Page 32 of The Art of Us

The next song, “Checkmate,” was more of a breakup ballad. Asha had written it when her last boyfriend ended things with her. Even though they were playing mostly love songs in honor of the holiday, this one still felt like a love song. It had a hauntingquality to it that most people liked, and Asha and Kal sang it as a duet. He worried his thoughts might spill out into the lyrics as he sang, but he forced himself to focus. Asha’s clear voice wove with his. The words tasted like salt and sugar fighting for space on his tongue. Through a lens of relationships, more specifically of his relationship with Ireland, the song’s deeper meaning burrowed its way into his soul.

Our pieces chase each other on the black-and-white-checked board

A violent sea between us, our moves tallied, each one scored

The game is silent subterfuge. Am I the queen? Am I the pawn?

No. Don’t tell. I’ll know the truth when one of us is gone

Gray shadows mock the two of us, more than hinting at our fate

How my marble heart will sink at the inevitable checkmate

Kal didn’t love singing about breakups when it felt like he was in the middle of one. Of course, they hadn’t really been together, so how could they be breaking up?

You are ridiculous.But he didn’t have time to think about it since the band finished “Checkmate” and was shifting gears into the energy needed for their last number.

The rolling force of the song “Cry Free!” swept him up along with it, reaching tsunami heights that felt like it all crashed down when Ireland opened the door and entered the restaurant.

She sat down at the table they’d sat at before. The pizzas were out and waiting for them already, but she didn’t reach to take any. Had she already eaten? Was she okay with the new living arrangement? She had to be, right? She had to be happier with the idea of being safe.

Kal tried to check the temperature of her emotional well-being,but she didn’t make eye contact with him. Was she mad? Maybe. But if she was mad at him, would she have bothered to show up for their date? He’d almost kissed her earlier, and now he realized that he might have missed the chance forever.

“I am free!” The crowd shouted with the band, making up for the fact that Kal’s voice faltered. He steeled himself against the anxiety that swelled in his stomach so he could finish the song. When the last shout of “I am free!” filled the room, the crowd erupted with cheers and applause. Kal rolled his head to stretch out the tension in his neck muscles and tried to smile and wave at the audience. He thanked everyone for coming to hear them play and invited them back for Saturday. He put his guitar in its case, hopped off the stage, and hurried to join Ireland at the table.

“You made it!” He tried to sound cheerful. Could she tell that he was forcing it? He’d never been a very good liar.

“Yeah. I uh ... I made it.” Ireland avoided eye contact as if he were Medusa and she’d turn to stone if their gazes met.

Kal lowered his voice to keep Asha and Bailey, who were just now joining them, from overhearing. “You okay?”

“Yeah. I’m okay. Are you done for the night?”

He bent his head to try to force her to look at him. “Yeah. We’re done. Want to get out of here?” Cooper had bailed as soon as the set was over so he could meet his other friends wherever they were partying for the night.

“And go where?” she asked.

He shrugged, even though she wasn’t looking and couldn’t see. “Wherever you want.”

“I have to be back by eleven.”

She spat those words with fiery fury. His blood pressure spiked.

“Me too.” It wasn’t true exactly. His mom liked him homeearlier, but she gave him until midnight when he played with the band.

“We can stay here.”

So they stayed. Not because he wanted to. He wanted to be alone with her so they could talk, so she could tell him everything that had happened. No way could he try to coax information out of her with everyone at the table.

Kal could almost hear time ticking down on the vintage Coca-Cola clock on the wall, each tick of the minute hand taking them closer to eleven. Asha and Ireland talked about the mural and their favorite things that other people had added to it. Bailey ate pizza and scrolled through her phone. He just sat there, trying to figure out what to say or do. “I better go,” Ireland said, checking the time on her own phone, even though Kal felt certain she’d been sneaking glances at the Coca-Cola clock too.

He stood. “Okay. I’ll take you home.”

She opened her mouth with a look that made him brace himself to be told by her, yet again, that she didn’t need a ride home. But she just said, “Thanks. I appreciate it. See you around, guys.” She nodded to Bailey and Asha.

Kal scrambled to gather his gear so that Ireland didn’t take off without him. Since she’d done it before, he didn’t think he was being paranoid to worry. Once they were outside and loaded into his car, he started it and flicked the seat heaters on since the night was stupid cold and Ireland was already rubbing her hands together to warm them up.

“Where to?” he asked. This was the moment he would find out what happened. He would know where she now lived. She would tell him where she had been living. She would tell him how she got there. She would trust him. She would tell him everything.

---