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intensity on the floor. He mumbled as his own goodbye a “Thanks for the coffee,” and turned to follow Jo already headed for the front door.
“Good luck with the music!” Rachel shouted after him. “I hope you play out sometime. If you do, make sure you let Jo know so we can come see you!”
Jo held the door open for him, and to his surprise followed him outside and closed the door behind her, leaving her hand on the knob behind her as she faced him.
“Darren,” she said, looking him in the eyes, then let her eyes fall to the ground. Darren couldn’t imagine what was coming next, but she looked at him again and said, “Do let me know if you play out. I hope you do.”
He gave her a non-committal nod, expressing not that he wouldn’t tell her, but simply that it wasn’t very likely.
“I’m sorry.”
Darren didn’t know exactly for what she was apologizing. It could have been for so many things large or small, but mostly he felt that he should have been the one saying it, for so many things large and small.
“For?”
“About...that.” She gave a quick head jerk towards the apartment. “If that was weird.”
Whether he was taking the high road or cowardly evading more uncomfortableness, he adopted a slightly confused look and said, “No. Why would it be?"
She smiled at him appreciatively and gave a hint of a nod. He matched it and started on his way.
“You can come visit him again anytime, okay?” He turned and looked her. “To see Jim. After all he...” She shrugged off the rest of the sentence; they both knew. “Just...call first next time."