Chapter 15

Aspen

Today was my day off. I usually spent the day cleaning the apartment, and grocery shopping. I slept in for the first time in weeks, and when I was finally motivated enough to get out of bed, I saw I had four missed calls from Bryson. I quickly tapped the notification to call him back. The fact that he'd called four times made me worry that something was wrong.

"Good morning, beautiful," he sing-songed into the phone. "Did you sleep well?"

"Are you ok?" I was shocked by his tone.

"I'm fine. Why wouldn't I be?"

"Maybe because you were blowing up my phone at—" I looked at the timestamp "—eight this morning."

"I thought you'd be awake; you were always a morning person back in the day." He chuckled lightly.

"Not anymore," I grumbled. "What did you need?" I rolled to my back and stared at the ceiling above my bed.

"I thought that maybe we could have a real date tonight. I mean, we've gone out a few times, but I wouldn't consider it a date. I need to shmooze you."

"Shmooze?" I laughed. "By doing what?"

"Come out with me tonight, and you'll see." I could hear papers crinkling in the background.

"I'll need to check my schedule. It's pretty full right now on the shmooze front." I could picture him narrowing his eyes as the words left my lips. "You're in luck. I'm free tonight." I smiled.

"Great. I'll pick you up at seven. Oh, and Penny." He paused. "I can't wait to shmooze you."

The day went super slow. Slower than any day had ever gone. I vacuumed the apartment twice. I washed all my laundry. I made two grocery runs to two different stores. I did everything I could to waste time. When I ran out of things to do, I took a bath and soaked in the tub. I needed to stop trying to solve the riddle of shmoozing. I needed to make myself give up and just accept whatever was going to happen. The problem was, I wasn't that person.

I buffed and polished my skin until it glowed. I pulled my hair up and curled it in what looked like a pile of falling locks on top of my head. I slipped into a floral dress that swished around my thighs and tied a cute pair of black sandals at the ankle. I swiped some dark red gloss over my lips and smacked them together as I brushed some mascara on my lashes. I looked good. I nodded at my reflection as I stepped back from the mirror in my room. I hoped Bryson appreciated the effort I was putting into my half of our evening.

I grabbed my purse and went to sit on the couch and wait. It seemed to take forever, and the more I stared at the clock, the slower the minutes passed by. I almost jumped out of my skin when he buzzed from the main door. I granted him entrance, and then watched through the peephole on my door for him to appear. He seemed shocked when the door swung open before he could knock.

"Wow!" he gasped as he stared at me. I smiled shyly as I stepped into the hallway and locked the door behind me.

"I hope this is ok. I wasn't sure what we were doing." I smoothed some nonexistent wrinkles from my dress.

"This is perfect for what we're doing. I thought we'd ride, so I have a cab waiting downstairs." He held his arm out for me to link mine through.

"A cab? I thought you had a car here." I was confused. The first night that we reconnected, he'd had a car at the bar.

"I do, but parking around here is at a premium. This is just easier." He held the door open and let me go through first. I waited as he opened the door to the cab, and I slid in.

We drove for a while, but traffic was terrible. It took a good half-hour to get to the restaurant, Le Vino. "I remembered how much you loved that pizza place. They have really good pasta here." He smiled as he helped me out.

"Sounds great." I smiled softly. I hadn't been on a date in years, and Bryson was being such a gentleman. He led me inside, and we were taken right to a table. I'm guessing he had reservations.

He pulled out my chair before seating himself. "Get whatever you want." He handed me a menu. I opened it and scanned the items listed. There were no prices, so I knew this place wasn't cheap. I had rules when someone else was paying. I never ordered something that I couldn't buy for myself. I didn't want to seem greedy.

"This is a lot," I whispered.

"I wanted something nice. I have to leave in two days." The smile he'd had painted on since he got to my place faltered slightly before he looked away.

When our server stopped by the table, Bryson ordered us a bottle of wine, and then we ordered our food. I chose the lobster ravioli, and he picked the lasagna. After the server left, we chatted about anything and everything. He teased me with the information that he had something else planned for after dinner. I wasn't sure what to expect.

