the strings clanged, the bow falling onto the table with a clutter.
“Hey!” Gia exclaimed, stepping into the apartment. “Why’d you stop? That was a hell of a groove!”
I didn’t normally get flustered, but something about being walked in on while playing music always left me feeling a touch exposed – almost like being walked in on wearing nothing but my underwear.
“Just practicing,” I said, lying.
“Well, whatever it was, it was good as hell.” Her eyes fell on the bottle of wine, and before she could ask I fetched her a glass.
“Sorry for barging in like that,” she said. “But the entrance was open and I was knocking – someone was feeling the music a little too much to hear me.”
“Yeah, I guess I was in the zone,” I said, shaking my head, still in the kind of daze that only total focus on playing could put me in.
“Don’t apologize,” Gia said, sitting down on the couch with her glass of wine in her hand. “After what you’ve been through you deserve some wine and song.”
“What I’ve been through?”
“Yeah, meeting Duncan’s brother.” She cocked her head to the side for a moment, as if something had just occurred to her. “Wait, did it go badly? I mean, you’re here instead of out with them.”
“It went…” I snorted a derisive laugh. “I don’t even think badly is the right way to describe it.”
“Oh no. I knew something was up when you got back to me so quickly. What happened?”
I was still processing it, still dealing with how freaking insane and surreal it was. “His brother is Andrew.”
She was confused, her eyebrows knitting. “Like, his brother’s name is Andrew? I mean, that’s kind of weird – same as your ex. But it’s a pretty common name.”
I let out a snort of a laugh. The whole situation was so insane that she wasn’t even considering what I’d actually said. “No, his name wasn’t Andrew – his brother is Andrew.”
“Wait. What? His brother is Andrew? As in, your freaking ex?”
“As in my freaking ex,” I repeated. “We went to the bar to meet him and there he was. It felt like something out of a bad dream.”
“What did you do?”
“I panicked – no idea what to do. Andrew was convinced it was all some kind of sick prank.”
She glanced over at the flowers he’d sent. “Don’t blame him one bit. He shows up to meet his brother’s new flame and it’s the woman he just broke up with. And evidently wants to get back together with.”
“I don’t even know what to think,” I confessed.
“Well, what was Duncan’s explanation?”
“He was just here, said he didn’t know that me and his brother had been involved.”
“And you believe him?”
“Either that, or I assume he’s lying. Either way it’s totally insane.” I sat on the couch next to her, silence in the air as we both tried to process what was happening. The prolonged silence was interrupted by my phone ringing.
“Maybe that’s someone who can explain all of this,” she joked, smiling at me.
I smiled back, shaking my head as I checked the screen. It was the opposite of someone who could explain all of it, in fact. Andrew.
“It’s him,” I hissed, holding up the phone so she could see his name.
“What!” she exclaimed. “Tell him you’ll call him back later or something.”
“No, I need to take this.” I got up, let a deep breath flow in and out of me, and then answered. “Hey.”
“Hey,” he replied. “How are you?”
“I think you can probably guess.”
I heard a quick chuckle on the other end. “Pretty insane situation we’ve found ourselves in, huh?”
The slightest hint of a smile formed on my lips. “You’ve always had a flair for understatement.”
“You’re right about that. Especially when it came to you.”
Shit. No more than a few sentences exchanged, and he was already laying it on thick.
“Listen,” he said, going on without waiting for me to respond. “We need to talk about this.”
“What’s there to say?”
“Plenty.” Then he paused as if something had occurred to him. “Did you like the flowers?”
“They…they were nice.”
“Good. You know, I never really bought them for you when we were together.”
“No, you didn’t.” I was maintaining my calm, not wanting to reveal the confusing whirlwind of emotions running through me.
“Anyway, let’s talk. Want to get together for a drink?”
Out of the corner of my eye, Gia gestured wildly. I glanced over to see that she was waving her hands in front of her face, mouthing the words “no booze” while