“For sure.”
She was quiet before reaching for my hand. “Colby, I’m sorry for asking you about it. We were having such a nice day and I had to blow it.”
I shook my head, comforted by the warmth of her hand atop my own. “You didn’t blow it. Like I told you, it was a long time ago, and I don’t remember much. And besides, no matter what happens, I’m not going to forget that we saw manatees when we were out in the kayaks today.”
“So you forgive me?”
“There’s nothing to forgive,” I insisted.
She studied me from across the table, as though trying to decide whether she believed me. Finally, she let go of my hand and reached for the grapes, pulling off a small bunch. “The manatee was pretty cool,” she said, obviously attempting to change the subject. “Both of them were. It almost felt like we were on the nature channel.”
I smiled. “What would you like to do now? Should I get you back to your friends so you can head to the Dalí or go shopping?”
“You know what I’d really like to do?” She leaned forward, resting her arms on the picnic table.
“No idea.”
“I’d like to watch you write a song,” she said.
“Just like that? You think I can turn it on and off like a faucet?”
“You’re the one who told me that things just come to you.”
“What if nothing has come to me since the last one?”
“Then maybe think about how you felt when you saw the manatee.”
I squinted, skeptical. “That’s not really enough.”
“Then how about the two of us having a picnic?”
“I’m not sure that’s enough, either.”
At last, she rose from the table. She walked to my side and leaned over; before I realized what was happening, her lips pressed lightly against my own. It wasn’t a big kiss or even a particularly passionate kiss, but it was tender, and I could taste a hint of apple on lips so soft they seemed almost perfect. She pulled back with a slight smile on her face, knowing she’d caught me off guard.
“How about a song about a glorious morning and first kiss, then?”
I cleared my throat, reeling a bit from what had just happened. “Yeah,” I said. “That might work.”
On the drive back to the condo, Morgan texted her friends furiously between occasional bouts of small talk.
“Keeping your friends up-to-date?” I asked.
“I told them we saw a manatee. Sent them pics.”
“Are they jealous?”
“They’re shopping, so I doubt it. After that, they’re planning to laze by the pool.”
“No Dalí?”
“I guess not. And they also mentioned visiting Busch Gardens in Tampa tomorrow.”
“That sounds fun.”
“Do you want to join us? We were thinking about heading out right after rehearsal, maybe around ten or so? And spend the day there?”
“My show is at four tomorrow, so I can’t.”
“Aww…” she said, sounding more disappointed than I’d expected.
Though we kept the conversation light on the drive, my mind kept returning to the kiss and what, if anything, she’d meant by it. Was she really just trying to inspire a song? Had she felt bad about bringing up my mom? Or did she actually want to kiss me because she was attracted to me? As much as I tried, I couldn’t figure it out, and Morgan had been no help at all. Right after she’d pulled back from the kiss, she popped a grape into her mouth and returned to her spot across from me, as though nothing had happened. She then asked me my zodiac sign. When I told her I was a Leo, she noted that she was a Taurus, casually mentioning that people from those two signs find it difficult to get along with each other. She said it with a laugh, however, leaving me even more confused.
At the condo, I pulled into my usual parking spot, then grabbed the cooler and started up the wooden steps to the second floor. Morgan trailed behind me with her bag over her shoulder, our flip-flops slapping in unison.
“I don’t know why, but I thought you were renting a place right on the beach.”
“Not all of us have doctor parents who pay for accommodations.”
“That may be true, but you also said it was your first real vacation in years. It might have been worth springing for someplace with a sunset view.”
“I didn’t need one. I’m singing on the beach, so I get to see amazing sunsets all the time. This place is mainly for sleeping and changing and doing my laundry.”
“And writing songs,” she added.
“Only when the mood strikes.”
As I opened the door, I was thankful I’d tidied it up earlier and equally thankful I’d kept the air-conditioning on. It was hot and growing steadily warmer, the approaching summer already making its presence known.
I set the cooler inside the door, feeling nervous in a way I hadn’t expected. “Can I get you a drink? Water or beer? I think there’s another tea left in the cooler if you want that instead.”
“I’ll take a tea,” she said.
I pulled another tea out, and grabbed a bottle of water for myself. I watched as she twisted off the cap while checking out the living room.
“It’s nice here. I like the decor.”
It was standard Florida Beach Vacation Rental, with functional, inexpensive furniture, pastel pillows, and garage-sale-quality paintings of fish and boats and beaches hanging on the walls.
“Thanks,” I said. When I booked it, I’d barely perused the photos because I was mainly focused on the price.
She motioned to the music equipment and guitar heaped in the corner near the couch. “So this is where it happens, huh?”
“I usually sit on the couch, but really I can write anywhere as long as I can play the guitar while I do it.”
She placed her tea on the coffee table, then gingerly took a seat on the couch. She leaned back, then sat forward, shifting around on the cushions.
“What on earth are you doing?” I asked.
“I’m trying to catch whatever it is you have that makes writing songs so easy.”
I shook my head. “You’re funny.”
“I’m a lot of things,” she said. “But I also have a confession to make. I brought some of my work with me today. A song I’ve been working on, I mean. I have most of the lyrics and some of the music, I think, but I was wondering if you’d listen to what I’ve done. I’d like to get your impressions.”
“Show me what you’ve got,” I said, feeling a bit honored. I grabbed my guitar and took a seat next to her on the couch. Meanwhile, Morgan set her phone on the coffee table before rummaging through her bag. She pulled out a spiral notebook, the kind high school and college students used. When she saw me staring at it, she shrugged.
“I like to use pen and paper,” she said. “Don’t judge me.”
“I’m not judging.” I leaned over to the end table and waved my own notebook at her. “I do the same thing.”
She smiled at that before setting the notebook on her lap. “Showing this to you makes me nervous.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Maybe because you’re so talented?”
At first, I wasn’t sure how to respond. Finally: “You don’t need to be nervous. I already think you’re amazing.”
I wasn’t sure where the words had come from; they seemed to have formed without conscious thought. For a moment, noting how she dropped her gaze, I wished I hadn’t said it, before realizing that she might actually be blushing. Not wanting to push, I drew a long breath.
“What genre of music are you interested in?” I asked. “And what kind of song are you thinking?”
I watched her shoulders drop a little before answering. “Right now I’m mostly interested in country-pop. Like early Taylor Swift? But probably more pop than country, if that makes any sense.”
“What have you got so far?”
“I have the top-line melody and some of the lyrics for the chorus. But I’m struggling with everything else.”
“All songs have to start somewhere. Do you have the music written down?”
“I made a recording on my phone. On the piano.” She opened the notebook to the appropriate page, then handed it to me and pointed. “Right here,” she said, before reaching for her phone. After a beat, she pulled up the recording. “This is just for the chorus, okay?”
“Got it.”
She pressed play, and after a couple of seconds, piano chords in a minor key rang out, making me sit up and lean in. I assumed that I’d hear her singing on the recording, but she’d only recorded the piano accompaniment. Leaning toward me, her finger on the page with the scribbled lyrics, she whisper-sang along with the melody, almost as if she was embarrassed to be heard.
There wasn’t much to the song at that point—maybe ten or fifteen seconds—but it was indeed enough to remind me of something Taylor Swift might have written when she was starting out. It mirrored the thoughts of a woman who, after a breakup, realizes that she’s better than ever and is flourishing on her own. Not a new idea, but one that would resonate with an audience—particularly females—since it spoke to the universal truth of accepting oneself. It was a theme that never grew old, especially when set to a hooky melody that would make everyone want to sing along.
“What do you think?” she asked.