by B. J. Hardy
Lara nodded. “These are the best of the best, girl! Michael Tilson Thomas conducting the San Francisco Symphony, and Ian Robertson leading the Chorus. This is going to be epic!” She had indeed gotten into the spirit of the grand event.
I had a wide smile myself. I was excited.
“Oh my god!” Lara exclaimed.
“What?”
“Professor Riachuelo is the composer! Look!” She pointed to my program.
Sure enough, there was his name. It made my jaw drop open. Now it all made sense. This was why it was so important to him.
“Wait a minute. This is familiar.” She went on.
“What is?”
“Look at the names of the movements.”
I did. The first was titled ‘Hecuba and Priam’s Joy.’
“Where have I heard that before.” I mused.
“Apollo’s Desire?” Lara cocked her head.
“Okay, that’s where. Greek mythology.” I surmised seeing the name of the second movement.
‘The Gift’ was the third, and ‘The Curse’ the last.
“This sure rings a bell.” She said.
“Yeah, huh.” I agreed but couldn’t remember the details.
We didn’t have long to ponder over this as the lights soon went down, then the orchestra and choir came out on stage. The spot light came on and there was Maestro Thomas. He was a handsome man, and totally classy. He took a bow to a warm applause, then turned and the lights came up on the orchestra first, then the choir. Another spot light framed Director Robertson and he too bowed to a nice welcoming applause. They didn’t dally around and instead got right to business.
The first movement began; ‘Hecuba and Priam’s Joy.’ It instantly reminded me of Mozart, and then Hayden as well. Like they had been the template for the piece. Of course, this reminded me of Prokofiev’s Classic symphony, yet it was even lighter and more compelling. The strings were singing with absolute joy. It came close to evoking the feeling I had when listening to the absolute masterpiece of all time, Ode to Joy. My heart was beating in harmony to the expression of elation that was being presented. There was a somewhat romantic element to it as well, kind of like Glinka had conjured with his overture from the opera Ruslan and Ludmilla. All perfectly blended as coherent statements. The true language of our souls was being exposed with no hesitation, no reservation of character. I was stunned. It was absolutely brilliant! Maestro Riachuelo was an even better composer than he was a pianist, and he was a world class pianist. Right then I wondered where he was. It was too bad that he wasn’t seated with us, but then I realized that was probably for the best as I would have been gushing to him like crazy, telling him how magnificent his symphony was. It was just getting started too!
The wonderful translation of utter happiness kept through the entire first movement, and it ended on that same note. It struck me that the Chorus was entirely silent throughout. That was odd. Then the second movement began after a short pause; ‘Apollo’s Desire’. The intro was reminiscent of Gustav Holst’s Jupiter, as if the mighty Greek God were making his presence known, but then it transitioned seamlessly to arouse the feeling of desire much like Schubert’s Gretchen am Spinnrade. This transitioned to something akin to Rachmaninov’s Vocalise and of course this is when the choir joined in. First with a soloist not singing any lyrics, but instead just vocalizing notes as if words were not able to convey the deep desire felt. Then the whole Chorus joined in to emphasize this yearning. This eventually led to a deep string melody much like Ravel did with the Mother Goose suite, however the Chorus did sing lyrics to accompany, and then lead this. The words were sung in Italian, so I didn’t understand them, but I sure got the emotional transmission. Apollo was desiring someone as if no one had ever longed before.
As this movement ended the crowd broke into applause spontaneously, even though it was not really the proper time to show such appreciation. Maestro Thomas waited until this died down before beginning ‘The Gift.’ This started eerily like Benjamin Britten’s Fanfare but then took a wild departure and became an isorhythmic motet for the choir. Their voices beautifully layering over one another until a soloist began to sing lyrics over this. The orchestra began softly to accompany the choir, and brilliantly these positions interchanged as the orchestral strings took over the lead from the voices. I was astounded. It was magnificent beyond words. The principle shifted back and forth several times then, and I was utterly in awe of this work. There was nothing I’d ever heard as richly complex, yet completely imbuing such profound majesty.