The portions were huge, and I was rethinking us getting two meals when they were placed in front of us. Bryson just grinned and then pushed his plate in my direction. "Try it," he coaxed.

I scooped up a bite of his and blew on it. Steam was wafting in the air. When I placed it in my mouth, I closed my eyes and savored the bite. It was delicious. I released a sigh before letting my eyes flutter open. "That right there is why I got this." He pointed his fork in my direction. "Everything here is good, but this is the best lasagna in the city."

"I can't argue with that." I giggled before going to my plate. The cream sauce was divine, and I had to force myself to stop eating. It was so good that I wasn't listening to the fact that my stomach was telling me I was full.

When we finished, Bryson paid the check and then led me back outside. "We can walk to the next stop on the best night ever tour." He reached for my hand and threaded our fingers together.

"Ok." I let him lead because I had no idea where we were going.

Bryson

I led us along the water. It was a pretty evening, and I wanted to enjoy watching her. Penny was so expressive when she didn't think people were watching her.

We passed the Warf, and up between the aquarium and some shops to stop in front of the concert hall. "Why are we here?" Her voice trembled. "I can't be here." She tried to pull away, but I held fast.

"I brought you to the Symphony." My brow furrowed. "I thought this would be fun. I know how much you miss this stuff." I was confused. After yesterday I thought she'd be more open to this.

"This is where my dad played." Her lip quivered. "He'd leave tickets for Mom and me and we'd come here to see him when he had a show in town." She looked away and wiped at her eyes.

"I'm sorry. I thought you'd like this. We don't have to go in." I started to lead us away, but her feet didn't move.

Determination covered her face. "This was a nice idea. I wanna try." She turned to face me. "I'll try for you, but know that if I run out of here, I'm not coming back in." She nodded.

"I can live with that." I wrapped my arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "Let's see what's on the program for tonight."

We walked together up to the will call window and after I picked up our tickets, we went inside. We were sitting on the left side of the orchestra section a few rows from the front. "When I was little, I used to sit there." She pointed to the front row. "Dad always wanted to make sure I could see."

"Did you come here a lot?" I leaned closer.

"At least twice a month." She flipped through the program she'd grabbed on the way in. "It's starting."

The house lights dimmed, and the principal violinist stood. He played a tuning note, and then the rest of the orchestra tuned. When they finished, he sat, and the conductor made his way onto the stage. The auditorium erupted with applause as he turned to take a bow. When he turned back around and lifted his baton, the room grew quiet.

I glanced over at Penny. She was smiling from ear to ear and sitting practically on the edge of her seat. I leaned over and whispered, "If it gets to be too much, let me know." She nodded as she chewed on her bottom lip. The orchestra came to life, and I knew this was where she needed to be. The look on her face, her body language, were both saying that this was her destiny. She'd been denying it for so long, but her heart knew this was home.

I spent most the evening watching her. The little tilt her head would do during a quiet part, or how her eyes would close, and she would almost sway during a gentle part. When the percussion sounded loud, her eyes would flash wide, and she'd tap her foot to the beat. They were all the things I remembered about her from our days at Berklee. I needed to make her see what I was seeing.

When the concert was over, we slowly made our way outside. I knew it would take a while to get a cab. I led her back down to the water, and we just stared out at where the moon was reflecting against it. "I haven't seen you this happy since senior solo night." I bumped my shoulder against hers.

"Yeah," she murmured.

"I think you should audition." She stiffened at that idea.

"It's not that easy." She put some space between us.

"Sure it is. I saw you in there. You were completely lost in the music. That's where you're supposed to be, not working in some bar." I was trying to stay calm.

"I feel safe there." She turned away from me.

"Because you're hiding who you are." I stood straighter. "I don't know what else I need to do to show you that." I turned and began walking up to the sidewalk. I needed to try and hail a cab because it would be a long walk if I didn't. I heard her heels clicking before she grabbed my hand and laced our fingers together.

"I'm sorry, but you have to let me do this on my own timeline." She placed her head on my shoulder.

"I'm just afraid that your timeline is going to cost you some of your best years." I turned and kissed her forehead.