Chasing Abby(51)

I glance over at Abby and Caleb and they’re both staring at Ryder. Then he plays the first note and I instantly know what it is. I walk over to stand behind him as he plays the opening to “Imagine” by John Lennon. When the first verse starts, I sing along with him. By the third line, Caleb has joined us and Abby is giggling uncontrollably. Caleb doesn’t have a very good singing voice, but what he lacks in talent, he makes up for in enthusiasm. At the first chorus, I play a soft accompaniment on my Les Paul while Caleb and Ryder continue singing. Abby sidles up to the piano, tapping her foot to the beat.
“Come on, Abby. You know you want to dance,” Caleb says, and Ryder laughs as he continues playing. “Just do it. Dance like nobody’s watching.”
Caleb raises his arms above his head and does a little pirouette. Ryder laughs so hard he loses track of the melody.
Abby punches Caleb in the arm. “Shut up.”
I beckon Abby to come closer. “Come here.”
I nod toward Ryder and she sits next to him on the bench. He shows her how to tap out a single note while he plays on the other side of the keys. He starts singing the first line of the second verse, and my heart soars when she joins in on the next line. When the song is over, I notice Caleb is staring at her with the same starry look I’m probably wearing.
I guess John Lennon was right. We’re all just a bunch of dreamers. And I hope we never wake up.

Chapter 21 - Abby


SHARING A BEDROOM with Jimi for six days has been beyond awkward. I almost left the beach house to go home on two different occasions this week.
The first time I felt like leaving happened on the first morning after we arrived on Sunday evening. When I went to bed on Sunday, Jimi pretended not to hear me enter the room, and I went straight to sleep. But the following morning, I was awakened by the sound of Jimi’s alarm at six a.m. It took her at least a minute to turn off the incessant beeping. Then she scurried about the bedroom, banging closet doors and dresser drawers as she looked for something. I guess there wasn’t enough light in the room, so she groaned and complained aloud, “Ugh. I can’t see anything in here.” Then she pulled the curtains wide open so the bedroom was flooded with light. The whole time, I kept trying to convince myself that I should throw off the covers and say something to her. Offer her some help finding whatever it was she was looking for. But I was just so angry. I was afraid I’d say something rude.
Caleb convinced me to stay when I told him what happened. And everything seemed fine the rest of the week. She hasn’t spoken to me much, but she did show Caleb and me how to check the electrical breakers in the basement when the amp Chris let us borrow wasn’t working when we plugged it into an outlet in the living room. Then last night, Jimi’s friend Sydney arrived and I absolutely wanted to leave. Over a fairly uneventful family dinner, Jimi asked if I could sleep with Caleb in Ryder’s room while Sydney was visiting for the weekend. Of course, I had no idea she was going to make this request. When I looked up at her from my plate of pasta, she was smiling at me.
“That’s what you want, right? To sleep with Caleb?”
My heart pounded so hard with anger and shame, I had to take a Nitrostat. I wanted to pack up my stuff and leave right then. I went down to the basement to fetch my empty suitcase, but the sound of footsteps on the wooden stairs stopped me. I expected to see Caleb or even Chris or Claire. But when I turned to see who had followed me down, I was surprised to see Ryder descending the last few steps into the humid basement.
“Please don’t go, Abby.”
The disappointment in his wide brown eyes and the frown on his pink lips broke my heart. I was so tired. Physically and emotionally. But something inside me wanted to keep fighting for this little guy.