by Thia Finn
Me: Crew comes first
Peri: What about Timbre
Me: No I can’t ask her to do that
“Dad, are you writing her a book? I’m tired.” Crew needed to be in bed.
Me: I’ll figure it out
Peri: Sorry
Crew settled into his pillow and went to sleep immediately. I wiped my palm down his cheek. Still hot but not as bad, thank God. Now I needed to get busy and find someone to stay with him before noon or call and cancel with the band. I knew they’d be mad. We’d rehearsed together for several weeks to get the sound they were after. I hated ditching them at the last minute.
I thought about calling Timbre. Maybe this would be a good time for him to meet her on another level than a woman I wanted permanently in my life. There was something about her I couldn’t shake. Hell, I didn’t want to shake her, but asking her to watch my son was a different story. I never wanted her to think I would pawn off my child, much less a sick one, on her.
Me: Hey you busy
Timbre: Oh you know, just painting my toes and eating bonbons
Me:
Timbre: Joking
Her phone rang in my ear. I needed to hear her voice to judge her reaction. Texting had its place, but if I was going to ask her to stay home with my sick kid, I needed to hear her voice.
“Hey. What are you doing?”
“Is this the start to some weird phone sex because if it is, I want to go get in my bed.” She giggled sounding so innocent.
“I wish.”
“So what’s up? Wait, how’s Crew doing? Ryan came out and said he was sick and going to the ER.”
“Yeah. He’s got strep throat, and scarlet fever has developed from it.”
“That sounds terrible, Hayden. Is there anything I can do to help?” If she only knew what I was about to ask.
“Yeah, there is something you can do. I hate to ask, though.”
“Hayden, you’ve done nothing but help me since you gave me a bath in street water. What can I do to help you?” Her sincere tone let me know she truly meant what she said.
“I’ve got a show tonight that I’ve been practicing with a band for several weeks now. I wondered if you would consider coming over here to sit around with him? I mean, he’s in bed and resting. I can’t leave him alone, though.”
“Sure I can. Do you think Peri would give me a ride?”
“No, they left for a trip this afternoon. I think they were happy to be leaving with Crew being sick.”
“Oh, I’m sure they didn’t want their kids exposed to anything.”
“No, they didn’t, so I brought him straight home.”
“I’ll get an Uber then. Don’t worry. You want me to come now or wait till it’s time for you to go?”
“If you came now, we could have a little time with him together. You’ve gotta know this is not how I wanted the two of you to meet, right?”
“I understand, and you don’t have to tell him anything about us right now. Just tell him I’m a friend, that we met a while back that’s working for 13 Recordings now… or tell him we’re co-workers.”
“Yeah, but he’s a smart kid. He’ll immediately know if there’s something between us, which is okay with me. He’s going to find out sooner or later.” I’d hoped for later but later was here now.
“He’s sick, Hayden. Let’s hold off for now. When he’s better, you can mention it when the time is right.”
I knew I liked her for good reasons.
“Okay. We’ll play it by ear and see where it goes. I don’t lie to him, though. If he asks, I’ll tell him.” I never wanted Crew’s and my relationship having lies between us. I wouldn’t start now, especially over someone I could see myself with in a more permanent relationship.
“I’ll order you an Uber with both addresses.” I had the app on my phone.
I went into Crew’s darkened room. His breathing seemed normal when I pulled up the chair next to his bed. I’ll never forget the number of times I’d sat next to his bed when he was a baby and again when he was a little boy. Seems like my whole life, but I wouldn’t change a thing. I loved this kid no matter how he came to be mine.
I put my hand out and touched his arm hanging out from under the light covers, and it startled him.
“Oh, Dad. You scared me.” He rolled over and looked at me. I turned on his bedside lamp needing to see him. I hated leaving him sick like this, but the doctor said he needed to rest and drink liquids.
“Sorry, dude. Didn’t mean to.”
“I know. I guess I was sleeping hard ‘cause I didn’t hear you come in here.”
“Yeah, I listened to you try to tear the ceiling out with that snoring of yours.” I gave a little laugh. He didn’t snore, but I loved harassing him about doing it.
“Pops, you know I don’t snore and stop trying to make me laugh. My throat hurts.”
“Was your throat hurting before? You never said anything about it.”
“No, today is the first time I can really feel it hurting in there.”
“The doctor said it looked bad, but that’s just how strep is sometimes.”
“Right. Other kids have had it at school, and a couple of guys from the team have it.”
“Please tell me you haven’t been kissing guys on your team.”
“Pops! Eww.”
“Just kidding, dude.” We both laughed. Questioning his sexuality at this time in his life wasn’t funny to him when all he wanted to do was be the man. “Okay, listen. I want to tell you something.”
“What’s that?” He laid back on his back.
“I’ve been working with a band for a show tonight, and I hate having to bow out of it.”
“No, go. I’ll be fine here by myself.”
“That would be a big no. You’re not staying home alone when you’re this sick.”
“Pops, I’m old enough to stay home alone.”
“If you were well, I might think about it, but you’re not, so no. Anyway, a friend of mine from the studio is coming over to stay while I’m gone.”
