back he just called. She answered the phone realizing that she was in a pool of light from the bedside lamp. He was in his bed as well with just the illumination of a lamp. He didn’t have a shirt on as was his habit and she wished that she were with him, cuddled up against him, talking.
“Hi,” she said softly, not really sure where to start. Jock had opened her eyes to some of the things that Max may have been going through and she wanted to let him know that, but there was really no way.
“Hi yourself,” he said. “So…sorry for the way I left.”
“It’s okay. Your parents were en route and you said several times you had to get home. Sorry I made it awkward.”
He rubbed his hand on his chest and her own palm tingled, remembering the feel of his springy hair against it. “It’s okay and you didn’t. My parents just make me tense.”
She curled on her side so she could rest her phone against the other pillow and not have to hold it. “I think I was picking up on that. Honestly, I was worried about you and wanted to be there in case you needed me.”
“I appreciate that. Actually I had a really good chat with them. I think in some way that’s down to your relationship with your parents,” he said.
“How do you mean?” she asked, tucking her hair behind her ear and pulling her fleece blanket closer over her shoulder to ward off the chill of the night.
“I always see my parents in the role I’ve given them, I haven’t gotten to know them very well at all. But when I was talking with your dad tonight, I realized that he saw me as a peer…now I sound silly. Never mind.”
