Chapter 6
Since Mr. Cutler had died and Mara arrived, my lessons with Ms. Thompson had not progressed as they should have. She understood about the bombings and grieved for Mr. Cutler like the rest of us, but we both knew I needed to focus on my lessons in order to keep advancing in the program.
“Hi, Ms. Thompson,” I said as I greeted her. “Have you heard the good news that Thomas and Beth Cutler are going to continue the scholarship here at The School of Musical Arts in honor of both his mother and father?”
“Oh, Anna Louise, that is great news. I wouldn’t be here with you today if it weren’t for Mr. Cutler. His generous donations have helped keep The School of Musical Arts running for years. When Mrs. Cutler died, he told Mrs. McKenzie he wanted to start a scholarship program in his wife’s name. He didn’t want her love of playing the piano to die with her. Just like you, Mrs. Cutler had desperately wanted to learn how to play the piano. She thought she was too old to learn how to play when she came here for her first lesson with Mrs. McKenzie, but before she died, she’d learned how to play beautifully. Mr. Cutler was so proud of her. I only heard her play at the recitals, but she seemed so happy when she was playing,” Ms. Thompson explained.
“Thomas told me that Mr. Cutler had tuned pianos out of their home until his mom died, after which, his dad sold the family home and opened up the Emporium so he could be surrounded by the most exquisite pianos ever made, while Thomas went out and tuned pianos. Something Thomas had learned to do at an early age by his father’s side.”
“That’s right, Anna Louise.”
“Did Mr. Cutler, or does Thomas, know how to play the piano?” I asked. “On my first day at the Emporium, I watched Thomas tune a piano and he seemed to be a master at it?”
“You’d have to ask Thomas that. I’m not sure if either one of them ever really learned to play the piano.”
“Can I ask you one more question, Ms. Thompson?”
“Yes. Of course you can.”
“What did Mrs. Cutler die from?”
“Heart disease. I guess she had rheumatic fever when she was young, which kept her from doing a lot of things her whole life that other people could do. Then, after Thomas had married and started his own family, she went out with Mr. Cutler one day to tune a piano and thought maybe learning to play the piano was something she could do, and sure enough she could, even though she was only able to play for a few years.”
“I know Mr. Cutler missed his wife every day, like I miss him now. I’m just sorry he had to die in such a violent way. He didn’t deserve that. I’m going to carry on his dream for me and become the best concert pianist I can become.”
“He’ll be watching and smiling from above as you take each step in that direction, Anna Louise. Which reminds me, I’d better have you open your books and play something for me before we run out of time.”
I stumbled through the first part of my lesson, not having practiced much, but the more I played the better I felt inside about having lost such a dear and loving person in my life. My spirits were raised and I knew I was doing exactly what Mr. Cutler would’ve wanted me to do. “Everything is going to be all right,” I whispered to myself.
~ ~ ~
I hadn’t seen much of Mara the last couple of days, so when I finally did, I inquired, “So have you and Daniel been having a good time together. I’ve hardly seen either one of you, even at the store.”
“Anna Louise. You wouldn’t believe how wonderful SoHo is.” Mara jumped up off the sofa with a look of pure glee on her face. “I could move there right this minute and never move out again. Daniel even introduced me to a few of the artists that live there who are making a good living. The boutiques are divine. Clothes designed just for me.”
“It’s hard for me to believe that Mara Holbrook, who is always in motion, could live in one place for the rest of her life.” I laughed at the thought.
“Well, I might have to travel a bit over the years, like to Italy, France, England, and Spain for sure. I’d love to paint in those countries and take some classes from the artists there.”
“You’re serious, aren’t you?” I led the way out to the kitchen to check in the refrigerator to see what I might find to fix for dinner.
Sitting down on one of the kitchen chairs, Mara said, “I’ve been thinking. Would you like to share a place with me in SoHo? I could go to school here in New York and paint when I’m not in class. I need to be surrounded by SoHo and the people that live and do business there.”
“Have you talked to your parents about this?” I asked. “It looks like it’s going to be salad again tonight with some leftover chicken strips. Dessert can be apple slices draped in caramel.”
“I’ve talked to them. And as long as I’m willing to continue going to college, they’re okay with the idea. But they said it was up to you.” Mara set the salads on the table while I absentmindedly smothered the apples under a layer of caramel.
“I’d love for us to be roommates, but I’ll need a couple of days to think about it. The idea is a bit of a shock. Hope you understand.”
