Theo stuck his hands in his pockets and gave a rueful smile. The kid was entirely too adorable for someone halfway through university. “Yeah. She had an important meeting but felt that someone should come check on you.”
Ari rolled his eyes but let the kid come in.
“Drink?”
Theo took one of the Cokes hidden in the fridge for guests. He popped the tab and took a long slurp. “Thanks. The walk here was longer than I expected.” His cheeks were chapped from the October wind, and Ari almost wanted to scold him for not having worn a hat. But that was probably crossing some sort of employer-pseudo-employee boundary, so he cast about for something else to say. His piano sat open, the top propped up on the support bar. Right—he’d been about to take care of that.
“Want to help me tune the piano?”
Theo paused with the Coke can halfway to his mouth. “Really? Okay. What do I do?”
“Just sit on the bench and play the keys one at a time, please.”
Theo hit the lowest A note, and Ari checked the note and tightened the string until it registered the proper vibration. Satisfied, he asked Theo to climb to A-sharp and repeated the process. They had climbed all the way to the first F-sharp before Theo spoke. “You like doing this.”
“Hm?” Ari gave the bolt another twist. “Try that.” Perfect. “I guess? I like knowing I can fix the problem. And there is something therapeutic about the process. Normally I do this alone, so it takes longer, but I can zone out when I do it.”
“Oh. Sounds peaceful.”
“It is. G, please.”
They came around to A again. “I wish I could play music like you do.”
“Have you ever tried to learn? Play again.”
Theo hit the key, and Ari motioned for him to move on. His brow furrowed as he played the next one. “Not really. I mean, I had to play the drums for a while in school, but I couldn’t quite manage the dual rhythm thing.”
“Ah, not an easy feat. Kayla, who plays at the Rock, can manage three rhythms, hands and feet, in a manner that I find pretty enviable.”
Theo gave him a little smile and replayed the note when requested. “I guess it’s something of a unique talent. Though wouldn’t playing the piano….”
“It’s not dissimilar. Though there is a reason I prefer the violin.”
“My parents were super worried about falling into parenting traps and clichés,” Theo admitted. “I’m not sure if it’s because they didn’t want to be the rich white parents who forced their kid to take piano or if they didn’t want to make their brown kid into a stereotype, but they were against making me take any music lessons.” His lips quirked. “I could have asked. They’d have given me whatever I wanted.”
Ari finished tightening the current string. “It sounds like they were doing their best to love you.”
“Oh, definitely,” Theo agreed. “They definitely did. I know they love me. They, uh, couldn’t have kids but kept hoping and got started on the whole adoption thing pretty late.” He played the next note, looking distracted. Ari glanced at his tuner and tightened the bolt. “They were almost fifty, so I was their miracle baby, you know?” He cast a look Ari’s way. “If I told them I wanted to tattoo myself purple and dress only in tutus they would have taken me to a tailor to get a custom tulle wardrobe.”
Ari chuckled. “I guess you should be grateful you didn’t want to, then.”
“Yeah.” Theo played the note once more and moved on to the next one.
“Was it difficult, growing up with white parents?” Ari asked tentatively. He didn’t want to pry if it was an uncomfortable subject, but Theo had brought them up—maybe he needed to talk about it.
Theo smiled wistfully. “Sometimes. Especially when they forget that I look like a ‘terrorist.’” He barked a humorless laugh. “Though I guess I mostly miss the worst of it since I dress like a white guy.”
Ari nodded. He got the same kind of Islamophobic BS even though his family wasn’t Muslim, so he had the same mix of prejudice and privilege to deal with. “I get it.”
Theo gave a wan smile, then turned back to the keys. The moment was apparently over. “So. Which note is next?”
JAX WASstill in bed when the phone rang, which was probably the only reason he answered it. If he’d seen the Caller ID—
But he didn’t.
“Hello?”
“Oh, so you’re taking my calls now.”
