Songbird Caged

by Lisa Edward

  “What do you mean ‘in theory’?” he asked.

  “Well he’s—” I flapped my hand in the air.” —over there somewhere, and I’m here, just sitting here waiting. Why can’t I have a little male attention every now and then?”

  He came and sat back down beside me. “I told you it was a mistake to commit to him and shut yourself off from everyone.”

  “It wasn’t a mistake, I just …” I sighed. “… I just get lonely sometimes.”

  “Even though we spend ninety percent of our time together?” he queried.

  I looked up at him from under my lashes. “Different kind of lonely.”

  He smirked at me. “The offer’s still there. I can put it back on the table for you, if you’d like.”

  I delicately shook my head, and got up to go into the shower. I still had the percussion section of an orchestra playing in my head, which Cole seemed to understand. By the time I came out of the bathroom, there was a café-bought coffee and two aspirins waiting for me.

  I rummaged through my purse in the car as we drove to Pops’ nursing home. I had deliberately left my phone at home the night before, so I wouldn’t be tempted to ‘drunk dial’ Cole. What had happened instead was that I had ended up with four phone numbers of guys whose faces I couldn’t recall clearly, written on drink coasters.

  “What’s that?” Cole asked, as he watched me out of the corner of his eye.

  “Nothing. Just phone numbers.” I smirked as I watched him out the corner of my eye.

  “I heard you were very popular last night.”

  I didn’t respond.

  “I bought your coffee from Nicole. She told me you were dancing on a podium at the club.” He glanced at me quickly again.

  I still didn’t respond.

  “She said you didn’t buy a drink all night, and yet you were totally wasted by the time you got home in the early hours of the morning.” He was still watching me, but he had a cheeky grin on his face now. “So, did you get it out of your system? Or do I need to chaperone you the next time you go out?”

  I shrugged. “Last night should tide me over for a little while.”

  “Good, glad to hear it.”

  Butterflies were flying around in my stomach. I was so excited to be meeting Pops.

  The nursing home looked comfortable, and I was surprised by how homely it felt. I had always pictured nursing homes to be quite cold and sterile, but this felt almost like a hotel, or a ski lodge.

  There was a reception area that Cole walked straight past, which led to a number of corridors. We turned a left, and then a right before a large common area was in front of us. It was decorated in rich colours that gave the feeling of a warm embrace. I trotted along beside Cole down another corridor, gripping his hand nervously, until we stopped in front of an open door.

  From the doorway, I could see a very smartly-dressed man, combing his thick silver hair in the mirror.

  “Hey, Pops,” Cole called cheerily, announcing our arrival.

  Pops turned around, and it was like looking at Cole sixty years into the future. He was slightly stooped, his face was wrinkled, but those eyes were unmistakable. He beamed at Cole, and gave him a heartfelt hug before turning to me, and taking my hands.

  “You must be Tara. I’ve heard so much about you.”

  I smiled, and then, without thinking, stepped towards him and gave him a hug. His eyes sparkled the way Cole’s often did, and he gave me the same wink I had seen so many times from his grandson.

  I fell in love with him instantly.

  “It’s so nice to meet you, er …” I hesitated. “Mr Michaels.”

  He gave me a husky laugh. “Oh, for goodness sake, call me Pops. I feel like we’re old friends already.”

  He walked us back to the common area we had only moments ago walked through, and offered us a seat on a small two-seater sofa. Cole and I sat down, our legs touching as the sofa was so narrow. Cole looked over at me, his eyes sparkling as much as Pops’. He took hold of my hand and rested it on his thigh, and didn’t let it go. Pops gave Cole a sly smile, and nodded approvingly, before taking a seat in a big comfy armchair.

  Sitting back and listening to the easy banter between Cole and Pops, I was drawn in to the storytelling and jokes that they bounced off each other. It was such a loving relationship that they shared, and it was yet another side to Cole that I had never seen.

  A bell rang over the loud speaker, and Pops pulled himself out of the chair. He offered me his arm, which I graciously accepted, and escorted me into the dining room.