“Sure, Anna Louise. I’d have to go back to Chicago and pack up all of my things to come here, which isn’t a whole lot, but if you’re willing, we could find a place before I leave.”
“Let’s eat.” I took my seat at the table. “I’ve never even been to SoHo, so you’d have to show me what’s so wonderful about this well-developed artistic area of New York.”
“I could do that. How about this weekend?” Mara suggested.
“I work on Saturday along with Thomas, but then Daniel and Thomas work on Sunday, so we’d have to take our little trip, into that amazing cultural world you love so much, on Sunday.”
“Thank you. I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.” She jumped up and hugged the breath out of me.
Later, when I heard three knocks on the door. I knew it was Chase. He hadn’t been at the Blue Sky much since all of our worlds had been turned upside down. Opening the door and seeing my handsome neighbor standing there holding a tray with three hot chocolates from the Shake Shack and a bag of miniature marshmallows set my heart to music. “Hey, stranger. Come on in.”
“Thought maybe you and Mara could use something warm on a cool night like tonight. Would you ladies care to join me?” he asked. “And I have a little news to share with you, too.”
“Love to. How about you, Mara?” I turned and found her standing right behind me, breathing down my neck.
“Love to,” she replied.
Only having two kitchen chairs, Chase ran back and got one of his that looked identical to mine—all dented up. He also did the honors of taking the caps off of the hot chocolates and topping each one with marshmallows.
“I have some news, too,” I said. “But you go first, Chase.”
“Well, I’ve decided to move to an apartment closer to the newspaper. My hours have been crazy lately. I find myself falling into bed and getting right back up.” Chase swirled his hot chocolate as he spoke. “My lease is up and I can’t say I’ll miss this place, except for you Anna Louise and now you, too, Mara. Here’s my new address. You already have my phone number. I’ll miss you, but I know where to find you at the Emporium. Hope we can keep in touch.”
“Now, I’m in complete shock,” I replied sadly. “Mara has just asked me to move with her to SoHo. She wants to stay in New York and become roommates. She says she’ll go to college in New York and be able to sell her paintings better in SoHo. And now I find out you’re moving closer to the newspaper. I’m overwhelmed by all of it.”
“What a coincidence,” Chase acknowledged.
“When will you be moving out?” I still couldn’t believe his news.
“This weekend, so I can get settled before Monday.” Chase put his fingers under my sad chin and lifted it up. “We’ll still see each other, Anna Louise.”
“I know, but it won’t be the same. Will you come visit us in SoHo once we’ve moved there?”
“Of course. Text me and I’ll be there.”
“Did I just hear you say you’ll move to SoHo with me?” Mara exclaimed.
“I guess I did, didn’t I?” Soon the Blue Sky Apartments would only be a memory for both Chase and me.
Chase moved out and Mara flew back to Chicago to pack up and have her things sent to our new two-bedroom apartment in SoHo. Mara moved into the apartment while I lived out the rest of my lease at the Blue Sky Apartments.
~ ~ ~
Mara and I were now living under the same roof—ironically, once again on the third floor. The ceilings were high, the windows expansive, the floors wooden, the rugs trendy, and the fireplace warm and cozy—but we didn’t have any furniture. So the next afternoon, as soon as I was finished at the Emporium, I met Mara inside the front door of the Kelley Furniture Store to begin our search for some pieces we’d both like.
Mara loved to shop, so we browsed through a number of furniture stores before deciding on the place we liked best. Making our way back to Hardwick Furniture, we started out with the living room: choosing an off-white sectional sofa, chic turquoise throw pillows with orange flowers tipped in white, a big screen television and stand, a dark-coffee table and end tables, and lamps for each of the end tables. Then, we spotted two striped, high-back fireplace chairs with matching ottomans in shades of orange from light to dark that we just couldn’t live without. The other things we really needed were stools for the island in the kitchen, so we picked out a few of those. The dining room table would have to wait.
The salesman then proceeded to talk us into splurging on a bedroom set for each of us. Adding it all up on my calculator, I knew it was going to take us a while to pay off the bills, but I was glad to be out of the Blue Sky Apartments and to be living with my best friend in SoHo, New York.
Not only did Mara love to shop, but she loved Christmas, too. So on our first Sunday together, we bundled up and went out into the new fallen snow and bought this seven-foot-tall tree before contemplating how many lights and ornaments we would need to decorate such a tree. Thank goodness our apartment had those extra-high ceilings.
