Eternal Melody

by Anisa Claire West

  “Luke, I love you. I’ve loved you all along even when we were stubborn idiots. This is all I have wanted you to say all this time.”

  “I love you, Rebecca. Tonight, you will get a taste of just how much.” He promised, leading her down to the canal where the gondolas were ready to depart.

  Gently helping her into one of the boats, Luke sat down after she was settled and comfortable. The gondolier steadied the boat on waters that rocked precariously from a gusty wind. As they floated away, Luke spoke in a low voice meant only for Rebecca’s ears.

  “I want to discuss something very important with you. If we are going to share our lives together, we have to think of Annabelle.”

  Rebecca bristled nervously, hoping that Luke’s mind would not be swayed again when he seriously contemplated the sacrifice it would mean to be Annabelle’s guardian. Biting back her fears, she waited for Luke to continue.

  “I haven’t spent much time with her, but I do know that she is a darling baby. And I hope that in time she will grow to love me as she loves you.”

  “Of course she will, Luke. She’s just a year old. You don’t get much more impressionable than that.” Rebecca replied, uncertain as to where this discussion was leading.

  “I suppose that’s true. She didn’t know me for the first year of her life, but she shall know me for all her future years. That is, if you will answer one simple question for me.” Luke’s tone thinly veiled his intentions and Rebecca’s eyes suddenly sparkled with understanding and unfathomable joy.

  “Rebecca Meadow, please say you’ll marry me.” He implored, taking both her hands in his and squeezing passionately.

  With tears glistening in her eyes, Rebecca whispered, “Yes, Luke, yes I will marry you!”

  After her teary acceptance of his marriage proposal, he lunged forward to embrace her, tipping the gondola off balance as they laughed together. “Being married to you will never be boring, I can see already!” He exclaimed as the rippling waves splashed over the side of the boat, drenching them.

  “I will try my best to keep you entertained---even if it means dunking your head in Venetian water!” She giggled.

  “Just sing me a lullaby each evening in that exquisite voice of yours.”

  “As long as you sing along with me.”

  “I will.” He promised.

  *****

  Dusk settled like purple coal and illuminated the water of the canal until it sparkled as brilliantly as the stars. The newly engaged couple held hands and finally strolled home to the villa after a romantic day by the water. When they went inside they were greeted immediately by the tantalizing scents of Gloria’s baking. Rebecca peeked her head into the kitchen and found Mr. Graysen sitting at the table across from Gloria, munching on an iced gingerbread cookie.

  “Grandmother, you outdid yourself. Those cookies look scrumptious.”

  “Indeed.” Luke agreed, pulling a chair out to seat himself next to the conductor.

  “Help yourself to as many as you want.” Gloria slid the pan towards Luke, who accepted graciously and collected a few treats.

  “Did you have a nice walk?” Mr. Graysen asked.

  Rebecca looked delightedly at Luke and said, “Tell them, Luke!”

  “Don’t you think your brother should be here for the news?”

  “Of course! How could I forget Ryan? Will you go get him for me, Luke?”

  “If I can tear him away from Concetta for a moment, I will.” He joked.

  “Bring her to the kitchen too if he can’t bear to be away from her!” Rebecca exclaimed, frankly itching to tell the entire universe that she was going to be a bride.

  While Luke scurried out of the room to find Ryan, Gloria asked curiously, “I do hope it’s good news you have, dear.”

  “It’s the best news, Grandmother, I promise.” Rebecca swore, barely able to sit still with the excitement of announcing her engagement.

  “Well, we can hardly wait to hear it.” Mr. Graysen interjected as a trio of people whirled into the kitchen like human tornadoes.

  Ryan and Concetta stood around the table expectantly as Luke reclaimed his seat next to Mr. Graysen. Rebecca gestured to Luke that he should be the one to make the announcement.

  “Mrs. Meadow and Ryan, as Rebecca’s next of kin, your blessing is of utmost importance to me. Yet I know that you are not only her family, but also her dearest friends. Therefore, I speak from the heart when I ask for your approval on my seeking Rebecca’s hand in marriage.”

  Tears had brimmed Gloria’s eyes from the moment Luke began speaking, and it was with immeasurable joy that she gave him her answer. “I not only approve but I rejoice and pray that you two will have a beautiful long life together.”

  “Welcome to the family!” Ryan shouted jubilantly, slapping Luke on the back and pulling him into a bear hug.

  “This calls for a toast.” Mr. Graysen sprang to his feet. “I’m going to the wine cellar to get the finest bottle of champagne this villa possesses. Gloria, please find some champagne flutes for our young friends!”