Again, the crowd inappropriately applauded as the movement ended. I also joined in as who could really blame them, or rather us. I thought that this may have well been the case when Beethoven first shared his masterful Sixth, and Ninth symphonies. It just couldn’t be helped. The final piece began and right away it was a departure from the previous in that the emotion being brought forth was not pleasant. It made me feel as sad as Puccini did with La Boheme, though it was totally different. Just the emotion was the same. If anything, it had some string movements reminiscent of Samuel Barber’s Adagio for strings. That perhaps mixed with Edward Elgar’s Serenade for strings in E minor. It was the most poignant piece of the whole opera. Tears started to run down my cheeks even though I fought to control myself. The utter melancholy that Maestro invoked was frightening, and I knew that he was indeed wracked by emotional pain. Only someone who understood it fully could ever possibly summon this level of heartache in others by music alone. There wasn’t but a small bit of vocals from the Chorus, but that which there was took the sorrow even deeper. At the end it was left without alteration or resolution of the desolate emotion. It took the crowd a few moments to respond, but when they did it was a rising gratitude that became a roar. People were shouting “Bravo” all over the place and I could see many wiping the tears from their eyes. Even Lara, who was normally so damned stoic was crying. Shit… I noticed EVERYONE crying as the lights came up! Then Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas and his orchestra took a much-deserved bow to the roaring crowd. This was followed by Ian Robertson and his Chorus doing the same. Maestro Thomas then spoke into a microphone that was brought out on stage.
“Please welcome the composer of this masterpiece, Maestro Ricardo Riachuelo.”
The Professor came out on stage in a full tuxedo and took a bow as the audience became ear-splitting with its hearty approval. I was yelling “Bravo!” along with so many others. I was so proud of him, and yet so sad for his obvious torture too. He bowed to each side and then as he faced the center, he held out his arms as if right to us, his students, and he smiled before he bowed. Needless to say, we all went a bit nuts.
The limos were waiting to take us home, and on the long ride back to Berkley we were all flipping out at how amazing the Professor’s opera had been. It astounded us that he’d thought to include us in his triumph in such a wonderful manner. Lara was unusually quiet, and busy on her phone, which kind of perturbed me. When we got out, she told me that we needed to talk, and right away. We went to the now deserted quad and she seemed really shaken up about something.
“So, what the hell is going on with you?” I demanded.
“Cass, I was looking up the Greek mythology on the way back. Oh my god…”
“What?”
“You are going to freak out.”
“Why? What the fuck? You’d better start talking right fucking now!”
“I looked up Hecuba and Priam. They had a daughter who Apollo fell in love with. He gave her the gift of prophesy hoping to win her heart. But she didn’t return the love, so he then gave her a curse. The curse of her prophesy being unheeded. She warned everyone about the impending fall of Troy, but no one listened.”
“So? Why would that make me flip out?” I got angry at her.
“Her name… it was Casandra.”
I had to blink. Then it started to sink in.
“Professor Riachuelo wrote that entire opera for you, Cass.” Her voice was gentle.
; At that instant it felt as though I slipped out of my body. Seeing myself from behind me. It was weird as then Lara seemed to shift further away from me in stepped increments like some bizarre movie effect.
“He is totally in love with you.” She said and it seemed to come from far away, yet it was so clear, sticking in my head.
The next thing I know Lara was holding me up, guiding me to a bench.
“It’s true. You know it is, Cass.”
“Oh my god…”
She nodded with wide eyes.
He did love me. I knew it was true. What the hell was I going to do now? I started to sob and clutched Lara to cry on her shoulder. She patted and rubbed my back, telling me that everything was alright. I sure needed that as it was a stark revelation.
