Chapter 6: 5

Chapter 5 – After the Stage

“How can you be this proficient anyway! Aren’t you supposed to be a tuner on the sideline and a pianist as your primary profession? This is strange, absolutely strange.”

“That’s not true. Angela has more skills as a pianist than I do. It’s amazing how quickly you can match up with me at that level in a series.”

“Right? After all, that was difficult! Wait, I’m not going to go along with your strategy of flattering and deceiving. More importantly, your skills, Adonis. Where did you learn it from? I can tell it’s more than a level gained from a hobby… Maybe you’re from the Royal Conservatory of Music?”

It was after the exhilarating piano performance that Angela, who re-changed her clothes at hyper-speed, settled on a stool next to Adonis. After being asked about the piano arrangement he had performed, Adonis was asked a few questions concerning himself.

“Basically, I’m self-taught. I have a pianist in the family, and my job was to be the support by tuning and maintaining the piano. Hence, my main job is a piano tuner. But that wasn’t sufficient to earn a living, so I practiced to be able to perform at a piano bar like this.”

“I’ve been to a piano bar before, so I suppose I have the ability to perform in front of people like that, challenging them to a match. Then neither of us would consider performing in front of people as a real job.”

“I guess you could say that… But even your day job, Angela, isn’t really here, is it? That poster, the London Piano Competition. The master mentioned to me that you’re entering the competition.”

“Ah… yes. I have been playing the piano here for, yeah, actually for fun. A change of pace.”

Angela took a tall Collins glass and sipped the sparkling water. It seemed she was not much of a drinker. Adonis’ glass was filled with scotch whiskey and ice from earlier.

“I’m from an orphanage, and Ms. Jacqueline picked me up and has me taking piano lessons as a live-in resident. If I win the upcoming London competition, I’ll be a fine Angela Jacqueline…”

“Eh!? Then you shouldn’t be playing in a piano bar like this.”

“Right. I snuck out of the Jacqueline’s house at night, and instead of having a ball with the prince, I had a piano frenzy with the old men with their bellies out.”

“You play too much. Doesn’t that tire you out?”

“I’m totally fine! It’s just a change of pace, and I don’t have to play all the time.”

When Angela said this, she cast her eyes to the piano stage, where the elderly master – Crazy Louis – was playing a quiet classical piece. In stark contrast to the upbeat performance earlier, this was the sort for which one would not interrupt the conversation, but rather color the room. Despite the craziness, this was a quintessential piece of bar music.

“And, you know, it’s kind of depressing to play classical music all the time. Ms. Jacqueline is a bit of a fault-finding. Here, I play a requested piece, and when I’m in the mood, I add an arrangement, and if I feel like being mean, I change the tempo. That’s how I shift my mood. It’s a mysterious thing, because when I play jokingly, the audience is pleased with my performance.”

“So you’re using the piano to relieve the stress of playing the piano. What a novel way to relieve stress.”

“It’s a good way to earn some extra pocket money. Even though I have a patron, I am now treated as a pianist and a servant as well. I get three meals a day with lessons, but other than that, I’m no better than a maid with a low salary. When I met you here this evening, I was on my way back from shopping for supper.”

Then Adonis recalled the large paper bag that Angela was carrying. Certainly, many fruits and vegetables were peeking out of it.

“But it’s a great opportunity, isn’t it? If you win, you can become the daughter of a wealthy person and lead the way to a career as a pianist.”

“I’ve been promised to Ms. Jacqueline. Within a year, if I win a prestigious piano competition somewhere, she will adopt me and support me in my future endeavors as a pianist.”

“… And if you don’t produce any results within this year?”

“I would be kicked out of the house without mercy. That’s the promise,” Angela said casually.

“It can’t be that easy… a mere year, you know. I’ll have to enter every competition one after another.”

“Yes. So I’ve been entered in many competitions over the past year, but have never been able to win any of them… The last competition that remains is the London Piano Competition, the most prestigious and grandest competition in the United Kingdom, Inglez. It is really my last chance.”

“… Well, that means winning is not going to happen, is it?”

“Isn’t it obvious!? If I can win the London Competition, all the other competitions will be a cakewalk! But I don’t care anymore… I don’t want to be Ms. Jacqueline’s daughter.”

“Eh?”

“Now here’s the problem. I want to win. But I don’t want to be adopted. Do you understand why?”

“Because… Ms. Jacqueline is a very mean person?”

“No. She’s a nice widow with a slight hysterical streak. She picked me up from an orphanage, and I’m grateful to her for that.”

“Then why?”

“Well because… huh? Hey! When did this become all about me? It’s not fair.”

Angela smacked Adonis on the arm.

“… But, isn’t this fine? Since we played the piano together, we’re friends now.”

