Firebird
Page 45
With a cry of joy, Alexandra gathered both children against her breast. Closing her eyes, she felt, in that moment, her sister’s touch. Her sister’s love.
* * * *
Moments later, when a breathless Jon Garcia hurried through the entrance doors, he was engulfed by glorious women’s voices raised in song. As the words to Let the Rivers Run fell around him, his eyes were drawn to Alexandra and her two girls at the far end of the gallery, gazing up at a painting.
His heart skipped in his chest. This unconventional trinity, this tiny, beautiful family was waiting for him. What the devil had happened to him? When had he fallen so hard for a rebellious tattooed teenager, a luminous little girl who lived in silence, and a maddening flame-haired woman with unforgettable mirrored eyes?
When he reached Alexandra, he laid a gentle hand on her shoulder and followed her eyes to the oil painting that hung alone in the center of the soft grey wall.
“El Pajaro Incendio,” murmured Jon Garcia. “The Firebird. You’ve finally found her.”
* * * *
The woman in the painting wore a gown of startling crimson silk. Golden hair tumbled over her bare opal shoulders. Just above her breast, an antique brooch in the shape of a winged Firebird glittered with flames and ice. A glorious, dazzling bird, her heart forged by fire.
The artist’s signature in the lower right corner was A. K. Marik.
“My God,” breathed one guest, gazing up at the beautiful face. “She’s so alive! Who is she?”
Alexandra stepped forward. ”I’d like to introduce you to my sister, Eve.”
Evangeline Marik Rhodes’ bright green eyes stared boldly back at her from the canvas, enormous and enigmatic and as full of secrets as ever.
Firebird Acknowledgements
Thank you for joining me in Alexandra’s world.
More than anything, I wanted to tell a good story, create characters with depth, and paint pictures with words.
Firebird was written over several years. Much of the plot came from the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time magazine and NBC Nightly News.
The Kirov Ballet did perform at Covent Garden in London in September, 1966. The fire, of course, happened only in my imagination.
While Cliff House, the Baranski Gallery, St. Theresa’s, Foxwood Horse Farm and Ivan’s lodge do not exist, I can see them as clearly as if they were real.
Juilliard has a Pre-College Youth Division which inspired Juliet’s dance program. Axis is indeed an internationally acclaimed contemporary dance company in Oakland, CA, for performers with and without disabilities.
Georgetown’s Oak Hill Cemetery, Maryland’s Great Falls Park, Middleburg, VA, and the Metropolitan Opera House are all, of course, beautiful real places and deserve a visit. There is a fascinating two hour backstage tour of the Opera House at Lincoln Center, complete with the painting whose eyes seem to follow you. Call for a reservation if you visit NYC.
Tatyana’s Palace of the Firebird restaurant was inspired by a wonderful dinner I had with my husband at the beautiful Firebird restaurant on W. 46th St. in NYC. I never met the owner, and Tatyana’s Courtyard exists only in my imagination – but that night my husband bought me a jeweled Firebird brooch, which became the inspiration for so much of Firebird’s story.
I am grateful for the good information on childhood deafness from the Alexander Graham Bell Association for the Deaf, Inc., in Washington, D.C. There is a wealth of information on infant and childhood deafness available, including The American Society for Deaf Children (800-942-2732) and the National Information Center on Deafness (nidcinfo@nidcd.nih.gov).
My character Ruby’s deafness, however, while based on combined information from many organizations and health articles, is a product of my imagination.
The evocative quotes at the beginning of each chapter come from the book, Familiar Quotations, by John Bartlett.
I also want to acknowledge Steve Goulet, Zephyr Publishing, for his remarkable editing and E-publishing skills, his patience, and his love of books.
You also may be interested to know that a substantial percentage of the proceeds from Firebird will go to my SunDial Foundation, Inc., which, since 1998, has benefited women, children and families. SunDial supports inner city food banks, education, health, shelter, child protection, the arts and economic development, with an emphasis on programs that promote dignity, independence and safety, and combat poverty, hunger, sickness and homelessness. (sundialfoundation.org)
While it is difficult to say farewell to Alexandra, Garcia, Juliet and Ruby, I am now “living” in the world of concert pianist Maggie O’Shea. Her story, The Lost Concerto, will be available as an E-book in late spring or early summer, 2013. I hope you will enjoy her story as well.
Visit online at www.HelaineMario.com