The next couple of days were a blur as my emotions ran like a roller coaster. It didn’t help that finals week was rapidly approaching either. Studying became almost impossible, but finally I forced all the conflicting emotions from my mind and focused on the tests that were so important. The first final I had to take was the one I dreaded the most, Advanced Classical Musical Theory with Professor Riachuelo. I was actually glad that it was scheduled a week before all the others. It was the hardest of all them but when I finished, I was reasonably certain that I did alright. That afternoon I went to try to catch him in his office, and luckily he was there.
“Yes Cassandra, I suppose you are curious as to your grade.”
I shook my head. “That’s not why I came to see you.”
“You’re not interested to know… that I gave you an ‘A’ in the class?” he cocked his head.
“What? Really? You didn’t have to do me any favors you know.” I shot back, somewhat annoyed.
“It was no favor. You earned it fair and square.”
“Thank you, Professor, but like I said that isn’t why I came to see you.”
“Then to what do I owe the pleasure?” He smiled.
I liked his smile. He was most handsome when he did, and it reminded me of something.
“I wanted to ask you about your opera.”
He nodded and sighed. “I’d prefer to discuss this somewhere we might have more than the sparse privacy here. Would you perchance allow me to take you to dinner?”
I blinked hard. He’d just asked me out… or at least I thought he might have.
“I’d feel more comfortable with a casual lunch.” I heard my voice say, and immediately wanted to kick myself.
“That will be fine. Are you free tomorrow? Say two PM?”
“Yes. Where should I meet you?”
He chuckled slightly and told me to meet him at a casual burger joint just off campus.
“I’ll be there.” I said, and it sounded somewhat like a challenge.
Again, I wanted to kick myself as I left. I didn’t know why he provoked me that way. After all he’d done for me, and there I was still playing like I needed to best him.
It was almost two thirty when I arrived, my tardiness purposeful. He was waiting at a table and smiled as he saw me. Like a gentleman he stood and pulled my chair out for me.
“Sorry I’m late.”
“Oh? I hadn’t noticed.”
“Okay, look, I have to know about your symphony.” I demanded.
“Let’s order first, and then we can chat as we eat, alright?”
I agreed and we ordered. The food was brought quickly and as we ate, I pressed the issue at hand.
“Maestro, I have to know if… what I mean is, did you…”
“Yes.” He cut me off.
“Yes?”
He nodded with a grin.’
“You mean you did write your symphony for me?”
“Yes.”
“Oh my god!”
“I am sorry if that makes you uncomfortable, but you did ask.”
“No. No it doesn’t. Well maybe a little, but why? I mean do you really feel that way?”
“Yes.”
“I have to tell you just how wonderful your opera was. It was… beyond anything… ever! But for me?”
“Look, let’s just say that you inspired me. That’s not so bad is it? I certainly don’t expect anything from you. But you did ask.”
“Oh my god.” I gasped.
“I am glad that you liked it. That means the world to me.”
“It was absolutely freaking brilliant, Maestro!”
“Please, call me Ricardo.”
That stunned me. “Okay.” I sounded meek, and not on purpose.
“Cassie, I don’t think that you realize just how special you are. I can say that now because you are no longer my student.”
That made me swallow a lump in my throat that suddenly grew. “You know we have a pretty significant age difference.”
He laughed. “So what? Age is just a number.”
I had no comeback for that.
We were both finished with our burgers by then and he asked, “Do you have a fear of flying, Cassie?”
That caught me off guard, but I shook my head.
“Good. What do you say we go up for a little while?”
“Up? You mean flying?”
“Yes.”
I blinked. “Okay.” Again, I sounded quite meek.
He drove me out to the Oakland airport in his Toyota Rav4, which was pretty damn nice itself, but then we went into the private sector to a large hangar.
“Don’t tell me that you are a pilot in addition to being a musical genius.” I quipped.
“Okay, I won’t tell you.”
“If you tell me that you own a plane then I am going to know something is up.”
“Why is that?”
“Come on! Professors don’t make that kind of money… do they?”
