Chapter Twenty-Three
Finals were coming up and Eroica had missed a whole week of classes due to her recital. She had gone to some classes that week, but her notes were illegible, and she couldn’t remember much of what the teachers had said. That whole recital week was just a hazy memory. Almost as if it had happened years ago.
Deciding that she had better hit the books instead of the piano, she went to the library. Several hours and a quick lunch later, it was time for chamber ensemble practice. They had been preparing for the class final, which consisted of performing several difficult pieces for the string faculty. Eroica wasn’t getting a grade for this, but she was getting paid. So she knew she had better not mess things up for everyone else. She was only playing one piece with them. It wasn’t hard to play on her own, but playing it with the ensemble was difficult. The counting took everyone’s complete concentration. If one person came in the slightest bit wrong, or got off on the counting just a little bit, the whole piece fell apart.
As Eroica walked towards the recital hall where the chamber group practiced, she noticed Mark and Allisun together in the foyer. For some reason, she froze. As she watched them from a distance, she could see that Allisun was reading something. She was laughing and crying, and when she finished reading, she threw her arms around Mark.
Not wanting to be seen, Eroica quickly turned away and entered the recital hall through the other foyer. She sat down on the first row of seats and tried to figure out what had happened. Had Mark just proposed to Allisun? What else could it be? Eroica felt like such a fool for ever becoming friends with Mark. He wasn’t interested in her. He was just nice to everyone.
“I know that your chamber music final is coming up,” Mark began as he helped set up chairs and stands, “But Allisun has asked to be excused for today. She’s a little worked up over the events of the week, and she’d be no good to us today. Let’s go ahead and begin with the piano quintet so that Eroica doesn’t have to stay here all day.”
“That’s right,” said the second violinist, “Allisun has her concerto performance this Friday night. No wonder she’s so nervous.”
“I thought Allisun didn’t get nervous,” interjected the cynical violist.
“That’s usually true,” Mark agreed. “But something unexpected came up, and now she is actually quite nervous. She’ll be fine. She just needs a chance to come to terms with some changes that are happening.”
That was all the explanation that they were going to get. Eroica wondered about Mark’s timing in proposing to Allisun. Why would he ask her now, when he had been patient for so long? It seemed really odd to her.
As soon as they had successfully gone through the quintet, Eroica left. She was relieved that she didn’t have to talk to Mark. She planned to avoid him until the end of the semester, which was just a week away. Then she could graduate, and he could marry Allisun, and she would never have to see him again.
The last day of classes finally came. Eroica was eating lunch one last time with Harmony and Alexandra. As soon as they all three graduated, they would be going separate directions. They knew that they might never see each other again.
“Do you remember eating lunch together like this at the beginning of the school year?” Harmony reminisced. “I can’t believe that we have finally made it to graduation.”
“We haven’t made it yet,” said Alexandra. “We still have finals to pass.”
“I’ve been so busy with wedding preparations,” Harmony continued, “That I’ve hardly studied at all. I don’t know that getting married three days after graduation was a good idea.”
“If I were getting married,” Eroica stated, “I would have as short an engagement as possible. Why wait? Once the decision has been made to get married, get the announcements in the mail, and get to the temple.”
“Why aren’t you getting married anyway, Eroica?” Alexandra asked. “You must have had at least one proposal of marriage this year. Probably several.”
Eroica’s whole face turned red as she remembered her one marriage proposal.
“I thought so,” laughed Alexandra. “You don’t even have to tell us. We can tell.”
“Well, top this one,” Eroica interrupted. “Did you have anyone promise that he wouldn’t propose to you? I did.”
“Oh, Eroica, that’s terrible,” cried Harmony.
“Who was it?” Alexandra demanded.
“I guess I am misleading you. He knew I didn’t want to marry him, so we decided to just stay friends.”
“I don’t believe it,” said Alexandra. “Men don’t do that. He is still interested in you. Trust me on this one”
“Actually, I think he is engaged.”
“See,” said Alexandra, “I told you that he wanted to get married.”
All three girls burst into laughter.
“We still have a week of finals to go through. It isn’t too late. Who can we set Eroica up with?” asked Harmony.
“No. You are not doing that,” Eroica cried. “I am through being set up for disaster.”
Harmony and Alexandra completely ignored her.
“How about John Babcock?”
“He’s engaged,” Alexandra began.
“Oh, how about Larry Ruppert?”
“Engaged. What about Darren Hilliard?”
“I think he’s already married.”
“When did that happen? This is harder than I thought it would be.”
“I have an idea. Come here.” Alexandra whispered in Harmony’s ear.
“It seems perfect to me. I just don’t know if we can convince her of it.”
This sparked Eroica’s curiosity.
“Eroica,” began Alexandra, “I know that the two of you didn’t hit it off well at the beginning of the school year. In fact, I wouldn’t blame you if you still disliked him. But he is such a nice guy. How about giving Mark Wallace a chance?”
