Page 31 of Counterpoint and Harmony

“Wait, Gabby that used to go to school with you but is now touring with Jonny B? The one whose wedding you went to before Christmas?”

I nod. “Yeah. Gabby. She and Charlie are friends. Have been for a while, apparently. Gabby’s the reason that Charlie decided to come to Marycliff. Anyway. Do you want me to tell you about Gabby or more about Charlie?”

“Fine. Charlie. But we might circle back to Gabby and Jonny B later.”

I chuckle. “Noted. Anyway, they were trying to avoid being seen in general, so Gabby told me to come with them, and I did. We … talked. Sort of. In the car. And then Charlie and I started texting after that.” I fill her in on the basics of our escalating levels of communication which culminated in Lauren showing up at my house Thursday night and taking me to a hotel to see Charlie. I leave out our non-verbal activities, though. I have no desire to discuss that with my sister.

She looks thoughtful as she takes all that in. “So that’s why she was in Spokane when she gave that performance.”

“You knew about that?”

Her look once again clearly communicates her feelings without words. This one says that I must be stupid. “Of course I did. I wanted to go, too. But it was on a school night. Plus, solidarity, man. I didn’t know you’d reestablished contact. I thought we were still anti-Charlotte James around here.”

I grunt, looking down. “Yeah, well, at that point contact was still pretty tenuous.”

“But now she’s making spontaneous trips to see you.” Her tone is thoughtful enough to make me look at her.

“Don’t get too many ideas. We’re not …”

Her nose wrinkles at my implication. “Ew. I wasn’t going to ask about that.” A calculating gleam enters her eyes. “But if you’re at least friends again …”

I sigh, having a pretty good idea where this is going. “Just spit it out, Carla. What are you hoping I can get you? An autograph? Free stuff? What?”

She has the grace to look abashed. “I was thinking tickets to one of these pop-up shows. But an autograph would be cool too. If you don’t mind.”

With my lips pressed together, I look her over, and she gives me a hopeful smile. “I’m not making any promises.”

“Of course not. I wouldn’t expect you to.” Her eyes are wide and solemn, but an irrepressible curve forms in the corners of her mouth.

“And this is a one-time thing. If I get you something once, you’ll never ask for anything else.”

She holds up her right hand. “Swear on a stack of bibles.”

I snort. “Right. And it probably won’t be right away. We’re still … feeling things out. I don’t want to come off like a douche who’s just trying to use her to get free stuff.”

“I wouldn’t want that for you either. But if the opportunity presents itself …”

“Ha. Fine. If she’s going to do a show anywhere near here, I’ll see if I can get us in. Good enough?”

Her smile completely overtakes her face, and she throws herself at me in an exuberant tackle hug. “You’re the best brother in the world. That’s perfect.”

“You’re in Boise next week for the final round of the concerto competition, right?”

“Right.” I lay back on my bed, tucking my free hand behind my head, my other hand holding my phone to my ear. It’s late, almost midnight, but this is the first chance I’ve had to talk to Charlie in a couple of days. We’ve been texting, but she’s been either in the studio or traveling. She had another pop-up show tonight, this one in Austin, Texas. There doesn’t seem to be any real rhyme or reason to where she’ll be next, which I think is kind of the point. It adds to the mystery, making it all the more exciting when she shows up somewhere.

“Have you already booked your flight?”

I chuckle. “Uh, no. Lauren and I were going to drive down.”

She’s quiet in response to that. “Okay.”

“What?”

“Nothing, it’s just …”

A sneaking suspicion of what might be wrong creeps over me. “Charlie, are you … jealous?”

“What?” She laughs. “No. I know you and Lauren aren’t like that.” I don’t know whether to be relieved or upset that she isn’t even a tiny bit jealous of me spending a lot of time alone in a car with another woman. But she keeps talking before I have the chance to decide. “No, it’s that … I was wanting to come. For moral support, you know. For both of you. I know it’s a long way for either of your families, and you guys are competing in the same category, so it’s not like you’ll be offering much moral support to each other. I mean, I suppose you could commiserate if you both lose, but …”

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