by Londyn Skye
James placed his hand on Lily’s shoulder to stop her from walking away, startling her. She nervously looked around, questioning with her eyes why he held her there. James, however, did not notice the sudden bewildered look on her face; he was too busy pulling money out of his inner coat pocket. He spread four five-dollar bills out in his hand. “Twenty dolla’s says this young lady right here can replay any song that fella’ ova’ yonda’ plays afta’ she hears it just one time,” he said confidently, motioning his head toward the pianist.
Lily’s heart immediately began to beat erratically. She furrowed her eyebrows at James, unhappy about the fact that he was trying to wrangle her into a bet without her permission. But again, he did not catch sight of the odd look on her face; he was far too engrossed in his little game.
David turned to Mary Jo’s father. “Hell, Joseph, I thought y’ur daughta’ was marryin’ well, but it sounds to me like this’n just escaped from an asylum.”
Everyone laughed in unison again.
“If you think I’m so crazy then you shouldn’t be afraid to ante up,” James immediately fired back.
The sudden intensity of the testosterone-driven showdown began to garner the attention of others nearby. They began gathering on the outskirts of the standoff.
“What’s my fiancé up to ova’ here?” Mary Jo asked after walking over and slithering her arm around James’s waist.
David changed his tone a bit while speaking to Mary Jo. “Y’ur fiancé seems to think this here servant can replay a piano tune she only hears once. He wants to place a bet with me.” David leaned toward Mary Jo and put his hand up toward his mouth, pretending to whisper, “I think he’s been mistakin’ the medicine in his doctor’s office f’ur lunch.”
Mary Jo laughed nervously along with everyone else. “You men and your boyish antics. I swear y’all neva’ really do grow up,” she replied with a forced smile. “I’m sure our pianist doesn’t wanna be botha’d with your silly little game,” she said, trying to create an excuse to keep Lily and her phenomenal talent from touching the piano keys.
“No worries little darlin’, I’m not gonna botha’ myself with this bet,” David assured her.
Mary Jo immediately relaxed after hearing his words.
“Not unless y’ur fiancé here makes it worth my while,” David added. He slapped one-hundred dollars down on the table next to him, then looked up and pointed at James. “If y’ur so sure this lady has that kind ‘a skill, I’ll raise ya’ eighty dolla’s.”
A look of displeasure immediately overtook Mary Jo’s face, just as a glorious smile emerged on James’s.
“But…” David gently gripped the shoulder of the young man standing next to him. “We have my nephew, Derrick, here play the song for her to replay. He dabbles in a little music. I’m sure he has a song ’r two in his repertoire. Hell, far as I know, that little brown philly and that pianist ova’ yonda’ could be in cahoots. If my nephew plays the song, it ensures it ain’t no scam you’re runnin’ here.”
James reached in his inner coat pocket and pulled out another forty dollars. “This is all I have on me.”
“I’ll go in with ya’!” Julia said, trotting up beside James, happily pulling another forty dollars from her purse. In her hurry to find the needed cash, she completely missed the disgusted look that Mary Jo gave her as she walked over to add her money to the pot.
“You sure about this, Julia?” James asked. “This is a lot ‘a money.”
“I sure am! I have the utmost faith in Lily!” she expressed as she turned and smiled at her.
James looked back over at David. “All right then. We still on?” he asked.
“You got y’urself a bet, son!”
James immediately extended his hand for David to shake.
David had examined James’s face for a sign of reluctance after insisting that his nephew play the song. When James did not hesitate to seal the deal, he became inwardly worried that this might not be a hoax after all. Despite realizing that his money was in jeopardy, he had extended his hand for James to shake, not wanting to look like a coward in front of his male counterparts.
“Sweetheart!” Mary Jo intervened just as James and David shook hands. “I don’t think this is necessary.”
James put his arm around her. “It’s all in fun, MJ. Besides, this’ll be more money to help pay for our weddin’,” he lied.
