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“Exactly.”
“I don’t like you. You are well aware of that. Let’s get through this by giving each other maximum space.”
“I can handle space, Ms. Stevenson. All I ask is that we are cordial in front of the kids. We don’t have to be friends, but they can pick up on tension.”
“I agree with that. Now, may I listen to the recording so I can jot down some notes before we start?”
“Absolutely.”
* * *
It impressedme how quickly Ms. Stevenson picked up on the music for the last song of the first act. Listening to her play the piece made it come to life. Her passion and care for the children were clear. She cheered and coached them, helping them feel more confident about singing their parts.
“Alright, everyone. Thank you. You all did great. Can we give Ms. Stevenson a big round of applause for stepping in last minute to help us?”
All the children and parents cheered.
Madalee smiled, and something gripped my heart so much so that I had to rub my chest to relieve the weird feeling.
Did I have a heart attack? No. There was no pain in my left arm. The feeling in my chest wasn’t painful. It was a sensation I’d never felt before. Then I realized I’d never seen Madalee smile. I was discombobulated. How could this woman make me angry enough to spit in one moment and her smile melt my heart in the next?
MADALEE
“It hasn’t been all that terrible, I must admit.”
I smiled while taking a sip of my wine.
“See! I knew it!” Marigold said.
“Yeah, yeah. Whatever.”
Marigold and I had a late dinner at one of our favorite restaurants.
“What about Mr. Vesey?”
“He’s… let me show you this video.”
I searched through my pictures and found a video of Tiberius working with the choir. I’d stopped playing the piano so he could fine-tune a few of the harmonies. His animated delivery and attention to lyric enunciation impressed me. He had a group of amateur school children sounding like a professional chorus.
“Wow, wait. You didn’t say anything about Mr. Vesey being fine as hell,” Marigold said.
She snatched my phone from my hand and watched the video again.
“I mean… I never said he was ugly. I just said he was a jerk.”
“A very handsome jerk.”
Tiberius’ skin was the color of the extra deep almond crayon from the Colors of the World Crayola pack. He kept his dark hair cut low and tapered on the sides. His striking, deep-set eyes were accentuated by thick, dark eyebrows and long lashes. His typical work attire, a collared shirt, and flat front slacks were always ironed and pristine. While his clothing was low key, his shoe game was impressive. He typically wore designer shoes and sneakers.
“Yeah, and less of a jerk now,” I said while retrieving my phone.
“Do tell,” Marigold said, then sipped her wine.
“On the jerk scale of one to one hundred, he’s not infinity anymore. He’s more like a forty-nine.”
“Don’t let me find out you’re crushing on the choir teacher, Mads.”
“He’s growing on me,” I admitted. “He always smells good, too.”
