Alvin chews, talking out of the side of his mouth. “Yep.”
He’s been open with her since we sat down. He ordered what she did, a chicken burger and a garden salad even though he always goes for a cheeseburger and fries when we come here.
He was quick to explain that his mom is handling parent teacher conferences tonight.
When Phoebe asked me if I’d watch over him, I happily agreed.
We spent the first two hours at the rehearsal hall. After introducing Alvin to a few members of the symphony, I sat him down at the piano so we could go over the son
g he wants to play for my sister.
He’s got a lot of work to do, but he’s committed to practicing before our next lesson.
“Do you think we could come here again, Alex?” Alvin rubs a finger over the corner of his lip to catch a drop of mayonnaise. “I’ll bring my mom and you can bring Olivia.”
I raise a brow to question Olivia silently.
She smiles wide and nods.
“It’s a date.” I hear the distant chime of my cell in my pocket. “I think that’s your mom, Alvin. It’s time to finish up and get home.”
***
Thirty minutes later, Alvin is holding tightly to Olivia’s hand as we approach his house.
Once we exited the restaurant, I was prepared to grab a taxi. Alvin wanted to ride the subway.
Olivia was the deciding vote, so we took the train.
It was the right call. The string quartet on the platform was good enough to warrant a stop and listen from all three of us.
I handed the male violinist my card. He’s young, but his talent is immense.
I’m hoping he’ll follow up with me.
I can’t offer him anything but free mentorship, but he has a gift. With nurturing it will turn into a career.
“There you are,” Phoebe calls from the front step of her house. “Did you have fun?”
“Loads of it.” Alvin drops Olivia’s hand and rushes toward his mom. He stops short of the step even though her arms are outstretched.
“I missed you.” She sighs, her hands curving to lure him closer.
“I missed you too,” he whispers. “We’ll hug when I go to bed, okay?”
“Deal,” she says quietly. “Did you thank Alex and Olivia for taking care of you tonight?”
He nods several times. “I can take care of myself, mom. We were mostly just hanging out.”
An eye roll is the response he gets from his mother before she turns her attention to Olivia and me. “Thank you both. I appreciate you hanging out with him.”
“We had a lot of fun,” Olivia replies with a glance back at me.
“I’m going to take him inside now.” Phoebe’s hand reaches for the rusted handle of the storm door. “I hope you two enjoy the rest of your night.”
“We will,” I answer for us both. “I guarantee that we will.”
Chapter 28