Page 65 of A Much Younger Man
Chapter Fifteen
My evening became moreuncomfortable from there.
Not because I was so invested in having dinner with Beck and then falling into bed alone. But having to entertain a virtual stranger—sent by my mother, no less—made the ball of fatigue in my belly tighten to anger.
“You didn’t know I was coming,” he said flatly as I unlocked the door.
“No, I’m sorry. My mother only called a few minutes ago to broach the idea, and she never said—”
“Oh God. I’m mortified.”
“No, don’t be. We’re all playthings on Mom’s game board. Can I interest you in some dinner?”
“What about…” He glanced toward the street where Beck had disappeared around the corner. “That really looked like a date I interrupted.”
“We were going to have dinner tonight, and he’s teaching me guitar.” Not a lie, but also not the truth. The least important fact about Beck washe taught me a few guitar chords.
“I’m so sorry for disrupting your plans.”
“Never mind. I have enough food for two. Are you hungry?”
“Yes, thank you. The drive down the coast took longer than I thought.”
He preceded me into the kitchen. That’s when I noticed he had a bottle of wine.
“I brought this for you, uh…” He flushed. “Now it seems a little forward, me coming here like this. Are you certain—”
“It’s good to see you after all these years, Dylan. Make yourself comfortable while I change. You can do the honors if you like. Corkscrew’s in the drawer next to the stove.”
I left him to open the wine while I hopped into the shower and rinsed off the day. After I toweled off, I put on jeans and a button-down and joined him. He was standing in the hallway, examining the pictures on the wall.
“This is how I remember you.” He pointed out a picture of me and a man I dated briefly with our arms around each other. That was college. “You haven’t changed at all.”
“Liar. But thanks.” I looked him over. “You look fit.”
He shrugged. “Thank you. The kids keep me young.”
“Is that what it is? I should have tried it.” For some reason, that made me think of Rico, so I went to his cage. “Boop.”
“Boop.” Rico sidled over so he could hop onto my wrist.
“Hey, pretty boy. How’s things?”
“Boop.”
“We’ve got a guest, Rico. Meet Dylan.”I turned to introduce Rico, but one look at Dylan’s horrified face stopped me.
“Oh my God, you have a bird. Your mom didn’t say.”
I backed away slowly. “Probably didn’t cross her mind. Rico’s harmless. He’s well trained. Just don’t reach out for him.”
“No chance of that. He’s…a bird.”
“That’s right,” I gave Dylan the same talk as when I took Rico to visit the elementary school. “He’s a cockatiel. Nymphicus hollandicus. They’re native to Australia.”
“But he’s abird.” Very astute was our Dylan.
“Yes. He is a bird. I keep his wings clipped so he doesn’t fly. He’s used to that because he’s had his wings clipped since he was a chick.”
