Ruth knew Summer by sight. She was a quiet, pretty blonde and was currently dressed in an outfit that was basically a more expensive version of Ruth’s, with a pink top instead of a green one. She was flushed and smiling as she pulled Ruth down onto the couch so they could form the audience for the men, who were starting to sing “The Confrontation” with the recorded version coming through the speakers.
They were good. Carter had a better voice than his brother, but Lincoln hammed it up on purpose in a way that was impossible not to enjoy. They had the words and the timing and every note exactly right. Carter was obviously self-conscious about performing unexpectedly like that in front of Ruth. He kept giving her sheepish looks during his brother’s parts. But he belted out every word into his fake microphone, glaring at his brother with a malevolence which was exactly right for Javert’s part.
Ruth watched openmouthed, barely able to contain her delight at this new side of Carter and the pure fun of watching the brothers sing the dramatic duet. Summer was clearly just as thrilled. She was practically hugging herself as she watched. And both of them burst into loud applause and cheers as the song concluded.
Carter went immediately to turn off the music, as if worried he’d be pressured into a second performance. Lincoln laughed and clapped his hands and then sank down onto the couch, wrapping an arm around his wife. “That was fun.”
“That was ridiculous,” Carter said, taking the chair beside Ruth’s side of the couch. “I can’t believe you did that to me.” He cleared his throat and added to Ruth, “Sorry about that. I should have known my brother wouldn’t act like a normal host.”
“No, it was great,” Ruth insisted.
“I figured it might loosen him up a little,” Lincoln said, still grinning as he added to Ruth in a conspiratorial whisper, “He’s sometimes kind of uptight. Worries too much about doing the right thing and doesn’t let himself have fun.”
“I am not uptight.” Carter scowled although it was clear he wasn’t genuinely annoyed.
Lincoln mouthed to Ruth, “Uptight” again and made a gesture of buttoning an imaginary collar.
Carter grabbed a cushion and threw it at his brother. It hit Lincoln’s head with a satisfying swoosh. “And I have plenty of fun. I just don’t always need to be the center of attention, like some people I might mention.”
“You’ve got a really great voice, Carter,” Summer said, her gentle voice stilling some of Lincoln’s laughter. “I remember you used to do choir in school, and you’d always do those community musicals in the summer. You’d usually get the lead roles. Why don’t you sing anymore?”
Carter was wearing a blue button-up shirt and tailored trousers. He looked handsome and put-together and affluent and as relaxed as she’d ever seen him. He shrugged. “I don’t know. Just don’t have the opportunity. I work twelve hours a day. When would I have the time?”
“I guess you can always sing in the shower,” Lincoln said. “Does he?”
When she realized the question was aimed at her, Ruth straightened up. “What?”
“Does he sing in the shower?”
Summer gave him a little jab with her elbow. “Lincoln, stop.”
“Yes, please stop,” Carter said with an eye roll.
“Anyway, I’ll never tell what he does in the shower,” Ruth said, playing up the primness in a way that felt appropriate for her role as the new love of Carter’s life.
It worked. They all laughed. And since dinner was ready, they moved to the table to eat.
Dinner was delicious, and the wine was excellent. Summer was both sweet and smart, and Lincoln was clever and hilarious. Even Carter came alive in a way she hadn’t seen from him before, telling stories and arguing with his brother and making sure Ruth got plenty of attention. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d laughed so much. Half the time, she forgot to act like she was completely in love with him.
It didn’t seem to matter. The whole evening felt natural, and Summer and Lincoln didn’t appear to question the nature of Ruth’s relationship with Carter.
After dessert, Ruth begged Carter to do one more song with his brother, so the men went to the other room to confer about possibilities while Ruth helped Summer rinse off the dishes and load the dishwasher.
“This was really fun. Thanks so much for having me,” Ruth said. She really liked the other woman although Summer wasn’t anything like her. In fact, they were as different as they could get.
Any man who’d been in love with Summer wasn’t going to fall in love with Ruth. That much was clear to Ruth. She’d already known it. She’d come to that conclusion after a ten-minute conversation with Carter. So she wasn’t sure why she felt a little heavy about it now.
“You’re welcome. It’s really good to get to know you. I’m sure I must have seen you around some. Lincoln says you come into Milhouse a lot, so he knew who you were. But I’m sorry we hadn’t met before now.”
“There’s no reason we would have met. We don’t move in the same circles, and I didn’t move to Green Valley until you were out of high school. But it’s been really nice to get to know you too. I know Carter loves you like family.”
Ruth knew more than that, but it hardly seemed appropriate for a new girlfriend to mention that she was aware her boyfriend used to be in love with another woman (and probably still was).
“We are like family. We grew up together. Carter was always my best friend.” Summer sighed as she leaned against the counter, her brown eyes slightly poignant. “Things have changed in the past year. For obvious reasons. I mean, I married Lincoln. Fell in love with him.”
Ruth didn’t miss the unexpected order. Surely falling in love should have happened before marriage. But she didn’t have time to mull it over because Summer was still talking.
“It was kind of hard. For all of us. It changed the balance of our relationships. I couldn’t be as close to Carter as I used to be.”
“Yeah. That makes sense. I guess it was unavoidable.”
“So I don’t get to spend as much time with him as I used to. He’s been stressed and busy since his father died, taking over the company and trying to turn it around. He’s been working so hard. I was worried he wasn’t happy.” Summer swallowed and gave Ruth a little smile. “But he seems happy tonight. I’m so glad he’s met you.”
“Y-yeah. Me too.” For just a moment, Ruth felt a little guilty. This was a tenderhearted woman who obviously loved Carter dearly. It felt wrong to lie to her like that. Give her hope of Carter moving on when that wasn’t really what he was doing. But it was what Carter wanted, and Ruth was on his side. She was going to do what he asked.
Summer slanted her a quick look. “He’s always tried to be good at everything. Do everything other people need of him. He’s done that in relationships too. Even with me. Even when...” She didn’t finish that thought although Ruth really wanted to know what it was. “He’s always gone down the road that’s been laid out for him even if it wasn’t the one he wanted. I always hoped he’d finally go his own way. Find someone he could really let go with. I think he needs that, and he never really did with me.”