Hearts In Rhythm by Angel Wheeler Page B

and began to live a life anew.
    Of course Allie had never heard the song before, however it was ironically familiar. She thought of herself and how the song mirrored her. It was her life. It was her story. It was her. She was the woman in the song. She had made bad decisions in the past, hoping for someone to love her. Hoping for Dylan to come through as a dad and yet left disappointed. Now, she was struggling and yearning for that love that everyone else seemed to grab a hold of but it only fell through her fingers. She hoped her story would end like the woman’s in the song, where her prince Charming came and made everything better.
    When the song ended, she opened her eyes and saw Brandon sitting next to her. A visible shiver came over her. He must’ve noticed because he picked up the blanket and draped it over her shoulders.
    “It is chilly, isn’t it?” He said.
    She hugged the blanket around her, not sure whether it was cold she was feeling or the heat from the moment causing the goose bumps to appear. She wrapped the blanket tighter hoping to shield herself from this new feeling coming over her.
    It had been a long time since Allie had been alone with a guy. After she discovered she was pregnant with Samuel, and his dad deserted them, she swore off guys forever.
    “Honey, men are no good,” her mom said that hot summer day while turning fried chicken in the skillet. Allie sat at the kitchen table, a wadded Kleenex in her hand filled with her tears and snot.
    “I’m sorry you’ve had to discover this so young, but really, I’ve been trying to tell you since you were a child. Haven’t you learned anything from watching me? I mean, if I taught you anything, surely I’ve shown you that you can’t depend on a man.”
    She didn’t need any more words from her mom to validate this truth. Her broken heart was telling her all she needed to hear.
    There had been other guys show interest in her. She always declined their invitation and advances. After Samuel was born, she decided there was no other person more important than him. Guilt pained her as she thought of Samuel at home while she was here with Brandon. Shouldn’t she be there?
    She was not going to let men come and go through the doors like she had watched her mother do. Her mother went through boyfriends faster than some women go through shampoo. Some of the men had been okay, but the majority of them had not.
    Her heart was a delicate place, like a garden that needed tending and nurturing. She had to take care of it, not let anyone in to trample her blossoms before they had a chance to really show their flowering glory. She was not going to let just anybody in.
    Allie brought herself out of her memories and back to reality.
    “Brandon, that song was lovely.”
    “Thank you,” he said looking at his shoes. “You’re the first person I’ve played it for.”
    “Is there a reason for that?”
    “Well,” he said, “let’s just say you were my inspiration.”
    Allie caught her breath before Brandon heard her gasp.
    “You mean, you wrote a song about me?” She couldn’t keep from smiling. “Woohoo! I’ve always been jealous of those girls who have songs written about them. You know, ‘Jessie’s Girl’, ‘Angie’, ‘Good Golly, Miss Molly’”.
    They both laughed. Allie was enjoying him more and more. She still didn’t know where Simone stood in all of this, and quite frankly she was afraid to question. She didn’t want to ruin it by bringing up her name, and yet the suspense was killing her.
    “Still cold?” Brandon asked her.
    “A little.”
    “Let me get us something warm to drink.” Allie watched him walk into the kitchen.
    She got up and walked over to the stereo system.
    “Can I hear that song again?” she called into the other room.
    “Sure,” he called back. “Just push play.”
    She pushed the arrow indicating play and the room filled with the melodious sounds of Brandon’s voice and a piano accompaniment. She stood