For the Love of Music (Sixty Minute Romance)

by Naomi Davies

  Anne had stayed in her role as liaison manager, in the civil service office where she worked, but had requested at her recent job review, that she would never go out in the field again. This was brought on by the experiences she had witnessed in the Maldives operation six months previously. Anne thought she could hack it out on operations with the best, but she was wrong. She also handed in her firearm. It was a huge relief and she didn’t mind a bit of a pay cut. She was much happier in herself, not carrying a gun.

  “Who did you meet yesterday?” Asked Jayne, who was always looking for the latest gossip.

  “Oh, we did a concert for some war veterans and one of them wants me to play music with him as part of his therapy.” Replied Anne on autopilot.

  “Sound interesting, I’d love to play music with someone, tell me more.” Said Jayne, doing her usual stirring up routine.

  “There is nothing more to tell. I’m just helping him out. It’s a favour.”

  “Ok, have it your own way.” Jayne shrugged her shoulders and left disappointed.

  On the following Monday, Anne gave Gail a call, to see if she could come with her to see Ed. She had spent the last five days fretting about it and thought she could use some Dutch courage from a friend. Gail was very keen to come, as she was hoping to meet some more soldiers.

  “I do like these men in uniform! I’ll have to meet you there, as I’m dropping my niece off, at my Nan’s, on the way” Said Gail.

  “That’s great, I’ll see you there. Wear something decent will you?” Anne suggested, very relieved she would not be on her own.

  The next Tuesday afternoon, she arrived at the Hall, feeling a little apprehensive. She went to reception. There were lots of photos of other bands and acts who had performed there in the past.

  “You’re here for Sergeant Makin, Is that right?” Said the receptionist, looking over the top of her glasses.

  “I only know his name is Ed.” Said Anne, suddenly realising that she knew nothing about this man. She had agreed to meet him and help him, but now she was wondering if the whole idea was a big mistake.

  “That’s him, Sergeant Edward Makin. He’s waiting in the main hall, at the end of the corridor.” The receptionist pointed in the only direction available, other than the front door, and returned to her work.

  As Anne walked down the corridor, she could hear some guitar music, coming from the slightly open door at the end. As she pushed the door further open, she recognized the traditional Spanish guitar work ‘Malaguena’ as the piece of music. She saw Gail, dressed quite decently, just inside the door and joined her. Gail put her finger to her lips to say be quiet. They listened to Sergeant Edward Makin play the simple, haunting piece to perfection. The sound transformed the mundane and impersonal municipal hall, into a glorious sound filled experience. The notes were left hanging in the air, as Ed finished the piece. They could have been in Andalucia.

  Anne and Gail gave Ed a small, but appreciative, round of applause.

  Anne was so taken aback with his playing, that she hardly knew what to say. She stepped forward and Ed turned his head around. She felt like she was caught red handed, doing something wrong. She apologized for nothing.

  “I thank you for coming. I honestly didn’t expect you to turn up. You looked like you were in a hurry to leave last week.” Ed was his normal, tactless self.

  “I was glad to get away last week; you spooked me a little bit I’m afraid, sorry.” Ed nodded his head knowingly.

  “That Malaguena was beautiful, Ed. How long have you been playing?” Asked Anne, changing the subject.

  “I’ve been playing since I was a kid. I use Malaguena to warm up with. So what shall we do, and who is the gooseberry?” Asked Ed with a knowing grin.

  “Oh, this is Gail. You remember, from the band. She has come to erm…”

  “…Make sure I am well behaved and not some sort of weirdo.” Ed finished her sentence off.

  “Anyway, this is Gail. She was half hoping that there would be other colleagues of yours here today that she could help in some way.” Anne was trying her best to make excuses, but Ed saw through it all.

  “Sorry Gail, I didn’t recognize you with all your clothes on. If we do this again, I have a whole hospital full of friends who are much stranger, and ruder, than I. You can take your pick of those, if you like.”

  “It’s fine, I’ll just sit and listen.” Gail was almost mute. A very rare event. She had been spoken to and put in her place.

  “So what shall we play? I’ve brought a few pieces and I see that you have a folder of stuff there.” Ed was being expansive in his own way but it came over a bit unsteady and forced.

  “I’ve bought some Carlos Jobim Latin music and the Concerto de Aranjuez by Rodrigo. I didn’t know how well you played. I’m sorry if they are too hard for you.” Anne took the music out of her folder.

  “I haven’t played the Rodrigo for a while. Let’s have a look at that.” Finally there was some animation and normality from Ed.

  “Can you get through the piano part Ok?” Ed asked.

  “I’ve played it before, but not for a while.” Anne replied. She walked over to the grand piano next to Ed and played a few notes of a Bach study to check it out. The piano was far too good for this old hall and was tuned to concert pitch. ‘Someone knows their pianos here’ thought Anne to herself.

  “Let’s take the slow second movement to try out. We can do the whole thing if it works well.” Ed was beginning to get enthusiastic.