As we traipsed back out to buy lights and decorations, I looked around at how Christmas had overtaken SoHo. Every store and shop was lit up from top to bottom. Mara draped her red and white striped scarf around her neck so it wouldn’t fall off, then bent over, grabbed some snow, and threw it at me.
“Are we back in middle school, or what?” I shouted, tossing a snowball back at her.
“Oh man, you hit me right in the mouth. I’ll get you.” Mara ran up and threw a snowball down the front of my jacket.
“Stop it, Mara. We have places to go.”
“That reminds me. Blake is playing at Carnegie Hall the weekend before Christmas. Would you like to go?”
“Would I like to go? He’s the one who changed my world. Yes, I’d like to go,” I yelled up into the cold, crisp air.
“I told him we were living together in SoHo now. He asked if I’d like a couple of tickets. Of course, I said, no.”
“You said, what!” I exclaimed.
“Just kidding. I’m going to pick up the tickets one day this week.”
“You’d better be kidding,” I replied, opening the door to SoHome Department Store that carried all kinds of Christmas things this time of year.
Not only did we buy several strings of multi-colored lights, a vast assortment of bright Christmas ornaments, boxes of red, green, gold, and silver balls, and the most angelic angel we could find for the top of the tree, but we ended up buying a step-stool so we could reach the top of our seven-foot-tall tree to decorate high up and to be able to set the angel in place. We also bought a set of rollicking green elves for the coffee table, a swag for the fireplace, and a wreath for the door. So, by the time we made it back home and finished decorating the tree from top to bottom, as well as the rest of the apartment, we were giggling hysterically and hugging each other.
We ended the day with mugs of warm apple cider and cinnamon sticks as we watched the lights twinkle on our tall tree and took in the wonderful smell of fresh pine throughout the apartment.
The next morning, I shook Mara on my way out the door. “My piano lesson is tonight after work, so I’ll be home late.”
“Daniel and I are going Christmas shopping today and then we’re going to a Broadway play this evening. He wants to be an actor, you know.”
“I know. Have fun, and I’ll see you later tonight or in the morning.”
“See ya, Anna Louise.”
The Emporium was busy for a Monday, especially for Thomas. I took one call after another wanting him to come tune their piano for a big Christmas extravaganza they were having in the next week or so. The day flew by. I needed to leave as soon as Thomas stepped in the back door to catch a cab for my piano lesson. “Have to go or I’ll be late for my lesson.”
“Go ahead. I’ll lock up,” Thomas replied, waving me out the door.
As I sat down at the piano, Ms. Thompson took a seat next to me on the bench. “I need to ask you something, Anna Louise. The school has been asked to play Christmas carols for the children at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital during their festivities this Saturday, and I wanted to ask if you would be willing to play for the children.”
“Of course, but I’ve never done anything like that before. I don’t even know where the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital is.”
“Any cab driver in New York would be able to drop you off at the children’s hospital and someone on the staff would be there to greet you, taking you to the piano.”
“But, I’ve never played children’s Christmas carols before. I don’t even have a book of children’s carols.”
“Oh, but I do.” Ms. Thompson rose from the piano bench and walked over to the cabinet where all of the music was stored. “Here’s a book of carols I know the children will love. It’s yours now.” Sitting back down on the piano bench, Ms. Thompson opened the book to the first carol, “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” “Try playing the music for me, Anna Louise.”
I began playing, stumbling through the song a couple of times, until the sound of the music became familiar to me, then I smiled and picked up the tempo. Ms. Thompson turned the pages as I continued to work my way through “Jingle Bells,” “Frosty the Snowman,” and “Santa Claus is Coming to Town.”
“You won’t have any trouble playing these carols by Saturday,” Ms. Thompson said as she closed the book and handed it to me. “The program begins at two o’clock, but you’ll be listed to play near the end because the children love to sing Christmas carols and get all excited about Santa coming to see them. Santa is the finale, bringing a gift for each of the children.”
“How wonderful,” I said. “It should be a lot of fun. Would it be okay if I brought my roommate, Mara, with me? She’s and artist and could paint each of the children’s faces.”
“I don’t see why not. She could paint faces while you play and sing carols with the rest of the children. I think they’d be thrilled.” Ms. Thompson stood up, then stated, “I’ll let the program chairwoman know you’ll be playing the piano and that your roommate will be doing face paintings on Saturday, then.”
“I’ve never played for children before, but now I’m actually looking forward to it. Thank you.” I opened my backpack and slid the book of carols inside.
