Page 57 of Falling Slowly
When she re-emerged, we continued down the wider track. The aspens gave way to maple trees glowing in orange and red. Bess took more photos and gathered more leaves. “Have you found any pinecones yet?” she asked me.
I smiled, shaking my head. Pinecones hadn’t even crossed my mind since yesterday, even though we’d been walking through a forest. My attention was on her, the sheer joy and energy she radiated.
“I can help you later. I’m sure we’ll come across some pines soon.” She scooted by a large maple tree, browsing the leaves, and hummed something. Her voice was soft and beautiful.
“What’s that?”
“Autumn Leaves. An old song that popped into my head.” She looked up, a little embarrassed.
“Do you want to listen to music?” I pulled a pair of earphones from my pocket, offering her the small white container. “I don’t think I have that song, but I’ve saved a lot of music on Spotify.”
She gave me an odd look. “It’s okay. But you should put them on, so you don’t hear me sing.”
“I have another pair for me.” I dug up a pair of identical wireless earphones to show her.
“My phone battery drains too quickly if I listen to music. And I have nothing saved on my phone, anyway.”
“We can both listen on my phone.”
I mentally browsed through my playlist, wondering if I had anything romantic. Should I even try something like that? It felt manipulative, and I wanted something real. I wanted us to be for real.
“You serious?” She stood up, her eyebrows pulled together. “Can you hook up two pairs of earphones to the same phone?”
“Yes.” I smiled at her shocked expression, and waited patiently until she picked up the white container from my palm, clicking it open, staring at the standard pair of earphones like it was a diamond ring. “Wow.”
I wanted to pull her into my chest and hold her so tight. So, so tight.
You’ll scare her off.
“Okay, Charlie. Play me your favorite song.” Her eyes bright and expectant, she placed the earphones into her ears.
I swallowed. This was it. Time to share exactly what was in my heart. Choose between playing it safe or playing something real. What did I have to lose?
Chapter Twenty-Four
Bess
Iwasn’t prepared for what flooded my eardrums when Charlie tapped on his phone. I associated rich people with elevator music and classical orchestras—soothing tunes played at cocktail parties that signaled everything was okay. That the world wasn’t on fire, and it definitely wasn’t their fault.
What Charlie chose to play for me made no sense. It was rap, or something like it. Musically ambitious, sung in an English accent, incredibly fast-paced and most of all, challenging. After a moment, the infectious beat pulled me into the effortless rhymes, and my mind started paying attention to the lyrics.
The song detailed the tenets of business economics with brutal sarcasm, criticizing greed and capitalism. When it ended, I plucked the earphone out, simply staring at him. “Who is this?”
“Ren. He’s a Welsh singer songwriter.”
“A rapper?”
“Yeah, that too. He’s phenomenal. I discovered him a while back, before he made it big. I always knew he would.”
“He sounds amazing. But those lyrics. You…” Words escaped me. I couldn’t exactly tell him he wasn’t allowed to listen to anti-capitalist songs, but it made no sense. “Do you agree with the message?”
His face stretched into that infuriating, self-satisfied grin. “You mean his breakdown of business economics?” He cocked his head, dropping the smile. “I think he’s exaggerating for effect, but it’s pretty accurate. Humans are ruthless in their pursuit of power. That’s how the money game works.”
“But you’re playing the game,” I insisted. “You’re playing and winning.”
“Yeah. It doesn’t mean I think it’s all puppies and rainbows. And it doesn’t mean I agree with the system. The rich are getting richer and money sits in assets rather than boosting the economy. The game is rigged against everyone else but the top one percent.” He paused for a moment, meeting my eyes. “And I’m not talking about the rich in third person to exclude myself.”
“Why don’t you get out of the game, then?” I asked.
