Page 38 of Tumbling Hearts

Presently, Ray sits at the wooden dining table with Santiago and Pat, eating some taco salad with homemade catalina dressing made by Santi himself. Every now and then Santi cooks for them all, but it’s difficult to round everyone up for a real dinner when people’s hunger schedules are all different. Stefan isn’t present, having retired back into his bedroom already, and Nicky is busy taking a nap in Gene’s bed upstairs. It’s a bit strange that Nicky is still here without Gene, but Ray didn’t feel it was necessary to kick him out when Gene left, either. Nicky has been good company, and the only reason Ray felt weird about him at all was because of… well, Gene. And Gene isn’t here anyway. So Nicky being here by himself is… fine.

Ray sets the fork in his mouth. “Mmm, Santi. This is so fucking good.”

“Thanks!” Santi cheers. “I gotta get some more recipe cards from my mom. Then I can make even more for you guys, if you want.”

“Yes. Definitely do that,” Ray says, finally swallowing down his bite.

There’s one more person not present at the Brooms’ residence today: Carol. But it’s business as usual—she’s off at another modeling gig in New York, and won’t be back until tomorrow morning. Every other weekend or so she’s usually at a gig, which Ray doesn’t mind. If anything, he appreciates having some time to himself. He wishes he could’ve spent some of that alone time with Gene while he was here, but alas, he had Toshiko over this past month. And now that they’re an official item, things are only going to get more complicated…

“A penny for your thoughts?” Pat asks Ray out of the blue.

“D’oh, why do you gotta ask that?” Ray pouts, setting his fork down in his bowl.

“Because you had a strange face, and I know it’s not because of Santi’s delicious cooking.”

“Okay, okay, fine.” He sighs. “I miss Gene. That’s all. But you guys already knew that.”

“There’s more to it, I think,” Santi says after he takes a bite. “’Cause I was noticing you were acting weird even before Gene left, remember.”

“Didn’t I already talk to you about that, though?”

“Yeah. But I don’t think whatever underlying thing was ever fully resolved.” Santi waves his free hand around as he talks. “It goes deeper than that.”

How is it possible that Santiago always gets everything right on the nose? Ray can feel his cheeks getting hotter.

“You don’t act this sad when Carol is away for her gigs,” Pat remarks.

“W-well, she’s only ever gone for a day, two days tops.” Ray puts the fork in his mouth again, taking another bite.

“And yet you were sad when Gene was still here.” Santi raises his pointer finger.

“Man, I already explained it to you!” Ray lets out a chuckle, hoping to calm his nerves. “Why bring it up again?”

“Because I’m trying to get to the bottom of this.” Santi gives him a stern, yet affable look. “I’m wondering if something’s going on with Carol and Gene that you’re not talking about.”

Ray’s brows crease downward. “Santi, I thought you yourself said you don’t like getting involved in other people’s relationship business.”

“Yes, but it’s also sorta my business when we’re all living together, in a band together. I’m your friend, dangit! I care about you, so I wanna know what’s up.”

“And I’m the one who asked in the first place, anyway,” Pat says. “Santi’s right. We’re your friends. We just want to help.”

Ray huffs out a sigh, stirring what’s left of his taco salad with his fork. “Yeah, I get it. Thanks, guys.”

“No problem. I do want to mention, though, back on the topic of Carol,” Pat continues, “I think it’s funny how you’re so distraught over Gene not being here now, yet you didn’t even flinch when you made the decision to not be with your own girlfriend for the Fourth of July.”

Ray winces. “I mean, when you say it like that…”

“Carol told me those same words,” Pat says. “You realize we hang out by ourselves sometimes. ‘Girl Time’, as she likes to call it.”

“That makes sense.” Ray huffs, then takes another bite of his food. “Well, hey, I made it up to her with Cedar Point, y’know. B-but, you mean, do you guys gossip about me?”

“What do you think?” Pat chuckles. “I wouldn’t call it ‘gossiping’. More like, sometimes she talks to me about you. She was worried, how you seem to be acting strange, more distant toward her.”

“Oh…” is all he can say. He doesn’t have a good excuse.

“I remember back when you were with Harriet, near the end there you were pretty distant with her too,” Santiago says. “And we all know why that was.”

“Wha—hey! You’re not accusing me of cheating on Carol, are you?” Even if it is completely true. “Back with Harriet, you guys knew what was going on without me even saying anything because you saw the other girls I was with. And nowadays, the only girl you’ve ever seen me with is Carol, correct?”