“I don’t need a babysitter, Pops.”
“She’s not a babysitter. She’s coming so I don’t have to worry about you. She’s doing me a favor.”
“Is she like hot or some old woman?” Did this really matter?
“I guess you could say she’s hot.” Yeah, she’s fucking hot, but he cannot think that.
“There’s some hot chicks that work at the studio. I’ve seen them before looking at you, Pops. You need to pay more attention.” Yeah, once again, the last thing he needs to think about is Timbre.
“Yeah, son, I’m aware there are some hot women who hang around the studio from time to time.”
“Pops, really? You’re not so old that you don’t see the ladies checking you out all the time?” When had my son turned into a pimp for his dad? He didn’t need to be watching women watch me. I needed to keep him away from the studio for the next ten years.
“Okay, Crew. That’s enough. You keep your ‘chicks’ comments to yourself when you’re at the studio. Women are offended being referred to as chicks. I don’t want to hear you calling them that, and I don’t need you finding women for me either. Those women are basically off limits anyway. I don’t want to date where I work.”
Shit, that was a flat out lie I just told him. What was I thinking to get Timbre a job there? This could get messy. I didn’t like dating where I worked. People would know our business in a hurry. I’d be around when men came in and started hitting on her. It happened all the time with the cute receptionist before Timbre. What if we decided it wouldn’t work? We’d have to see each other every day.
“So, what’s her name, Pops?”
“Her name is Timbre.”
“That’s a weird name, like ‘timber’ you’d yell when a tree was cut down?” He snickered when he said it like a lumberjack.
“No, it’s Timbre like in a musical score.”
“What the heck does that mean?” He look
ed at me with the question.
“It’s the tone an instrument makes. Like if a guitar and a piano played the same note, each one has its own—timbre.”
“Oh, okay. Whatever you say.” I laughed at his reply. Obviously, he still didn’t get it, but he didn’t care to ask more questions.
“I’m pretty tired. I think I’ll take a nap.”
“Yeah, I’ll leave you to it. I’ll wake you before I go and introduce you to each other.”
“Sounds good.” He rolled the opposite direction. “Turn out the light, please.”
I flipped the switch and stood to watch him for a second. It didn’t take long before I heard his even breathing, and I knew he would sleep. I envied him being able to go to sleep so quickly. The life of a child with no cares in the world must be nice.
I heard a knock and walked out his door shutting it to keep the noise from reaching him. I opened the front door to a beautiful Timbre staring at me.
“I didn’t want to ring the doorbell in case he was asleep.”
“Yeah, he just dozed off.” My arms circled her for a tight hug. Damn, she felt so good.
When we broke apart, I showed her into the family room and around the downstairs. I wanted her to feel at home here, especially with Crew upstairs asleep. She needed to know where stuff was in case he needed it.
We sat down together on the couch when we were done. “Are you sure you’re okay with this? I can call and tell them to find someone else.”
“No, you don’t need to do that. You’ve been practicing with them, and they’re depending on you.”
“I know, but family always comes first.”
What a novel idea, I thought to myself. Having anyone put me first sounded like it came from a foreign language. Other than Caylor, no one had ever put me first.
“It’s going to be fine. I’ll watch TV. I haven’t done that in ages.” I picked up the complicated remote. “You’re going to have to give me a quick lesson with this bad boy, though.”
He laughed and took it from me before launching into a full-blown technology lesson.
“Okay, I think I’ve got it. Get dressed and go. They don’t need to wait on you to get there.” I pushed him toward the bedroom door. He took over pulling me with him.
“No, Hayden. Crew might come down looking for you, and we’d be too busy to notice.” He stopped and let me go.
“I guess you’re right.” He looked up the stairs to the top. “That’s not the way I would want him meeting you. Maybe I should wake him and introduce you before I leave.”
“No, you get dressed and go. He might not wake at all.” I walked back to the TV remote and pushed buttons until I got it to change channels.
He came out in a tight dark brown t-shirt from one of AD’s concerts. I knew it’d been worn many times from the fading of the insignia. “Dressing all up, huh?”
“No, I never dress up. The audience loves AD, and they’ll like it if I decide to throw it at the end.”
“Do you do that often?” I cocked one eyebrow? “You know, strip for the audience?” The idea of him taking off clothes for all those women didn’t appeal to me at all.
“Hell no. I just told you that to see what you’d say.” He laughed, put his arm around my neck and he kissed the top of my head. “You’re jealous, right?”
“Hell, no.” I mimicked his words. “Why would I be jealous?”
“All those hot women who want a piece of me in the audience, maybe?”
My lips dropped to a flat line. I didn’t want to act as if it did bother me, but the more I thought about it now, the more I didn’t like it at all. “No,” my voice squeaked.
“Girl, you’re a terrible liar. Anyone ever tell you that?” He laughed and kissed my forehead.
I wrapped my arms around his waist getting as close to him as I could. “No. I don’t lie. At least not about the important things anyway.”
“So, what you’re saying is I’m important?”
I looked up at him. Was he important? Yeah, I think he was. “Well, yeah, you’re important. You’ve done so much to help me get my life back on track. I owe you so much.”
