The melody in our hearts (7 page)

Valerie wanted to laugh at the way it had taken her so long to ask it, but she knew better: Karen would be her roommate and probably her only friend in town for a long time, so she didn’t want to start it off in the wrong way. She shook her head and smiled politely at her.

“He’s not my boyfriend, he’s just a friend. We’ve been best friends for five years now; he’s like… the big brother I never had.”

Karen tried to look as if the information hadn’t had any effect on her, but Valerie had become too good at spotting the symptoms, and she noticed Karen’s eyes sparkle and her cheeks slightly flush.

“Oh, sorry,” she said, pretending to sound apologetic for her mistake. “I really thought you two were a couple; you look so close.”

“We are, only, not in the way people always think.” She shrugged, pretending it didn’t bother her, although it did – a lot, actually.

“Well, I never really believed in friendship between a boy and a girl, but if you say so....”

“I do,” Valerie tried not to sound sour, although Karen’s comment had irritated her. “We’ve never been more than just friends; we’ve got lots of things in common and that’s what keeps our friendship going strong. I could never date him; it’d be like dating my brother!”

Karen giggled and turned a page without even looking at it.

“He’s quite handsome, though. You’d have to be blind not to see that.”

“Lots of girls think so.” Valerie shrugged, and she noticed that Karen was staring at her. “I did think he was good-looking the first time I saw him, but like I said, he’s really like a brother to me – I couldn’t see him as a
boy
.”

“He must be quite popular, then. I’m sure there’s a long queue of girls waiting to date him.”

“As far as I know,” Valerie said, knowing this information would probably make Karen happy, “he doesn’t have a girlfriend now; he would’ve told me if he did because we always tell each other everything. In spite of all the girls who were after him, he never really dated anyone when he was in Dublin. Music has always come first.”

Karen looked sorry, but Valerie was sure she wouldn’t get discouraged so easily; she was sure there’d be more questions about Ryan, and she only hoped this infatuation Karen obviously had for him wouldn’t cause any silly jealousies or arguments. The last thing she wanted was to fight with her roommate because of Ryan. So, before Karen could ask any more questions, she expertly changed the subject, asking Karen about her own life and how her first year of college had been, and soon Ryan was forgotten, if only temporarily.

~
Nine
~

After exploring the campus and attending a couple of seminars for new students, Valerie felt it was time she spent some quality time with Ryan, at least until classes started.

She knew the path she had chosen was a tough one, and she was well aware that she wouldn’t have much free time afterwards, so she wanted to spend as much time as possible with him while she still could, to make up for all the times she would have to turn down his invitations later.

At least they were in the same city, she thought, and if they wanted to hang out for a coffee or a sandwich during lunch break, it wouldn’t be so hard to do it. She smiled alone, still unable to believe that she was actually there, that she was in Boston, only a few blocks away from Ryan.

Although she had fought and worked hard to make her dream come true, she had always had that weird feeling that somehow, something would happen that would change all of her plans, and she would eventually have to give it all up and stay in Dublin.

But there she was now, sitting on her bed with her cell phone in her hand, ready to call Ryan and ask him to meet up with her.

She had to admit she was curious to see his room and meet his roommate; they had talked about him, and he had seemed like a funny guy to her, at least from what Ryan had told her. She wondered what it would be like, now that Ryan had to share a room with someone else, and they would never be able to be alone in his bedroom, the way they used to back in Dublin, when they could spend afternoons chatting and laughing in his room since he didn’t have to share it with his brothers, unlike Valerie, who had to share hers with Marie.

She pressed speed dial, and it only rang a couple of times before Ryan picked it up.

“Hey, Val!” he greeted her with his familiar chuckle, and she imagined him sitting on his bed with his legs crossed and a big grin on his face. “I was actually thinking of you a minute ago. I was starting to think you were too busy with your new American life to remember your old friend from Dublin.”

“
Eejit.
” she simply said, making him laugh. If he had been in front of her, she would have stuck out her tongue at him like she used to do when they were in Dublin and he drove her mad.

“Thanks,” he giggled. “But may I remind you we’re in America now, so you should say
idiot
if you want people to understand you.”

“Well, I’m Irish and so are you Mister Know It All; I don’t care if other people don’t understand me, I know you can and that’s all that matters to me!”

“But you should really start talking like an American citizen now if you want to fit in.” He tried to object and she snorted.

“I’ll always speak Irish, no matter where I live. You’d better get used to it, buddy.”

Ryan laughed and understood that going on about it would be useless: She was the most stubborn girl he had ever met in his life, but he had to admit it was one of the things he loved about her.

“Anyway, am I interrupting something? Were you studying?”

She wanted so much to see him and hang out with him, since they had both been too busy in the past couple of days that they hadn’t been able to see each other since the day of her arrival. However, she understood that he might have to study, and she surely didn’t want to feel responsible for his bad grades, not that she thought he could ever get bad grades, talented as he was. Still, she didn’t want to run the risk.

“You’re not interrupting anything. Kevin was showing me his latest video game. You know I’m not a bookworm like you!”

“
Hi Valerie
!” A guy screamed in the background. “Ouch!” the same voice said, and then she heard giggles. She imagined Ryan must have hit him or thrown something at him, in a sort of friendly fight.

“That was Kevin, by the way,” he said, sighing in resignation, as if this hadn’t been the first time it had happened. “I should remember to leave the room before I pick up next time. It’s the only way he would ever leave me alone.”

