Wed heard this song; “Candle Ice;” pouring out of my brothers bedroom at least a million
times; so we were used to it。 But I looked over at my
mom; worried that she might be embarrassed by the distorting guitars and the gritty lyrics。
This was definitely not caviar music。
She seemed a little uncertain; but in a happy way。 She was sharing secret smiles with my
father; and honestly; I think she even giggled。 My dad
was looking amused; although he was very reserved about it; and it took me until the end of
the song to realize that he was proud。 Proud that this
noise came from his boys。
That surprised me。 Dad has never been real big on any rendition of my brothers band;
although hes never really criticized it either。 But then Mr。
Loski started grilling Matt and Mike about how theyd afforded to record their own music; and
they explained about working and saving and
shopping for good deals on equipment; and thats when I realized why my father was proud。
My brothers were feeling pretty good; too; you could tell。 And it was no wonder; with the way
Lyta was carrying on about how great “Candle
Ice” was。 She was positively gushing; which seemed very odd; ing from Lyta。
As I looked around; it struck me that we were having dinner with a group of strangers。 Wed
lived across the street for years; but I didnt know
these people at all。 Lyta did know how to smile。 Mr。 Loski was clean and smooth on the
outside; but there was a distinct whiff of something rotten
buried just beneath the surface。 And the ever…efficient Mrs。 Loski seemed flustered; almost
hyper。 Was it having us over that was making her
nervous?
Then there was Bryce—the most disturbing of all because I had to admit that I didnt really
know him; either。 And based on what Id discovered
lately; I didnt care to know any more。 Looking across the table at him; all I got was a strange;
detached; neutral feeling。 No fireworks; no leftover
anger or resurging flutters。
Nothing。
After wed had dessert and it was time to go; I went up to Bryce and told him I was sorry for
having been so fierce when wed first e in。 “I
shouldve let you apologize; and really; it was very nice of your family to have us over。 I know
it was a lot of work and; well; I think my mom had a