  Anne and Ed played, working through the slow movement, section by section, for an hour and a half. After a while, they decided not to bother with the rest of the piece and try to perfect this one movement. At some points they would disagree on how to play a section. At other times they just played and got used to each other’s different playing styles. Both Ed and Anne became lost in the music when they played a longer section together.

  They finished by playing the whole slow movement through in one go. Anne was mesmerized by Ed’s virtuoso playing that released every bit of emotion from the notes. Ed sat and watched very attentively for the piano/orchestra parts that Anne played on her own. At the end they stopped playing, both sat back and looked up at each other. Ed’s face was bright red and his eyes were watery. He blew out some air through his mouth, in an attempt to release the emotion he had built up in playing the demanding piece of music.

  “You are very good, Anne.” He said.

  “You are better.” Anne was smiling lightly. She had not played so intensely since she had left her sixth form music college. It was a good feeling to do so again. Anne turned around to see Gail hiding behind a handful of tissues and blowing her nose.

  “Don’t mind me; I’m just being silly over here.” Gail laughed out and Ed and Anne laughed with her.

  “I can be a bit intense, sorry.” Said Ed.

  “You are not kidding. That was some playing. You put so much into it, I can’t believe it.” Anne said.

  “Yeh well. I can play.” Ed replied, not even trying to be modest.

  There was a knock at the door and a man in uniform came in.

  “Your lift has arrived, Sergeant.”

  “Thanks, I’m coming now.” He shouted back. Ed packed his guitar away into a hard case with his music. The driver took the guitar and went on out to the car.

  “I can’t wait to get my own car, it’s coming in a few weeks. So do you want to do this again?” Ed wanted a definite ‘yes’ from Anne.

  “Same time, same place, next week?” Anne asked, she was still recovering from the experience of playing such good music together with Ed.

  “Suits me.” Ed went after his lift in his wheelchair leaving Anne and Gail looking at each other.

  “You never told me you could play like that.” Gail said, still mopping up her face from her tears.

  “You never asked.” Anne replied.

  Chapter Three

  The following four weeks went as planned with Ed and Anne playing together at t
he old concert hall. Gail was not needed anymore as a chaperone and Anne went on her own. As the weeks had gone on, they had started chatting to each other and generally getting on well. They had a lot in common. They had both played their instruments since an early age. They had also both studied at Music College.

  They needed short breaks between pieces, because when they played the music together, they both became totally consumed and involved in the music. They couldn’t think of anything else but the music. Anne started looking forward to the sessions each week and began to think that she was getting at least as much benefit out of them as Ed was.

  Ed stopped being quite so blunt and forthright, and even showed signs of appreciation for what Anne was doing in playing with him.

  On the fifth week, Ed brought two friends with him. His plan was that they would just sit and listened to Ed and Anne playing together.

  “I hoped you wouldn’t mind. These are just about the only two sensible guys from Mandeville I could bring. They like hearing me play solo and wanted to hear us play together.” Ed said.

  “Well, I do mind Ed! I hope you are not showing me off to your mates for fun.” replied Anne. Anne knew that Ed did not understand subtleties in conversation. So she always spoke the bare truth to Ed, knowing that he would respect and understand it.

  “Way to go Sergeant. We are all in trouble now.” The two guys enjoyed Ed’s embarrassment and discomfort.

  “Well, thanks for that honesty. Will you tolerate them for today?” Ed asked in his direct manner.

  “Let’s get on, shall we.” Anne replied harshly but with a slight grin in the corners of her lips. She wanted to play music. She had been looking forward to it.

  The two guys were an intrusion to the normal proceedings but they were well behaved. The friends didn’t interrupt Anne and Ed once, as they worked through some Latin American Salsa and some gentle Pop ballads. They had discovered over the weeks that they both liked a wide range of music. They had played Classical and Pop music, as well as some Latin music and a Shostakovich Jazz piece.

  At the end of this particular session, they received a polite and genuine round of applause from Ed’s friends. It had been a good session.

  “Good stuff Sergeant. You weren’t kidding, were you? She’s a cracker.” One of the guys had said too much again.

  Anne looked directly at Ed. Ed wanted to look away, but he was held in her gaze and tried to apologize with his eyes. For the first time, Anne knew for certain, that Ed had been talking about her to his colleagues and friends. She wondered how far his thoughts and conversations had gone. She had talked briefly to Gail and Jayne about their music sessions, but she had not thought about anything other than that. She was helping out a man who desperately needed it. Anne was the best person for the role because of her musical ability.

  Now there were some warning bells going off inside her brain that she did not want to hear. She decided to ignore the bad thoughts and vibes, and pretend that they weren’t happening.

  “I enjoyed today’s session Ed. Thanks.”

  “Me too. I won’t bring the rabble again. That was a bad idea.” Ed replied. He was seething inside, he couldn’t hide it.

  “I agree. Thanks for understanding.” Anne shook Ed’s hand and he packed away his guitar and music. Anne left in a bit of a hurry leaving Ed to tidy up with the help of his friends.

