Page 35 of Refraction

“Once, when Granny had to go answer the phone, maybe….”

Their banter was wonderful, and Calvin found himself smiling, just wanting to listen like a fly on the wall. He didn’t want to interrupt all the affection in it, all the joy.

He let Tucker lead him into what felt like Marge’s living room. There was lots of eclectic seating—a love seat, a couple of comfortable ottomans, an overstuffed chair, and a lovely window seat full of pillows that was calling his name.

“Have a seat wherever. I decided on tapas for supper. Fun and easy finger foods.”

“Ooh. Olives.” Tucker grinned over at him, winked. “I could live on olives and Lucky Charms. Separately.”

“Gross.” Tapas. Easy to pick at, lots of veggies… that saved him all kinds of embarrassment. Tucker had to have planted that seed, right? The way the cowboy looked out for him made him a little breathless. He pulled Tucker over to the window seat and caught those blue eyes. “The Lucky Charms I mean. The tapas are perfect.” Especially since they hadn’t ended up having them on their first night together.

“Lucky Charms are magically delicious.” Tucker looked so pleased, so happy. “The commercial says so.”

“Hmm. And that response, Marge, is everything that is wrong with this country.” Calvin laughed and gave Tucker’s fingers a squeeze. “That and the fact that someone actually thought, ‘Oh, I know! Let’s make fake marshmallow hearts and stars and moons in gross colors and have a leprechaun hawk them.’”

“Don’t look at me. I’m a ‘coffee and cigarette for breakfast’ girl.”

Tucker rolled his eyes dramatically. “I eat them for snacks. Heathens.”

He figured he better not pipe up, since he didn’t even eat breakfast.

“Marge, you’ve been in New York all this time and you haven’t managed to get Tucker up here for a real show before?”

“This is a lot of people for our Tucker. We all worried he’d get lost in the noise.”

He nodded at her, hoping she’d see he’d caught the subtext. “We, huh?” He looked at Tucker. “Well, it can be a bit of a zoo, but it seems like you’re doing pretty well to me.”

“I’m having a ball. I feel inspired. I’ve been sketching and enjoying myself more than I ever have.”

Inspired was a good look on the cowboy.

“So, Tucker says you were roommates with his granny? He hasn’t said a lot about her, but I have this feeling the two of you must have been quite a duo.”

“Oh yes. April was amazing. I was sixteen when I met her. I’d lied about my age, and she kept my secret. She was the best friend a woman could have. When my husband died, she came and stayed with me for six weeks, no question.”

Tucker reached out and took Marge’s hand, squeezed it gently. “And when Momma ended up stuck in Chicago at nineteen when her boyfriend left her, you flew out and managed to get her back home.”

“Sounds like you were lucky to have each other. No wonder Tucker misses her so much.” Tucker missed Marge too, he could see that. Maybe he should scheme with Marge to keep the cowboy in New York for more than a few weeks.

He so wasn’t above that.

“I’m sorry about your husband. Was he an agent too?”

“My Thomas? Oh, no. Thomas wrote children’s books. They were gentle and wonderful and totally unique.”

“Oh, how cool. All these creative people around you, Tucker, no wonder you’re so talented. It’s like it’s infused in your bone marrow.”

“I’m lucky. I meet the most amazing people.” Tucker was looking right at him when he said it.

“So tell me about your work, Calvin. Tucker says you’re a model.”

“Oh.” He forgot this whole conversation thing meant he would probably have to talk about himself. “It’s nothing deep, but it’s fun. I get to wear sexy underwear and get my picture taken. I meet neat people from everywhere. Travel sometimes. I like it.” Calvin shrugged.

“It sounds like a hell of a lot of work. I’ve known a few models. They’re disciplined people.” Marge made it sound like a real job.

“Thanks. That’s kind.” He was pretty sure he was blushing, but he gave her an appreciative nod. “I guess the days can be long, and sometimes I get asked to do crazy stuff, but I’m pretty patient.”

“Lord, no one has ever said that about me.” Tucker chuckled softly. “I can get frustrated.”

---