Page 83 of More To Us

He nods. "You're a good young man. A hard worker." He looks at Kira. "You should keep him around. A boy like that is hard to find."

"It's true," June chimes in.

Kira just smiles and eats her brownie.

"So what do your kids do for a living?" I ask. June mentioned them earlier but didn't say what they did.

Harold answers. "Our daughter, Nancy, is a nurse, and Paul, our son..." He shakes his head. "He used to work in music."

June lowers her voice like she's telling us a secret. "Paul got mixed up in the wrong crowd. Got himself in trouble with drugs. He's not into that anymore but it cost him his job."

"Still lives in Los Angeles though." Harold coughs. "Don't know why he lives there. Costs a fortune."

"Was he a musician?" I'm not sure if I should be asking since their son seems to be a sensitive topic, but I'm curious.

"He started out as a drummer," June says, "but couldn't make a living, so he got a job at a record label and worked his way up to the top."

"Had one of them corner offices for a while," Harold says. "He did well for himself, then lost it all." He shakes his head again.

"Austin's a musician," Kira says. "He plays the guitar. He's in a band."

"It's just me and two guys," I say. June and Harold look at each other, then back at me, and from their wary expressions, I get what they're thinking. "I don't do drugs. The other guys don't either. That was a rule when we formed the band."

Harold points at me. "I knew I liked you, kid."

"So does your band play much?" June asks.

"Yeah. We play almost every weekend and sometimes during the week."

"They're really popular," Kira says. "People love their music. And Austin is awesome on the guitar."

I smile at her because she's only heard me play one song.

"Have you tried to get a record deal?" June asks.

I laugh. "No. We're not that popular. We just play here in Chicago."

"Paul still has friends in the business," she says. "He could give you some names. Or maybe he could give you some advice."

"He doesn't want to be in that industry," Harold says. "It's corrupt. All drugs and criminals. You saw what it did to Paul."

"Oh, Harold, it can't all be bad." She gets up from the table. "I'll give you Paul's number. Tell him you might be calling."

She leaves, then returns with a piece of paper with her son's name and number on it. I wonder if this guy really was high up in the music industry or if she was exaggerating. I guess I could just call him. Like she said, he might be able to give me some advice about my music.

Kira helps June with the dishes while I go back outside and work on the tree. The fallen branches are making a mess of the lawn so Kira comes out and starts dragging them to the curb for the city to pick up. Then she rakes up the leaves.

At four-thirty, we're finally done. Harold and June thank us and June sends us home with a container of brownies.

"I'm exhausted," Kira says as I'm driving to her apartment.

"Because you worked your ass off. You worked harder than I did, dragging all those branches and doing all that raking."

"I really need a shower. And then I need a nap."

"I'll stop and get you something to eat. Then you won't have to worry about dinner. What do you want?"

"A burger and fries. I don't want to eat healthy right now."

I stop at a drive-through, then drop her off. "Pick you up at eight?"

"Yeah. See you then." She runs into her apartment building before I can kiss her. She told me she didn't want me getting near her because she was too sweaty, but I don't care. I would've kissed her anyway.

Today didn't turn out like I thought it would, but it ended up being good. I saw yet another side of Kira. The caring and generous side that makes me like her even more.

I can really see this going somewhere, lasting more than a few weeks or a few months. This thing with Kira could get serious. The only problem is, I'm not sure I'm ready for that.

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