be held, and I like how that feels.

“Do me a favor?” I say after a short moment of silence.

“Let’s hear it.”

“Play for me.”

He looks surprised. “On the sax?”

“Yeah. Show me what you got.”

“I’m a little rusty on the sax.”

“All the more reason to practice.”

He kisses my neck and groans softly. “The things you make me do, Jimmy boy,” he mumbles as he

climbs out of bed, but there’s a smile in his voice. He gets the saxophone from his closet and out of the

expensive looking case. The instrument is shiny and elegant, not too big. I wonder if Grazzo gave it to

him. From what I’ve heard about Famous Dad so far, he probably did. Danny has been opening up to

me a lot this past week, telling me things about his past that no-one else knows. I like that. It makes me

feel like this could be a longer-term thing after all.

Danny fiddles with the mouth piece for a while, blowing on it a couple of times before he starts to

play. I sit up and laugh with delight when I recognize “On the Sunny Side of the Street”. The way he

plays it is a bit groovier and modern than I remember the tune, but gosh, that’s beautiful, masterful. And

what a glorious image this is, Danny playing the sax in his boxers in the middle of the afternoon, with

mild sunlight filling the room. Guess you really ain’t got a thing if you ain’t got that swing. Like father,

like son, I guess, truly in this case. Grazzo isn’t one of the great living jazz legends for nothing. You can

tell that with a bit of practice and a couple of years of serious experience in music, Danny could easily

be as great.

He wasn’t kidding, he really does need more practice, but he’s good, really good. I can just picture

him on stage with a big band somewhere, just making the audience jump up and dance. He looks all

loose and relaxed, and truly happy. He looks like Danny, not Rizzo when he plays. And that probably

explains why he doesn’t like to play for other people, always careful to keep his masquerade up. But he

seems to shine with some inner light when he’s making music, his eyes bright like they only ever are

when he’s looking at me. A case of true love, to be sure. I have to somehow make him study music. He

mentioned that he’s been thinking about it, but thinking is definitely not enough. So I make a little pact

with myself that I’m somehow going to make this happen. Even if I have to personally drag him to

music classes every day. I may not believe in destiny, but all the same - it’s clear that this is his.

* * *

Two weeks later Andrea and I walk into Cafe Plato at the same time to meet up with Danny. It’s still

quiet here this time of day. “I won’t go into the backroom,” I tell her by way of greeting.

She just shrugs. “Fair enough. Keller never does either.” She gestures toward the corner, where I can

see Nick hunched over a stack of his school books, oblivious to everyone else in the cafe. I make a

mental note to go over and say hi when he’s less busy. I’d much rather join his study orgy than be faced

with the ice queen on my own, thank you very much. But there’s no escaping now.

Andrea and I order our coffee, then she leads me over to an empty table by the big side window. An

awkward silence falls between us once we’ve settled down on our chairs. It’s a sunny spring day, still

somewhat chilly but lovely. There’s a blossoming cherry tree right outside the window, branches

swaying in the breeze. Little pink petals are sailing through the air, like they love to play with the wind.

I’ve never talked to Andrea alone. I have no clue what to talk to her about. She probably feels the

same way. Because let’s face it, we surely have exactly zero things in common. The play opens next

Friday, and she and Danny and Nick have pretty much spent every waking hour at rehearsal during the

week. But it’s the weekend now, and the aloof goddess looks just a little bit tired. She and Danny are

graduating next month, so I guess I could try to start a conversation about that. I’m still deciding when

she looks at me and takes matters into her own hands.

“So, Foley.” Somehow that opening doesn’t bode too well. “It’s a good thing I’ve caught you alone

for once.”

I arch an eyebrow, warily. “How so?”

“Let me make this clear: Danny is my best and oldest friend. There’s nothing I wouldn’t do for him.

And I don’t ever, ever, ever want to see him suffer again like last year when you dumped him.”

I’m somewhat baffled, so I just blink and look at her. She is a bit scary, isn’t she? I try to say

something, but she brushes me off.

“I want to know if you’re serious about him now, or if you’re just messing around again.”

I almost laugh, because the situation is somewhat bizarre, in the sense that I’d never expected

anything like this to happen in a million years. Someone interrogating me if I’m serious about Danny. I

lean forward in my seat. “I don’t know if you know this, and frankly it’s none of your business, but last

year Danny and I weren’t even together. I was seeing someone else.”

This seems like old news to her, and she frowns at me as the waitress brings us our coffee. I thank

the girl while Andrea ignores her, holding her tongue until she’s gone.

“That’s not really an excuse, is it? For the way you treated him.”

“You’re right, it isn’t.”

She eyes me suspiciously, and somehow that is almost cute. “So you’re telling me things are

different now?”

“Yes, Ma’am. But while we’re on the subject, tell me something. Is this for real? I mean, Danny… I

have no idea what I’m in for. Has he ever been in a serious relationship?” Because he still hasn’t told

me a lot of things, and I haven’t asked. And I have this nagging worry that he is gonna get bored with

me pretty soon. I don’t fit into his world, do I?

Andrea takes her coffee mug and leans back in her chair. “He has. Once. Back in high school. I don’t

think he was even that serious about the girl, but they were together for quite some time.”

“Was he…” I don’t believe I’m really gonna ask her this, and clear my throat. “Was he true to her?”

Andrea snorts. “You really don’t know him that well yet, do you? ‘Course he was.”

I’m more than a little surprised to hear this, and frown at her. “We are still talking about Danny

Rizzo, right?”

Andrea rolls her eyes. “Foley, I expected more of you. But if you must know, I’ve never seen him

this head over heels for anybody. People think he’s so superficial…”

I try to say something, but she stops me by holding out her hand, and continues: “But that’s all just

for show. He’s stuck with me through some rough times when all my other friends turned their backs on

me. This lifestyle he’s been leading for the past couple of years, I’ve always known that would end

some day. Us kids of divorces, we’re crazy like that, okay? I’ve had my times when I was out of control,

too. But that’s just it, isn’t it? You need someone to ground you, and be your home. And for reasons

beyond me, he seems to have found this in you.”

Her eyes are just a little bit warmer then, and she ends her expose with a half-smile that one might

interpret as friendly. I sit in slightly baffled silence for a while and watch my coffee getting cold. When

I lift my gaze to Andrea again, she’s smiling for real this time. It makes her seem like a different person,

and it’s suddenly clear that this lady has her own scars, and all the attitude is a protective measure.

“So we’re cool?” I ask, and wonder why I even care.

Her smile widens and she nods. “Seems like, Foley. I can teach you the ropes of how to navigate his