“So instead of performing at the school, where you’re not allowed to be, the band decided fuck that, and we’re going to do it as a town event so you can be our director. Problem solved.”
I stared at the kid for a minute. Honest to God, I didn’t know what to say. The whole school, up in arms, forme? I was choking up fast and doing my best to swallow it down.
“The band knows you didn’t do anything bad,” Alan said, calmer now. “We don’t know the details, but it wasn’t something any of us said about you, that’s for sure. I mean… Tyler, the trombone player? You’re the reason he hasn’t dropped out of school, did you know that?”
I shook my head. “I wasn’t aware of that.”
“Yeah.” Alan nodded. “And Frankie, the dork who had a hangover last week in class? He just applied to Juilliard. Last second, but his entire family kept telling him music won’t get you a job, and then in comes you, Bowen.” Alan scuffed the floor with his shoe. “I dunno. A lot of us look up to you.”
I left the chair, walked across the kitchen, and took Alan into a hug.
Alan hugged me back. “Don’t cry or anything, okay?”
I laughed. “Okay.”
ADMITTEDLY, AFTERthe roller coaster of emotion had come to a stop and I was standing in the Lancaster town hall that evening, surrounded by my band students and several mingling parents, I was a wee bit nervous. It was all well and good that my kids believed I was a professional, but I wanted their parents to see that too. These were my neighbors, after all.
The town hall was as old as sin, with a second-story balcony that overlooked a gorgeous wooden stage. The acoustics weren’t… great, but hey, for the old gal’s age, it could have been worse. The town kept an assortment of music stands and chairs in their storage room for summer productions, which they’d graciously allowed us to use for rehearsal. The students were busily setting up rows when I entered.
“Isn’t this… quaint,” Scarlet stated, looking around.
“I like it,” I said through the folds of my scarf.
Alan brushed by us and went to the stage to help.
When the parents hanging out noticed Felix, he was surrounded almost immediately. I overheard sympathies expressed for his loss at the orchard, those curious if the police had found anything out, mixed with several offerings of assistance with clean-up, building, and even one parent who apparently worked at the bank, telling Felix they’d help out with a no-interest loan if he needed one. Their liking and acceptance of Felix gave me hope and relief that even if the school district tossed me out on my ass, most residents would know we weren’t the sort of men to do what I was accused of.
I took off my jacket and left it on a folding chair nearby, walked to the stage, and hiked up the stairs stage right. “So, I hear you guys got detentions today,” I stated, getting the students’ attention.
“Worth it,” one called from the back.
“We only skipped last period, and I hate gym class anyway,” another answered.
“Yeah, you’re good people, Mr. Merlin,” Stacy said, my former first-chair clarinet.
“I appreciate it,” I replied. “Not that I’m condoning you all getting detentions in my name but… thank you. It means a lot to me.” I cleared my throat and turned around to look at the parents. “If, ah—if I can have a moment of your time?”
The chatting died down, and I had a dozen or so faces staring expectantly at me.
“I know, by now, most of you are aware that I’ve been removed from my position as band director with the district. At this time I’m uncertain whether or not I’ll be reinstated. But I wanted to take a moment to apologize for any gross claims of misconduct you may have heard. I take my job as an educator very seriously, and this has been heartbreaking. I hope that you will continue to trust and value what I can bring to your children, even if it’s not as a public-school teacher.”
I stared at Felix in the group.
“And just… while we’re being honest. These rumors are false, but… Iamdating Mr. Hansen. That at least is true.” I smiled when Felix was nudged on the shoulder by a fellow parent and told something that made him blush. “So anyway. Thank you. For everything.”
Having the parents clap and not walk out in disgust, whether over the school rumor or me dating Felix, felt so wonderful. And it really did hit home in that moment—Lancaster was a good town with good people. I would not let a few bad apples, so to speak, ruin the whole bunch. This simple community was already starting to put their faith in me over the words of my boss. They were banding together on Felix’s behalf. It put strength back into my soul.
Love would conquer.
I SPENTmost of the next day at the town hall with the band, practicing all through Saturday. A few of the parents had gotten together, Felix included, and supplied lunch and beverages for us so that we could put in a full day of rehearsing. Our concert, while technically canceled by the school, was still on for Thursday, and the councilmembers had already updated the “coming events” sign outside the building. The pressure was on.
But I was feeling good about it. Despite the lack of preparation time, changed music, adjusted seats, and general drama, the kids were playing the best I’d heard so far. I believed in them and they believed in me, and that sort of respect can go a long way with teenagers and a probably fired teacher.
Late in the afternoon, when we’d finished and Scarlet was helping me and the students pack up for the day, Gideon Joy from Eatery dropped by. I had to wait until after introductions between him and Scarlet had been made, because they immediately fell into a shop discussion. Apparently he’d been a tattoo apprentice in LA in his “other life.” I swear, the guy couldn’t have been much older than twenty-five, and with the way he talked, I’d have thought he’d already been through a midlife crisis.
“Anyway, sorry for the digression,” he said to me.
I shook my head. “Tattoos and needles and bleeding. It’s rad stuff.”
