“I don’t think you know how to be friends with a woman.”
“You could teach me.”
“I don’t want to teach you anything.” She headed for the door that led out of the Large Mammal House. Freez-ing-cold wind bit at her face as she started up a winding path. “I’ve had a revelation. I’ve realized that sex before marriage is a big mistake. My new philosophy in life is no sex without a wedding ring. What do you think of that?”
“I still want to go out wit
h you.”
He must not have heard her. “There would be no sex. And no spending lots of money, either. Could you live with that?”
“Yes,” he said meekly.
She didn’t believe him. He would get tired of a relationship based on nothing more than friendship. She doubted he would last more than a month, if that.
She glanced up at him as they approached an outdoor animal enclosure. “There’s a foreign film playing at the college on Saturday and the Azalea Flower Show at Garfield Park the week after that. You can come with me to those,” she informed him.
He winced a little, but nodded.
“You understand, no sex,” she reiterated.
He nodded again.
Satisfied, she turned to look at the animals in the enclosure.
Two huge polar bears were vigorously mating.
Ellie’s eyes widened. She froze. The bears continued their business with the utmost nonchalance.
She sneaked a glance at Garek.
“Unless, of course,” he said, completely straightfaced except for a gleam in his eye, “you can’t bear to go without.”
Chapter Thirteen
“So what do you think?” she asked him one month later during the intermission of the free concert being held at a local college.
Garek eyed the stale doughnuts and cold coffee being sold by some student group in the dingy hallway. He decided against refreshments.
“To be perfectly truthful,” he said, turning his gaze back to Ellie, “it’s incredibly boring.”
He saw the shock register. She stared at him, her lips pursing in an expression of disapproval. But then, her mouth softened, and she laughed. “At least you’re honest. But you’re spoiled. You’re used to easy entertainment. Sometimes you have to make an effort.”
“An effort how?”
“You learn about the music, to appreciate it. You imagine a story as it’s playing. Or what the music makes you feel. What did you feel with the music we just heard?”
“Sleepy.”
She laughed again, but shook her head. “That wasn’t much of an effort.”
“I save my effort for business.”
She looked at him curiously. “Is that the only thing in your life worth exerting yourself for?”
He frowned. A few months ago he would have said yes. Now, he wasn’t so sure. “Running a company requires total commitment. Art and music are completely frivolous.”
“You’re wrong. Art teaches you to observe, to look beyond the surface. Music teaches you to listen, to hear more than what’s being said.”