  We sat at a large round table that seated twelve. It soon filled up as Pops’ friends came to join us. I suppressed my smile as several elderly ladies gave Pops, and then Cole, a kiss on the cheek. Cole was obviously well known to them all, as it appeared was I; they all seemed to know who I was.

  We sat down to a huge meal of roast lamb with all the trimmings, and rice pudding. The conversation flowed constantly around the table. I was having such a great time. All my nerves of meeting the great Victor Michaels had disappeared, and instead, I felt like I was with family. Maybe not my own family, but a warm, loving family.

  After lunch, Pops led us into the recreational room. It was a large area with a television at one end, and couches around it. In the middle was a pool table, and a couple of other little tables that could be used for playing cards or writing letters. At the far end was an upright piano.

  “So, young lady, I hear you are quite the musician.”

  I looked at Cole. He had obviously mentioned me to Pops, but just what he had said I wasn’t sure.

  “Ah, yes, I play the piano. Not as well as you, though.”

  Pops took hold of my hand, and patted it. “That’s not what I hear.” He led me to the piano. “I’d love to hear you play something. We don’t get a great deal of entertainment here. Only when Cole comes to visit.”

  I looked over at Cole. He shrugged. “I usually get roped into playing, but it looks like I get the day off.”

  “You could play with me. You’ve done it before.”

  Cole bit his lip. “I’d love to play with you, but you won’t let me.”

  A blush crept up my cheeks as I realised what he was referring to, and I quickly looked at Pops. I didn’t want to shock him with sexual innuendos between us, but I needn’t have worried. Pops had the cheekiest grin on his face as he watched us.

  Pulling the piano stool out, I perched on the edge, not knowing what to play. Most of the songs I’d been playing at Songbirds were from our generation, and I didn’t think the nursing home residents would enjoy them.

  “Did you want me to play one of your pieces?” I asked Pops. “I know quite a few. Cole gave me your original bound scores.”

  Pops raised his eyebrows at Cole. “Did he? Well, well, isn’t that interesting?”

  I looked apologetically at Cole. Had I just gotten him into trouble for giving away a family heirloom? But Cole was just looking at Pops with an embarrassed grin.

  “That book was always something that Cole treasured, since he was a little boy. I guess he treasures you more.” Pops gave me a wink, and then waved it off. “It was his to do with as he pleased. I’m more than happy for you to have it. Now, I’d like to hear something I didn’t write.”

  I let my mind go blank, and waited for the first song to reveal itself. I thought about how I felt when I saw Cole leaving the bar with random girls, and ‘You Don’t Know Me’ came to mind. It was risky. Would he read too much into it? Was it possible for him to read too much into it, or was that how I really felt? Either way, I started playing and singing.

  I sang about the person in question, not knowing how I really felt about them. How they only think of me as a friend, and how it hurts to see them walking away with someone else.

  When I finished, I looked over at Cole and Pops. Pops nodded to me, his eyes full of understanding and compassion. Cole met my eyes for a moment, his eyes full of hope, and then he turned away and smiled.

&
nbsp; I had to find something else to fill the silence, and quickly. With Ray Charles in mind, I decided to play ‘Georgia on my Mind’. I called Cole over and he came and sat beside me, resting his hand on my knee.

  He leaned in, and whispered, “I think you and me need to talk, babe.” Then he squeezed my leg.

  I swallowed hard. Great! I’d just opened a can of worms.

  “Can you just sing, please?” I asked. I didn’t want to think about having a deep and meaningful conversation right now.

  Cole sang, his deep sultry voice suiting the song perfectly. When we finished, I turned around to find the recreational room was nearly full with residents. Some were sitting and just listening to the music, but quite a few were slow-dancing together. It was so cute to see, and it brought a tear to my eye.

  I played a few more songs as they were requested, then was asked to play ‘I Only Have Eyes For You’.

  I couldn’t, but I didn’t want to blurt out why. Cole looked at me curiously.

  “It’s a Riley song. He sang it to me at the army charity ball as we slow-danced. I don’t think I could play it without crying.”