“Thank you, Anna Louise, for sharing your talent with the children. I can hardly wait to hear what they have to say next Monday.”
~ ~ ~
Thomas was on his way out the next night when he heard Christmas carols coming from the direction of the piano I was practicing on. “Someone is sure in the Christmas spirit. I enjoy hearing Christmas carols, but those sound like they’re for children.”
“They are. Ms. Thompson talked me into playing for the children at the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital this Saturday. Mara has agreed to do face paintings. Would it be okay if I leave around one-thirty on Saturday?”
“Of course you can. Beth has volunteered at Morgan Stanley for years. Ever since our second son Lucas was a patient there when he was a young child. Now he’s a sophomore in high school. She’s seen a lot of children come and go from that hospital.”
“It sounds like the hospital makes the Christmas festivities special for the children, even bringing in Santa Claus with a bagful of gifts for them.”
“I’ll tell Beth you’re playing on Saturday and that Mara is doing face paintings. Maybe she and my daughter, Ashley, will stop by and join in on the festivities.”
“That would be great. I only met Ashley for a moment at the funeral.”
“She’s all girl, ten going on twenty, if you know what I mean.” Thomas laughed. “Well, guess I’d better be on my way. See you tomorrow.”
“See ya, Thomas.”
On Saturday, Mara stopped by the Emporium and visited with Thomas while I finished with a customer, then we hailed a cab to the Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital. Mara carried her case of face paints, while I had my book of Christmas carols tucked away in my backpack.
We were greeted inside the front entry by a woman named Michelle who guided us to the room where the festivities would take place. The piano was a white baby grand and I could hardly wait to try it out. Mara set up her paints on a counter that stretched along one wall. A high classroom stool for the children was placed nearby. Michelle would be leading the program and also reading a Christmas story to the children before I began to play and sing carols with them. As Ms. Thompson had suggested, Mara would be painting each of the cherub faces as they sang along with the Christmas carols.
At two o’clock, the door flew open and twelve children of all ages filled the room, some in the Christmas spirit and some not. They each sat down on one of the bright-colored, plastic chairs placed in a semi-circle and waited for Michelle to begin the program.
“Merry Christmas, children,” she said. “We’re going to have lots of fun this afternoon. Mara over here is going to paint whatever you would like on your face and while she does that Anna Louise is going to play Christmas carols and listen to all of you sing loud and clear, but first I’m going to read you a Christmas story about a crippled little boy, a lonely puppy in a shelter, and Santa Claus. After you’ve finished singing, there will be ice cream and Christmas cookies for everyone.”
All of the children, but one, cheered and couldn’t wait for the party to begin. A sad little girl with a broken left arm and swollen face sat staring at the floor. But, the party began as the children sat quietly and listened to Michelle read the Christmas story that had a happy ending for the crippled little boy Tucker and his new black and white puppy Otis. The children clapped. Then one by one, the children sat on the stool as Mara painted whatever they wanted on their faces as I played and the other children gathered around the piano to sing “Rudolph the Red Nose Reindeer.” Then, when I struck up the music for “Jingle Bells,” the children began to sing louder and louder. “Frosty the Snowman” had them dancing around the room. Seeing their smiles, along with the paintings on their faces, seemed magical as they danced around the room playing follow-the-leader. Treats were brought in and everyone sat back down with their bowl of ice cream and cookies, talking a mile a minute now.
“Ho, ho, ho,” came the sound of a deep voice as the door flew open once again. In came Santa with a bag full of presents flung over his back. I quickly retrieved my phone to capture the faces of the children as they gazed up at Santa. They were priceless.
“I’ve got presents for all of you good little boys and girls,” Santa called out, setting his bag down on the floor. As he called out each of their names, the child would jump up to receive their gift. When he called out the name Savannah, no one came forward, then I saw the little girl with the broken left arm and swollen face glance up at Santa. Could she possibly be the same Savannah I had gotten to know on my ride from Wisteria, Kansas, to New York City?
Santa knelt down beside her and said, “Are you Savannah?”
She nodded her head yes.
“This Christmas present is for you, then.”
Savannah took the present and very softly said thank you, but nothing more.
After staring at her the whole time Santa talked to her, I was almost certain she was the same little girl I knew. Tears came to my eyes, remembering how her mother had treated her. Once Santa had wished Savannah a Merry Christmas and walked back over to pick up his bag, I went over and knelt down beside the little girl just as Santa had done. “Savannah. Do you remember me from our bus ride together from Kansas to Manhattan?”
