章節 18: Blueberry Season (July) Part 4
"I know what you mean," she told him. "I play viola and I don't think I'd like it as a job. I love the jobs I have. Somewhere along the line you have to decide what needs to stay a hobby."
"Really? You play viola?" Fabian was surprised and pleased.
"Yeah. I'm not great like you, though. Annie, her boyfriend, and I sort of have a trio. She plays violin; her boyfriend plays cello. There's an orchestra here and we practice together sometimes."
"If you'd ever like to make it a quartet, I am capable of playing nicely with others."
"I'll say something to Annie and Keith. I can't imagine they'd mind. This is beautiful, Fabian." She inspected the brightly-painted woodwork with its intricate, colorful designs.
"Thank you. Every few years I touch it up. The design patterns are original." He opened the door and took his violin inside. When he returned, Bruiser saw the leash and began prancing around.
"Bruiser, you are one silly dog," Fabian chuckled, crouching down to fasten the leash. Bruiser immediately began to pull towards the woods path. Fabian offered his elbow to Lisa and she slipped her hand around the crook of his arm.
The woods was almost magical. It smelled of tulip poplar, hemlock, and ferns. It was too early for many crickets, but there were tree frogs sounding like policeman's whistles and it was the peak of firefly season. Lisa wasn't sure what made her happier -- the light show or the warm presence of Fabian beside her.
They reached the pier. From one direction came the pounding of the falls and race by the mill; from the other direction was the July 4th party on the lake shore. She could faintly hear the music from the band concert -- Stars and Stripes Forever. Fabian turned and wrapped his arms around Lisa. She felt like she was going to melt and looped her arms around his neck. She rested her head against his chest for a while, adding his heartbeat to the symphony of sounds around them. She had wondered since they met what it would be like if he held her. It was better than anything she could have imagined. His arms and chest were very large and made her feel small and safe.
"Lisa, are we okay now?" he asked. She slowly pulled her head back and looked up at him, then nodded, smiling. Fabian ran his fingers through her hair, then gently flicked them in the air. A firefly soared upward from his fingers, and Lisa smiled, enchanted, as she watched its flight. Fabian leaned forward, touching his forehead and nose to hers and bringing her attention back to him again.
"You are so beautiful," he sighed. "I missed you, Lisa."
"I missed you too," she said softly. He kissed her gently.
The sky suddenly lit up around them and there was a thunderous noise. Lisa started with a shriek and Fabian jumped, too. Their faces collided, then they looked at each other and started to laugh, Fabian rubbing a sore nose and Lisa gingerly touching her bottom lip. Another firework burst overhead.
"And you were concerned about Bruiser," Fabian teased. "He's over there stretched out. The humans jump and scream. Here. It's clean. Your lip is bleeding." He handed her a handkerchief. "I'm sorry."
"It wasn't your fault. Thank you." She pressed the handkerchief to her lip, looking up over the lake. "Ooo! That was a good one!" She pointed to the sky. She kicked her shoes off and he helped her sit down on the pier. He sat next to her, but decided against dangling his feet in the water as she was doing.
"How's your nose?" she asked.
"I'm okay. I think I was more startled than anything."
"That's the first time I've ever kissed a man who had a moustache."
"Really? How did you like it?"
"Difficult to tell -- it ended rather abruptly and painfully." He wrapped his arms around her. "I'm curious about something." She checked in the light of the next firework, and there was no more blood on the handkerchief. She put it in her pocket.
"What?"
"Why would you carry a handkerchief and not use it?"
"Habit. I don't always need one, but I'd rather have one in case I do. You can keep it -- I have plenty." They watched the show in silence for a while. Bruiser padded over and flopped down next to them, dropping his head into Lisa's lap. She scratched his ears.
"You were wrong about him, you know," Fabian told her.
"In what way?"
"He missed you almost as much as I did. Every day he wanted to walk to the diner and walk you home like we used to. Such whining I've never heard."
"I always looked for you guys," she confessed. "Even when I wasn't on that shift." He kissed the top of her head and rested his nose in her hair.
"What are you doing?" she asked.
"You smell fantastic," he told her. "I really missed you, Lisa."
"I really missed you, too. I'm sorry I was so silly, Fabian."
"No, what you were was scared," he said. "I understand. Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
"Not really, no. Apparently I'm too good of a friend."
"You're an excellent friend," he replied. "I think that's what I missed the most. She looked at him, anxious. He smiled tenderly at her and brushed some strands of hair away from her face.
"Let me finish," he said. "This is the first time I've dated someone I was attracted to who was also good at being a friend.
"This makes the first time a man liked being my friend and was also attracted to me. Or who didn't prefer to stay friends." She relaxed against him as the next firework shot into the sky. "I'm not sure why that was. Ooo! That was a good one."
"I understand it," he said. "Good friends are very hard to find. Male or female. Adding more than friendship tends to complicate things." He played with her hair, delighted that she'd left it loose and hadn't braided it as she usually did. "I think a few weeks ago we both learned why it's so risky to mix friendship and more than that."
"Good point. That hurt."
"Yes it did." He wrapped his arms around her more tightly. "That was the first time I've ever had my heart broken."
"You're kidding?" She looked at him, and he shrugged.
"Before you, I'd never met anyone I really cared about. It was all fun and casual. Like I said -- I liked the pretty girls."
"Not even Marlene?"
"Especially not Marlene," he said. "Marlene was like being locked in a candy store. It's great for a while, but eventually you get sick to your stomach. It was wrong no matter how I looked at it. Oh wow -- look at the blue one! I got to the point where what she was threatening me with was more attractive than being with her."
"She was threatening you? You mentioned that before. With what?" Lisa turned to look at him, horrified.
"In order to understand this, you have to know who she's married to. Her husband Dante used to do the strongman act. He's the one who trained me."
"Is he a big burly guy who looks like Mr. Clean?" she asked. Fabian burst out laughing.
"Yes, he kind of does," he admitted. "Dante isn't as scary as he looks, and I've always admired him."
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