“But daddy’s got plenty ‘a money, so you don’t…”
James, David, and even Joseph ignored Mary Jo and walked away with a flock of curious onlookers following closely behind. Julia and Mary Jo’s girlfriends joined the group as well. Julia walked along bragging to them about how great she felt Lily was on the piano. Everyone had dwindled away, leaving Mary Jo standing there alone at her very own party. Her face was an angry shade of red as she watched James slide his arm around Lily’s shoulder to help guide her through the crowd.
Jacob and J.R. stood off to the side refusing to move as well. The sneer on their faces were equal to Mary Jo’s, but for a very different reason. They were sickened by the fact that their father had yet to object to what James was proposing. Not wanting to cause a scene, however, they stayed put. Without a word, they watched in disgust as the man who had pounded the Ghost Rider codes into them walked proudly alongside James while on his way to witness him blatantly defy one of their laws. After the heated exchange he had had with his father during their last family gathering, J.R.’s level of anger over this scene far superseded Jacob’s. He snatched a shot glass off a passing tray and guzzled it, just to let the burning sensation distract him from his mounting violent thoughts. “This is bullshit!” J.R. exclaimed after slamming his glass down on a nearby table.
“We can’t just stand by and let ’em get away with this shit!” Jacob objected. He took a step forward, but J.R. put a firm arm across his chest to stop him.
“Give pa the benefit ‘a the doubt. He’s bound to intervene.”
“You can’t possibly believe that! You done seen what he let James get away with already!”
“If he don’t do nothin’ about it, I’ll handle this shit in due time.”
“It’ll be too late by then ya’ fuckin’ moron!”
“Shut the hell up Jacob!”
“We can’t let that nigga’ play in front of all these people and still call ourselves Ghost Rida’s!”
“I said shut the hell up!”
“What’s wrong with you, huh? Seems y’ur turnin’ into a pussy just like pa!”
J.R. grabbed Jacob by the shirt collar. “Say anotha’ word and y’ur gonna be eatin’ my fist.” He then shoved his brother back.
“I ain’t stickin’ around for this bullshit!” Jacob stormed off to get his wife. He helped her into her coat, and they left the party before Lily laid a finger on the piano.
Nobody noticed when Jacob and his wife slipped away, though; all attention was on the center of the room. David’s nephew, Derrick, was making his way toward the piano, his arrogance obvious in his strides. He was thoroughly inebriated, much like everyone else who was trying to numb themselves at the overblown, boring event. But Derrick was not about to let alcohol impede his opportunity to showcase his talent. He wanted to reward himself with the flesh of a lovely lady after tolerating the night’s boring festivities. He figured showing off his musical expertise would be the perfect way to assure himself a victory. He jostled his hair and straightened his dress coat before approaching the older gentleman currently sitting at the piano bench. “Excuse me sir, but we’ll be needin’ to borrow this piano for a little while, if ya’ don’t mind.”
The older man stood and motioned his hand toward the piano bench. “By all means.”
“Thank ya’ kindly,” Derrick replied. He then turned to gather the attention of the guests. “Ladies and gentlemen, Mary Jo’s fiancé has placed a wager. He has bet that any song I play on this piano can be replicated precisely by this young lady here.” He waved a hand toward Lily. “But!” He put a singl
e finger in the air. “He claims she can do it afta’ hearin’ it only once. If she achieves this feat, one hundred dolla’s is his. If not…” He put his hand on David’s shoulder. “My uncle here receives the pot.”
As soon as all eyes shifted toward Lily, the degrading chatter and laughter began. Lily kept her head down, ignoring the typical negativity and doubt associated with her abilities. Having dealt with pessimistic people before, her emotions were now calloused to any cynicism where her talent was concerned.
When the doubtful laughter ceased, everyone refocused their attention on Derrick as he perched himself at the bench. He, in turn, eyeballed Julia. He had flirted with her throughout the night and wanted to make sure she was watching him closely. She smiled at him, confirming that he had her attention. He smiled back at her and then turned his attention to Lily. She was standing at the opposite end of the piano with James, who had his arm around her shoulder and was too inebriated to care who saw his innocent affection. “Just to keep things honest, this one’s an original. Pay close attention now, brown suga’,” Derrick told Lily.
