Page 15 of Falls From Grace
“Oh god, I’m sorry, I thought you were Noah,” Brynn clapped her hand to her forehead. “Sorry about all the…” she trailed off, sentence unfinished. “Oh, hello there young sir!” She drifted closer, offering Tucker a big smile. Tucker leaned into his mother but smiled back bashfully.
“I’m sorry we disturbed you,” Savannah said tentatively. “We were wondering if you would like to come for a walk with us.”
“Yes!” Brynn fist pumped dramatically for Tucker’s benefit, who giggled. “Let me just get dressed.”
Back out in the air, the three of them headed for the path along the lake. It dipped up and down, high on the bluff and low along the beachfront. The air was chilly and smelled of fresh, clear water and damp leaves. Brynn shivered in her leather jacket.
“You know you’re going to have to start dressing for Vermont,” Savannah told her.
“I didn’t pack well,” Brynn admitted.
“Burlington has great winter shopping. You don’t have to be this freezing all the time.” She herself was wearing a dense wool coat that protected her against the breeze, but within weeks she was going to need to upgrade to one of her real winter jackets. Brynn sighed.
“I know, I know,” she said huffily. “I hate shopping, to be honest.”
“What do you like?” Savannah asked curiously. She knew she liked Brynn, but she knew so little about her.
“Oh.” Brynn paused, like the question was too private to possibly contemplate sharing. “The ocean,” she said after a moment. “Sushi. Star-gazing - like, the nerdy kind, not the romantic. Other people’s dogs. Road trips. Music.”
Savannah had a lot of questions. She started on familiar ground. “What music?” she pounced.
Brynn raised her eyebrows.
“Is this a coolness test?” she asked cautiously.
Savannah shook her head with a smile. Brynn rattled off a bunch of artists, mostly hip indie bands, like Savannah had expected she would, along with some old school soul and some mainstream pop.
“Notable genre exception,” she responded, though she was unsurprised.
“I’m definitely not an opera fan,” Brynn replied. “Or a big classical buff. Unlike Mr Brahms over here.” She reached in to boop Tucker’s nose. Tucker chortled at her, but Savannah wasn’t going to be fobbed off that easily.
“And country music?” she asked. Brynn looked awkward.
“I kind of was hoping you wouldn’t ask,” she confessed, screwing her nose up and looking out over the lake. “Not really my jam.”
“That’s fine,” Savannah told her. “But I want to know why.”
“I don’t know… like, I’m sure there’s a lot I’m missing,” she hedged. “Just you know… everything I’ve heard is very twangy guitars and my old dog died,” she did a quick ho-down motion with her arms.
“I knew it! Ugh, I’ve met your kind before.” Savannah had been expecting something like this, but the obnoxious dance move really pushed her over the edge.
“I’m not trying to offend you… wait, what kind?”
“I mean, you’re a snob, obviously, but ignorant is what I meant.”
“Oh wow, you’re not pulling any punches on this one.” Brynn didn’t seem offended, more intrigued. “Do go on,” she invited.
Savannah gestured to her to take over pushing the stroller as she pulled back her hair that kept blowing into her eyes and started twisting it into a knot.
“It’s typical Northern bias against the South,” she began. “Saying you hate country music is a socially acceptable proxy for thinking we’re all a bunch of hicks.”
“Woah, wait-”
“No, it’s true. You haven’t even investigated country music. You give these tired old cliches and I bet you can’t even name more than three songs, not even by Dolly.”
“Oh please, of course I can. 9-5, Jolene… um, I will always love you, and… um…” She held up her hands to ward off Savannah’s scoff. “What was that disco one?”
“Amazing,” she said sarcastically. “Did you know she has over fifty albums? Country, Americana, Bluegrass, she’s literally the biggest, most accessible star in the world - the woman has a goddamn theme park, for crying out loud - and you’ve not even bothered to take her seriously enough to deliberately listen to anything that you haven’t accidentally heard at the grocery store.”
