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A simultaneous “Hi!” greeted him before the boys turned their eyes back to the juggler on stilts. He was moving around the circle now handing out tickets to the circus show later in the day. Stepping forward eagerly to get their own tickets, the taller of the two by a smidge—Jake, he thought—asked,
“Can we go, Dad? Please?”
His brother joined in the chorus of pleading, and Jim relented. “I’ll text your mother and see if she’ll be fine for another couple of hours.”
He stepped away to send the message, leaving Noah standing with Jax, utterly at a loss for words. This was not like he had imagined their reunion would be in those early days after the breakup. There was no kissing, no strong hugs and tears of relief and happiness. There was only caution and a healthy dose of fear, intermixed with a powerful, reawakened need to return to the way things used to be.
“Are you enjoying the festival?” That was better. At least they could talk about what Jax liked for a minute before silence would swell between them again.
“It’s a great day out, sure,” Jax said, his eyes steadfast on Noah. “The boys are having a blast and their mother is loving the quietat home.”
Before he could say more, Jim came back. “Annie says it’s fine as long as we bring back dinnerfor her.”
“These boys won’t last until dinnertime. Maybe we need to feedthem now.”
Jim chuckled. “You aren’t wrong. So, Mr. Santiago, are you from around here?”
Noah felt his face heat up and ignored it. What did he have to be embarrassed about? “Noah, please. Yeah, kind of. My family moved up here when I was little, but I haven’t lived here since I went off to college more than ten years ago.”
Jim’s intelligent eyes lit up. “Ah! So, you know Good Eats, yeah? Care to join us for lunch?”
This hadn’t been in his plan, but Noah nodded anyway. What better way to ease back into an acquaintance with Jax than in the company of Jim and his sons who would help keep him out of his head and kill any awkwardness that might spring up between them? He had no way of knowing what Jax was thinking or if he was even interested in more than catching up, but it was probably for the best anyway, if they just tried to renew the friendship that they’d lost.
“Excellent!” Jim rubbed his hands together. “I already know what Annie will want. Jax, you’re in for a treat.” He turned to get his sons’ attention. “Come on, boys! We’re heading out for lunch.” He looked back in Jax’s direction. “We may have a bit of a wait if we don’t get there before the rush, but I promise it’ll beworth it.”
As predicted, there was a line of people waiting to get into the popular eatery when they got there. Jim went in to request seating for five outdoors and within minutes they were being led to the very last empty table, close to the sandy walkway that led down to the beach. The umbrella over the table gave some shade from the sun, but the heat was relentless. Only the breeze off the water made itbearable.
“So, Noah, are you a music teacher as well?” Jim’s eyes were curious as he looked across the table at Noah.
How to answer without going into details he wasn’t sure Jax wanted shared … that was the question. “I’m a professional of a different sort,” he began, choosing his words carefully. “I’ve played on Broadway and in a stringquartet.”
“Broadway! Wow! That’s impressive. Do you still work in New York City?”
That’s not the question you should be asking.Bile rose in Noah’s throat at the bitter emotion welling in his chest. “I…I’m on hiatus.” Which wasn’t a lie, exactly, though he knew Jax had noticed his hesitation. Hewastaking abreak, right? That he had no idea what he would do with the rest of his life because the accident had made it impossible for him to continue to play professionally was moot at this point.
“What’s your instrument?”
“I play violin professionally, but I also play piano.”
“I can imagine if you’re working every night all year long that your hands and arms need a break once ina while.”
Noah smiled. In a way, Jim was right. Violinists often suffered from nerve pain, carpal tunnel pain and other work-related injuries, and not just in their hands and arms. He had tried his best to take care of his body, but since the accident, he’d let his fitness routines lapse and despite the physical therapy he had had in the first few months after the accident, he knew he wasn’t in the best shape. Even if there was a chance that he could still play a sustained piece of music for any length of time in the future, he couldn’t do it now.
“Most folks don’t realize that,” he agreed, hoping the man would let the subject go.
Their server arrived just in the nick of time, and between settling his sons down and placing orders for them, his wife, and himself, he was distracted from further questions. Noah ordered his favorite childhood meal from the restaurant … a Johnny Marzetti with a side of Caesar salad.
While they waited for their food, Noah learned that Jax and Jim had known each other since they were kids, but had grown even closer when they’d ended up in the same college and Jax had come out as gay. Jax had never shared this story with him, and he felt a momentary prick of jealousy that Jim knew things about him that Noah didn’t.Don’t be an ass, hijo. There’s stuff he doesn’t know about you, either!
“Did you play in a marching band like Uncle Jax?”
Somethingelsehe didn’t know. How had he thought he loved a man he didn’t know such basic information about? Had it just been lust? After all, he hadn’t been quite twenty-one the first time he’d met Jax, and it wasn’t as though they’d had a torrid love affair. They had only been to bed twice before Jax called it off, and outside of that, they’d talked mostly about work and Noah’s life. He looked over at the boy waiting for his answer.
“No, I wasn’t that cool. I only played in my school’s orchestra.”
He had never been interested in the marching band, but the kid didn’t need to know that. Better to let him believe that Noah thought that band was cooler than orchestra if that would keep Jax as the cool uncle. But Jax’s sardonic chuckle washed over him like ocean waves on a summer day.
“Don’t let him fool you, Jake. The cool kids were all in orchestra, and theyknew it.”