After exhaling lightly, Angela pulled a locket pendant from her chest and handed it to Adonis. Opening the silver charm, which was adorned with a floral pattern, she found a black-and-white photograph inside. There was a young girl and a woman holding her in an embrace.

“Is this Angela and… your mother?”

“Right. That’s the only… keepsake of my mom that I possess.”

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Angela paused for a moment before saying it was a keepsake. Instead of saying it was a momento.

“When I was eight years old, my mom abruptly stopped returning home. And because of that, I was sent to an orphanage, but I couldn’t hold a resentment against her. After all, she was the one who taught me how to play the piano, as well as the person I loved the most.”

Angela plopped down on the counter and directed her face to the Collins glass that was set between them. Somehow she stared at the air bubbles rising irregularly in the long glass.

“For a while after she was gone, I had faith that if I waited, she would come back. But I was soon entrusted to a group of relatives I didn’t recognize, and then I was sent on a roundabout path of relatives and acquaintances. A year later, I was finally settled in an orphanage, but the place was far away from the town where I originally lived. I kept thinking that this meant my mom would never know my whereabouts, and that’s why she would never meet me.”

Adonis cast his eyes down to her mother in the photo. Her face was well-defined and her dress was delicate and elegant. One could easily picture her as a young woman, a spitting image of Angela’s.

“It doesn’t happened like how I assume to. Even now, I still have that thought. So I figured if I won a major piano competition and attained fame, my mom would find me and come to meet me. I would feel bad if I ended up in a different family by that point.”

Angela fell prostrate and faced forward. As if to evade Adonis’ gaze, she hid her profile behind the Collins glass. Through the sparkling glass, her cheeks appeared to have a subtle blush.

“That’s the only reason.”

After a brief silence, Adonis gently placed the locket pendant back by the glass.

“I hope you will meet your mother again.”

“Thanks… But I’m not a child anymore, so I know precisely what I’m dealing with. Maybe she has already started another family somewhere and they are living happily ever after. In fact, she might be dead already. If that’s the case, my mom may not show up even if I win, and I should just become a child of Ms. Jacqueline’s family. But–“

Angela rose with a start, put on a smile, and let out a cheerful voice that swept the sulking air aside.

“To begin with, I’m in a terrible slump right now! Unfortunately, this means that winning the championship is not possible in the first place!”

“But if you don’t win, you’ll be kicked out of the house, right? What are you planning to do if that happens?”

“There’s no stone left unturned there. If I don’t win, this is where I’ll be the exclusive pianist. Even the master has given me his permission.”

“I see… that’s why the frequenters here are happier if you don’t win…”

“Hmm, yeah. Maybe so. I enjoy playing here too. And it would be a nice break from having to deal with giving up on my mom as well.”

With a troubled smile, Angela carefully tucked the locket pendant to her chest.

“In the first place, I wonder why piano competitions are only for classical music. Jazz and blues are equally splendid music, and everyone loves accompaniment music, too, and their popularity is on the rise.”

“Because classical music has always been the taste of the aristocracy, along with painting and sculpture. A dinner party for the rich is more profitable than a concert for the common people.”

“I understand that too. Even my mom only composed classical music.”

“… Your mom was a composer?”

“Oh, have I not mentioned it? My name is Angela Greenfield,” the girl remarked, a little shyly, as she brushed her platinum bangs with her fingers. “My mom is Merch Greenfield. The composer of ‘Piano Solo for the Right Hand,’ that you told me you favored.”

“…!”

Adonis gasped.

“I was too embarrassed to mention it back then when you suddenly brought up the right-hand piece, Adonis. A daughter who is a pianist and can’t play her mother’s signature piece would have been so mortifying.”

At the innocent confession spoken with a shy smile, Adonis was too amazed to speak. His heart was pulsing wildly, and a strange perspiration was trickling down his back.

“Hey, are you okay? Did you drink too much?”

“Ah, I think I had a little… too much to drink. But I’m fine.”

Turning his head, he managed to squeeze out a few words.

“It’s time for me to go home. Thanks for today, Adonis. Will you be stopping by again tomorrow?”

“… Of course.”

“And you should drink in moderation. If you become an alcoholic, your hands will tremble and you won’t be able to play unless you drink. Just like Master!”

Angela slapped Adonis on the back with a thump and jumped off the stool with a jerk. After giving a small wave to the master on the piano stage, she fluttered her blonde hair and exited the store. Having watched the innocent girl depart, Adonis downed the rest of his whiskey in one gulp.

The searing throat and chest pain did not seem to have any effect on his palpitating heart. On the contrary, his heartbeat would rise until it reached the point where it was burning hot and deafening as if the alcohol was fueling it.

Angela Greenfield. The daughter of Merch Greenfield, the sole disciple of the prodigious Vanstein.

There was no doubt it was her.

T/N:

Momento – Usually implies belongings left by the deceased

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