Connor arrives late for Kendall's tenth birthday dinner. Roman and Shiv welcome him enthusiastically before he extracts himself and moves over to Kendall. "Happy birthday, buddy," he greets him with a kiss, before sitting down next to Caroline. Logan is engrossed in conversation with Frank at the other end of the table.
"Why is your coat still on?" Kendall looks at his older brother anxiously. "Are you leaving soon?"
"No, I'm just cold. I'll keep it on for now." Connor picks up his knife and fork as a plate is discreetly laid in front of him.
Kendall keeps glancing over at Connor throughout dinner, wishing he would take his coat off. He knows it's a silly thing to worry about, but it's not the only thing bothering him. There's too much noise surrounding him, everyone is talking and he can't hear what anyone is saying properly. Doesn't it bother anyone else, the overwhelming noise? He wants to get up and run from the room but his dad would hate that. Tears prick the backs of his eyes. His dad hates it when Kendall cries, too.
"Are you okay, Kenny?" Connor leans across the table, shouting so Kendall can hear. "I'll take my coat off if you really want."
Kendall forces a smile and mouths no, it's okay, shaking his head. He stares down at the plate in front of him.
After dinner he excuses himself as soon as possible and goes to his room, where he lies down on the bed. He should be downstairs, it's him they are celebrating after all, but he just needs to take a moment. There's a tap on the door and he sits up quickly in case it's his dad come to yell at him.
"Yeah?" he calls out.
"It's me, Kenny."
Kendall relaxes. "Come in."
Connor enters holding a box wrapped in He-Man paper. "I got your gift."
"Thank you." Kendall gratefully reaches for the box. He unwraps it to find a Walkman with a set of headphones.
"It's the latest model," says Connor.
"It's great." Kendall looks around for a CD to put in it.
"You know, when I was your age I spent a lot of time in my room listening to music," says Connor nostalgically. "When my parents — I mean, Pa and my mom — were fighting, I would put my headphones on to block out the rest of the world."
"What kind of music?" Kendall asks.
"Rock and country, mostly. You know the Eagles?" Kendall shakes his head. "Leonard Cohen, too. There's this song, Famous Blue Raincoat, which makes me think of you."
"I like Billy Joel," says Kendall.
Connor helps him get the Walkman working, then gets up off the bed. "I should go and mingle with the people. You coming down, or you want to stay up here for a bit?"
"I'll come down." Kendall gets up too. "I can listen to music later."
He puts his new most precious possession away and follows his brother downstairs.