Crescendo

Chapter 8

Soundtrack for this chapter:
Sweet Creature—Harry Styles
Use Somebody—Kings of Leon
Who am I—Vance Joy

8

Theo

In the time after my debacle of a "set-up" with Marnie's friend, I found myself drifting over to our piano whenever I couldn't think straight. I was falling back into the habit of using it as an escape, and I didn't mind it at all.

Aiden, though, he minded a whole-fucking lot. One Saturday morning in particular, he came pounding down the steps, a scowl on his face and sleep in his eyes.

"Do you have to bang on that thing so early in the morning?"

I couldn't stop an eye roll, and my hands kept moving on the keys as I spoke to him. "One, it's after ten o'clock, which isn't early by anyone's definition. Two, I'd be happy to bring out my drums if you'd prefer to hear those."

He narrowed his eyes at me and dragged his feet into the kitchen. The sound of a nearly empty box of cereal met my ears as he shook it.

"Make sure you put cereal on the grocery list."

My hands lifted from the keys and balled in and out of fists. "Are your fingers broken?"

"What?"

Even though my back was to him, I could easily see the confusion on his face in my mind's eye.

"Put it on the list yourself."

A grunted urgh sounded from the kitchen. Rather than losing it on him, I extended my fingers, placed them back on the keys, and continued playing. That morning I'd chosen Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata; I only knew the first few minutes of it, but it worked for me. The dark, somber quality of the beginning of that composition helped me push the annoyance I was feeling towards Aiden and the remnants of Jules far from my mind.

As much as I would have liked to have said I'd completely forgotten her, she still had a way of working her way in every now and then. How can one girl, a girl I hardly knew, have made such a lasting impression? If I were being honest with myself, there was a tiny part of me that held onto the hope that the time I saw her in the park wouldn't be the last time I saw her, but with each passing day, that hope seemed to dwindle a little more. Sometimes that hope was replaced with anger or frustration, sometimes with thoughts of what if?.

After a few more grumblings from Aiden, he made his way back up into his room with a small bowl of cereal and a glass of orange juice. Moments later, Danny came down the steps with Marnie trailing behind him. She put a hand on my shoulder as they walked past me into the kitchen.

"A beautiful wake-up like that deserves a good breakfast. Want an omelette?"

"Absolutely. I hear we're almost out of cereal."

Danny laughed, and I followed the two into the kitchen. While Marnie pulled eggs, milk, cheese, and a few add-ins from the fridge, Dan and I sat down at the table.

"Looks like your options include mushrooms, spinach, or some of this leftover ham from last night's dinner."

Dan and I exchanged identical looks before turning to her. "All three?" we asked in unison.

"Amazing."

"We've had almost thirty years of practice." He winked at her as she placed a pan on the stove.

As Marnie started on the eggs, Dan turned back to me with a furrow in his brow. "Dad mention anything about retiring the last time you saw him?"

"Nope. Why? Did he say something to you?"