get a sense of his preferences, so when a new song started to play, it dragged her immediately away from their discussion.
“You really like cheesy boy band songs from twenty years ago?” she asked breathlessly as the familiar intro filled the room like a warm fragrance.
“What?” Carter frowned, clearly trying to catch up. After a few seconds, he groaned, “No, I don’t like boy bands. Damn Lincoln. He’s always putting stupid stuff in my mix.”
He stepped over to his phone to delete the song, but Ruth squealed and grabbed for his arm before he could. “No! Don’t turn it off.”
“Why not?” Carter stared at her. Her hand was still wrapped around his forearm. They were standing only inches apart.
“Because I like this song,” she replied sheepishly. “It’s part of the soundtrack to my childhood.”
Carter relaxed and stepped back to the stovetop, skillfully removing the grilled cheese from the pan, sliced it diagonally, and handed Ruth hers on a plate.
Ruth took a bite and moaned in pleasure. “This is the best grilled cheese I’ve ever had.”
“Yeah?” Carter looked as pleased as a boy as he took a big bite of his.
“Yeah.” She ate a few bites but was distracted by the music. She really couldn’t help it. She started to sing.
“Oh my God,” he groaned. “You know all the words, don’t you?”
“I sure do.” She grinned and put down her plate, keeping the sandwich half she was working on in her hand. She did a little dance as she sang the well-remembered and much-beloved words to the song.
She was a little self-conscious, but not enough to stop her. There was an innocent joyfulness to the music that she hadn’t experienced in a really long time. Plus she liked how much Carter seemed to enjoy her performance.
He watched her, his eyes very warm and soft as he leaned against the counter and ate. When he’d finished half his sandwich, about a third of the way through the song, he put down the remainder on his plate and started to sing with her.
She squealed and clapped her hands. “You know all the words too?”
“Of course I know the words. I was twelve when this song came out.”
They sang together, and she pulled him over to dance beside her. She didn’t really expect him to do much dancing. Maybe just shake his hips. But he did a twirl, some air-punches, and a series of choreographed steps that she knew. She knew. “You can do all their moves?”
Carter was laughing too much to respond, but the answer was obvious as he went through a practiced series of steps, hops, and arm motions as he sang. It was too fun to resist, so she fell into sync with him and tried to do the dance too. She wasn’t nearly as good as he was, but it didn’t matter. They both sang at the top of their lungs.
Ruth was holding her half-eaten grilled cheese the whole time.
When the song ended, she was so overwhelmed with pure delight that she launched herself at him in a hug. Carter returned the embrace. Tighter than she’d expected. He squeezed her with his strong arms as she buried her face in his shirt. He smelled so good. Like laundry and butter and the expensive soap he used. He was so much bigger than she was.
They were pulling apart when Ruth became aware of a presence in the doorway to the kitchen. She turned to see an attractive woman in her fifties, wearing a flowing skirt and top that was both elegant and bohemian.
Ruth recognized her immediately. Carter’s mother.
The smile on Mrs. Wilson’s face was tender, emotional. Near tears if Ruth wasn’t mistaken. She’d obviously just witnessed at least part of their silly performance, and it had touched her deeply.
“Hey, Mom,” Carter said, looking just a little self-conscious as he pushed a hand through his hair and returned to the second half of his sandwich. “I didn’t know you were there.”
“I know you didn’t. I wouldn’t have gotten to be an audience to that little dance if you knew I was there. And I wouldn’t have missed it for the world. It’s been so long since I’ve heard you singing.” The older woman’s eyes moved over to Ruth. She was still smiling. “You must be Ruth, dear. It’s very nice to meet you. I can’t tell you how happy I am that you’re in my son’s life.”
“Mom, please,” Carter muttered under his breath. “Don’t overdo it. You’ll scare her away.”