Chapter Nine
April sliced the air with the sharp baton as she flipped the virtual page of sheet music on her iPad. She concentrated on the violins. Their part in this concerto was, by far, the most difficult.
Her chest tightened with anticipation, and, okay, just a little bit of fear, as they got to a particularly tricky section.
“Easy, now,” April murmured under her breath as they reached the vibrato.
The sound of the music flowing from their instruments was the most beautiful—if slightly off—sound she’d ever heard. April brought in the rest of the instruments as she directed the group into the concerto’s soul-stirring conclusion.
“Yes,” she said with a pump of her fist when they finally ended. “That was amazing, you guys. Wonderful job.”
The beaming smiles on the faces of her young students brought April as much joy as hearing the music they’d played a few moments ago.
She couldn’t imagine what it would have been like for her if she’d had someone in her corner who actually appreciated classical music when she was their age.
Everyone had thought she was wasting her time.
Everyone except for Damien, that is. He was the one who had encouraged her to continue her studies.
She could still remember that day sitting in the guidance counselor’s office.
Mrs. Levy had spent most of the morning trying to get her to fill out applications for several local universities whose premed programs had all been clamoring for her after April had scored a nearly perfect score on the ACT college admissions exam.
She’d try to tell the woman several times that she’d already been accepted into the music program she’d had her heart set on attending, but the guidance counselor would not let it drop.
That is, until Damien barged into her office and asked Mrs. Levy if she had a hearing disability.
April had had no idea that he’d been right outside the door as he waited to go into the principal’s office. He’d overheard the guidance counselor’s badgering and had come to her rescue.
That day had been a turning point for her.
Having Damien stick up for her and validate her choice to follow her love of music had given April the courage to stand up to her family.
It was the day she’d made the choice to never allow anyone to discourage her from following her dreams, no matter how far-fetched they seemed.
She wanted to do the same for these kids. Especially Linsey.
April saw so much of herself in the young girl. It was as if the music called to her, the same way it had called to April when she was Linsey’s age. She concentrated harder than any of the other students, and she played as if the music was a part of her.
No, not every kid had the kind of talent that it would require to do this on a professional level, but there were a few who had taken a true liking to it. Kids like Linsey. April wanted to nurture that interest as best she could.
“April!” She looked up to find LaDonna coming into the room with a huge smile on her face.
“I have the best news,” the director said.
“I just received a call from the director of the Coming Home Project. They’re in charge of the big grand opening for the groundbreaking ceremony on the new streetcar line that’s going to start construction next month over on Rampart Street.
They want your kids to play at the ceremony. ”
The excited roar that went up among the students was loud enough to lift the roof off the building.
“A well-deserved honor,” LaDonna said. “Congratulations to all of you. You’d better get ready, because the spotlight is going to be on you.”
Once LaDonna left the classroom, April clapped her hands and addressed the class.
“She’s right,” April said. “If we’re going to accept this invitation—which we definitely will do—we’re going to have to be prepared. This means extra practices. Are you all up for that kind of commitment?”
A dozen enthusiastic head nods had April laughing.
“Wonderful,” she said. “Now, I know no one likes homework, especially during the summer, but this should be fun. I want you all to go on YouTube and find at least five different pieces that you would be interested in playing for the groundbreaking ceremony. Can you all handle that?”
A chorus of “yes” and “of course” and “we got this” rang throughout the classroom as the students started to pack up.
“Linsey, do you mind sticking around for just a bit?” April asked.
Once the class had cleared out, April took the girl by the hand and sat her down in one of the chairs that had just been vacated.
“How confident are you in your abilities?” April asked her.
The teen hunched her shoulders. “I don’t know. I think I do okay.”
Just as April suspected. She wasn’t confident at all.
“Well, I think you have the potential to be an excellent cellist,” April said. “And, because of that, I’d like you to perform a solo in the piece that we play for the groundbreaking.”
“But we don’t even know what we’re going to perform yet.”
“Don’t worry,” April said. “I’m going to make sure it’s something with a solo.