She stared at me for a minute, then cried out, “Anna Louise.” I hugged her as we both began to cry.
The nurse assigned to watch over the children during the festivities came over and tapped me on the shoulder. “Do you know Savannah?”
“Only a little,” I replied. “We shared a bus ride from Kansas to New York about six months ago.”
“Could I speak with you in private for a few minutes?”
“Yes, of course,” I replied.
But, before following the nurse out of the room, I turned to Savannah, and said, “I’ll be back to see you again. Soon.”
The nurse told me that Savannah’s mother had been killed by her boyfriend and that he had beaten Savannah almost to death. She played dead and after he finally left the apartment, which she and her mother shared with this man, Savannah was able to call 9-1-1 on her mother’s phone.
“How old is Savannah? I thought she was maybe six years old on our bus ride.”
The nurse told me Savannah knew her birth date and that she was indeed six years old. When they asked her about her father, she said she didn’t know who her father was. That her mother was always meeting men online and moving the two of them to wherever the next boyfriend lived. Every time her mom met someone new, she thought they would take care of her and Savannah, but they never did.
“Has Savannah ever gone to school?” I asked.
“No. She and her mother never lived in one place long enough for her to go to school. Her mom taught her the alphabet, how to read a little bit, to write her name, and how to count to one hundred, which has been Savannah’s saving grace.”
“Does she know her mother is dead?” I could barely get the words out. “By the way, what is Savannah’s last name, if I might ask?”
“Her last name is Walker. And, yes, we told her about her mother because we needed to know the next of kin for the body.”
“Did she know of anyone?”
“Only a brother of her mom who lives in Alabama. That’s where Savannah said she was born.”
“Will Savannah be going back to Alabama once she’s healed enough to travel?”
“No. She’ll probably be going to foster care once she’s discharged from the hospital. We contacted the brother and he said to send the body, but not Savannah. He had no way to take care of her or to support her.”
“That is so sad. I’ll be back to visit Savannah as often as I can. Thank you for telling me what happened with Savannah and her mother.”
“Savannah seemed really happy to see you.”
“We had fun on our long ride from Kansas to Manhattan. We played games on my phone, as well as some tic-tac-toe and hangman on paper. It didn’t take her long to learn the games on my phone and she did really well with the hangman words.”
“I know she’ll be glad to see you whenever you can come back to visit. It will help her heal faster, too.”
The children’s room was pretty much empty by the time I returned from my visit with the nurse, but when I spotted Mara, she was talking to Beth and Ashley Cutler. Mara saw me out of the corner of her eye and asked, “Where did you go? We were about to send out a search party.”
“Hi, Beth and Ashley. Nice to see you again,” I said. “You’ve met Mara?”
“Yes. Daniel brought her by the house one day when he needed to change clothes for the evening, and we’ve seen her a few times since,” Beth replied, smiling over at Mara.
“But, where did you disappear to, Anna Louise?” Mara asked again.
“The nurse wanted to speak to me after I recognized the young girl, Savannah, from our bus ride to New York.”
“The little girl with the broken left arm and swollen face?” Beth asked.
“Yes. Her mother was killed by a boyfriend and now Savannah has no one. She will probably go to foster care from the hospital.”
“She looked so lonely when I saw her,” Ashley said.
“I’m sure she is. Scared, too,” I replied. “She’s never been to school, but she knows how to read a little, write her name, and count to one hundred.”
“I’ll introduce myself to her on the days I volunteer at the hospital,” Beth said. “Maybe if she learns to trust me, she’ll talk to me more about herself and her mom.”
“That’s very kind of you, Beth,” I said, giving her a little hug. “I’m going to visit Savannah every chance I get.”
“I’ll come with you to visit,” Mara said. “Maybe Savannah and I can draw together, kittens and puppies.”
“Thank you all for understanding. I’ve never faced anything like this before,” I said. “I met Savannah on the bus when I left Kansas for New York. I sat across the aisle and could see and hear her mom being physically and verbally mean to her. I couldn’t stand to listen, so asked if Savannah could sit with me. We played games during our ride. I said goodbye to Savannah when we got off the bus in Manhattan.”
“It will all work out,” Beth said. “Ashley and I need to find our way home. It was good to see both of you. Oh, Anna Louise, I’m counting on you to keep your eye on my son and Mara.” She glanced at me, then over at Mara with a wide smile on her face.
“I’ll try,” I said with a wink. “But it won’t be easy!”