  Gloria walked over to the cabinet as Concetta hugged Rebecca tenderly and whispered some words of congratulation in Italian. While Mr. Graysen rummaged around in the wine cellar for a bottle of champagne, Rebecca recalled the champagne brunch that never was. Milton had offered her everything and given her nothing. In truth, he had nothing to offer or give because he was already indebted to a wife and children.

  Yes, Rebecca thought, I will have my champagne anyway, and I truly have reason to celebrate!

  *****

  Hours later, the fiancés lounged together by an unlit fireplace, dreaming of winter’s arrival and how they would not feel cold even if no wood ever burned in the fireplace. Rebecca eased into Luke’s enveloping arms, more emotionally sated than she had been in her life. Not even the first time she and Luke made love had she felt this sense of completion.

  Toasting to their future, surrounded by family and friends, love was abundant and served as a prelude to the unity she would experience at her wedding. Wedding! The word resounded like an aria in her head. Rebecca had once been certain that she would be without a husband, and the prospect had been lonely yet not unbearably so. But after falling in love with Luke, she wholeheartedly welcomed the partnership into her life and even fantasized about having babies with him.

  “What are you thinking about?” He inquired, caressing the nape of her neck.

  “Making babies.” She replied brightly. “I hope that doesn’t scare you.”

  “Scare me? What could be more fun than making babies?”

  She jabbed him playfully with her elbow. “I wasn’t just thinking about the actual creation of them. I was thinking about raising them, silly!”

  “Raising them? Well if you insist, I suppose we could do that too.”

  “Stop that! You do want children, don’t you?” Rebecca asked, momentarily alarmed.

  “Absolutely I want children. But we already have one, so there’s no need to rush. Annabelle has been so neglected in her life and needs extra attention.” He reminded her.

  “Annabelle doesn’t know how lucky she is. I don’t know many men who would be willing to consider their niece through marriage as a daughter.” She remarked in amazement and admiration.

  “It’s easy to love Annabelle when I’m so insane about her gorgeous aunt…I mean mother.” He corrected himself.

  The night slipped away with Luke and Rebecca in each other’s arms, neither having the slightest inclination to retire to bed.

  When a blushing coral sunrise cascaded through the sky and into the villa, all was silent except for the placid sound of their breathing.

  “This is our first sunrise together.” Rebecca whispered into Luke’s ear, tickling him with her breath.

  “This is my first sunrise.” He proclaimed before wrapping his arms fully around her and planting an everlasting kiss on her lips as golden light gracefully danced like a halo around them.

  Epilogue
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br />   Salzburg, Austria-Hungary

  Christmas Eve 1902

  The dining room table was graciously set with ivory linen napkins folded in the shape of doves, bone china plates painted with festive designs, and freshly polished silverware that gleamed. A centerpiece of red and white poinsettias rested in between slender gold candles, bathing the room with a warm glow. It was the first formal dinner Rebecca had hosted since moving into the modest house with her husband nearly a year ago. Generally, their dual performing schedules did not permit them to entertain, but this Christmas they were blessed with the presence of two very special guests.

  The aroma of roast goose stuffed with apples floated from the kitchen into the dining room, as Rebecca placed the porcelain serving dish near Luke so he could do the honors of carving. Annabelle clapped her hands gleefully when Rebecca brought out round cut potatoes and a steaming hot bowl of sauerkraut. A basket of sourdough rolls with tiny squares of sweet cream butter completed the meal.

  “My dear Rebecca, this meal looks sublime.” Gloria said, unfolding a napkin and placing it in her lap.

  “So it was worth the trip from Michigan?” Rebecca joked, earning a laugh from her husband and their guests, Mr. and Mrs. Christopher Graysen.

  At the reception of Rebecca and Luke’s February 1901 wedding, held in Salzburg, Christopher had proposed to Gloria. The couple had married that spring and returned to permanent residence in the United States, where they lived in the old Meadow house in Grand Rapids. During the combined sea and land voyage, Gloria had been panicked that the abandoned house would have been ransacked or otherwise violated, but it stood stoic as ever on the hill.

  The decision to retire from conducting had not been an easy one for Christopher, but as he edged closer to his seventieth year, he longed for a simple life free of the constant travel, competition, and upheaval of the music business. To his delight, his sons-in-law had found jobs in Michigan and helped him and Gloria tend the grounds of the house, weeding the garden, making repairs, and painting the interior among other tasks. Having his daughters and grandchildren in the area was a bonus to the already contented life he shared with Gloria.

  “It was most definitely worth the trip from Michigan! I only wish your brother, Ryan, could be here.” Gloria sighed wistfully, thinking of her grandson.