” She looked the young girl in the eyes, hoping that if she saw the conviction in April’s gaze it would instill some confidence in her.
“You have potential. And you have a fire in you. It’s the same kind of fire I used to see in myself. I don’t want you to lose that.”
Linsey shook her head. “I won’t.”
“Now, if you’re going to perform a solo that means you’ll have to practice even more than the others will. You’ll have to practice at home.”
Linsey’s eyes narrowed with confusion. “But I thought we couldn’t take the instruments home?”
“No, you can’t take these instruments,” April said. “But I have an extra cello.”
Her eyes grew saucer-wide. “You’re going to let me have your cello?”
“Borrow,” April said with a laugh. “Yes, I will let you borrow my cello. I’ll bring it to your house this weekend.”
“Thank you!” Linsey said with more enthusiasm than April had ever witnessed from her. She leaned forward as if she was going to hug her, but then pulled back.
“Thank you,” Linsey said again. “Really, thanks a lot.”
“You’re welcome,” April answered. Her throat grew tight as she watched the girl walk out of the classroom. She could only hope that she would come to believe in herself as much as April believed in her.
As she straightened up the classroom, her cell phone rang. Damien’s name popped up on the screen.
“Hi,” April answered. “I thought you had an all-day meeting?”
“I do,” he said. “But I need a huge favor. I need you to come somewhere with me tonight.”
April shook her head, even though he couldn’t see her through the phone. “I can’t tonight,” she said.
“April, please, this is important.”
“I can’t. I have a job tonight,” she said. “I’m playing for a gala at the New Orleans Museum of Art.”
Damien’s relieved chuckle came through the phone.
“That’s perfect,” he said. “The gala at NOMA is where I wanted to take you.”
“Seriously?” She laughed. “How lucky can one guy get?”
“Hmm, I don’t know. Maybe we’ll get an answer to that one tonight.”
April’s skin flushed. Thank goodness they weren’t using video chat.
“Tonight is a work night for me,” she reminded him.
“The work portion won’t last all night,” he said. “What time do you have to get to the museum?”
“Seven,” April answered, ignoring the flutters that continued to motion around her belly.
“I’ll pick you up at your place at six thirty,” he said. “See you in a few hours.”
* * *
Damien stood near a piece of artwork he wouldn’t have been able to identify if the artist were standing right next to him, telling him exactly what it was.
It was one of several indescribable pieces in the New Orleans Museum of Art’s famed Sculpture Garden.
As far as he could tell, the metal structure resembled a dozen monkeys humping each other in the orgy to end all orgies.
But deciphering artwork wasn’t his purpose here tonight. Like everyone else who’d braved the humidity of this sweltering summer evening, Damien was here to hear the harmonious sounds of one of the most intriguing classical musicians to make their way back to New Orleans.
As he stood several yards away from the dais that had been constructed in the middle of the gardens, Damien’s attention vacillated from watching April glide the bow vigorously across the cello’s taut strings to the mesmerized faces of the crowd who had gathered to hear her.
He was simply in awe of how far she’d come.
He could still remember attending her very first concert, a poorly attended function at a small local theater in Baton Rouge.
The only classical music he’d heard up until that point was in snippets used in movies and television commercials, but it was during April’s first concert that he’d first started to appreciate it.
Her music had come to mean so much to him since that time. It was how he centered himself when life started to feel unbalanced. For years, when he felt himself getting stressed out, he’d slip in one of April’s CDs, pour himself a whiskey and just let the music soothe him.
Just as she had the very first time he’d watched her play, and every single time since, April held him spellbound. Her delicate fingers plucked gently at the strings, releasing a melody in the air that captured the essence of the night.
“Amazing, isn’t she?”
Damien turned to find Michael Berger standing next to him.
“Yes, she is,” Damien answered with a smile. “She’s one of the best.”
“John Hiraku came into the office on Monday as excited as a kid in a candy store after meeting her at the Roosevelt this past weekend. He had no idea she was a native New Orleanian. She truly is a treasure to this city.”
“I agree,” Damien said.