Page 56 of Under His Sheets
He grinned at me, and then Jaume cleared his throat.
“Now.”
I shot him a look of warning as I stood, taking Pere’s hand. I don’t care how big he was, I refused to let him intimidate me. I led my student past him and down the hallway to the staircase. As we rounded the bend on the steps, I heard Paolo quieting the guests. Doriana stood at the foot of the stairs and she smiled as she straightened Pere’s tie.
“Make your papa proud,” she said, kissing him on the cheek.
He stiffened, and I gave his hand a squeeze.
Paolo gave a long introduction in Catalan as we waited on the stairs and there were occasional shouts from the crowd.
I peeked around the corner of the foyer and saw Paolo giving a heated, dramatic speech. I wished desperately that I understood what he was saying. All I knew was it wasn’t merely a, “Please, give what you can” kind of appeal. He punched his fist into his other palm and raised his hand in the air with a finger pointed. The crowd clappedfor him and nodded approvingly. Then he said something and smiled and the rest of the room laughed with him.
“And now, my part of the bargain. I promised entertainment, and I always deliver, do I not?”
The applause went on for a long time.
“My beloved son Pere turned ten years old recently, can you believe it?”
More applause.
“He asked me if someday we could play together, and I told him he would have to practice really hard. Then, as if his wish was granted, our beloved escola Frederick Douglass finally hired a music teacher, who is himself quite an accomplished musician. You might have heard of his American rock and roll band MoonCraft.” There was a round of applause and a few of the women cheered. “Join me in welcoming Randall Sutter, and my darling boy, Pere Josep Ferrer.”
“Let’s do this,” I said, giving Pere a fist bump. Then I leaned down. “No matter what happens, I’m so proud of you.”
His relieved smile had me ready to spit nails at his father.
“La guitarra,” Jaume said as he handed me the guitar.
It was my turn to feel unsettled. What exactly were these people expecting from me? How was Ferrer going to play this? And where the hell was Ruiz?
Pere walked with his head high into the room and straight over to the white grand piano with an elevated bench that made it more accessible for him. There were two stools nearby, but I walked past them to stand where Pere could see me. I’d told him to pretend like it was just the two of us in the room, to try to ignorethe others. He was doing a good job of that now.
I looked around and smiled to the crowd, giving a little bow. I looked for Ruiz, but he was still nowhere to be seen. While I tested the tuning on the guitar once more, Pere ran through a couple of scales and then linked his fingers in front of him to stretch out his hands. Just like I’d taught him. I loved this kid.
“And what will you be playing, senyor Pere?”
Pere looked to his father and said, “Per veure l’amor.”
A sound of approval emanated from the crowd and they all applauded the choice. Apparently the song, which translated to “to see love” was one of Paolo Ferrer’s most beloved songs.
“Well, I’ll be a proud papa.” Paolo patted his son on the shoulder and then stepped back away from him. He gave me a curious smile and then nodded.
I waited for Pere to start and off we went.
He struggled with his pace the first few bars and then he ran with it. He was actually playing a bit faster than we had in practice, which meant I had to work to keep up with him. His little brow furrowed and he worried his lip, but the kid played beautifully, better than he had in school.
When he finished with a flourish, he looked to his father, his eyes full of worry—and it was Paolo who applauded the loudest. He reached for Pere and picked him up right off the bench and swung him around.
And I had a new fear.
Please do not let this man exploit this precious boy.
“Let’s hear it for my wonderful boy!”
The applause continued, and he set Pere down to take a bow. Pere turned to me with a proud smile and gave a very grown-up bow to me.
“And let’s hear it for our new music professor. Thank you, senyor Sutter, for honoring us with a classic piece of Catalan music. Very appropriatefor this evening.”