  As she was setting off for the railway station to get home, she realised that they hadn’t agreed their next session. Anne would not be able to come the following week but she hadn’t told him. So she returned to the old concert hall and walked in. At the end of the corridor she could hear some loud shouting and a lot of swearing. She was uncertain what to do, but decided that she had to arrange things with Ed.

  She pushed open the hall door, to find Ed sitting on top of one of his mates, punching the life out of him. She dropped her music folder on the floor in shock and screamed something unintelligible out towards Ed. His other friend was trying to separate them but without success. All three of them were howling and shouting with the worst language you could imagine and more. The level of violence from Ed was terrifying and Anne watched for a moment in total terror. All of this scene took place in about two seconds, but seemed as if it was in slow motion. Ed was first to see Anne at the door. He stopped hitting the guy he was sitting on and got squarely punched on the jaw for his troubles. Ed thumped him back twice more and his resistance ended.

  The other friend pulled Ed off and tried to see what damaged had been caused to his friends face. It did not look good. Ed’s face was badly cut up and his left eye was swelling up with heavy bruising. He was also pulling his false leg off as he was in agony with pain from it. Anne could see that the leg had almost come off anyway.

  Anne spun around and closed the door quickly behind her. She heard Ed shout out her name behind her but she walked away very fast to get out of there. The entrance door to the building was opened for her by the driver Ed used each week.

  “They are fighting in there. You had better hurry.” Anne said to him breathlessly.

  The driver immediately ran down the corridor to see what was going on. Anne walked out onto the streets of Harrow. She hardly knew what to think had happened in the hall. She feared that somehow she was the cause of the fight. She was also shocked, at the level of violence she had witnessed, in those few seconds. Anne realised, then and there, just how much help Ed needed to return to normal life. Anne decided to get a coffee in a café near to the station, to try and calm down.

  She turned over in her mind what could have happened to cause the fight. As she went through what had happened earlier, she began to think that Ed was hoping for much more than music therapy from Anne. Then she dismissed this idea straightaway as ridiculous.

  The next morning, Anne went to work as normal. She had got home very late last night. After consuming a very large glass of vodka, she had fallen into bed fully dressed. She overslept and as a result was not looking her best today.

  “My, oh my, what happened to you?” Jayne was on her usual form, wanting to know everything that was going on in her colleagues’ lives. Anne was always so cool, calm and collected, that to see her in a state of disarray was something worth gossiping about.

  “Was it your man in uniform? Did he make an inappropriate advance last night? Did you make sweet music together?” Jayne was on top form today.

  Mercifully, the phone on Anne’s desk rang and Jayne was left to try and interrogate her later on.

  “Hello, Anne Richardson?” Anne swished her long brown hair behind her shoulders and pulled up a chair to her desk to take the call.

  ”Speaking.” She said.

  “Hello Miss Richardson. My name is Colonel Hatch. I’m calling you to apologise for Sergeant Makin and his behavior yesterday.” Anne remembered the Colonel from the concert last month.

  “Hello Colonel. I can’t talk at the moment as I have work to do. Can you call me another time? I have a desk full at the moment.” Anne lied; she didn’t want to hear from Colonel Hatch. That meant that word had got back to him from Ed, or his driver, about the fight from the night before.

  “I’ll pick you up for lunch at noon, prompt. You are allowed a lunch break I presume?” The colonel was being pushy.

  “I…, Um…, I’m not sure what I’m doing today.” Anne was in complete confusion about what to do.

  “Great, I’ll see you then. Don’t worry. I don’t bite, but I do need to see you for a few minutes to talk about Sergeant Makin.” The Colonel put the phone down before Anne could refuse or reply.

  Jayne looked over towards Anne.

  “Do you want to talk about it?” she asked.

  Anne looked at Jayne and shook her head.

  She then spent three hours of the morning doing the best zombie impression ever. She took six phone calls and attended a scheduling meeting without knowing what she was doing. She made her eleven o’clock cup of coffee and put salt in it by mistake instead of sugar. She had to
make it again.

  Even Stanley, the office nerd, spotted that all was not well with Anne. This was because he was copied in on all Anne’s emails for the morning. This included the very long, and extremely personal, e-mail she had sent to her best friend Sandy.

  ‘Anne, did you mean to send this email to me?’ Stanley replied with her original email included.

  ‘No Stanley, have you read it?’ returned Anne by email.

  ‘Of course I have read it, I read all my emails.’ Stanley was that kind of guy.

  ‘You can delete it, if you don’t mind, thanks.’ Anne was brought out of her zombie state after this.

  She looked over towards Stanley’s workstation on the other side of the office, to see him shrugging his shoulders and grinning from ear to ear.

  The Colonel arrived promptly in reception, at two minutes before noon. Jayne was in reception and offered to pass on the message to Anne that he was there. She flew up the four flights of stairs, to ensure she was first to tell Anne that the Colonel was in reception to take her out. There was a sense of victory in her message. She had finally found out something about Anne, that no one else knew. It was not very interesting but it would keep her occupied all afternoon, telling everyone else about Anne and the Colonel.