Go Around by E. J. Noyes

Author:E. J. Noyes [Noyes, E. J.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Bella Books
Published: 2021-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

After a tedious and tiring day, the moment I open the door, I hear music. Or more accurately—piano and quiet singing. After giving Bennett a hug hello, I follow the sound to the living room with him close behind. Ellie rarely sings when she plays, mostly because her go-to pieces are classical without lyrics but when she does, she’s incredible. I’m not sure I’m hearing what I think I am, but after a few moments I realize it is Simon & Garfunkel. “Bridge Over Troubled Water” and the sound is haunting. She’s always been able to take any piece of piano music and change the tempo and rhythm of it or even mix it with another style—Bach with a jazz lilt actually sounds pretty great—but in this case she’s turned an already emotional song even more so, the rhythm almost off-kilter and falling apart even as she keeps it together.

I’ve forgotten her singing voice and I’m not surprised to feel the prickle of tears and a familiar tightening in my throat that has nothing and everything to do with her song. My brother always said his musical tastes were born twenty years before he was, and growing up, he would play Simon & Garfunkel, the Beatles, Cat Stevens, Fleetwood Mac, Led Zeppelin and dozens of other artists—all on vinyl of course—at top volume until either my parents or I would beg him to give us a break. After he died, I dragged out the vinyls and stereo he’d left for me and played every record as loudly as I could until I’d exhausted his collection and my grief. Then I put everything away and haven’t touched it since.

I’m sure Elise has realized I’m there, but she doesn’t stop. I lean down to scratch Bennett’s chest then leave Elise to her restorative music. As I shower and get started on dinner, she flows through classical, pop, and rock before eventually emerging just as I’m setting the table.

“Hey,” she murmurs.

“Hey yourself. How was everything today?”

“Fine. Court was surprisingly easy, as was the FBI visit. They were excited for all the stuff Rosemary handed over.” Her smile is a little wonky. “And seeing my therapist was just what I needed to help me figure out my feelings about this. I’ll probably go back again before Christmas.”

“I’m glad.” I gesture to the assorted bowls on the counter. “Great timing by the way. You missed out on all the meal prep I was going to ask you to help me with.” The Vietnamese vegetarian summer rolls I made were fiddly but worth it.

Her grin tells me her tardiness is entirely intentional. “Thanks.”

“You’re going to be up shit creek when you go back to work and you have to cook every night instead of sharing duties with me.”

“I’ll be working most nights, and that’s why they have craft services on set.” She flutters her eyelashes. “Some nights if I’m too tired to cook, I hang around and steal some food before I go home.”

“Sneaky.”

“Very.” Elise dips a finger into the lime dressing.

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