Page 48 of Unsaid Things

Chapter Twenty

“Lance!” Gabby squealed and threw herself into his arms, the large rectangle of her violin case banging him in the side as it slid off her shoulder. He hugged her, smiling widely despite getting whacked with a large hunk of hollow wood. That sucker was heavy duty, designed to protect an expensive instrument.

When Gabby pulled away from him, she looked behind him to see Abby. Abby gave a small wave, and Gabby squealed again, bouncing over to give his girlfriend a hug, which Abby returned, surprised laughter escaping her as Gabby squeezed as hard as she could.

“Oh my God, I’m so glad to be here and not on a plane anymore.” Gabby blew out a dramatic sigh and hefted her case on her shoulder again.

Lance raised an eyebrow. “Bad flight?”

“You have no idea. Where’s the luggage claim? Let’s go get my suitcase, and I’ll tell you all about it.”

Lance laced his fingers through Abby’s and gave her a smile before leading the way to the baggage claim carousels. She smiled back at him, Gabby’s energy infectious, even when she was ranting about flights filled with screaming babies, seat mates with body odor, and TSA agents who thought her extra strings might be wires for a bomb.

“Seriously. DFW is a major airport. Have they really never seen a stringed instrument in an X-ray machine before?” Gabby rolled her eyes and shook her head, the violin in question now resting on the floor at her feet along with her crossbody bag as they waited for her suitcase. She pushed her hair out of her face. “And that’s not even counting the airline agent who tried to get me to check it. I asked her if she could guarantee that it would make it to my destination safely and in one piece. When she hesitated, I said, ‘That’s what I thought. I’ll carry it on, thanks.’” Another eye roll. “Stupid woman. Like hell I’d check my baby.” She reached down and patted the navy blue canvas of her case. “Violin cases are good, but they’re no match for baggage handlers.” She straightened. “I’m here for an audition. I’d have to be crazy to let anyone else touch this. Although, I sat next to a guy in the terminal in Dallas, and when I told him about the lady hassling me about it, he told me he was flying first class and that he’d wait until I got on the jetway before boarding in case they tried to make me gate check it. He said they’d let him carry on whatever he wanted because there was a closet in first class where they could stash it, and it wouldn’t be in an overhead bin that way. Fortunately, that wasn’t necessary.”

Lance exchanged another glance with Abby, and she rolled her lips between her teeth to suppress a smile. He didn’t even bother. Gabby was so focused on her rant that she didn’t notice.

The buzzer indicating that suitcases were coming interrupted whatever Gabby was going to say next, and she made her way to the carousel to keep an eye out for her bag. Abby leaned in close to him. “Is she going to be like this the whole time?”

Lance chuckled. “She’ll settle down once we get home. She’s tired and wired from traveling, and she’s probably a little nervous about being here. ”

Abby smiled at that, and they waited in companionable silence while Gabby retrieved her bag. Once she’d dragged it back to them, Lance reached for it, letting Gabby carry her case—her baby—and purse.

The cold air of late February felt refreshing after being in the stuffy airport. Gabby let out another little squeal, this one of surprise. “Oh my God! It’s freezing here!” She grabbed the edges of her light cardigan and wrapped it tightly around herself.

“I told you to bring a jacket.”

“I did!” The indignant look she gave him made him laugh out loud. She held her arms out. “What does this look like?”

“Um, some kind of shirt?”

She just rolled her eyes and sped up. “Hurry up. Where’s your car? I’m freezing.”

Abby shot him an amused look. “If that’s the warmest thing you brought, you can borrow one of my jackets while you’re here.”

Gabby gave an exaggerated shiver. “Thank God. At least one of you has basic human sympathy.” She shot Lance a dirty look, which made him laugh harder.

“Good to see you too, Gabby. Welcome to the northwest. It’s cold here this time of year.”

“No kidding. This place is like the Arctic!”

Abby’s grin grew wider. It was chilly, sure, but it wasn’t even freezing. For this time of year, it didn’t feel too bad out, though the temperature had dropped since the sun went down. But his little sister wasn’t used to the definition of cold that people around here used. Forty was cold in Dallas. Below that was practically apocalyptic.

Gabby kept up her constant chatter the whole way back to their apartment, filling them in on everything going on at school and with the family. He noticed she hadn’t yet mentioned their dad’s feelings about her audition this weekend. At Christmas he hadn’t seemed thrilled by the idea.

Lance glanced at his sister in the rear view mirror. “Dad’s not giving you too much crap for auditioning here is he?”

He caught her wrinkling her nose before she shook her head. “Not really.”

“So that means he’s giving you the silent treatment about it?” He let out a sigh when she nodded, all too familiar with that. “Don’t let it get to you. He’ll get over it.” Probably. Hopefully faster than he had when Lance decided to go to Marycliff. “You’re his baby, so he has to thaw on the issue eventually.”

Gabby shrugged. “It’s not like it’s a done deal that I’m coming here or anything. I still need to audition and meet with the violin professor and see if I even get in, much less get a scholarship.”

“Please. You’ve already gotten acceptance letters and scholarship offers from some great programs in Texas. They’d have to be morons not to do the same.”

“I could have a crappy audition. It happens.”

“If you say so.” He glanced at her in the mirror again when she didn’t respond. Her eyes were focused down. “You nervous?”

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