Chapter 20
Fall had arrived in New York and the opening of Streets wasn’t far off. Daniel and Mara were back in class and I was looking forward to my next concert with the Chamber Orchestra, then I received a phone call from my father that would change everything for my family, including me.
“Hello,” I answered into my ringing phone.
“Anna Louise,” came this shaky voice on the other end. “It’s Dad and this is the hardest call I’ve ever had to make, so hope you’ll bear with me. Your mother hadn’t been feeling well the last few months, so I finally talked her into seeing a doctor. Of course, it had to be outside of Wisteria. I went with your mom to her first appointment, and then to each of the appointments following that. My right-hand man at the store, Albert Jones, watched over things while I went with your mom.
“We received the diagnoses yesterday and your mom has advanced pancreatic cancer and only has a few weeks to live. I’m still in shock and need your help.”
“Oh, Dad. Where’s Charlotte? Can’t she help you with Mom?”
“You probably don’t even know this, but Charlotte is pregnant and sick every morning herself. Grant has school and football every day now. I told them both over dinner at Alabaster’s last night and they both just stared off into space like I hadn’t said a word.
“Could you please come home and help me, Anna Louise? You’re the only one who can. Somehow I have to keep the store open during this time. I know Albert will help me, but I can’t expect him to work 24/7 for the next few weeks or so.
“I know you and your mother never saw eye to eye, but I’m the one who needs your help now.”
“Let me see what I can do, Dad. I’ll call you back as soon as I know something. Bye, Dad.
“Thanks, sweetheart. Bye.”
How could this be? It was just Thomas and me at the Emporium most of the time now that Daniel and Mara were back in school, and Daniel had to practice for the play after his classes. I would talk to Thomas and then call Dad back. Wisteria, Kansas, had never really felt like home to me. But, the minute I stepped off the bus in Manhattan, I knew I belonged in New York.
“You go, Anna Louise, for as long as your father needs you. I’ll have Beth come in and wait on customers and answer the phone while I’m out tuning pianos. I’m sure Daniel and Mara will help as much as they can, too.”
“Thank you, Thomas. I told Mara last night and she said she’d help you as much as possible. She doesn’t have classes every day and will come in on the days she off. She’s been the best friend in the world, Thomas. Maybe a little flamboyant, but the greatest friend a person could ever have.”
“I think my son thinks she’s pretty great, too. She’s a little out there, but as smart as a whip.”
“I’m going to email my dad tonight, and then I’ll be able to let you know tomorrow when I’ll be leaving for Kansas.”
“Don’t worry about us here. This is going to be a devastating time for you family.”
“It will be, Thomas, but I think my heart broke harder for Mr. Cutler than it will for my own mother. Life is sure hard to understand sometimes.”
“You go back to your apartment now and call your father. Let me know your flight information.” Thomas hugged me and sent me on my way.
“Hello?”
“Hi, Dad. It’s Anna Louise. I talked with my boss and I’ll be on my way to Wisteria within a few hours. I’m coming to help you, but with strings attached. I know a lot about computers, and since working at the Emporium I’ve become adept at waiting on customers and taking phone calls, so while I’m there I’ll watch over Armstrong Computers with Mr. Jones while you can take care of Mom.”
“All right, sweetheart. I understand.”
“I’ll stay in my old room, fix the meals, and visit with Mom once a day, so hope we can respect one another’s wishes during this time. It’s going to be hard on all of us and I know it will change your life forever, but my life changed the day I got on that bus and moved to New York. See you in a few hours. I’ll rent a car until I return to New York. Bye, Dad.”
“Thank you, Anna Louise. I’ll see you at the house. Bye."
The only person I wanted to talk to right now was Chase. I called his number.
“Chase Monroe. How may I help you?”
“I wish you could, Chase.” I told him the story of my mother and how I was on my way to Wisteria for the next few weeks. “Just wanted you to know that I’ll miss you while I’m gone. This all seems strange and surreal to me right now, so I hope you don’t mind if I call you once in a while from Wisteria.”
“I’m so sorry, Anna Louise. I understand you need to help your father right now. Call me anytime, and I’ll miss you too.”
“Thank you, Chase. Don’t know what I’d do without you.”
“Keep in touch. I’ll talk to Mara and Daniel. Take care, Anna.”
Dad and I worked things out and the days seemed to move by, but each night when I visited my mother in the bedroom that had been set up for her, I could see she was fading away. She hardly ever opened her eyes, and even though she knew when I was there, she never said a word to me.
