Chapter 19
The final youth orchestra concert of the season was held at the grand theater downtown.
The same theater where my mother had played before I was born.
I wore a black dress.
Harper pinned a small gold ribbon inside the lining for luck.
My father gave me my mother’s old pearl hair comb.
“I was saving it,” he said.
“For what?”
“For the day you looked ready to carry it.”
My hands trembled as he placed it in my hair.
“I’m ready?”
His eyes shone.
“You have been ready longer than I knew.”
Backstage, I tuned with the others.
No one knew every piece of my story.
Some knew pieces.
The broken violin girl.
The De Luca daughter.
The recital scandal.
For once, none of that mattered.
I was second chair now.
Not soloist.
And I was happy.
That surprised me.
During the second half, Clara announced a special dedication.
My breath caught when she said my mother’s name.
“This final piece is dedicated to Elena De Luca, and to every young musician who finds their sound again after silence.”
I looked into the audience.
My father sat beside Harper.
Mrs. Bell sat beside them.
Dominic sat behind them with his arms crossed like he was guarding the whole row.
Then I saw a woman near the back.
Lucinda.
My bow hand tightened.
She looked thinner.
Older.
There were guards near her.
She was allowed in a public theater.
She was not allowed near us.
For one second, fear rose.
Then Harper saw her too.
My sister did not shrink.
She lifted her chin.
My father followed her gaze.
He stood.
Security moved quietly.
Lucinda was escorted out before the piece began.
No scene.
No victory for her.
Clara raised her baton.
I breathed.
Then I played.
Every note felt like walking out of a locked room.
When the concert ended, I ran into my father’s arms.
Then Harper’s.
Then Mrs. Bell’s.
I was laughing and crying at the same time.
May you like
I did not look for Lucinda.
I no longer needed to know where she was to know I was safe.