  She could not allow herself to worry about him, though, as he was now a happily married man living in Italy with the ballerina of his dreams. Ryan and Concetta were still based in Venice, where this holiday season he was involved in a production of Handel’s The Messiah. No, Gloria thought, it was fine for Ryan to be absent from this holiday feast, but as soon as a great-grandchild entered the picture, she would expect to see the baby every possible opportunity, even if she had to paddle all the way to Venice.

  “I wish he and Concetta could have been here too. This time of year makes me wonder what my other sibling could be doing…” Rebecca trailed off, glimpsing the stern look on her grandmother’s face and her meaningful nod in Annabelle’s direction. Completely oblivious to any adult tension, the dimpled three year old was stirring her sauerkraut around in circles on her miniature plate.

  “Don’t even think of speaking those names.” Gloria warned, earning a sympathetic look from Christopher and a solemn expression of concurrence from Luke, who poked his potato with a fork, feeling suddenly angry.

  No one had heard a word from Gregory or Ethel since they had abandoned their daughter in the summer of 1900. After their wedding, Luke and Rebecca had legally adopted the girl and were waiting until she reached a more suitable age to tell her the truth of her parentage. Neither Luke nor Rebecca relished that inevitable conversation, but they knew that in good conscience it had to be broached.

  “I’m sorry, Grandmother. You’re right, of course.” Rebecca looked down at her plate, knowing she should forget about her disloyal brother, but still harboring resentment over his vanishing act. She adored mothering Annabelle, but held Gregory and Ethel accountable for the heartache the girl would one day face when she learned that her parents had deserted her in a foreign country.

  “Ladies, concentrate on enjoying this sumptuous meal, please.” Christopher Graysen winked, sliding comfortably into his new role as patriarch of the family.

  Even living on separate continents, Rebecca felt a special bond with the old man, solidified even more by the daily joy he bestowed upon her grandmother. Since retiring and returning to the States, Christopher Graysen seemed to defy aging, and his bride had the same youthful flush that had washed over her the day they met at the rehearsal hall in Vienna. To Rebecca, the place was a cherished relic, as two couples had met and fallen in love there. As the new conductor of the International Philharmonic Orchestra, Luke was petitioning to have the building restored, not to alter the historical Gothic architecture, but to refresh and preserve the inside. Several members of the orchestra had already enthusiastically come forward to assist, much to Rebecca and Luke’s delight.

  Luke gazed admiringly at his wife from across the oval dining room table, enraptured by how the burning candles reflected crimson highlights in her hair. As she looked back at him through twinkling azure eyes, he ventured to ask, “Shall we share our news now, sweetheart?”

  “Yes, I believe so.” Rebecca said, taking a deep breath as the elders looked expectantly at her. “You may not be able to guess from this loose dress I am wearing, but Luke and I are thrilled to announce that I am with child!”

  Luke and Christopher exchanged proud, beaming glances, while Gloria gasped and covered her mouth with one hand, exclaiming, “My God, this is the most wonderful news!! Congratulations, my darlings!”

  Surfacing from her sauerkraut/art project and twirling her spoon around, Annabelle shouted, “I’m getting a brother or sister! But I hope a sister!”

  The adults laughed heartily and finished the meal, speaking of nothing else but the birth of the Springwells’ first child, due in May of the following year.

  Later, when all the plates had been cleared and the men were loosening their belts, Rebecca disappeared into the master bedroom and took a seat on a mahogany rocking chair. Remembering how Annabelle had loved to be rocked as an infant, Rebecca began to sway back and forth, placing one hand gently over her belly. In a soft voice, she sang a lullaby.

  Hearing his wife’s angelic voice echo down the corridor, Luke joined her in the bedroom, singing along with her. When they had sung the last verse together, Luke kissed her forehead and said, “I certainly hope this baby will love music as much as his parents do.”

  “You mean her parents,” Rebecca teased.

  Luke’s lips smiled, but his eyes were earnest as he confessed, “It does not matter if we have a son or a daughter, as long as God will continue to compose our eternal melody---with endless verses of joy and a perpetual refrain of love.”

  Dear Reader:

  Thank you for reading Eternal Melody! I hope you enjoyed reading about Rebecca’s romance with Luke. I also hope you will listen to some of the beautiful music featured in this book.

  I love to hear from my readers. Write to me at anisaclairewest@yahoo.com.

  Cordially,

  Anisa Claire West

  About the Author

  Anisa Claire West graduated with honors from Yale University and also holds a Master of Arts degree in Literature and Teaching. Learning about cultures is Anisa’s passion, and she has studied more than half a dozen languages including French, Arabic, and Italian. A certified yoga instructor, Anisa embraces mind-body fitness, animal advocacy, and a vegetarian lifestyle. Anisa Claire West is also the author of the fantasy novellas of the Silver Goddess Series and the romantic suspense Northern Moonlight.

 

 

 
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