I spent what seemed like forever thinking about him, wondering how it would be if we actually had the opportunity to be together. That one night, I had a taste of that life. The next day he was gone, and no one, not even his best friend Michael could tell me what happened to him. He simply disappeared off the face of the Earth.
I didn’t know whether to be worried or angry. I wanted to go to the police and file a missing person’s report, but Michael told me not to. He said that Devin was just this kind of person. He was the bad boy that was there one minute and gone the next. He told me I shouldn’t have gotten involved with him. I refused to admit he was right. I got the feeling Michael wasn’t telling me something, but my heart was too broken to care anymore.
For once in my life, I was happy. I wouldn’t have traded that night for the world, but my life was never the same after. The next month after Devin disappeared into thin air, I was late for my time of the month. I had never been late before, and it didn’t take very many online searches to figure out what the problem was.
A pregnancy test confirmed my worst fears. I even bought a few more, just to be safe. I was carrying Devin’s baby and I had no way of telling him. I was utterly terrified, but I refused to turn to my parents, let alone Michael. No, it was time I dealt with life on my terms. Over the next month I went to work applying for all kinds of jobs.
Most never answered because I didn’t have any real-world experience. Then one day I came across a job as a music tutor. Someone in the city was giving up their clients for an undisclosed reason and was looking for someone to replace them. After I applied, I got the call to interview within a few days.
One thing led to another and soon I was taking over as a music tutor in the city. I had to move out from my parent’s house and get an apartment so I could be close to the clients I would be working with. My dad seemed choked up that I was leaving, but my mother couldn’t care less. She always favored Michael anyway. Neither of them knew about the baby growing inside of me. Once I was away from them, I was going to start looking for Devin again. He couldn’t have gone far, and when I found him I would have my answers.
It was lonely in the city, which was ironic given how many people lived there. I didn’t know any of them. The first few visits I did for my tutoring job were fine, mostly kids with rich parents who wanted them to be “cultured” as they put it. After a week of living in the city, I came across a client I didn’t expect.
He was located in the penthouse suite of the city’s finest hotel. I didn’t have a name for him, only a location. When I got there I stood at the door with a crumpled piece of paper that had the address scrawled on it. The front desk called up to the suite to make sure I wasn’t intruding. It was all very hush-hush.
The door swung open and a towering Russian man stood over me. I couldn’t believe it, but it was Dmitri Mikhailov, my father’s friend and an acquaintance of mine. He seemed just as shocked as I was to see him.
“Mr. Mikhailov?”
He laughed. “So it is you then? You are the new music tutor? Fate does indeed have a sense of humor.”
“I didn’t know you played,” I said.
He nodded. “Many do not. I have been trying to learn the piano for years now. These Russian fingers lack a certain finesse that I am trying to teach myself.”
I found it remarkable how he could be simultaneously intimidating and inviting. I never knew what he was really thinking.
“Come in, Deandra I pay you by the hour, do I not?” he asked.
I stepped inside and saw two large men standing on either side of the door. They were dressed in suits and ties. Dmitri waved at them.
“Leave us,” he said.
The two men immediately departed, leaving Mr. Mikhailov and myself alone in the spacious penthouse.
“Are they your bodyguards?” I asked.
“Yes. When you’re a billionaire in my line of work, competition is, shall we say, ruthless.”
“Oh, I had no idea. So, you’ll have to refresh me, the previous tutor didn’t have much information on your current grasp of piano. If you don’t mind, I’d like to see you play for a while today so I can get a grasp of where you stand, Mr. Mikhailov.”
He smiled and placed his massive hand on my shoulder.
“Please, call me Dmitri.”
I turned away from his cold steel eyes as I felt myself blushing. I couldn’t lie to myself, I liked the way he looked at me. He led me through the luscious penthouse suite and over to an absolutely stunning grand piano. He sat down on the bench and gingerly placed his hands onto the shining ivory keys.
“Any requests?” he asked.
“Anything you feel comfortable playing,” I said.
He immediately moved into an exquisite rendition of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata. His fingers, though large and muscular, moved with a finesse and grace I had hardly expected. I walked around behind him as the somber notes filled the massive living room. His posture was great, his form was correct, and his tempo fit the mood of the piece perfectly.
Several minutes into the first movement, I began to seriously wonder why he needed a tutor at all.
“Okay, let’s try something with a little more tempo,” I said.
Dmitri stopped for only a moment before his fingers returned to the keys. He immediately fell into a gorgeous rendition of Frederic Chopin’s Etude Opus 25. The rapid notes flew by under his fingers. He was masterful, I ventured to think that perhaps he would best me in a competition of sheer speed and accuracy.
“Very good, that’s enough for now,” I said.
Dmitri stopped and turned to face me on the piano bench with a look of satisfaction on his face.
“Well, what did you think?” he asked.
“I think there’s nothing I could teach you that you don’t already know. You’re clearly a very talented player.”
Dmitri smiled and stood to his feet. He walked over to me with a confidence in his step that had my heart racing. I didn’t know what he would do next. One of his hands reached down and took mine and he looked deep into my eyes with his cold yet fiery gaze.
“I have seen you mature into a beautiful woman, Deandra, and I know of your musical talents. It is no accident that you came here today. I do not leave my life in the hands of fate. I have brought you here to ask a question of you.”
I could barely form words. “What is it?”
“I want to you to teach me your music. Not the music of long deceased prodigies, but the one standing before me. I have heard you play and it is the only music that truly speaks to my soul and makes me feel human. Please Deandra, I will do anything to know your melodies.”
I was flattered to say the least. Although I had never written down anything I created, all it took was a memory and an emotion to bring them back.
“Well, I wasn’t expecting this, Dmitri. I’ve never written down my music before, but I remember all of it. I suppose I can teach you some of my songs, if that’s what you would like. I’ve never shown anyone how to play them before, so you’ll have to forgive me if I come across as rusty.”
Dmitri stoic face exploded with happiness. This was a side of him I had never seen before. As we sat beside each other on the piano bench, I felt like I was his equal for the first time since I had met him. It didn’t matter that he was an older man, we had common ground to stand on and a shared passion for music.