Page 19 of Up All Night

My mom nodded and thankfully didn’t keep going. She had finished her piece of cheesecake and was now letting Juju lick the crumbs from her plate.

“What about you, Cannon?” my dad asked. “Do you have a special lady who’s caught your eye?”

Cannon smiled, already putting on the charm. “There are lots of women who catch my eye, but I haven’t met that special someone quite yet. Keeping my options open for now, taking my time to meet different women to make sure I find the right one for me.”

My dad laughed and slapped Cannon on the shoulder. “That a boy. It’s good to date around and make sure you’ve found the right one.”

It wasn’t lost on me that my dad was congratulating Cannon on taking his time to ‘settle down.’ I stabbed my cheesecake with my fork. Too bad his own son couldn’t do that.

“Heaven knows Victor did his fair share ofdating around,” my mom said over the rim of her wine glass before taking a sip.

My dad was quick to defend himself. “Now Rose, you know that I really wanted you, but you had thathippie boyfriendfor so long it drove me crazy. As soon as you two stopped dating, I swooped in.”

My mom smiled shyly. “That is true. Although you sure kept yourself occupied in the meantime.”

“I was a twenty-something pining away after a girl who was taken. What did you expect?”

Her smile turned flirtatious. “I wished you had swooped in sooner.”

My dad’s eyes softened as he stared at my mother. “Me, too.”

Yeah, my parents were still very much in love even after thirty years of marriage. It was nice and all, but it could also be a bit nauseating.

The dinner at my parents hadn’t done anything to help relax me or even really given me a moment to breathe. I’d spent more than half the time talking about work and the remaining time dealing with my dad’s disappointment in me because I hadn’t found a woman I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.

Once I got home, I made myself a cup of chamomile tea, hoping I could sit out on the balcony and relax as I listened to the city at night.

I’d taken one sip before a tinkling sound broke through the noise of cars driving and honking. I ignored it, but then a louder clanging noise made me jump, followed by more tinkling metal.

I stood up, knowing the noise was coming from the balcony above mine. I should have known I couldn’t find respite at home when I had a neighbor who seemed to enjoy noise above all else.

Trying to see what she was doing, I leaned out against the railing and looked up.

No.

She couldn’t possibly be hanging up what I thought she was.

“What are you doing?” I called out, although I knew what she was doing, I was just hoping it was a mistake.

“Oh, hi there, fellow neighbor,” Halle said with way too much excitement in her voice. “This came in the mail today, and I couldn’t wait until tomorrow to hang it up. Don’t you justlovewind chimes?”

No, I did not love wind chimes. My feelings on them were quite the opposite. I hated them. I couldn’t understand why anyone would want to hang up something that made noise at all times of the day and night, let alone spend money on them.

With the look of satisfaction on her face, I was sure she wasn’t as partial to wind chimes as she claimed to be. This purchase of hers had been made on purpose. She could think she was a smarty pants, but I wasn’t going to let her know my true feelings.

Instead I forced out a smile and told her, “Yes, Idolove wind chimes. I was actually thinking about buying some for myself, but now you’ve saved me the trouble.”

She smiled even bigger, as if she knew I was full of it. “Well, then you areverywelcome.”

I gritted my teeth, attempting to smile back, but it probably looked more like a grimace.

“I’ll see you tomorrow morning at nine for my spin class,” she added in a syrupy sweet tone, turning to go back into her apartment before I could say anything.

I’d almost forgotten about the spin class. I figured it would be easier than my normal Saturday run though, so I sat back down to enjoy my tea.

The wind chimes started to tinkle and clang together, and I stopped mid-sip. So much for enjoying my tea on the balcony. I stayed seated, not wanting to give Halle the satisfaction of hearing me go inside. I’d finish my tea and then head in.

The tinkling of the wind chimes only continued to feed my thoughts on how I could get back at her. It looked like she wasn’t ready to let our little battle go yet.

---