  He just shook his head at me. “Maybe we don’t need to have that talk after all.”

  He got up and joined Pops, who was sitting on one of the chairs nearby. Pops asked what was wrong, and Cole shook his head. Then they whispered to each other, back and forth while I watched. It made me feel very vulnerable. Obviously, Pops knew more about our relationship than I did. In the end, he patted Cole’s leg, and then came over to me.

  “Would you humour an old man and dance with me?” he asked.

  Cole played song after song while Pops and I danced. As with most people of his generation, he was a wonderful dancer, and he twirled me around in waltz and foxtrot.

  “My dear girl, it’s been so lovely to dance with someone who stays off my toes.”

  I giggled. He was such a sweetie.

  “Have you danced with Cole?”

  I shook my head. “No, I haven’t had the chance. Is he any good?”

  “I dare say it depends on who he’s dancing with.” He twirled me around, and back into his arms seamlessly. “Dancing with the right person can be quite … intimate, quite magical, like there’s no one else on earth but the two of you moving as one to the music.” He gave me a wink. “Let’s see, shall we?”

  Then, to my surprise, Pops decided he wanted to play the piano, and told Cole to trade places with him.

  Cole came over, and nervously took me in his arms. We had hugged many times, but as he held me and the music filled the room, I discovered that Pops had been right—it felt more intimate than anything else we had done.

  Resting my head on his shoulder, he pulled me in tight against his hard body. I closed my eyes, and listened to the music as Cole swayed me from side to side, every movement making the muscles in his torso ripple. I could feel Cole’s breath in my ear, his heart beating fast against my hand on his chest. I felt his lips against my temple with soft feather-like kisses.

  I moaned softly, and he drew a ragged breath. I could feel my breathing increase as he held my body against his. I reached around behind his neck, and ran my fingers through his hair.

  “Maybe we do need to talk,” he whispered in my ear as he nibbled gently.

  I sighed. Maybe we do.

  MONDAY WAS a tradesmen’s rostered day off, so none of them were working over the weekend. That put a halt to the renovations.

  “We should all go somewhere for the weekend,” Nicole suggested.

  A group of us were sitting around a table at Songbirds, going over our list of things to do. I wanted this whole project to be in collaboration with my friends, so each person had their own list of tasks.

  “I can’t,” Kelli said disappointedly. “I’m going down to see my parents.” She grimaced at me.

  I gave her hand a squeeze. “Do you want me to come for moral support?”

  “No, that’s fine.” She leaned in towards me, and lowered her voice. “Mum should be okay. It’s just Dad that I’m worried about, and I’d hate for you to see a grown man cry.”

  We toyed with ideas, before Marcus tentatively suggested that maybe we could go back to my family’s beach house. It was big enough for all of us, and it was free, which was a bonus.

  There were five of us going. Jason had been keeping a low profile recently, which I suspected was because Marcus was dating Nicole. I suggested we call him, and invite him along, too.

  Marcus shook his head. “I’ll ask him to keep an eye on the bar. He won’t want to come with us, anyway.” His eyes darted to Nicole, instantly confirming my suspicions.

  “Right, so we can all go in the one car, then,” Jay said happily.

  “No, I’m taking Tara in my car.”

  I looked over at Cole. He grinned at me, and raised his eyebrows.

  “Why do you want to take a two-seater car, Cole?” Jay questioned. “That just means we have to take two cars.”

  “Yep. I don’t have a problem with that,” Cole said stubbornly. “Tara and I in one car, and you, Marcus and Nicole in the other.” He stood up. “Right, that’s settled then. Let’s all meet back here in one hour.”

  Cole grabbed my hand, and pulled me up out of my seat. “I’ll pick you up in forty-five minutes from your place.”

  I raced home, then quickly called my parents to make sure the house was free. Luckily, they didn’t have any plans to go, so we could use it. I told my mother who was going, and she nearly wet herself when I told her Cole would be one of the friends going with me.

  Honestly, she needed to get a life.

