Heartstrings, Page 2

  Chapter Two

  Eroica sat at her piano for a long time and wondered who she would meet this school year. Not only did she spend a lot of time practicing here, but she also found that it was the best place for thinking. Her last student of the day had just left, and Eroica didn’t know what to do with herself. She had taken over all of her sister’s piano students. AnnaMaria was well along with her third pregnancy and had decided that it was time to stop teaching. Juggling two children while giving lessons was difficult. AnnaMaria didn’t want to try it with three. Eroica was excited about teaching piano lessons again, but school hadn’t started yet, so she was left with a lot of free time.

  Eroica’s parents and AnnaMaria’s husband, John Barlow, had bought a twin home together. That way Eroica could live next door to AnnaMaria, and Dr. and Mrs. Hamilton wouldn’t worry about her while they were away in Europe. Eroica’s parents enjoyed teaching at the German konservatorium so much that they had decided to stay there for several more years. Mrs. Hamilton, who also taught voice lessons and who loved organizing women’s choirs wherever she went, would have been happy to go back to her teaching position at the Boston College. But she also loved to be with her husband, even if she didn’t enjoy traveling as much as he did. And someone would need to keep him from snooping his way into a jail.

  Before Eroica came back from Europe, AnnaMaria took care of furnishing her home for her. Eroica’s grand piano was in the front room. It took up most of the space, but AnnaMaria managed to get in a small couch, as well as some bookcases for her music. AnnaMaria could not live with a mess, so when Eroica walked into her new home two weeks earlier, everything was in order. She had only to unpack her books and music, hang up her clothes, and she was moved in.

  Eroica got up from the piano, slipped on her sandals, and went next door. Everyone was just getting up from naps. She picked up three year old Charlie and sat down on the couch with him. He didn’t wake up very easily. He had just come bumbling out of the bedroom crying and rubbing his eyes. AnnaMaria came in and sat down next to them with two year old Joshua.

  “So, Eroica,” she began, “Have you had a chance to meet any interesting young men yet?”

  Eroica knew that the topic of marriage was going to be her sister’s favorite one until she married someone. But Eroica didn’t mind. She also thought about it quite often.

  “No. I really haven’t gone anywhere. And until school starts, I don’t think that I’ll be running into any tall, dark and handsome strangers.”

  “Well, you need to find someone who will settle down in one place. That way we can have houses next door to each other, and we can share backyards.”

  “You mean I need to marry someone like John.”

  AnnaMaria laughed. “Okay, maybe not that boring. But John is perfect for me. I never liked being dragged around the globe the way that we grew up. But you seemed to enjoy it.”

  “I did. I guess that wherever my family was, that was home. But,” she stated, “I think that I am going to marry a cellist.”

  AnnaMaria looked surprised. “A cellist! What made you decide on a cellist?”

  “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe so that I can always get free symphony tickets,” she laughed. Eroica had never told anyone about the cellist from the music camp from years ago. She knew it would sound absurd, and there were so many “What if’s.”

  “Eroica,” AnnaMaria had taken on a serious tone, “I just want you to be as happy as I am. You could marry an accountant like John, or a cellist, or anyone, and I would think it was wonderful. As long as you love him, and he is worthy of your love. But don’t wait too long. I want our children to be best friends, and that’s not going to happen if you wait until my children have grown up.”

  AnnaMaria said this while Charlie frantically tugged on her and repeated, “Swimming pool, swimming pool,” and Joshua excitedly clapped his hands.

  “Your children aren’t growing up all that fast,” Eroica ventured. “They seem pretty silly to me.”

  With that, all sensible conversation ended as Eroica and AnnaMaria got Charlie and Joshua into swimsuits and filled up the little pool in the backyard for them.

  The first day of classes finally came. Eroica was excited about her class schedule this semester. She was finished with her general education requirements, so she only had music classes left. She went to each class hoping to see a familiar face. But the passing time brought change, and most of the people that she knew had graduated and left. Time hadn’t changed Eroica so very much, though. She was still nervous about meeting new people, and she still only felt comfortable in a crowd if there were a piano separating herself from them.

  Eroica took her sack lunch and went outside. It was such a beautiful day, and she only had a little while before her next class started. She found an empty table, pulled out a sandwich, and opened her textbook. Music theory. Eroica never had been very good in this subject. There were so many rules to remember. And even if she were to remember them all, it wouldn’t matter. The great composers broke all the rules.