After being with my mom for a while each night, I’d sit on the sofa and page through the family albums and write songs. I asked Dad if I could take a few of the pictures back to New York with me. He said to take all of the ones I wanted to. Then, I found myself writing a song for my mom. She had never loved me, but for just a few minutes while I wrote this song, I needed to love her.
Frank and Charlotte stopped by occasionally when I was there, but rarely stayed for more than five minutes. I’m sure seeing Mom like that was more than her heart could stand. What would she do without Mom to make her life perfect every day?
Grant pretty much stayed away. He and Dad would have to make their way together once Mom died. I would be flying back to New York as soon as Dad was able to return to work.
The day Mom died, Dad asked if I’d play the piano at her funeral. I said I would. I told him I’d written a song just for that day.
He hugged me, and said, “Thank you for being here these last few weeks. I couldn’t have made it through without your strength. The funeral will be in a few days, then I’ll have to go back to work at the store and you can return to New York.”
As the people of Wisteria filed into the church, I played the song I’d written especially in memory of my mother. Then, during the service I played my signature piece, hearing the moans and sighs as I played. Finally, as the service ended, I played “Amazing Grace.” I sat frozen on the piano bench, realizing for the first time that my mother had never heard me play in life, but only in death.
“That was beautiful, Anna Louise,” I heard from behind me.
“Chase. I’d know that voice anywhere.” I jumped up off the piano stool and threw my arms around him. “You’re here.”
“Yes, I’m here for you now and I hope forever. Mara and Daniel are outside with her parents.”
“I want to introduce you to my father. Charlotte and Grant will be there, too, but most of all I want you to meet my father.”
Chase and Daniel stayed at Mara’s house while in Wisteria. We were all going back to New York tomorrow, but I was going to spend one last night with my father. I worried about him, but knew he would probably stay busy like he had for all these years. He also had my brother at home for a little while longer before he went off to college.
“Anna Louise. I’d like you to have this pearl necklace and earring set of your mother’s.”
I turned and saw my father as he came into the kitchen with a long, white velvet box in his hand.
“The music you played at the funeral touched my heart. Please take these pearls. You don’t have to wear them. I just want to know they’re with you.”
“Thank you, Dad. I’ll take them back to New York with me along with the family photos I picked out.”
“When will I see you again, my loving daughter?”
“I think maybe it’s time you came to New York to hear me play at Carnegie Hall. I’ll let you know when.”
“I love you, Anna Louise.”
“I love you, too, Dad.”
~ ~ ~
The next day, Chase, Mara, Daniel, and I returned to the airport in my rental car and then flew off to New York and LaGuardia Airport. Once we were back home, I went with Chase to his apartment, where I left my bags until after we’d gone to the Emporium to let Thomas know I was back from my stay in Wisteria. He was as glad to see me as I was to see him.
“Welcome back,” he said, pulling me into a big hug. “We all missed you while you were gone.”
“It’s good to be back, Thomas. It was hard watching my mom decline like that, but most of her care fell to my dad. I actually played the piano at her funeral.”
“I’ve never met anyone as brave as Anna Louise,” Chase said. “Her mom never knew what a gem she had in her.”
“Thank you, Chase, for those wonderful words. But, now I can hardly wait to get back to work and I’m also looking forward to the opening night of Streets at NYU.”
Thomas spoke up, then. “Daniel told me the other day that Streets has been an amazing experience for him. He can’t wait until opening night, either.” Something told me Thomas would be sitting in the front row that first night, proud as a peacock.
Chase turned to me, and said, “Remember when I said I’d escort you to opening night, Anna Louise.”
“I remember and I’m holding you to it.”
“Well, we’d better be going.” Chase chuckled. I need to check in at the newspaper to see if I still have a job.”
“Good to see you, Chase. And I’ll see you in the morning, Anna Louise.” Thomas hugged me one more time.
“See you in the morning,” I said, following Chase out the front door.
Mara was off with Daniel, so that evening I sat alone on the sofa, looking through the photos I’d brought back from Wisteria with me. In most of the pictures of me, I appeared sad, never smiling.
In the family photo that I’d brought back, Mom stood on one end, then Charlotte, then me, then Grant, and finally Dad stood on the other end. Everyone had a smile on their face, except me. I couldn’t look at any more pictures, so I opened the white, velvet box that held the pearl necklace and earrings. I remembered how my mom had worn them whenever she’d gotten dressed up to go out to one of Wisteria’s grand events with dad. I snapped the box shut and stuffed it back in the bag with the photos and began to cry. All of that seemed like a lifetime ago to me.
