Chapter 14
I’m feeling absolutely frazzled as I head towards the main hotel bar late that afternoon.
It’s a mixture of lack of sleep, although I did doze off during the very pleasant Ayurvedic massage, and the stress of navigating Amy.
Robert, Stuart and Dan disappeared after breakfast to do their own thing, and I haven’t seen any of them since, as every second of my day to this point has been micro-managed by Amy.
I can’t work out if she’s genuinely that much of a control freak, or whether she was doing everything she could not to let me out of her sight.
She patently doesn’t trust me around Stuart, if the little barbed remarks she aimed my way throughout the day are anything to go by.
I’ve been sorely tempted to tell her she’d do better to leave me alone and focus on him and his wandering eyes, but I’ve just about managed to keep myself in check.
The other thing that I don’t understand is the way Lily is around her.
She was obviously concerned about me being forced to share a room with Robert, and very sweetly took time to check if I was OK over lunch, but she seems to be completely under Amy’s thumb and happy to just go along with whatever Amy wants.
I, on the other hand, have had quite enough and am planning a spot of open revolt.
Our first session after breakfast tomorrow is supposed to be a mani/pedi and, having escaped her for the time being, I’ve just taken the opportunity to pop by the spa reception and cancel my slot.
I fully intend to spend the day on the beach, alternating between reading my book, dozing and cooling off in the sea.
What’s the point of coming all this way if you’re just going to spend all your time in the spa which, although nice, isn’t that different to spas at home?
I’m pleased to spot Gabriel behind the piano as I walk into the bar and order a mango kombucha.
Although I’m perfectly capable of finding my way along the beach to Raphael’s bar and having a well-deserved rum punch, I’m still not quite confident enough to do it alone.
As I settle into a chair with my drink, he glances up at me and smiles.
After a moment, he wraps up the classical-sounding piece he was playing when I walked in and breaks into something new.
It’s vaguely familiar, but I can’t place it.
It starts very quietly, but quickly accelerates into something very flamboyant with a lot of syncopation.
At times, his hands are moving so fast they appear blurred.
I’m mesmerised both by the performance and the way his facial expressions seem to mirror the music.
When it finishes, I can’t help but give him a standing ovation, and I notice that the other couple, who are also here again, have put down their phones to listen and are applauding too.
‘That was awesome,’ I tell him. ‘What was it?’
He grins. ‘A bit of jazz, just for you. Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Did you enjoy it?’
‘I loved it. But how on earth do you remember all these pieces without having the music in front of you?’
‘Good question,’ he tells me as he shuts the lid of the piano. ‘I use a mixture of techniques. I’m lucky to have a reasonably good photographic memory, so I can often visualise the score in my head.’
‘Is that why you sometimes close your eyes?’
‘Yes, but there are other techniques as well. Muscle memory is a big part of it. If you play a piece often enough, your hands start to learn where they should be without you having to think about it too much. Then there’s understanding of the structure of the music.
A lot of music has themes that repeat throughout with small variations each time.
So I take time to learn those themes and then I just have to remember the variations. ’
‘What if someone requests something you haven’t learned in that much detail?’
‘I then have two options. I can see if I can find the sheet music online and sight read it off my tablet, or I improvise.’ He opens the piano lid again. ‘Name a tune you think I won’t have learned.’
I think for a while. ‘How about “Disturbia”, by Rihanna.’ I’m not sure why that one came to mind, probably because I’ve spent the whole day with Amy and it seems appropriate.
He smiles. ‘Who’s being retro now? But it’s a good choice, I admit, even if I suspect it contains some computer-generated elements. So, let’s break it down. We’ll begin with the melody.’ He starts to pick out the chorus with his right hand. ‘That’s your basic melody, yes?’
‘That’s it.’
‘But it’s pretty dull on its own. Let’s add the bass motif, the Bam-bam-bedum-bum-bum-di-bum-bum. We’re building bit by bit, can you see?’ he informs me as his left hand starts to play.
‘Yes, but how do you know which notes to use?’
‘It’s less about the specific notes, and more about the intervals, or gaps between them. I couldn’t tell you offhand whether the pitch I’m using is the same as Rihanna’s, but as long as I get the tune right, it doesn’t matter.’
As if to illustrate his point, he suddenly shifts to a higher tone. ‘See? Same tune, different pitch. We could also go lower if we wanted to. However, let’s focus on building the song. We’ve got the basic melody and the bass riff, but it still sounds a bit empty, doesn’t it?’
‘A little bit,’ I agree.
‘So we’ll add in some chords. A surprising amount of music is just playing with chord progressions, so we’ll pop some of those in.’ The fingers of his right hand are now working together, producing a richer sound.
‘Now we’ve assembled the basic building blocks, we can start to have a little fun and improvise,’ he continues.
I watch and listen, captivated, as he starts to add extra notes around the tune and the bass.
Before long, what he’s playing sounds much more complicated than the original and, when he finishes, there’s another round of applause from the couple sitting at the table.
‘That was incredible,’ I tell him as he closes the lid of the piano once more. ‘And you just made that up on the spot?’
‘I think the songwriters made it up. I just improvised around it using some simple rules.’
‘Amazing. Can I ask you another question?’
