Page 62 of A Much Younger Man
“Couldn’t you at least get a dog?”
“I’m never home,” I reminded her yet again. “A dog would die of loneliness.”
“You could take him to work. Besides, I’m worried you’ll die of loneliness.”
“Mother.”
She sighed audibly. “All right. We’ll talk more next week. You’re off the hook for tomorrow morning.”
“All right. Take care. Love to you both.”
“And if Dylan calls you, at least be nice. You can never have too many friends.”
“I’ll be a good boy, Mother.”
“I know you will. Kiss, kiss. Love to Lena, Travis, and April from both of us.”
“I’ll tell them.”
I hung up feeling slightly more existential dread than usual. I rested my face in my palms, eyes closed, and tried to shrug off the day.
My phone chimed.Oh no. What now?
Unknown: It’s Friday. Pie day. Ready for your next lesson?
Me: You got a phone? How’d you get my number?
I added his contact info.
Beck: Truck stop bathroom wall. How do you think? Cooper and Shawn.
Beck: So? Strum, strum. Guitar’s not going to play itself.
Me: I’m exhausted. I need to sleep. Somebody kept me up all night.
Beck: Sleep’s overrated, Boomer.
Me: Say that to my face.
My office door opened with a squeak, and Beck stepped inside. “Sleep’s overrated, Boomer.”
My eyes blurred when I tried to focus. “What are you doing here?”
“April and I were feeding the kittens.” He frowned and closed the door behind him. “Are you all right?”
“Oh, yeah.” I sighed. “It has been a long, long day.”
“I heard about the kid’s cat. That sucks.”
“Look, would you take a rain check for tonight? I really don’t think I’m up to a guitar lesson.”Or anything else, actually.
“No, I can see that. Go on home and get comfortable. If you want, I can pick up something for you to eat, then get out of your hair.”
“No, I don’t want you to go to any trouble.”
“But Doc, we both have to eat.”
“Okay. In that case, I’d love to have dinner with you.” My brain came back online. “Wait—it’s silly for you to get food on foot when I have my car. I’ll order online, and we can pick up dinner on the way. What do you like?”