James squinted his eyes at the overconfident young man. “Oh, come on with it!” he replied, sounding thoroughly annoyed. He suddenly wanted to slam Derrick’s head repeatedly on the keys and play an original song with his face for using demeaning terminology to address Lily.
Derrick ignored James’s impatience and winked at Julia. He then motioned his head to invite her to come stand closer to his end of the piano. When she made her way there, he smiled at her and finally began to play the short up-tempo song he had composed.
Derrick had good reason to be arrogant. He was not a bad looking guy and not half bad on the piano either. But after nearly a year of training with William, Lily had certainly been challenged with songs that far superseded the difficulty of the one that Derrick quickly completed. Derrick did not care one way or another, though; he had fulfilled his duty and now wanted to concentrate on fulfilling his sexual needs. He stood up, took his potential suitor by the hand, and kissed it as he bowed to her and the applauding crowd. “That was for you pretty lady,” he said to Julia, hoping she would be moaning his name long before dawn. Derrick then turned to Lily. “You’re up brown suga’.” He stepped off to the side of the piano bench and motioned his hand toward it to invite her to sit.
James turned to look at Lily, certain that he would find her eager to make her way to the piano, but that was far from the case. His heart began to pound from nervousness after sensing her reluctance and a hint of self-doubt. Earlier in the evening, James had interpreted Lily staring at the grand piano as a desire to play. For once, he had read her wrong. She had been staring at the piano all night, not because she had a desire to play, but because she was thinking about how such a beautiful instrument had led to such an ugly tragedy on William’s estate. With such a thing on her mind, she now stood staring at the piano wondering if she could summon the strength to play at all.
Lily looked up from the piano and scanned the sea of faces staring at her in a room that was suddenly as silent as a destitute land. Her eyes then halted on Julia. She was hidden between two bodies on the opposite end of the piano from Lily. Julia had also sensed Lily’s reluctance. She was holding her hands in the prayer position, mouthing the words “please play,” while inconspicuously thrusting her head toward Mary Jo. Julia then pointed to her own face as a reminder of Mary Jo’s horrid assault, hoping to convince Lily that playing would be the perfect way to retaliate. Easily comprehending Julia’s silent hints, Lily gave a slight nod in her direction. She agreed. She knew there would be no better way to upset a narcissist than to take away one’s spotlight and keep it away for as long as possible.
Mary Jo finally came sashaying up to the piano, her anger evident in the sway of her hips. The narcissist in her was determined to continue bathing in the spotlight. “I think Leela needs to get back to work!” she objected, nastiness attached to every word. She quickly garnered the attention she craved, but not for the reason she wanted. Everyone stared at her, silently questioning why she was trying to put an end to the only moment of fun in the entire event.
Ironically, Mary Jo had said exactly what Lily was thinking. She needed to get back to work … the kind of work people had once paid top dollar to see. Except today, instead of money, Lily was going to receive the pure joy of stealing the attention from Mary Jo while completely destroying the intended ambiance of her fairy-tale engagement party.
There was total silence as Lily finally stepped away from James and made her way toward the piano bench. James’s heart began to beat triple time as he watched her walk in what seemed like slow motion in his nervous mind. Lily’s eyes, in turn, were focused on the workmanship of the piano. It rivaled that of William’s. In fact, the entire scenario felt reminiscent of the very first time she played for a large audience in William’s library during his Spring fundraising gala. Lily recalled that a simple glance at James that day had instantly calmed her nerves. She realized she had come a long way since then. There was no need for that this time. James was the only one whose nerves needed settling. Lily now had nerves of steel. All the eyes lingering on her did not faze her in the least the way they used to. Even anxiousness was now a foreign concept to her while performing. Lily was calm and confident in her capabilities and in the power she had to command an audience.