  Suddenly she was dragged away from chord structures by hearing her name called. She looked up and there were two girls that she knew well—Harmony Sawyer and Alexandra Burgundy.

  “I knew it was you,” cried Alexandra. “We haven’t seen you in a long time. You’re still trying to graduate too, I guess.” Harmony and Alexandra sat down and each pulled out some sort of hurried lunch.

  “I’ve been in Germany for a year,” Eroica explained, “So now I’m finishing my last year of school. It’s a relief to finally run into a familiar face. Almost everyone I know has graduated.”

  “We just got back from a study abroad semester in Jerusalem. We took one final summer before graduation to see some of the world.”

  “And I can’t believe I’m attempting to get through this semester,” said Harmony. “After not playing my flute all summer, I hardly know which end to blow into.”

  “So where are all the other girls that were in the flute choir? That seems so long ago. Do you keep track of each other anymore?”

  “Alex and I visited April Madison yesterday. She’s the one that keeps up on everybody. We all count on her to keep us in touch with each other.”

  “I don’t know if I can remember what everyone is doing, though,” said Alexandra.

  “Well, you know that Joannie married her high school sweetheart as soon as he came home from his mission. She’s busy being a wife and mom, and teaching flute lessons,” Eroica said.

  “And April is married. So is Faith Fletcher. She married an army man, and they live in Japan. Jenny Harris just got married. Kristin Jorgensen is getting married in December. I wonder if she will have flute music at her reception.”

  “Was it Julia that broke off her engagement?”

  “Yes,” remembered Harmony. “You met Julia Archer didn’t you, Eroica? She was always so nice to everyone. She never said anything unkind. I think she found herself engaged because she didn’t want to hurt his feelings. It’s a good thing she figured that out now instead of later. Poor Julia.”

  “Well, there’s no chance of Stephanie Gibbons marrying anytime soon. She is still dating everyone and anyone,” Alexandra threw in.

  “Heather Howell married a Canadian and lives in Vancouver. And April lost track of Marnee Cook and Charlotte Livingston.”

  “Joannie wanted so much for everyone to meet up again here,” said Alexandra. “I guess we all knew that wouldn’t happen. And now we are all doing so many different things.”

  “She didn’t make it here at all,” Eroica exclaimed. “She was the first one to get married. But I know that she has no regrets.”

  “And now we will finish school and will go on to the next part of our lives. Who knows what that will be?”

  “Eroica, you are going to be our accompanist, aren’t you?” pleaded Harmony. “Nobody accompanies as well as you do, and we both have our seni
or recitals to do.”

  Eroica, unlike so many other pianists, loved to accompany. She could perform without being the center of attention. And she loved accompanying flutists. The piano parts were always challenging and interesting.

  “Of course I will,” she promised as she stood up. “I’ve got to get to my next class.”

  “Music theory!” cried Alexandra as she noticed Eroica’s textbook. “Harmony and I have that next also.”

  “With Mark Wallace?” Harmony asked.

  Eroica looked at her class schedule as they walked towards the building.

  “Yes, Mark Wallace is the teacher.”

  “Oh, he’s a dream,” sighed Harmony. “All the girls have a crush on him.”

  “How do you know?” asked Eroica.

  “Everyone knows.”

  “Well, what’s so wonderful about him?”

  Harmony stopped abruptly, causing Alexandra to tumble right into her.

  “I don’t know,” she stated in surprise. “He’s really nice.”

  “And he’s friendly to everyone,” Alexandra added.

  “He sounds like a perfect flirt.”

  “No, that would be Bones.”

  “Bones?”

  “Haven’t you heard of Bones Drewer?” asked Harmony. “He plays the trombone. Quite well, actually. He is a wonderful jazz musician.”

  “I think he has a personal goal to date every girl on campus at least once.”

  “Well, he’s certainly not going to date me!”

  “Good luck, Eroica,” laughed Alexandra.

  “Have either of you dated him?”

  The only answer Eroica received was fresh laughter as all three girls went in to tackle music theory.

 

  Eroica sat down and at once opened her theory book. Everyone was supposed to have read through the first chapter for the first day of class. She had read it, but she didn’t completely understand it. She hoped the teacher wasn’t going to make it more confusing.

  The teacher. He was standing at the chalkboard with the music staff imprinted on it, and he was busily filling it in with a bunch of chords. Eroica took this opportunity to study him. He looked young to be a teacher. Young and yet his hair most likely used to be thicker than it was now. And he wore glasses. Eroica wondered why so many girls had a crush on him. But he was tall, and he was tan. Much too tan for a musician. He looked more like a construction worker. And why, if so many girls liked him, wasn’t he married yet?

