Page 164 of ClickBack

“It’s too low.”

“You moved your chair.”

He looks down at the chair. Ronan laughs from the next table and tells him he has to move it back now because they have witnesses.

Tracks & Vibes belongs to the work Bellamy and Ronan built together. Terrence brings his name, his stories, and a lifelong willingness to go off the subject. Bellamy knows when to follow him and when to bring him back. Cole says she can make either one look like the plan.

She comes over and hugs me. I introduce Giselle, and Bellamy takes her hand before pulling her into a hug, too.

“That color is beautiful on you,” Bellamy says.

“Thank you. I was determined to get it out of the bag.”

Giselle looks past her at the host table. I see her recognize Terrence properly, away from the lights and the backdrop. She turns back toward Bellamy.

“My mother loved your father.”

“She had good taste. He’ll tell you that himself.”

“She played ‘Midnight Rain’ until I knew where every scratch was on the record.”

Bellamy calls him over. Terrence listens while Giselle tells him about Brandi singing in the kitchen. He asks her mother’s name, then whether she is still with us.

“No,” Giselle says.

“I’m sorry.” He keeps hold of her hand. “Thank you for telling me about her.”

She looks at him with the expression people have when they are trying to speak past something in their throat.

“She would have been unbearable if she’d known I was meeting you.”

He laughs. “Then we should take a picture.”

I take her phone when she holds it out. Terrence stands beside her, and Bellamy moves a light stand out of the background. Giselle smiles for me. Afterward, she looks at the photograph and touches the screen before putting it away.

Mom arrives with Von while the crew finishes setting up. His curls are shaped close at the sides, and he has put on the watch he was asking me about last week. He notices me noticing it.

“Don’t say nothing.”

“Wasn’t going to.”

“You had a face ready.”

Mom goes straight to Giselle and asks if she wants to sit with her. They choose seats while Von gets his microphone fitted. He has questions about where the cable will show beneath his shirt, and Bellamy tells him this is why she asked what he was wearing yesterday.

Invited guests begin coming in. A few recognize me, more recognize Von, and phones come out while people find their seats. Giselle answers when somebody speaks to her. Then I notice her checking where a phone is pointed before she turns toward Mom again.

I don’t like that she has to think about it. I also know better than to decide she needs rescuing because I noticed.

I stop beside her chair. “Come with me a minute.”

She takes my hand and follows me into the rear passage, away from the cameras. I wait until the kitchen door closes behind us.

“You all right out there?”

“I am. I’m just conscious of people looking.”

“Want a different seat?”