Much like the way she used to emerge from the wings to take her place onstage at one of her sold-out shows, Lily was strolling to the piano walking tall with her shoulders back and her head held high. Once seated, she automatically sat up tall with the posture of a debutant, taking a brief second to gaze appreciatively at the black and white ivory in front of her. She then closed her eyes and searched for the notes to Derrick’s song inside the iron clad memory vault of her mind. When she found them, she lifted her hands like a graceful ballerina and theatrically paused a moment. She then struck the keys and began redistributing the notes with perfect precision, adding a bit of speed and smoothly filling in the gaps where Derrick had stumbled.
In the midst of playing back the musical melody, note for identical note, it was like another soul invaded Lily’s body. Even her current melancholy state of mind was not powerful enough to stop that unique phenomenon from occurring. With the feel of smooth ivory underneath her fingertips again, she instantly felt like she was back onstage while on tour. In the world behind her eyes, she was no longer wearing a plain dress. She was wrapped in the soft fibers of one of Anna Mae’s silk gowns, specially made to hug her curves. Where Lily’s mind had taken her, shadows danced behind her and a well-dressed, adoring audience was in front of her while the man she wished was her father stood swaying his baton in-between them. The cellists and violinists were no longer the drab older white gentlemen that had played mundane melodies all evening. In Lily’s imagination, they were her dear friends in the student orchestra, including her buddy, Austin, who she missed more than any of them. In her mind, James was still a face sitting in the front row, watching every moment of her show with a grand smile on his face. He was still the man who inspired her to write. He was still someone whose presence brought her comfort and whose body brought hers to the pinnacle of ecstasy. While she sat there stuck at Mary Jo’s make-believe engagement party, she was no longer Lily the slave, she was, Lily Adams, the composer and creator of The Dream Symphony.
As Lily’s fingers tap-danced across the keys, natural instincts began to take over that she found impossible to resist. Much like in her show, her body was dancing in a way that corresponded to the melody and entranced her audience. No matter how difficult the piece, the urge for such theatrics was always just as reflexive as the need to blink when a gust of wind hit her in the eyes. Just as automatic was Lily’s joy. James was right. Despite Lily’s earlier reluctance, escaping into a song had instantly uplifted her. James could sense the sudden shift in her demeanor and his began to change along with it. James was not the only one, though; Lily had that effect over everyone who was there. Even
J.R. suddenly forgot about how livid he was with his father. He was too busy trying to figure out how Lily was defying the realm of human capability.
J.R.’s temporary disregard for the racist codes he religiously lived by was further proof that there was something magical about Lily. The enchantment she exuded as she played piano was always spellbinding. Even David was not exempt from Lily’s spell. Before the song was even complete, he handed his money to James. He managed the exchange without ever taking his eyes off Lily and with his mouth equally as gaped as everyone else’s in the room.
When Lily struck the final chord, she opened her eyes and reciprocated Mary Jo’s evil glare. As the applause and good-old, country whistles erupted around them, a slow smirk crept onto Lily’s face, knowing that the sound was grating the ears of her nemesis.
“YES!” James shouted proudly, thrusting a single fist out in front of him, unable to contain his excitement the moment Lily finished. He did not care about the money he had won. He was just happy that his best friend had been allotted the chance to do what she loved.
“Who owns that slave? I’d love to have ’er perform at my daughta’s engagement party?” James heard an older woman ask someone in the crowd behind him. In James’s mind, it was a backhanded compliment and a sickening reminder of the fact that Lily’s life still belonged to his father. He turned around to find the lady going from person to person in search of Lily’s owner, a sight that turned his stomach.
“I told y’all she was amazin’!” James then heard Julia boast to Mary Jo’s friends. James turned away from the little old lady and smiled at the enthusiasm erupting from Julia and her friends. He chose to feed off their energy, as well as the energy of the most important woman in his life. His smile broadened when he turned to find Lily giving a slight nod of gratitude to everyone in the room who continued to give her a much-deserved standing ovation.