  “Welcome back, students,” he said as soon as the bell rang. “My name is Mark Wallace, and you are in Music Theory 421. This is fourth year music theory. If you have not had the first three years, then you are in the wrong classroom.” At this point two people got up and left.

  “I will read the class roll today only. If your name is not on it and it should be, then you will need to take care of that.”

  He proceeded to read off names alphabetically. Eroica always feared that her name wouldn’t be on the list. Then everyone would stare at her and would wonder why she was in the wrong class and was not doing anything about it. And she would be too embarrassed to move. But that didn’t happen to her this time. Something else entirely unexpected did.

  “Eroica Hamilton,” read off the teacher. But before she could answer “Here,” he repeated her name in a very surprised and somewhat loud tone. “Eroica Hamilton!” He stared right at her.

  Eroica gripped the edge of her desk with both hands and stared back at him. Her face turned red as she tried to calmly give an answer. “Here. And yes, I was named after Beethoven’s Third Symphony.”

  When Karloff and Eleanor Hamilton had their first daughter, they decided that Eleanor would name this child, and Karloff would name the next one. Because Eleanor loved the music of Bach, she wanted her daughter to have a special tie to Bach. So she chose the name AnnaMaria, after Bach’s first and second wives. But when their second child came along, things didn’t work out as smoothly for Karloff. He loved Beethoven. But Beethoven had no wife and no children. So he chose the name Eroica, which was the title of Beethoven’s Third Symphony.

  Eroica had never had a problem with her name. Most people thought that it was something her parents had made up, or that it was an old family name. Musicians that knew where the name came from just thought the name was interesting. Eroica had always liked her name. And she still liked it, even if her stuffy theory teacher didn’t. So she stared back at him with all the defiance that she had.

  “Oh,” he finally remarked, “It’s very unusual.” His eyes left her, and he went back to calling names.

  For the remaining fifty minutes of class time, Eroica heard just about nothing and understood even less. She didn’t know how she was going to remain in that class for two semesters when she had been so publicly embarrassed. And that by the teacher! She did know, however, that Music Theory 421 was going to be a difficult class, and Mark Wallace was going to be more difficult than that!

  The bell finally rang. Class was over. But Eroica’s next class, music history was in that same room. She hurriedly pulled out her music history textbook and started reading the first chapter. She thought she could feel Mark Wallace staring at her again. She bent farther over her book and let her long brown hair fall around her face and over the edges of her book. She didn’t want an apology from him. She just wanted him to go away.

  Eroica didn’t look up until the bell rang again. There were different students in the room and a different teacher. This teacher started by telling them that if they had not yet read the first four chapters of the book, then they were already behind. This was accompanied by groans from several students. Eroica didn’t care that she was already behind, because this teacher didn’t read the class roll.

  When classes were over, Eroica saw Harmony and Alexandra in the hall. They both had practice time scheduled then, so they were waiting the last few minutes before they could knock on the doors and tell the voice major and the clarinet major that their turns in those practice rooms were over.

  “Eroica,” cried Alexandra, “I don’t know how you made it through theory class after what Mark Wallace did to you.”

  “Oh, it couldn’t have been so bad,” said Harmony. “After all, he did single you out.”

  Eroica grimaced. “Don’t tell me you are still going to insist that he’s a nice guy, and that all the girls have a crush on him. I think I can safely say that I will never have a crush on Mark Wallace.”

  “You know, Eroica, it could have been much worse,” said Alexandra. “Your parents could have named you Polyphony, and called you Polly for short.”

  “Or they could have named you Appoggiatura. Although I think they would have had a hard time shortening that.”

  “That would have been easy,” Eroica joined in. “I could have been nicknamed Podge.”

  “How about Hemidemisemiquaver? You could have gone by Semi.”

  The three girls went on like this for a few minutes more, until Eroica felt that she could live through tomorrow’s theory class.

  “Harmony and Alexandra, you are good for me,” she sighed.

  “Where are you off to now?” asked Alexandra.

  “I’m going to audition for the faculty accompanist job, along with all the other pianists. It will be interesting to see how that goes. Who wouldn’t want to be paid for just playing the piano?”

  “Do you want to use my practice room to warm up first?” Harmony offered.

  “No, thanks. If I’m not ready now, I never will be.”

  “That’s the way I feel about so many things,” sighed Harmony.

  And with a lighter heart, Eroica went down the hall to face more faculty members.