Page 14 of Share with Me

Not gonna happen.

Nope. Not since Grandpa Otto had that massive heart attack when he was out shopping.

Grandpa Otto had been quite a historian himself, and Ivan imagined he would get along with Brinley as they talked history—

Brinley? How did she pop into my head?

His eyes came upon hers, twenty feet of space between them. She quickly looked away. How long had she been looking this way? What for?

Ivan felt self-conscious. But there was no time to ponder why she had been staring as Conductor Petrocelli tapped his baton. Ivan led the tuning but his mind was on a certain seat. She made him unable to focus. He struggled through the simple process.

The Sea Islands Symphony Orchestra rivaled that of other small orchestras. Maybe someday SISO might play with the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. Ivan had thought of auditioning for a position there, even if it was only second violin. Then again, he’d have to move Grandma Yun all the way to Atlanta and settle her into a new town, a new place, a new hassle. In the end he had given up on that and simply stayed on St. Simon’s Island.

Thank God he had done that because when Grandma Yun fell and broke her hip, they would never have been able to afford her surgery, recovery, and rehabilitation without Ivan’s SISO health insurance. After that, Ivan stayed on, becoming Grandma Yun’s primary caregiver and taking over the management of the family finances. And debts.

Six years.

Six long years.

Gustav Holst’sJupitertheme soon filled the entire ballroom. When SISO was done, Ivan watched as his brother Quincy walked up onto the platform, hand in hand with Zoe. The other hand held a microphone.

“That was my brother, Ivan, and SISO giving Holst a run for his notes, y’all,” Quincy said. “Was that amazing or what?”

Ivan cringed as Quincy yelled into the microphone, his voice echoing off the plaster walls. Everyone clapped and cheered.

Ivan spotted his friend from the Seaside Chapel Men’s Bible Study Group, Chef Sebastian Langston, restaurateur and caterer, roll a giant purple-and-black cake toward the platform. Ivan wondered if the cake was even edible. He thought that the small little cake he’d bought for Grandma Yun from Publix looked more delectable than that ghastly creation. Sebastian lit the candles, all twenty-five of them.

Quincy beamed. “We’re going to sing happy birthday to my sweetie pie, Zoe!”

The orchestra began to play a boisterous jazz accompaniment to the singing of a wild and off-key “Happy Birthday” to Zoe who was beaming with delight.

After the crowd calmed down, Zoe took the microphone, Quincy’s gangly arms hanging over her petite shoulders.

“Before we have our cake and eat it too, I want you to be the first to know…”

Uh-oh.Ivan braced himself.

“Mom, Dad, everyone.” Zoe drew a deep breath. “Quincy and I are married, we’re having a baby, and we’re moving to Paris!”

A hush swept through the ballroom.

Ivan’s eyes immediately shot to where Grandma Yun was sitting. She had spilled her water on the table. Around the table, Aunt Ella, Ned, and Rose looked stunned.

And Brinley. She was reaching toward the floor to pick up her iPhone. Then she stared at her sister and her now husband.

As for Ivan, he didn’t know what to think.

Moments later, the entire room erupted in a cacophony of confused applause.

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