The Sound of Us

Five

"Do you know what would be really dope? If you can play Pirates of the Caribbean better than Brent Mulligan!"

"Really?" Jason asked, his eyes sparkling in excitement.

Amir nodded and said, "I can teach you to play it like this."

I watched in awe, as his bow glided over the strings, letting the music flow with ease. When the piece ended, Jason and I gave him a round of applause and they jumped straight into the lesson.

I'd definitely made the right call with these extra classes... also for my son's sake.

***

Jason was already asleep when I came across the unfamiliar icon on my phone. Why anyone would want to read on a digital device, instead of a proper book had always eluded me.

I opened the app and saw the profile Amir had created. My user name was "puer aeternus" which a quick search revealed to have multiple meanings.

It was clearly a comment on my moment of self-consciousness about my age, because one of the meanings was "eternal youth". I found it charming that Amir had made the effort.

There was only one book in the reading list, a story named "Anatomy of a Crush" and it was tagged with the terms "lgbt", "gay", etc.

What the hell?! Why would he recommend a queer book unless... Fuck! Did he know about me? How?

Shit, shit, shit!

Was I really that easy to figure out? Wait, was he trying to tell me something? Fuck, I was so confused! Maybe the book would offer more insight.

The short story flowed seamlessly despite the time skips. When I reached the end, I was even more stumped.

What did it all mean?

Why would Amir make a move like this so quickly? Besides, wasn't he taking a massive risk by engaging with a parent in this manner? How could he possibly predict how I would react, even if I was "interested"?

There had to be an explanation for this seemingly reckless behaviour, although I couldn't help but feel flattered that I was on the receiving end of it.

It was surely going to drive me crazy but I'd have to wait a week to find out more. Unless, I asked Francesca for his number and somehow find a way to... ask.

Either that, or I could pretend I didn't read it and see what he would do. Yes, that made a lot more sense!