“I won’t leave you again,” he said. “That’s a promise.”
“I know.”
And I did.
30
What’s Past Is Prologue
Axel and I clamber up the steel steps to the roof of the barge. The October evening air is tinged with a brisk breeze. We lean against the railing, inhaling the scents and the sights. The water flows silently below us, and across the river, the Manhattan skyline twinkles bewitchingly.
Twilight is here. Tiny headlights cross the Brooklyn Bridge. Cars cross the span, sounding like bees swarming.
Axel’s tired. It’s tough working for Aunt Agatha and studying at Juilliard, but he’s incredibly satisfied in doing both. We’ll leave soon, so he can get some rest. We just like a few minutes alone on the roof after every concert.
We stand there, holding hands.
A sight-seeing boat passes by, sending surges of waves our way.
Seagulls circle above the seaport pier across the river, ever waiting for scraps, ever hopeful.
We hold hands, rock on the waves, watch the world before us.
It’s not dark after all.
Author’s Note
Saved by the Music is a work of fiction. However, it’s based on my relationship with my aunt, Olga Bloom, and my experiences working with her to convert a dilapidated coffee barge into the world’s first floating concert hall, Bargemusic. I was only nine years old, but I did a lot of the work described in this book, including painting the roof! My aunt still has my paint-stained Keds.
Aunt Olga taught me by example that anything is possible if you truly believe and are willing to work relentlessly to make it happen. She – and her music – saved my life.
My aunt passed away on Thanksgiving, 2011, leaving a hole in my heart and a lump in my throat that seems like it will never go away. But she also left a piece of her spirit inside me, which I hope I have shared with her. Be joyous, be courageous…do the thing you love without fear. That’s what Aunt Olga did.
For over thirty years, Bargemusic has provided audiences with chamber music at least twice a week, all year round. And just as described in Saved by the Music, Bargemusic is located at Fulton Ferry Landing on the East River in Brooklyn, not far from the Brooklyn Bridge. Visit www.bargemusic.org to learn more about it.
PS: Axel is fictional (drat!) Though, perhaps, he is actually the deepest part of me. Whatever that means.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Thanks to:
Greg Goldston and ASD Publishing for giving this book digital life.
Evelyn M. Fazio for originally publishing it in print.
Bunny Gabel and Hettie Jones, my two New School writing teachers who helped me so much with this first novel.
The New School MFA Creative Writing program.
All my friends – writing and otherwise.
My mom, who did the best she could. She exposed me to the arts and supported my earliest writing endeavors. I miss and love her, too.
And of course, my beloved Casey and Michael – who have the fortune and misfortune to be the children of a writer.
Table of Contents
1 Stranded
2 The Horror Continues
3Scraps
4 People Are Strange
5 Crybaby
6 Stumbling Block
7 Expedition
8 Light My Fire
9 Confessions
10 Break on Through
11 Claustrophobic
12 Open Wounds
13 Duet
14 Ups and Downs
15 Intoxicated
16 Sound and Fury
17 Stand by Me
18 Life’s Fitful Fever
19 The Doors
20 A Walking Shadow
21 Soul Kitchen
22 Remembrance
23 The Lobsters
24 What Dreams May Come
25 Their Exits and Their Entrances
26 To Thine Own Self
27 The Course of True Love
28 Rounded with a Sleep
29 There Is the World Itself
30 What’s Past Is Prologue
Author’s Note
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Saved By The Music Page 20