Page 144 of Secrets (The Sins Trilogy 2)
Chapter Fifty-Six
Iris
Once Tony and I are home, I kick off my shoes, change into a comfy T-shirt and shorts, and practice Liszt for hours. I need to channel my restlessness into something, and nothing focuses me like Liszt’s études. The technical demands shouldn’t leave any room for unhelpful thoughts.
Tony offers me soup, but I decline. It’s impossible to eat, especially after what Marty said. Even though my fingers are moving over the keys, my mind keeps bringing up what he said…and Bobbi agreeing to get me Tatiana’s number.
I should’ve asked her how long it’s going to take. What if Tatiana is out of the country and is impossible to reach? Don’t musicians travel around the world? Maybe she’s on a music tour. Or on a safari—an adventure to experience life to the fullest.
Around five, my phone vibrates on the Steinway. I pick it up, my heart pounding. Want anything for dinner? I’ll pick it up on the way.
I stare, confused, until I realize it’s a text from Yuna. We’re planning to have dinner together. Anything’s fine with me. You might want to ask Tony.
OK.
My fingers hover over the keys. Questions swirl in my mind. What’s my real name? Why did you decide to call the foundation The Ivy Foundation? Why did Marty say those things to me?
In the end, I don’t write any of them. I start to put the phone back on the piano, but it buzzes again. A text from Bobbi.
Cell, it says. Ten digits follow.
Tatiana’s number. My hands shake. That was quicker than I thought.
Sweat slickens my palms. This is it. The answer I’m looking for. I go to the kitchen and drink a glass of water. It’s not quite nine o’clock in Philadelphia. If I call her now, I can put the uncertainty to the rest once and for all.
Tony’s working on his laptop. He’s in a gray Lakers T-shirt and loose shorts, his bare feet propped on an ottoman, ankles crossed. He looks so serious when he goes over his company’s numbers and reports. I remember what TJ said—that even when he was hurting while I was floundering over Sam’s revelation about the girl in the blue dress, he kept working because his employees depended on him doing his job. I’m with a man who’s just that responsible and caring.
Tatiana’s going to say she had a student named Iris Smith. A smart girl. Needed more life experience. I’m going to feel super sheepish and ridiculous for having ever doubted Tony.
Then why are your legs so unsteady?
Probably because I’m about to speak to another person from my past. Somebody who meant a lot to me. It has nothing to do with Tony or what Marty said.
I walk up to our bedroom and close the door. I don’t want Tony overhearing me and realizing I’ve been doubting him. I’ll make it up to him somehow later. I just need to talk to Tatiana in private…and say everything I need to say to her.
I sit on the edge of the bed and call the number. My stomach churns like I’m waiting for the results of a brain scan. I’ve had to do that a few times, none of them pleasant, all of them disappointing.
“Hello?” comes a dulcet, youthful voice. The same one I heard in my memory.
My heart thumps hard. “Hi. I’m trying to reach Tatiana Seger.”
“This is she.”
I close my eyes. “I don’t know if you remember, but I heard you used to teach a student about ten years ago. Iris Smith.”
“Um… What did you say her name was?”
Stupid phone. Are we having a bad connection? “Iris Smith.”
“I’m sorry. You must have me confused with some other teacher. I’ve never had anybody with that name.”
No, no, no.My stomach feels like somebody put broken glass in it. This has to be a mistake. I must be breaking up badly. I’m getting a new phone with a different carrier as soon as I’m done here. “No, I mean Iris Smith,” I say, enunciating carefully. “Aren’t you at Curtis?”
“Yes.”
“Then you have to be the right one,” I say, needing her to remember me—Iris Smith. “You taught Yuna Hae at the same time. You remember her? She’s from Korea, and—”
“Oh, Yuna! Yes, of course. Such a lovely girl. She dropped out after her friend died, but are you sure you didn’t get the names mixed up? Her best friend was Ivy Smith, not Iris.”
