“You know, after you shower. Do you wrap your head or do you style it right away?”
She looked at him closely. “You’re funny.”
“That’s what they say.”
“Who says?”
“Them.”
“Oh.”
The whistle blew again, and the game started.
“So… do you?” he persisted.
“Yes,” she said finally with a mystified laugh. “I wrap my head in a towel.”
He nodded, satisfied. “I thought so.”
“Did you ever think about cutting back on the caffeine?”
Miles shook his head. “Never.”
“You should.”
He took another drink to hide his pleasure. “I’ve heard that.”
Forty minutes later the game was over, and despite Jonah’s best efforts, his team lost, not that he seemed all that upset about it. After slapping hands with the other players, Jonah ran toward his father, his friend Mark right behind him.
“You two played well out there,” Miles assured both boys. There was the murmur of distracted thanks from both of them before Jonah tugged on his dad’s sweater.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“Mark asked if I could spend the night.”
Miles looked at Mark for confirmation. “He did?”
Mark nodded. “It’s okay with my mom, but you can talk to her if you want. She’s right over there. Zach is coming, too.”
“C’mon, Dad. Please? I’ll do my chores as soon as I get home,” Jonah added.
“I’ll even do extra.”
Miles hesitated. It was fine… but at the same time, it wasn’t. He liked having Jonah around. The house was lonely without him. “All right, if you really want to go-” Jonah smiled excitedly, not waiting for him to finish. “Thanks, Dad. You’re the best.”
“Thanks, Mr. Ryan,” Mark said. “C’mon, Jonah. Let’s go tell my mom it’s okay.” They jogged off, pushing each other and veering through the crowd, laughing the whole way. Miles turned to Sarah, who was watching them go. “He looks pretty broken up about the fact he won’t see me tonight.”
“Absolutely crushed,” Sarah agreed with a nod.
“We were supposed to rent a movie together, you know.”
Sarah shrugged. “It must be terrible to be forgotten so easily.”
Miles laughed. He was smitten with her, no doubt about it. Really smitten.
“Well, since I’m alone and all…”
“Yes?”
“Well… I mean…”
Her eyebrows lifted and she looked at him slyly. “You want to ask me about the fan again?”
He grinned. She’d never let him live that down. “If you’re not doing anything,” he said with an air of feigned confidence.
“What did you have in mind?”
“Not a game of pool, that’s for sure.”
Sarah laughed. “How about if I make you dinner at my place?”
“Tea and cereal?” he prompted.
She nodded. “Absolutely. And I promise to wear the towel on my head.”
Miles laughed again. He didn’t deserve this. He really didn’t.
“Hey, Dad?”
Miles pushed his baseball hat a little higher on his head and looked up. They were in the yard, raking the year’s first fallen leaves.
“Yeah?”
“I’m sorry about not renting a movie with you tonight. I forgot until just a little while ago. Are you mad at me?”
Miles smiled. “No. I’m not mad at all.”
“Are you going to rent one anyway?”
Miles shook his head. “Probably not.”
“Then, what are you going to do?”
He set the rake aside, took off his hat, and wiped his brow with the back of his hand. “Actually, I think I’ll probably see Miss Andrews tonight.” “Again?”
Miles wondered how much he should say right now. “We had a nice time last night.”
“What did you do?”
“We had dinner. Talked. Went for a walk.”
“That’s all?”
“Pretty much.”
“That sounds boring.”
“I guess you had to be there.”
Jonah thought about that for a moment. “Is this a date again?”
“Kind of.”
“Oh.” He nodded and then looked away. “I guess that means you like her, right?” Miles approached Jonah, lowering himself until they were eye level. “She and I are just friends right now, that’s all.”
Jonah seemed to consider it for a long moment. Miles took him in his arms and hugged him, squeezing him. “I love you, Jonah,” he said. “I love you too, Dad.”
“You’re a good kid.”
“I know.”
Miles laughed and stood, reaching for his rake again.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
“I’m getting kind of hungry.”
“What do you want to eat?”
“Can we go to McDonald’s?”
“Sure. We haven’t gone there in a while.”
“Can I have a Happy Meal?”
“Don’t you think you’re getting a little old for that?”
“I’m only seven, Dad.”
“Oh, that’s right,” he said as if he’d forgotten. “C’mon, let’s go inside and wash up.”
They started toward the house, and Miles put his arm around Jonah. After a few steps, Jonah looked up.
“Hey, Dad?”
“Yeah?”
Jonah walked in silence for a few steps. “It’s okay if you like Miss Andrews.”
Miles looked down in surprise. “It is?”
“Yeah,” he said seriously. “Because I think she likes you.”
That feeling only grew stronger the more Miles and Sarah saw of each other. Throughout October they went on half a dozen dates, in addition to the times he saw her after school.
They talked for hours, he took her hand whenever they walked, and though their relationship hadn’t become physical yet, there was nonetheless a sensual undercurrent to their conversations that neither could deny. A few days before Halloween, after the final soccer game of the season, Miles asked Sarah if she would like to join him on the ghost walk that night. It was Mark’s birthday, and Jonah was staying over for the night. “What’s that?” she asked.
“You get to tour some of the historic homes and listen to ghost stories.”
“This is what people do in small towns?”
“We could either do that or go sit on my porch, chew some tobacco, and play banjos.”
She laughed. “I think I’ll take the first option.”
“I thought you might. Pick you up at seven?”
“I’ll be waiting with bated breath. Dinner at my place afterwards?” “Sounds great. But you know that if you keep making me dinners, I’m going to get spoiled.”
“That’s okay,” she said with a wink. “A little spoiling never hurt anyone.”
Chapter 13
So tell me,” Miles said to Sarah as they left Sarah’s building later that night, “what do you miss most about the big city?”
“Galleries, the museums, concerts. Restaurants that are open past nine o’clock.”
Miles laughed. “But what do you miss the most?”
Sarah looped her arm through his. “I miss the bistros. You know-little cafés where I could sit and sip my tea while I read the Sunday paper. It was enjoyable to be able to do that in the middle of downtown. It was like a little oasis somehow, because everyone who passed you on the street always looked like they were rushing somewhere.”
They walked in silence for a few moments.
“You know, you can do that here, too,” Miles finally offered.
“Really?”
“Sure. There’s a place like that right over there on Broad Street.”
“I’ve never seen it.”
“Well, it’s not exactly a bistro.”
“What is it, then?”
He shrugged. “It’s a gas station, but it’s got a nice bench out front, and I’m sure if you brought in your own teabag, they’d be able to scrounge up a cup of hot water for you.”
She giggled. “Sounds enticing.”