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Almost choking on thePunch, I stare at Pauline, upset.
“What is it?” she chirps, spooked.
“Did you orchestrate this?”She knows I can’t stand this kind of attention!
“Orchestrated it? Me? What?” She acts innocent, so I snort and raise my finger.
“Can’t you hear what he’s singing?”
Pauline’s eyes turn to the ceiling as she listens.
“…I’m thinking always of you. Say, we’ll stay forever side by side. Oh, Celine, if only you could see me. Kiss me now, don’t let me go…”
She visibly swallows, opens her mouth, and finally closes it without a result while staring at me. Finally, she seems to have found her voice again. “This isOh CelinebyYünüs della Luna,” she states.
I nod. “Exactly.”
“And… and you think—,” she stammers as the singer starts the second verse:
“Been looking for a soulmate. But I didn’t ever find. Your lovely face shows you’re a saint. To save me from my inner hell. Be mine in such a beautiful way.”
“So, you think I asked him to?” she chokes out, upset. “No!”
“No?”
“No!” She nudges the bearded man next to her. “Tell her I haven’t moved from this spot!”
I wave his questioning gaze aside with my hand, focusing entirely on Pauline. “Then why else is he playing it?”
“Because it’s the ultimate summer hit, because of its ranking in the charts since its release knows only one direction, because no one can escape the catchy lyrics?” Pauline enumerates, but she doesn’t convince me. “Oh, you know what?” she adds, visibly offended. “Why don’t you go and speak to the pianist on your own if you really want to know? I certainly didn’t ask him to sing the song!”
19. To Do Somebody a BadTomfool
Philipp
“Far away, far awa-y!” A bell-bright squeak joins in the chorus of theAlle Farbensong. It sends a shiver down my spine, vacillating between boiling heat and freezing cold.
Sitting on the piano stool, I straighten up. I listen to the babble of voices in theTurquoise Piano Loungewhile my fingers continue to blindly grasp the keys. What I think I heard can’t be Celine. My imagination must have played a trick on me.
Because: What should she be doing in Heidelberg today? On her birthday?
Yes, I know. It’s childish.But still, I stalked her on social media after the sequence of most unlikely coincidences made us business partners.
That’s how I know not only she’s turning twenty-six today, but she already pre-celebrated yesterday with friends and family.
And, of course, with that Kevin guy, who is totally out of character for her. Way too old, slightly porky, receding hairline. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, the personification of a square, too.
Fuck.I find myself mistiming the accompanying chords. Annoyed, I shake my head.Come on, man! Are you jealous?To take my mind off things, I peek at the list of desired songs for the next track as I let “Far Away” fade out.
The summer hit by Yünüs della Luna, it says.
I take a big sip of the apple juice spritzer the lounge operators generously provide me with. Then I change my sitting position and stretch my fingers one last time. With my left hand, I grasp the introductory chord. My right hand plays the rising sequences of notes of the prelude while my foot presses the pedal to give the piano’s sound the necessaryromanticeffect.
On the sixth measure, I wet my lips, and use the seventh and eighth to catch my breath. Then I start the chant:
“Throughout I see your face
But you don’t realize