  We met back at Songbirds and then headed off in two cars to pick up the keys. Cole and I went to the door, and were greeted instantly by my mother. She gave me a half-hearted hug before greeting Cole like a long-lost friend. We couldn’t stay, thank goodness—we had people waiting for us. But she made us promise to stop for dinner when we returned the keys after the weekend.

  “I think she likes you,” I joked to Cole when we were back on the road. “I think she likes you more than she likes me.”

  He chuckled. “I think she likes you and me together.” He looked at me out the corner of his eye. “So do I. I think we’re a good team.”

  I smiled at him, and patted his thigh. “I think we’re great friends.”

  Turning in my seat to face him, I asked, “Why did you want to bring separate cars?”

  “Because I always feel like Jay and Marcus are watching me whenever we’re together, and I want to be able to do this.” He picked up my hand that was still resting on his leg, and kissed it. “Or this.” He rested his hand on my knee, and gave it a little squeeze. “And not be made to feel like I’m taking advantage of you, or betraying Hotshot.”

  I smiled at him, and gave his leg a squeeze.

  “What?” he asked.

  “I feel the same way. I wouldn’t be surprised if they report everything back to Riley. He’s already mentioned in a letter that he’s heard that we’re spending a lot of time together. It’s like we’re being spied on.” I said it jokingly, but I was partly serious. I thought Kelli must have told Cooper who in turn had told Riley, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I wasn’t the only one writing to Riley from back home.

  “Right, so for the whole trip I’m going to do this.” He held the hand that was on his leg, and didn’t let go.

  “Okay, so where is everyone sleeping?” Jay asked as we entered the main living area of Ocean Views.

  “Where do you sleep?” Cole asked, turning to me.

  I pointed to the master bedroom. He nodded, then took my bag and his in there, and dumped them down, before coming back out.

  Jay raised his eyebrows at me, questioningly. I internally cringed.

  Cole and I had slept together in the most innocent sense many times, so for me it was obvious that we would share a room. But no one else knew that, so everyone was looking at me, waiting for an explanation.

  “Um, we’ve shared a
bed before. Just, you know, to sleep in.” I could see Nicole out the corner of my eye giving Cole a wink. “Nothing happened—” I looked back over at Cole. “—and nothing’s going to happen while I’m with Riley.”

  He frowned at me, and dropped his eyes to the ground, obviously not happy with my last remark.

  I showed Jay and Nicole the other two bedrooms. Marcus had stayed there before so knew the layout. Jay went into one, leaving Marcus and Nicole to shyly enter the other together.

  “We do have other rooms if you’d prefer,” I offered them, with a grin on my face. “Or, of course, you’re welcome to share.” I stood there, looking at them both.

  Marcus shoved his hands in his pockets and looked at his feet, leaving Nicole to make the decision. She grinned back at me. “I think we’ll be fine in here.” She looked over at Marcus. He was still looking at his feet, but I could see the hint of a smile on his lips.

  Marcus lit a fire while I showed the others around. We then arranged some lunch, and sat around the big dining table together.

  The last time I had been there it had been with Riley in the middle of summer. We had spent the days on the beach, and in the water on the Jet Skis. But this time it was the middle of winter, and too cold to really go outside. So instead, we played music, and sat around talking.

  That night we went into the home theatre to watch a DVD. The guys looked through the collection while Nicole and I got drinks and snacks to nibble on.

  “So, have you chosen a movie yet?” I called to the guys as they argued over what to watch.

  “Well, we’re trying to decide between James Bond, a horror movie, or …” Cole looked over at me beaming. “… this Disney movie called Enchanted.”

  He burst out laughing. “I thought it must have been yours from when you were a kid, but it’s not that old.” He came towards me, movie still in hand. “I find out something new about you every day, like you still watch Disney movies.”

  I snatched it out of his hand, then smacked him on the ass with it. “I’ll have you know, this movie has a song called ‘So Close’ in it which is one of my absolute favourite songs in the world.” I scowled at him playfully. “So don’t mess with my movie.”