‘Of course.’
‘Why don’t you play for the main evening slot?’
‘Because they have a pianist for the main evening slot, and I’m only here for a short time.’
I wait to see if he’s going to offer any more but he’s evidently going to be as cryptic tonight as he was last night.
‘I’m heading to Raphael’s,’ he says instead. ‘Would you like to come?’
‘Thank you. I’d like that very much.’
‘Did you mention this place to your roommate?’ Gabriel asks once Raphael has greeted us so enthusiastically you’d think he hadn’t seen us for months rather than one day.
‘I’ll confess I didn’t. I thought about it, but then I decided that I’d prefer to keep it as my escape for now.’
‘Is he still being difficult?’
‘I think we might have had a bit of a breakthrough, actually.’
‘Really?’
‘We had a bit of a heart-to-heart, and I think we understand each other better, let’s put it like that.’
‘So why do you still feel the need to escape from him?’
I smile. ‘I’ve discovered that being on holiday in a group is intense. If I told Robert, then Stuart might come too, and then bloody Amy would probably come as well to make sure I wasn’t trying to steal her boyfriend, and then it would be the whole group and sometimes I just need space to breathe.’
‘And I count as space to breathe?’ His eyes are twinkling with amusement. ‘I’m flattered.’
I study him for a moment. Although he’s a bit of a closed book, I genuinely enjoy being around him.
I mean, I like looking at him, obviously, but there’s a peacefulness about him that I find very attractive.
It’s as if some of it rubs off on me when I’m talking to him.
In fact, I realise that the thought that kept me going when Amy was being particularly trying was imagining myself sitting on this beach with him.
The delicious rum punch is just an extra benefit, although I do feel I’ve earned it.
‘Can I ask you a question?’ His voice breaks me out of my reverie. ‘Why would bloody Amy, as I believe you referred to her, think you were trying to steal her boyfriend?’
‘She found out yesterday that Stuart – that’s the boyfriend – and I were an item years ago, and I think she’s a bit insecure about it.
’ I decide not to mention the New Year’s Eve incident.
Although I could defend myself by repeating that I would never have slept with Stuart if I’d known he was in a relationship, I feel it doesn’t portray me in a good light, and I’ve also realised that I really want Gabriel to like me.
‘So, let me get this straight,’ Gabriel says after I’ve explained the relationships between everyone in the group.
‘You’re sharing a room with someone you’re not in a relationship with and, despite burying the hatchet, never want to be, and the person you were in a relationship with is sharing a room with someone else, who’s convinced you want to steal him back.
No wonder you want time away from them.’
‘I know. I think God hates me.’
‘No, this was pure bad luck. Anyway, do you?’
‘Do I what?’
‘Want the ex back.’
‘Absolutely not. He’s a lowlife creep and I wouldn’t have come if I’d known he was going to be here.’
He smiles again. ‘What are the chances that your work colleague’s brother-in-law would turn out to be your ex-boyfriend?’
‘Are you sure God doesn’t hate me?’ I say with a laugh.
‘Quite sure. Anyway, I understand why you don’t want to invite your roommate to Raphael’s just yet. I mentioned your point about alcohol to Grace, by the way.’
‘Who?’
‘My older sister. The one that owns the Elixir. Anyway, she was interested and she’s going to think about it.
Apparently, she already has a licence, because she was thinking about doing weddings initially, before the whole wellness idea took over, so it’s not a big change to make.
She’s worried about the impact on her profit margins though.
Alcohol is more expensive to serve, and she won’t generate any more revenue from it, because it’s all-inclusive. ’
‘How full is the hotel at the moment?’ I ask after thinking for a minute or two.
‘It’s full, but she’s not earning that much yet because it’s still a very new business and she feels she has to offer a selection of discounts and deals to drum up interest. But, as you’d expect, she’s been poring obsessively over the traveller review websites, and a few do mention that they were disappointed with the lack of alcohol. ’
‘So let’s make a wild assumption. If she started serving alcohol, it would cost more initially, but she’d make it back pretty quickly if it helped her to move away from offering the discounts to entice people to come.’
‘How quickly do you think that would work though?’
‘You know England and the English, right? Most of us would consider going on an alcohol-free holiday a crime against nature. And we’re just one country.’
‘Thinking of which, your glass is empty. Where’s Raphael when I need him?’ He spots his brother and waves energetically.
‘Can I ask you a question now?’ I begin after Raphael has delivered more drinks and I’ve had a sip. ‘Why are you playing the piano in hotels when you’re so talented?’
‘Talented?’ He grins.
‘I mean it, Gabriel. You’re good. I don’t know much about music, I’ll admit, but I think you’re wasted in places like the Elixir, especially as the bar is generally empty during the time you’re playing. You deserve to be heard by a wider audience.’
‘That’s very kind of you to say. Thank you.
’ His words are sincere, but there’s a hint of amusement in his eyes and once again I’m certain that there’s something he’s not telling me.
The problem with that is it just makes me determined to find out what it is.
In order to do that, I’m going to have to spend more time with him and see if I can get him to trust me enough to open up.
That’s a very welcome thought indeed, and I’m smiling as I take a sip of my rum punch.