Page 62 of Vinny

“Miss, miss,” a little girl said as she dragged Annalissa’s attention back to the task at hand. “If I wanna learn, would you be my teacher?”

Annalissa smiled at the child and answered truthfully, “Right now I’d love to say yes, but I’m still traveling a lot playing concerts. But I tell you what—if I canstart teaching soon, I’ll have the music teacher talk to your mother.”

The little girl ran back to class smiling, and Vinny walked over as she placed Easnadh in the case. He leaned over, snagging the case from her hands as she finished and walked her back to his truck.

“Let’s grab something to eat.”

“Sure,” she replied. “What are you in the mood for?”

He lifted an eyebrow in response, eliciting a giggle. “Didn’t you get enough of that this morning?” she asked. Before he could respond, she quickly added, “I know, I know. You’re insatiable.”

“Only with you, babe. Only with you.”

They turned into the parking lot of a little restaurant overlooking the river. After being seated by a window where they could see the river slowly meandering by, they settled for pizza and beer.

“You looked good earlier,” he said. “Seeing you with those kids, babe. You’re a natural with them. You’d make a good teacher.”

Smiling up at him, she stopped mid-bite with a long string of cheese hanging out of her mouth clinging to the pizza. She chewed quickly trying not to choke. He chuckled while patting her on the back.

She sat silently for a moment thinking on his words.No one’s ever accepted that about me. What I want. What I’d like to do.She closed her eyes, letting his words slide over her. Clearing her throat, she replied, “Thank you. That means a lot to me. It…it means everything to me.”

“What do you want to do babe, if you could do anything?”

She thought for a moment before answering. “I’d like to be like my mom,” she said. Seeing his questioning look, she continued. “I like performing. I really do. I wouldn’t want to give up performing. But I just don’t want to travel every month for a week or more. Maybe just five traveling concerts in a year plus what I am doing with the Richmond Symphony. Then I’d like to teach children.”

“Then that’s what you should do,” he claimed.

“Well…” she said, smiling. “I’ve been planning on telling Gordon not to book the concerts that Todd was lining up. In fact, I’m calling him later tomorrow.”

“Annalissa, darling. How are you?” came the smooth voice of Gordon on the other end of the phone.

Rolling her eyes, she replied, “I’m fine. Great actually.”

“Good, good. Well, I just wanted to let you know that I was going to be in town for the symphonic gala. At your father and Todd’s invitation of course.”

“Okaaay,” she said hesitantly. “Um…I’m not playing that night.”

“I know, but I’ll want to see you anyway. I’ve got some bookings that Todd sent to me and I want to get busy with them. We need to get you back out touring again soon.”

“I told Todd that I wanted to slow things down?—”

“Nonsense, darling. You’ve got to keep your name out there if you want the kind of success that we allwant for you. Now, I’m looking at renewed visits to New York, Los Angeles, and Chicago. We have a real interesting possible booking in Miami. Todd and I have talked, we think that trips to Florida might be profitable.”

Pursing her lips, she sucked in a deep breath letting it out slowly. “Gordon,” she said deliberately. “Just stop. I’ll see you next week when you come into town but do not book anything yet.”

“Look, Annalissa. I’ll be patient, but you’ve got to continue to travel more. If you won’t be reasonable, I’ll talk to your father.”

“Go right ahead, Gordon. In case you’ve forgotten, I’m an adult and I’ll make my own decisions. Granted, I gave control to my father for a long time, but those days are over. I’ll be making my own career choices from now on.”

“Fine,” he bit out. “We’ll talk in a week.” With that he hung up.

It did not take long for the phone call from her father to come in, demanding that she come in for a meeting. Walking into his small, crowded office that afternoon, she realized that her heart was no longer pounding. No fear. No trepidation. Just the peace that came from knowing that there was someone who loved her. Wanted her happiness.

With a genuine smile on her face, she walked over and gifted her father with a hug. Surprise crossed his face as he patted her back uneasily.

“Hello, father.”

He nodded to the chair across from his and as shesat her eyes roamed the room. Music books, sheet music, and instruments filled almost every space. He’s been a symphonic conductor for most of his adult life and it’s all summed up in this tiny room. Suddenly, she felt sorry for him. Her mother had been his catalyst. The reason they put down roots instead of traveling the world. The reason there were things in their life besides just music. And with her gone…now her father only had his music.If you would let me in, father, I’d now be able to bring to your life what mom brought to ours. If only…

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