Beard With Me by Penny Reid

Author:Penny Reid [Reid, Penny]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Cipher-Naught

Chapter Fourteen

*Scarlet*

“Most people are not looking for provable truths. As you said, truth is often accompanied by intense pain, and almost no one is looking for painful truths.”

Haruki Murakami, 1Q84

Billy taught me what he called the basics—the clefs, notes, time, flats and sharps—and I must’ve caught on quick because the actual lesson part didn’t last very long. He only sat next to me long enough to explain the concepts and show me a few things.

Then he gave me assignments based on his ten minutes of instruction. He seemed super eager to get up and move. While I worked, he checked the stakes of my tent, the security of the clothesline’s knots around the tree trunks and cleared fallen leaves from around the campfire.

My stack of firewood seemed to be a real source of frustration for him. Actually, calling it firewood or a stack was a generous label for the small pile of sticks and rotten, felled branches I’d gathered. He kept frowning at it, questioning me about my fire tools, and scanning my camp with a preoccupied expression on his face.

At one point, I looked up and realized he’d disappeared, so I sang. I stood and sang, “Wild Horses” again until he appeared a few minutes later.

“Thanks,” he said, wearing a broody expression and carrying several large river rocks. “I couldn’t find my way back.”

“What’re those for?” I lifted my chin toward the rocks, deciding not to laugh at him or tease, though I was tempted. Something about the arrangement of his features told me not to.

“I’m putting them around the firepit, it’s safer if you have a buffer,” he grumbled, clearly in a mood.

If he hadn’t laughed so easily at a few of my jokes earlier—like he truly thought I was hilarious—I might’ve wondered if he was irritated with me about something. But in the end, I didn’t think so. He’d been super nice all day, but also super distracted.

We walked to the river together after that. He gathered stones, arguing with me when I insisted on carrying one too. I diffused the situation by telling a joke. He laughed. He took the time to explain his concerns, about my back healing and such. Once I understood where he was coming from, we compromised on several smaller rocks instead of the bigger ones. We walked back companionably enough, me humming, him listening quietly. But he still seemed off.

By late afternoon, I started worrying and wondering if there was something troubling him. Maybe something I could help with? But I didn’t know Billy well enough to figure out how to ask him if he needed help. I didn’t want him to take offense or think I was being nosy. So I spent the rest of the day telling him jokes and funny stories to lighten his mood, listening to and enjoying his friendly laughter.

Anyway, after checking my latest “music assignment” around sundown, I walked him to the edge of the field. He didn’t leave until I collected my fairy food

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