Page 76 of Sunrise By the Sea

Marisa shook her head.

‘I play piano. For dancers to practise and singers to practise and everyone to practise.’

‘That sounds like a very important job.’

He beamed. ‘I love it. I know everyone. Everyone knows me. I tour Germany, I go into schools. Oh, how I love it.’

‘And then . . .’

Marisa had drunk quite a lot by this point or she wouldn’t have brought it up. His face collapsed instantly.

‘I haff girlfriend. She is ballerina.’

‘Seriously?’ She tried not to make her surprise too obvious. ‘How did that work then?’

‘Ballerinas very strong.’

‘Okay.’

He sighed and looked into his glass. ‘We were in love. So in love.’

His face was heavy in the soft light.

‘What happened?’

‘She was dancer, I was répétiteur, you see?’

‘No.’

‘She was star! She needs another star. I am not star.’

‘You’re very good!’

‘Oh yes, very good, very good, many peoples are very good,’ he mumbled, seemingly to himself. ‘So. She find star. She dance with star. She want me to play for practice while she dance with star.’

His large hands curled involuntarily in the anguish of the memory.

‘Everybody knows.’

‘Oh dear.’

‘So. I come here. I will show her. To become famous composer. To be brilliant genius for the world and Lara will see that I am not useless.’

He hung his head.

‘I am useless composer. You cannot even listen to me through a wall.’

‘Of course you’re not useless! Nobody is! That’s ridiculous!’

But hadn’t it been what she’d been thinking about herself?

‘But whyhere?’

Alexei waved a large paw.

‘Oh, Reuben, he is good friend to Russians.’

Marisa ignored that.

---