She felt the weight of everything as she walked through the halls to the music department. Then there was Nick…
Thinking of him made her smile as she came to the room where she taught. He had stayed every night since the first and he had even found a bigger bed for them and somehow managed to get it upstairs and into her room.
In the middle of all the chaos, their relationship was growing – a bright spot in the storm of uncertainty and anticipatory grief.
‘Good morning, Miss Baxter,’ someone chirped, bringing Lily to the present, and she saw a young student waiting for her piano lesson.
‘Good morning, Emma,’ Lily said as she opened the door to her classroom. ‘Ready for your lesson?’
With a happy nod, the girl followed Lily into the room. Lily felt calm as they sat down at the piano. She was meant to be here.
Scales, arpeggios, and soft words of support made the morning go by quickly. As Lily watched her students make progress, she was still in awe of how much she enjoyed teaching and was surprised at how quickly the time had gone by when the lunch bell rang.
Lily called the hospital to check on Gran during her break. The nurse said Violet was steady, but she was still weak. The nurse also said, ‘She’s been asking when you’ll be back.’
Would the guilt ever leave her?
She texted her parents:
Have you seen Gran today?
Her father responded:
We’re here now. She seems well, on a new heart medication they said. She has a bit of colour in her cheeks today.
She texted her father:
Great news.
She felt relief. Maybe Gran wasn’t ready to leave just yet. If there was a new drug then it meant there was hope, she told herself.
As the afternoon went on, Lily’s mind kept going back to Gran and Nick. Time seemed to drag compared to the morning lessons and now she had to visit Gran and then rush to rehearsals.
She hurried to her car because she knew she only had a short time to see her grandmother before rehearsals. The hospital halls were quiet as she walked to Gran’s room.
Violet was lying on her back in bed and looked weak but awake and she did have a little more colour than before.
When Lily walked in, her face lit up. ‘There’s my girl,’ she said in a soft, warm voice.
Lily said, ‘Hi, Gran,’ and kissed her on the cheek. ‘How are you feeling? You look a bit better. Dad said you’re on a new medication.’
‘Oh, yes apparently it’s doing what it’s supposed to do. So don’t worry about me. How was your day? How are things with the little music monsters?’
Lily had to laugh. Gran’s spirit was unbreakable even though she was weak. She told her about her day, keeping things light and easy.
‘How are rehearsals?’ she asked.
‘Really good,’ Lily said. ‘The set is incredible. We’re doing a dress rehearsal tonight, which is exciting.’
‘Black and white for Ascot scenes?’ asked Gran.
‘Absolutely,’ confirmed Lily.
‘I am so looking forward to seeing it,’ said Gran, but as Lily looked at the almost one-hundred-year-old woman, she wondered if she would even make it out of hospital, let alone to the show.
She glanced at the time and knew she had to go, and as much as she didn’t want to leave she didn’t want to let the show down.
‘I have to go to rehearsal now, Gran. I promise I’ll be back tomorrow.
