Page 35 of This Could be Love
“Well, they’re so different. Gabe is totally relaxed and Kay… She’s the most disciplined person on the planet.”
“Opposites attract, right?”
“Yeah, that’s probably what it is.” A little distantly I said, “Hetold me about his son.”
No idea why I brought that up out of the blue.
“Keiko.”
“Did you know him well?”
I remembered Gabe mentioning that Vince, Laurie, and his children used to play together.
“Well, as well as you do when you see someone once a year for just a few weeks. We used to go surfing together sometimes when we were on vacation here. Me, Keiko, Chip, and Millie.”
“Chip was there too?”
“He was Keiko’s best friend and went out with Millie.”
“Wait. Chip was…with Gabe’s stepdaughter?”
Vince nodded. “Yeah, for around five or six years.”
I made a surprised sound.
“Well, not everyone gives him a fake number.” I could hear him grinning.
“I just didn’t think Chip was the kind of guy for relationships.”
“Back then he was.”
“Hmm.”
The motion detector light went on, and, to my surprise, I felt a bit disappointed.
“Thanks for bringing me home. Even if it wasn’t necessary at all.”
“Laurie would chop my head off if she found out I let you walk home alone.”
“Did anything… I mean, did anything ever happen to her?”When he didn’t immediately answer I added, “Sorry. It’s none of my business.”
“Well, one time there was a dude waiting for her.”
“A stalker?”
“An ex.”
“Oh.”
“The rest of the story is for her to tell.”
“Right. I didn’t mean… It was just something that crossed my mind.”
We stopped speaking. It was time for me to say goodbye. It was time for him to say goodbye. But neither of us seemed to feel the need to do so. Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the light go on in Kay’s bathroom. Vince seemed to notice, too, and took it as his cue.
“Sleep well…Lou.”
The way he added my name, so soft and gentle, made my heart flutter.
