Page 63 of Love Hollow at Last
More cheers erupted, but Nami waved them down.“If there are any of you who don’t know, that means that once we have everything we need for this fund, we will never have to charge for field trips again.In fact, we will be able to help pay for transportation for kids who want to come here, starting with Love Hollow kids but eventually including children from all over the country.”
The applause went on so long that Nami had to gesture to the crowd to keep it down.
“But that’s only part of the reason you’re here tonight,” she said.“We sold lots of tickets because of my brother’s willingness to perform.Here he is, the one and only Noah Kato!”
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Noah
Noah was surprised by the crowd.He’d thought he had retreated fairly well, hanging back after the release of his first independent album, but apparently, his reputation as a recluse had made him more popular than ever—which was ironic.Because Noah, for the first time, had been learning to accept stuttering.After decades of trying to avoid it, it didn’t come naturally.But he’d hired a crazy speech therapist who emphasized speech, not the endless quest to be stutter-free, and it was helping.
For the first time ever, Noah Kato hadn’t rehearsed his banter.He didn’t try to avoid certain words or speak in a weirdly singsong way.He just spoke.
“I thought a lot about w-what to play tonight,” he said.For what happened next, he told himself he was “blocking”—that weird thing that happened when he stuttered and couldn’t get a word out.He would try to speak but couldn’t.
But that wasn’t what actually happened.He saw Aya sitting in the aisle, near the back.Usually, it was impossible to make out faces beyond the first few rows, but he knew she was there.
And in that instant, he changed the song.
“Black is the Color of My True Love’s Hair” was the only possible choice.He meant it even more than he had back in high school, and he found himself wishing she would come to the front and join him—Aya, with her melodious voice that soothed his nerves and made him believe in his own musicality.
Of course, she didn’t join him.But that didn’t mean he was going to let her go.
He sensed her leaving as he finished his set, which included rushing through a bare-bones cover of “Always” by Irving Berlin and the one original he’d chosen, “Remember (Please).”The last song, which had been a hit on his solo album, was written about her.And he was fairly sure she knew that.
There was plenty of applause, but some of that was for Ella.She was a star in her own right, and her move back to Love Hollow had garnered a lot of attention.
Plus, her electric guitar was really lighting up the crowd.
Noah caught up with Aya when she was almost at the door.She’d already put on her coat.
“Wait,” he said.
She turned back but only to give a small smile.
The catering staff was milling around, setting up for the reception.There was a lot of food.With the amount they were charging for tickets, there had to be.
“Can I talk to you?”asked Noah.
“Shall we talk in the office?”She was blinking back tears.
He looked at the door to Nami’s office, which had once been Aya’s.He could tell she was also thinking of the last time they had been there—together.
“Sure,” said Noah.He was more nervous than he had been in years, yet he wasn’t stuttering at all.That was the thing about his stutter—it just came and went.
But that didn’t mean he was going to have an easy time finding the words.
“I’m sorry,” he said as soon as they were in the office.They’d closed the door but both stood near it.In fact, Aya’s hand was still on the handle, as if she were ready to escape.
Since Aya didn’t answer, Noah went on.“I should have made you a priority.I wanted the festival to go well, but I cared so much more about you.I never admitted it, though.”
Aya hesitated.“You didn’t really act like either.”
“No.I didn’t.And honestly, I wasn’t sure how you felt.”
Aya looked around the office, taking in the new furniture and updated computers.“Did you donate all this?”
He scratched his head.“I know a lot of people in LA.And I was so depressed after you left that I wrote a pretty decent album.”
