"Well, you can tell Louisa she's wrong. The older an instrument is, the more authentic it sounds. Besides, I think you play beautifully, and my opinion is all that matters, right?"
She nods and gives me a hug.
I leave Annie and take the backdoor route from the kitchen to my cottage.
With the sun now fully behind the hills surrounding our valley, the temperatures have definitely dropped, but fortunately, the wood-burning stove in the cottage warms up the small living space and bedroom in no time.
I take a shower to decompress from the stress of the day, stretching my sore muscles under the hot water.
After warming up a bowl of soup for my dinner, I remember that my friend Nicki gave me a little box earlier and told me not to open it until later.
Well, later is now.
I unravel the string that’s keeping the top of the box closed, and I'm not surprised to find inside a bar of chocolate with a handwritten message on a small piece of paper.
Some days need to be celebrated, not because the world lost someone, but because it gained someone else.
Happy birthday, Ash!
Love, Nicki, your FGS.
I unwrapthe chocolate and take a bite, humming in pleasure as the little piece of smooth, silky, chocolatey heaven hits all my taste buds.
I can't shake the thought that my parents sent Nicki into my life to be my warmth, my guiding light, or, as she likes to call herself, my fairy godsister.
2
XANDER
As the driverpulls up in front of the Park Plaza Hotel, I know I've been set up.
Suddenly my mom's request to send her driver to pick me up, when I insisted I was perfectly happy to walk the three blocks from my apartment to the hotel, makes sense.
Their car arrives right on time and stops behind mine. That much I can tell from the imperceptible nod my driver gives, looking into the rearview mirror.
How perfectly well-timed, Mother.
I straighten my tie and plaster a smile on my lips as the driver opens the door. I get out into the jungle of flashing lights, requests to look here, and same old questions about who I'm currently dating.
The answer to that would be, no one. How could I bring someone into this circus?
I head over to my parents. My mother opens her arms to greet me, and I lower my head to let her reach my cheek for a kiss.
"Hello, darling. I'm so glad you could join us on such short notice."
I keep my smile turned on and shake my father's hand before we enter the hotel lobby and head over to the exclusive restaurant, thankfully leaving the paparazzi behind.
"Ah, Mrs. Blackwood, what a pleasure to see you again," the maitre d' says. "Mr. and Mr. Blackwood, what an honor."
He extends his hand for us to follow him, and I know we're not going to sit in the main restaurant. No, my parents are too important to sit with the 'regular' people that frequent a five-star hotel, so we're taken to a more exclusive, and secluded, part of the restaurant.
I take a deep breath as we arrive at our table. They sit across from me, which makes me feel like I'm at a job interview rather than a dinner with my parents.
They look at me with the same assessing eyes I've become accustomed to since I learned the meaning of the word ‘expectations’ in relation to our family and in particular the family business.
Yes, because if I'm not going to marry a nice girl and give them grandchildren that can curtsy and pose for photographs, I better deliver on the family business front.
"How are things with you, darling?" my mother asks.