Someone was buzzing from the entry. I jumped up, wondering who it could be. It was Chase. I buzzed the door open and ran into his arms as he came into the apartment. “I’m glad you came by tonight,” I cried.
“I wanted to see how you were doing. I guess not so hot, huh?”
“I just finished looking through the family photos I brought back from Wisteria and a pearl necklace and earring set of Mom’s that Dad gave to me.”
“Can I see the pictures and jewelry, Anna Louise?”
“I guess so, if you want to.”
“I want to. They will help me to know you a little better and I can place you in and outside of your family.”
“Would you like a cup of freshly brewed coffee while you scan through the photos?” I asked.
“Sure. Let me carry the cups into the living room for you.”
“Thanks, Chase.”
We sat close to one another on the sofa as I handed him the photos, not really wanting to see them again myself, but as he paged though them, I ended up explaining to him what was going on in each of the pictures.
“That Anna Louise in the pictures seems nothing like the Anna Louise I know today. You’ve made a remarkable recovery from how your mother treated you. You’ve become an accomplished young woman today. It’s simply amazing!”
“Thank you, but I owe it all to Mr. Cutler and what he did for me once he hired me. I would guess he knew something bad had happened to me, but he focused on my talent of playing the piano and not on my insecurities. He encouraged and gave me confidence around every corner, and I didn’t want to disappoint him. I miss him so much. But, Thomas has done the same thing for me and now his family has even adopted Savannah as their own. I feel blessed having the Cutler family in my life.”
“They are a wonderful family, and I’m glad Mr. Cutler hired you the day you went in the store for a job. We both found out where we belonged that day. Everything is going to be all right, Anna Louise.”
Chase held me in his arms and let me cry until I fell asleep. When Mara and Daniel came in, I woke up and walked Chase down to the entry where he’d catch a cab back to his apartment. “Thank you for coming by tonight, Chase. It meant the world to me.”
“My pleasure, Anna Louise. I’ll talk to you soon.” He wrapped me in his arms and held me tight until the cab arrived.
Then, I watched as Chase walked away, knowing he’d captured my heart.
~ ~ ~
The air was buzzing with chatter and laughter as the crowd began to fill the theater at the New York University. It was opening night for Streets, the script written by Mr. Cedric Benson and his team with the musical score written by Ms. Anna Louise Armstrong. The play and music had been advertised all over Manhattan for weeks now. What an honor!
Mara and I were being escorted by Chase tonight. Daniel, of course, had the lead male role in the play. Entering the theater area, all three of us were ushered down the aisle to the front row.
As we made our way, I spotted Ms. Thompson and leaned in to give her a little hug. “This is it, Ms. Thompson. I hope all goes well for Daniel and Mr. Benson. I’m sure you’ll be listening to the music as closely as I will. I had Mara design you another special invitation for tonight’s opening performance. Hope you received the invitation.”
“I did,” she replied, glancing over at Mara. “Nice to see you, too, Chase. Enjoy the play, my dears.”
“Thank you,” all three of us chorused in unison.
As we took our seats, Mara and I noticed that Thomas, Beth, and the children were sitting next to us in the front row. Mara was sitting next to Thomas, so I just leaned over and waved to all of them. Chase sat on the outside near the aisle. The longer we waited, the more nervous Mara and I became. She for Daniel and me for the music that would be played tonight.
As the heavy, maroon velour curtain began to rise, a hush came over the theater.
Mara poked me when Daniel appeared on stage. I turned to her and smiled. As he began to speak and act, I could tell Mara was glued to her seat with her eyes on Daniel. He had a deep baritone voice that rang out over the crowd. He and the other cast members made it easy for the audience to know exactly what was happening with the brother and sister throughout the play. When Aiden and Elizabeth were killed at the end, you could hear the women in the crowd crying heartfelt tears. The people clapped and clapped when the play was over. The whole cast took several bows before finally leaving the stage.
I noticed Mara was crying. “Are you all right?” I asked.
“I’ve seen plays before, but nothing like this one. Daniel played Aiden perfectly and his voice made my heart beat faster. It felt like he was speaking directly to me.”
“He probably was. I agree that Daniel was the star of the show tonight. Let’s go congratulate him.”
Daniel’s family and Savannah were right behind us as we made our way backstage to find him. Thomas and Beth had the look of very proud parents on their faces. Mara ran into Daniel’s arms when she saw him. “You were amazing,” I could hear her say over all of the noise.
“Thanks, my love,” I heard him reply. “Opening night is behind us.” He greeted his family, then Chase and me.
We all chatted for few minutes, then his family left. Mara, Chase, and I were taking Daniel out on the town to celebrate the first successful night of Streets.