She heard more giggles in the background, and she couldn’t help smiling, thinking how close they must be by now. She almost felt threatened by him, as if she was scared that, because of Ryan’s friendship with Kevin, things between her and Ryan could change. She had come all the way from Dublin, she had crossed the ocean and had been through some tough times with her parents, just so that distance wouldn’t spoil their friendship, and she was scared at the thought of losing him to Kevin now that they were so close. It would be awful if she found herself suddenly alone, miles away from home, in an unfamiliar city where she didn’t know anyone.

“You wanna meet?” he asked, hoping that was the reason why she was calling him.

“If you’re not busy.”

“I’m not. How about Starbucks?” he suggested, knowing how much she loved their White Mocha and their muffins; he was sure it’d help her feel less homesick somehow.

“That’s great. Where shall I meet you?”

“I’ll pick you up at your campus. We can take the subway and go from there. See you in a while, okay?”

She felt weird as she hung up: She hadn’t seen Ryan since the day she had arrived, and she wondered whether he was still happy that she had come here to be close to him or whether he might have changed his mind. Things hadn’t changed for her, no matter how long they had been apart; she wondered if they had for him and what was going to happen now. Would it feel weird to be together again? Would he still want people to see him with her or would it bother him, in case he thought girls would guess she was his girlfriend? There were so many questions and doubts in her mind – she felt as if it was going to explode.

But she thought she’d better get ready and wait for him downstairs, so that Karen wouldn’t see him and start drooling again: She was a nice girl, but she definitely wasn’t right for Ryan, and Valerie didn’t want to run the risk of them getting together.

~
Ten
~

With a cup of White Mocha and muffins on the table, it felt like the lazy afternoons they spent at Starbucks in Dublin, and everything seemed to finally go back to normal, as if the two years they had been apart had been erased simply by sitting there.

“So, how’s your roommate? Is she fun?” Ryan asked her after they sat down at a free table in a quiet spot.

“She’s all right; at least she’s not grumpy or moody. Actually, she’s quite friendly and very chatty, like…you can’t shut her up.” He laughed and she squeezed his hand, enjoying the familiar warmth of his hand in hers. “And I think she likes you. She keeps asking me things about you, and I can spot the Ryanholics by now.”

He giggled and stared at her with an amused expression.

“Ryanholics?”

She nodded. “As if you never noticed that half the female students at school were in love with you!” He looked puzzled, and she rolled her eyes. “One of the many reasons why nobody talked to me was because they were jealous you were always hanging out with me, while they drooled over you, hoping you’d ask them out, but you never did. You broke quite a few hearts when you left Dublin, didn’t you know?”

He laughed and squeezed her hand in both of his, rubbing it with his thumbs. “I’m sorry I caused you so much trouble, Val. I didn’t realize I was so popular back in Dublin; I guess I shouldn’t have left, then!”

“Why, aren’t you half as popular here? I don’t believe it, not even if I see it with my own two eyes.”

“I don’t know,” he shrugged. “I don’t really have much time for girls, you know. I have to study hard to keep up with everyone, especially if I want to get another scholarship for next year.”

“So there’s no crowd of girls following your every move?” she asked, incredulous.

He grinned. “Not yet, but there will be one day, when I’m a famous pianist.”

“Mr. Modest, aren’t you?”

“That’s me.” He giggled. “What about you, then? How come you were the only one who never drooled over me?”

Valerie had just taken a sip of her coffee, and she almost choked on it, spitting it back into the cup and making him laugh.

“Me? Drooling over you?” She laughed, shaking her head. “You’re like a brother to me –it would’ve been incestuous!” He laughed and she gulped down another sip of coffee. “Besides, someone should take care of your fans, and I’m the best judge you could get, so I should really remain neutral.”

“Yeah, I think it makes sense,” he said thoughtfully, taking a bite of his muffin. “Well, I’m glad you’re only a friend, you know. When things don’t work out in couples, people end up avoiding each other, and I couldn’t bear it if that happened to us; two years apart have been long enough for me.”

Valerie blushed, suddenly feeling self-conscious. Although he had always shown her how much their friendship meant to him, he had never openly told her how much he had missed her. It felt good to hear it from him – to know that, in spite of what her family had told her during the past two years, he cared about her just as much as she did about him. What they shared really was special.

“I know, it’s been hard for me too. I felt so lost without you.”

“But I’m here now,” he said, squeezing her hand. “We’re together again, and nothing will take me away from you ever again. You’ll always be my best friend; no matter how many people come into my life, you’ll always have the VIP spot.”

She smiled and he felt his heart fill with joy: He had missed her smile, and knowing he had been the main cause of her tears and her fights with her family had made him feel bad, but seeing her smile again was comforting.

“So will you.”

“Right, okay, change of subject: All these mushy talks are making me sick, now,” he said, making a face and grinning. “Have you seen any nice guys in your campus, yet?”

“I’ve only been here two days!” she said, feigning exasperation. “I’ve barely had time to sleep off the jet-lag; I didn’t really have time to check out guys!”

“Well, you should though,” he said seriously. “You’ve got to find some nice guys to play doctor with when classes start! Isn’t that what medical students do?”

“Ryan!” she scolded, glaring at him. “Do you have to be such a guy?”

He giggled, taking a sip of his coffee. “I
am
a guy, if you hadn’t noticed. Guess you should’ve chosen a girl as your best friend, if you didn’t want to get such comments, you know!”

“Yeah, I guess I should have….” she said, shaking her head in resignation. “But it’s too late now. You know too many personal things – I’d have to kill you.”