‘I’m in.’ I launch the browser and type the word ‘Gabriel’, before realising there’s something else I don’t know about him.
‘What’s your surname?’
‘Campbell.’
I type the surname in and I’m immediately rewarded with some pictures of Gabriel in tails sitting at various grand pianos. Underneath that there is a link to a Wikipedia page, with an enticing preview that says:
Gabriel Campbell is a Jamaican pianist who has performed in major concert halls all around the world, with leading orchestras such as…
‘You’ve got a Wikipedia page?’ I ask him incredulously as I click the link to read the rest of the entry.
He says nothing, just nods, so I read on, increasingly dumbstruck. He’s played everywhere, including Carnegie Hall in New York, the Royal Festival Hall and Wigmore Hall in London, and even the sodding Sydney Opera House, but one entry really catches my eye.
‘You’ve opened Last Night of the Proms?’
‘Twice,’ he replies.
‘Oh, fuck.’ I can feel the heat of embarrassment spreading across my cheeks.
‘What’s up?’
‘I’m so sorry.’
‘Why?’
‘There I was, like an arse, banging on at you about how you were really good and should aim higher than just playing in hotels, and all the time you’re a bloody international concert pianist. I feel like a total idiot.’
‘Don’t,’ he says firmly. ‘You meant it sincerely and I took it as a compliment. It’s my fault for not being straight with you from the start.’
‘I must have sounded so bloody patronising.’
‘Not at all.’
‘What are you doing playing in hotels then?’
‘I don’t play in hotels, plural. The only hotel I play in is the Elixir, and that’s because my sister owns it.’
‘You told me you played in hotels all over the place.’
‘No.’ He smiles. ‘I remember this, because I answered that question very carefully. I told you I played “all over the place”. That’s true.’
‘Misleading. I could sue you under trades descriptions or something.’
‘Good luck with that.’ He chuckles as he slows to make a turning.
‘Why?’ I ask him after a minute or so.
‘Why what?’
‘Why the subterfuge?’
He sighs. ‘Do you have any idea how refreshing it’s been to spend time with you?’
‘No.’
‘In my normal life, insofar as my life could be described as normal, everything revolves around music.’
‘Well, d’oh. That’s what happens when you’re a famous concert pianist and have a bloody Wikipedia page.’
