Page 36 of The Estate
“What the hell?” Vinny muttered next to him. But Cal only had eyes for Rachel, wondering if she’d catch on. Would she play along?
Her gaze narrowed; considering him. It took a moment but her face lit up when she got it. If the woman wore an old Cure concert T-shirt, she had better be capable of throwing down some song titles. He’d started with an older one, but it was the first one he recalled that he could incorporate into the conversation.
“You are pretty sensitive about your plumping repair skills,” Rachel replied, her eyes dancing. “But when you fixed that faucet? I just had to ask myself, Why Can’t I Be You?”
“Hey, you should know,” Cal said slowly, frantically trying to remember song titles while constructing sentences. He started this, he better be able to bring some respectable examples. “The peopleClose to Mealways say it’sJust Like Heavento be around when there are estate repairs to be made.”
Cal watched as she registered his use of two titles, her smile growing. He was pretty impressed with himself as well. It had been years since he’d listened to The Cure.
He could see that whip smart brain of hers flipping through songs to find a comeback. Lord, she was magnificent to watch.
“Oh, I see. You can walkThe Walkbut just know,” Rachel said with a smirk. “I’ve been inThe Same Deep Water as You.”
“The same water? There must bePictures of You.” Cal’s lips twitched upward. He should have known she’d be all in for a song title battle.
“ILament, there are not.”
His friends’ looks were ping-ponging between them. Their faces were confused but clearly entertained by whatever this might be.
“That must have beenA Strange Day,” he said, laughing. He couldn’t help himself. Never in a million years would he have thought he’d be battling Cure song titles with the high-strung woman he’d argued with at that wedding.
“A positiveFreakshow,” she giggled.
The sound warmed his heart in ways he promptly ignored, focusing instead on his next words. If he could somehow workinLovecats, that had to be worth double points. But thankfully, since he was coming up empty, Jacks interrupted.
Jumping up and clapping, she exclaimed, “I get it! I get it!”
“Please fill in the rest of us,” Ryan replied, shaking his head. “I’m totally lost.”
“They’re song titles,” Jacks said, pointing to Rachel’s shirt. “They’re songs from The Cure.”
His friends all started talking at once, but Cal kept his attention on Rachel. She gave him a headshake, but her wide smile told him she’d enjoyed it just as much.
“Couldn’t manage to workLovecatsin there,” he confessed.
“Oh,” she replied. “That would have been good. I was trying forI’m a Cult Hero.”
They shared a laugh before joining in with the general conversation. As lunch continued, he caught himself gazing at her. She was certainly not what he expected.
“She is pretty special,” Panda said quietly, jolting him from his thoughts. “She fits right in here with us, and that’s saying something.”
Even before he’d become a family therapist, Panda had always been a superb listener and the counselor to their little group. He was the shoulder you cried on and the friend who gave the best advice. He also usually saw way more than you wanted him to.
No doubt Panda read the denial and deflection Cal was concocting in his head, because he continued. “I see how you look at her,” he started. “When you don’t think anyone is looking. And when she laughs, you can’t help but seek her out.”
“Panda,” Cal objected.
“No. No. I don’t want to hear it.” He waved Cal off. “Later. I just wanted to put it out there. No need to respond. Now shut up and pass me another burger.”
Cal gave a disbelieving headshake and did just that. Sometimes it was just better to let things lay. Panda’s assessment of Rachel was interesting, but his friend just didn’t understand the complicated dynamic between them.
What Panda got right was that another burger was absolutely the way to go. That was his story, and he was sticking with it.
After lunch, they all started clearing the table to make way for an afternoon of cards or board games. They hadn’t figured out which yet. On his second trip in, he ran into Rachel by the kitchen.
She stood off to the side, trying not to get run over by his crazy friends.
“Cal,” she started when she saw him. “I can’t thank you enough. Today was a joy, and a much needed break.”