Eroica laughed out loud. “You are right. He is very nice. But he is engaged.”
“He is?” they cried together.
“Who is he marrying?” Harmony cried.
“How did he keep it quiet for so long?”
“That’s not as hard as you think,” Harmony reminded them.
“But who is he marrying?” Alexandra repeated.
“Allisun Miller.”
“Allisun Miller!” They both exclaimed.
“Even I am surprised that they were able to keep that a secret,” Harmony remarked. “Allisun is so popular. All of Barry’s friends have either dated her, or have wanted to.”
“Won’t they be surprised,” laughed Alexandra.
“Wait,” cried Eroica. “I don’t know if they really are engaged. But I’ve heard people talking in the practice room halls. Everyone seems to know. I’m surprised that you two haven’t heard about it.”
“I guess we haven’t been practicing,” Alexandra admitted.
“I don’t want to spread rumors. Please, let’s just leave them alone,” she pleaded.
“Eroica is right,” Harmony agreed. “Let’s not say anything about it to anyone.”
“So, is everyone ready for tonight’s performance?” Eroica changed the subject.
“I think so. Harmony and I don’t play any of the Vivaldi pieces. It’s only scored for string instruments. So we can sit in the audience until after the intermission. Do you want to join us?”
“No, thank you. I’m not going to sit with a bunch of engaged couples. Who’s symphony are you performing? Who won the student composition contest?”
“His name is Bill Stewart, and he is brilliant.”
“I remember him from music camp all those years ago,” Eroica exclaimed. “He played the trumpet. Don’t you remember him?”
“No. He doesn’t socialize much.”
“I remember that he was very shy. And I remember his testimony. I was so struck that such a shy kid could have such a powerful testimony.”
“I’ve heard that he is going on a mission to Finland.”
“I didn’t know that missionaries were sent there,” Eroica said. “It sounds hard. But I’m sure that he will be a great missionary. He was, at music camp.
“Well, I’d better get going,” she ended as she noticed Alexandra’s fiancé and Barry coming towards them. “I think I can get in a few more hours of studying before the concert.”
Eroica went to the most remote spot that she could find in the library, and buried herself in books. She was not going to be affected by the fact that everyone, including Mark, was engaged.
“Eroica, I promise, Harmony and I didn’t say anything,” Alexandra accosted her as she stood in line to buy a ticket to the evening’s concert. “You were right, though. They are engaged, and Mark’s whole family and Allisun’s whole family are here tonight.”
Alexandra went back to her fiancé, and they went into the concert hall together.
Eroica was stunned. Up until this moment she didn’t really believe it.
“I want to sit in the balcony, on the last row,” she said to the ticket salesman.
“But the concert has not yet sold out, and if you’re only buying one ticket I can get a fairly good seat for you on the main floor.”
“No,” she repeated, “I want to sit on the last row of the balcony. I am studying concert hall acoustics.”
That convinced him.
“You can have your pick of seats up there. That row hasn’t filled up yet. Good luck with your study,” he smiled as he handed her a ticket.
There were just three other people on the back row. Eroica sat down in the darkest spot and pulled her music history book out of her bag. The other three people were bent over textbooks also. Eroica couldn’t even see the words on the page. Her eyes had filled with tears that threatened to overflow.
One violinist after another came out to perform Vivaldi’s Four Seasons. Each one played so well. And they were so young. Eroica remembered back to her first year of college. She was so excited. So many opportunities awaited her. She had so many good memories of her college years. It was a wonderful experience for her.
And now it was over and she didn’t know what to do with herself. But her father would have some suggestions for her. He always did. Eroica would call him when she got home. She would probably be interrupting his teaching, but he was used to her calling at odd hours.
Eroica felt overcome with emotions. Her parents were in Germany, her sister was married, and now Mark was gone. She wanted to leave the concert and go home, but she knew she looked terrible. First she needed to stop crying, then she would leave.
Before she could go, Allisun Miller came onto the stage. Allisun was so beautiful and so confident. She was wearing an ice blue dress that was the same color as her eyes. Her hair was curled and piled on top of her head. She looked radiant. And she performed flawlessly. Eroica was in awe of her.
Intermission came and the other three people on the back row left. But Eroica could not make herself leave. Too many years of being the last one out of the concert hall kept her there. Plus, Mark was on stage helping set up for the orchestra’s next performance. Her heart ached to be with him. Why couldn’t he like her the way she was? Why did he have to propose to Allisun?
The concert ended, Bill Stewart was receiving his applause, and Eroica was crying again. She couldn’t seem to get control of herself. Everyone stood up to sing the traditional end of the school year song, God Be with You Till We Meet Again. Everyone except Eroica. She had gathered her books and was going to leave before the song was over and the houselights went up.
But she couldn’t go, and it wasn’t because of her habit of staying until the very end. It was because Mark was standing next to her.