He laughed. “Let’s just say that I have some good friends who are loaded, and they are kind enough to let me have fun with some of their toys.”
“Did these friends help you with all the things for your opera? I mean that must have cost a fortune.”
He just smiled.
We went into the hangar and a man in coveralls met him with a hand shake. “Good afternoon Sir. You’re already to go.”
“Thank you, Jimmy. I appreciate it.”
He walked over to a little red fighter jet looking plane. Then he turned and saw my apprehension as I’d stopped dead in my tracks.
“I am fully qualified and have over a thousand hours on the Gnat.” He assured me.
I looked around in the hangar and saw a few other planes including an old World War Two type, and another passenger jet as well, plus a twin engine passenger propeller driven type.
“Really Cassie, it’s okay. I know what I’m doing.” He motioned for me to join him.
“You know you are freaking me out, right?”
“We don’t have to fly. I just thought you might enjoy it.”
I took a deep breath and went to him.
The man named Jimmy helped me strap in and put the helmet on. Next, he assisted Ricardo and before I knew it, we were taxing alongside of the runway. I could hear him in the speakers in my helmet talking with the tower requesting takeoff clearance and suddenly we were screaming down the runway and lifting into the air. Once we gained some altitude I began to relax and enjoy the flight. He asked me if I would like him to perform any maneuvers, and I told him to take it easy on me. So we had a mellow enjoyable ride. The sun had begun to set by the time we went to land, and it was so beautiful that it almost made me cry. It struck me that my life had taken some unreal turns as of late, especially that one.
When we parked the jet and were assisted back out, I took his hand as we walked back to his SUV.
“Okay, you officially impressed me, Ricardo.”
“You are quite hard to enthrall, Cassie.” He chuckled.
“Yeah, I guess so.” I grinned.
He opened my door for me and when he’d gotten in the driver side, I leaned over and kissed him. He responded, tenderly sucking my lips into his and we made out for a good long whi
le there in the parking lot. I really felt comfortable in his strong arms. It was sweet and romantic to the extreme. I had hoped he would start feeling me up, but again he was too much of a gentleman to do that. My disappointment was kept to myself.
“So, what now?” I asked.
“Now I am going to take you home.”
Then I couldn’t hide my discontent. I could feel it as a pout on my face.
“Home to my place.” He continued.
The pout was replaced by a smile, though I did try to suppress it. No need to advertise that I was a horny slut after all.
We drove to a nice, but moderate ranch style home nestled in a well-to-do neighborhood in Pleasanton. He held my hand for much of the drive. I was feeling extremely content and even happy. Just as we pulled into his drive my phone rang.
“Sorry, I’d better see who it is.” I told him.
Then I saw it was Jason! Fuck! I made the decision right away, even though my pussy throbbed the instant I saw it was him.
“Hello?”
“Hi Cassie! Sorry I hadn’t called, but I’m free tonight and wanted to hook up with you.”
My pussy throbbed again.
“I’m sorry Jason, but I’m busy.”
“Oh. Are you sure you can’t rearrange things? I’ll make it worth your while.”
“I’m pretty sure my boyfriend wouldn’t like that. Thanks though.”
“Okay… well… your loss girl.” He was obviously perturbed.
“Yeah. Bye now.” I hung up.
Ricardo cocked his head at me.
“What?” I asked.
“Boyfriend?”
“Yeah!” I widened my eyes.
“I like the sound of that.” He grinned.
I just hoped that Ricardo was good in bed.
‘Fucker better be for what I just fucked off.’ I thought.
We went inside and his furnishing were sparse, even minimalist seeming. Everything was in immaculate order and the place looked like it wasn’t even lived in.
“A neat freak much?” I remarked with my usual sass.
“I like to keep a clean house.” He shrugged. “But I do intend to toss your clothes on the floor.” He pulled me into his embrace and kissed me. His strong hands ran down my back and found my needy ass. I got really wet.