Page 56 of Somebody To Love

“Sounds good to me, lead the way.”

We hoped in our golf cart which I insisted on driving, much to Ty’s disappointment, and then looked down at my clothes. “Do I have time to change?”

“You look fine.”

“You sure?”

“Again, you could wear a paper bag and—”

“You would still find me beautiful, I know, I know.” I said it as if I were tired of hearing him say that. But honestly, it never grew old. Mostly because I knew it wasn’t a line... he meant it.

It felt good to feel secure in a relationship. It felt good to feel as if I could trust his word. I didn’t doubt Ty’s feelings for me at all. I had asked for transparency and that’s what I had received. Even though I had been burned before, something about him made me feel as if I could trust him. And I simply did.

Once we left the golf course, we went to the outdoor theatre in a clearing in a community filled with walking trails under a canopy of forest. Trees stretched for miles on each side and in the midst of them was the clearing situated on a slight hill where at least fifty people had already gathered to see this evening’s show. It was just beginning to get dark when we arrived. And on our way there, Ty had insisted on stopping at his home to grab a blanket for us to sit on. I was glad he had because about time we reached the play all the lawn seats in front of the stage were taken and the only room that remained was on the hill overlooking the stage. We made our way up there, placed the blanket on the lawn and sat down. Quickly, we realized that tonight’s show wasn’t a play at all but an opera.

“This is my first opera.” I admitted in a hushed tone. I didn’t want to disturb the other people around me even though the nearest person was like eight feet away.

“How are you liking it so far?”

“I’m enjoying it. It’s not boring at all.”

He laughed. “You expected it to be boring?”

“Well, yeah, once I realized it was an opera and not like a children’s play or something.”

“You thought I was taking you to see a children’s play?”

“Well, I sort of thought it would be since you know... it’s free and all.”

He nodded in understanding. “These are professionals. Some sort of art endowment pays for the performance.”

“Ah, that explains it. Wealthy donors.”

“My grandparents donated. I heard even once upon a time, my mom wanted to be an opera singer.”

“Whatever happened to her?” I asked softly.

At first, I didn’t think he had heard me.

“She died of liver cirrhosis. She pretty much drank herself to death.” He cleared his throat. “And Dad, before you ask, he’s still around. He started another family.”

“You have siblings out there?” I asked not wanting to focus on his mother’s death. No matter how he felt about her, I’m sure it was hard for him to lose her.

His face spread into a smile and I was relieved that I had asked him a question that hadn’t caused him pain. “I do. Just one. A sister. She’s about eighteen now.”

“So you’ve met her?”

He nodded. “Definitely. I had already moved out of my grandparents’ home before my dad remarried, but he would bring her over for certain holidays, so I would always visit when he did.”

“You never went to his home?” I knew I was probably asking too much, but I was curious to know more about him. And the type of parents we had impacted us so much.

“Dad’s?” He shook his head. “I’m afraid I’m not the forgiving kind. If it hadn’t been for my sister, I wouldn’t have had anything to do with him. And he knew that.”

“I’m sorry.” I really was. Among all my friends, we all had rocky relationships with our parents.

“It is what it is. I just moved forward promising myself that I wouldn’t make the same mistakes.”

“And you haven’t. You’re Mr. Perfect. A doctor. An upstanding citizen. Running your own business. Successful by anyone’s standards.”