“Mark,” she gasped. “What are you doing here? You are supposed to be on stage with the orchestra.” She looked back to the stage as if to make sure that he really wasn’t there.
“They don’t need me for this final hymn. I’ve been looking for you all evening. And it wasn’t easy to do, either. I couldn’t see anyone past the stage lights, and you aren’t sitting in your usual place.”
“There was no reason for you to look for me,” Eroica said as she tried to get past him.
“Eroica, wait,” he pleaded, holding her arm. “We need to talk.”
“I don’t feel right talking to you, now that you are engaged.”
The hymn ended, the lights went up, and people began to leave. Eroica was determined that she was not going to stay there with him.
“Shouldn’t you go? Won’t she be waiting for you?”
“Sit down for a minute and just listen to me.” He sounded desperate, so Eroica sat down.
“I don’t know how all of these rumours got started. I was congratulated so many times tonight. I didn’t even know what I was being congratulated for. Not until Allisun was on stage and someone congratulated me for proposing to her and being accepted. I never proposed marriage to Allisun. I never intended to.”
“But I saw the two of you together before chamber practice last week,” Eroica said, not at all convinced. “You certainly seemed as if you had come to some sort of understanding with each other.”
“I was afraid you had seen that. That’s why you stayed away from me all week.”
“I wasn’t trying to stay away from you,” Eroica defended herself. “I just had nothing to say to you. That was all.”
“Oh, Eroica, you know that’s not true. You came to class late everyday, something which you never had done before. And you bolted out the door as soon as class was over. I looked for you everywhere. I called, I came by your house, I checked the library, I went up and down halls looking into practice rooms. I wanted to explain what had happened with Allisun. But I couldn’t find you anywhere.
“And tonight, when I realized that the whole campus thought I was marrying her, all I could think about was you. I didn’t know what you had heard, and what you thought.”
Eroica still didn’t believe him. “I know it’s none of my business, but what kind of relationship do you have with Allisun? Or should I call her Sunshine?”
Mark winced at that.
“You must have wondered about Allisun and me all year long. The truth is that last week when you saw us together, Allisun had just received a letter from my brother. He was on a mission in Austria. He found out that he was coming home a week earlier than we had expected. That was what was in the letter.
“Allisun, who usually doesn’t get nervous, fell completely apart. She hadn’t seen David in two years. She had waited and written to him for two years and was apprehensive about his homecoming. And then she found out that he would be home in time to hear her concerto performance. It shook her up at first, as you saw.
“David arrived home yesterday morning. My parents took him straight to the stake president so that he could be released from his mission. He and Allisun went out last night, and David lost no time in proposing to her. She is a pretty, popular girl, and David wasn’t going to let her go. I think that he was amazed that she was still around.
“As for my calling her Sunshine, that was what David always called her. I would call her that once in a while when she was missing him. I promised David that I would keep an eye on her, and that is all that I have done. And if you don’t believe me, then come downstairs and see for yourself.”
Eroica was numb. She had gone through so many different feelings in one evening. She was so relieved, that she couldn’t stop the tears form coming. Months of buried emotions all of a sudden came forth. Mark pulled her against his shoulder to let her cry.
“I felt as if I had lost my best friend,” she finally managed as he stroked her hair.
“Are we best friends, Eroica?”
“Well, if I had a best friend I would want it to be you.”
“If I had a best friend I would want it to be you, too. But we
have to have a few rules if we are going to be best friends. If something is troubling either of us, we need to talk to each other about it.”
“Okay,” Eroica said against his shoulder.
“And we always tell each other the truth.”
“Okay.”
“So are you ready for your first test as my best friend?”
“Already?” She sat up and dried her eyes.
“You haven’t worn your CTR ring all week. Was it because you were through with me, or did you lose it?”
“That’s a rotten question. I want to pass.”
“You can’t. You have to tell me.”
“All right,” she sighed. “I lost it. I promised myself that I wouldn’t lose it, but I left it in a practice room. I checked in the Lost and Found, but it’s not there. It’s gone, and I feel terrible.”
“Don’t worry about it. Someday, I’ll get you a new one.”
“Mark, you could spend a lot of money keeping me supplied in CTR rings. I can’t
promise that I won’t lose it again.”
“Then I’ll buy them by the case. They probably come cheaper that way.”
“You always could make me laugh,” she finally smiled. “But don’t you have to go? Won’t your family be wondering where you are?”
“My mother could easily rival you with being the last one out of the building. Don’t even try it. You’ll lose. I would like you to meet my parents, though. Are you willing?”
“Mark, I look terrible.”
“Actually, I was thinking that you looked beautiful tonight. And as for crying, when the orchestra plays God Be with You Till We Meet Again, everyone cries. It’s tradition.”
“I at least want to splash some cold water on my face. It feels so hot.”
“Okay, but before we go, I have one more question. After you graduate I would like to see you, every day if possible. How do you feel about that?”
“That’s what best friends are for,” Eroica smiled up at him.
Heartstrings Page 23