His smile dropped. “I didn’t do any of this because I wanted you to feel obligated to me, Timbre.”
“I know. I mean, I just want you to know I appreciate all you’ve done for me, Hayden.” I turned my head and laid it against his chest.
“So that’s it? I’m important to you because you appreciate me?” He wouldn’t let this go. I didn’t know how to answer him, so I didn’t say anything. After a minute or so, he let me go.
“I need to leave. I’ll be home as soon as I can get away. Crew knows a friend from work is coming to stay with him while I’m at work. Just introduce yourself.”
I knew he was angry with me, but I didn’t know where this was all going. He was too busy to have me in his life. His world revolved around the studio and his kid. I didn’t ever want to come between him and those things. We would be working together, and maybe we could be an occasional hookup, but I didn’t want to impose myself into his life. He’d done enough for me.
I watched him walk to the door. He opened it and turned to me. “Call me if you need me. You have my number on your phone and don’t hesitate.”
“Right.” I held my phone up to him. “Got it right here.”
He nodded and looked back at me for a brief moment and then shut the door. I knew I’d made him mad, but I didn’t want him to get the wrong idea about us. We’d never work out on a long-term basis. He had his life, and I needed to get mine going in a positive direction. A relationship was not in the plan. I could only repay him by being here for him when he needed help.
I sat back down and watched TV dozing off while some mindless housewives of somewhere had it out. I awoke to someone staring at me.
“Oh, hello.” I sat up and looked at the most adorable kid. Looking like his dad made over, this kid was going to be a heartbreaker.
“Hey. Sorry if I scared you.”
“No, you didn’t. I didn’t expect you is all.” I sat up. “Are you feeling any better?”
“Yeah, I guess. I’m Crew.” He stuck a hand out larger than mine. This kid would be a big guy in ten more years.
I stood, too, and looked eye-to-eye with him. “I’m Timbre. It’s nice to meet you.”
“Are you dating my dad?” Wow, just like that. He went for the kill.
“Well, no. Not really.” I thought he was supposed to say I was a co-worker. “We work together.”
“Yeah, that’s what he said, too, but he got this funny look on his face when he was telling me about you, and I wondered if it was something else.” He plopped on the couch picking up the remote. “Can I change this? I won’t if you’re watching it.”
“No, go ahead.”
Hayden said the kid would know if there was something between us. I looked at him trying not to make it obvious. This kid had girl stealer written all over him. His dark brown hair would probably be the color of his dad’s by the time he became an adult. His eyes were the same color as Hayden’s already. I wondered if the gold streaks worked in his favor like his dad’s did.
“Good, those crazy ladies don’t need a show of their own. They need a psychiatrist.”
I laughed, his comment was dead on. “Yeah, I know what you mean. I feel the same way.”
“But you were watching them.”
“Yes. Well, actually I fell asleep. That’s how good they were.” Now it was his turn to laugh.
“Maybe we can find something we both like, then.” He scrolled through the channels at breakneck speeds. “We could watch a movie. What do you like?”
“Oh, anything. I’m not much of a TV watcher.”
“Really? What do you do for fun then?” He said it like the idea of not watching was a foreign concept.
“I don’t have a lot of extra time these days. When I do, I like to visit with friends, shop, read. You know, usual things.”
Without taking his eyes
off his surfing, he replied, “That all sounds good except shopping. Not too much on that. Must be a girl thing, though. Peri shops all the time, too.”
“Yeah, I guess. What do you do in your free time?” These topics were easy to explore with him.
“Hang out with friends, play football.” He looked at me. “You should come sometime and watch us play. My cousin’s on the team, too.”
“That sounds like fun. I like football and knowing someone on the team would be even better.”
“I’ll tell my dad. He’d like you to go.”
“Oh, I don’t know about that.” I kept my eyes on him wanting to know why he thought Hayden would want to take me around his other friends.
“My dad must think you’re okay since he let you stay here with me. Tucker and me, we’re kinda overprotected, you know?”
“What makes you think that?”
“With the band and all, they think we need to be watched twenty-four-seven. Like we’re little kids, and someone might want to snatch us for money. Peri is paranoid about it. I can’t remember anytime we were allowed to do something by ourselves.”
“She might be right, Crew. They make lots of money, and people are crazy. Kinda like housewives, remember?” I’d never thought about there being a danger of someone getting them, but Peri probably had every reason to be careful with the kids.
“Yeah, when we were kids, but we’re getting too old for babysitters.” He turned and looked at me. “Unless my dad wanted you here for himself.” He smiled a smile that told me he was definitely his daddy’s child. He was perfecting that girl-killer look already. Hayden better keep a close eye on this one.
I reached over and pushed him. “Don’t talk like that. Your dad didn’t want me here for anything other than keeping an eye on you because you’re sick, remember?”
“Yeah, yeah. That’s what he said. I’m not buying it.” He’d already turned back to the TV.
I thought about the times Hayden and I spent together. We definitely had chemistry together, and he was a great catch. His kindness knew no boundaries. He always seemed to want to do the right thing. He had wonderful friends who would do anything for him and he for them. When he set his mind to something, he couldn’t let it go.