Gabriel blew out a breath. ‘Straight to the hard questions. I feel like you’re speaking from experience.’
‘Let’s just say that my parents squashed my plans to be an artist. Apparently it wouldn’t pay the bills.’ She knew she really needed to let that go, but she’d been dwelling on it a lot lately. Or perhaps she was just frustrated with herself for not being braver, or for still being scared of what her parents might think if she didn’t fulfil their expectations. Surely she was too old to still be carrying that kind of baggage.
‘Ahh, the old pay-the-bills guilt trip. You know, that’s ironic, because you’re making a living selling other people’s art, and I’d say those artists are very much able to pay their bills, and then some.’
Ella groaned. ‘Tell me about it. I often sit at my parents’ dinner table and want to scream at them about how well my artists are doing. That when they praise me for the huge sales I make, or whatever they read about online, I’m making big money not just for the gallery, but for the artists too. At least when it comes to their new pieces. It’s almost like they can’t see that, or maybe they just think that being the broker rather than the talent is a safer bet.’ She closed her eyes for a moment, feeling her heart begin to race. ‘I’m sorry, I—’
‘Don’t be. I get it. Artists, musicians, we’re all the same. We try to create a living from doing what we love, and to make that work, we have to be the very best in our field, otherwise we make nothing. But not everyone supports that, or knows how to accept it.’
Their wine arrived and Ella watched the light pink liquid fill her glass. When he was finished, Gabriel held up his glass and she clinked hers to it.
‘To doing what we love.’
She met his gaze. ‘To doing what we love.’
‘So tell me—your family. How did they react when you told them you wanted to be a musician? You didn’t actually answer my question before.’
‘You’re going to hate me for saying this, but my family have always been very supportive of what I do.’ He took a sip of wine. ‘I mean, don’t get me wrong, I’m sure they would have liked me to go to university and take a more traditional path just for security’s sake, but they sacrificed so much when I was younger to support my passion. And it helped that my grandfather was a musician too. He spent ten years with the LSO.’
‘So you’ve followed in his footsteps? That’s amazing that you’re playing in the same orchestra as he was.’
‘It is. In fact, when he died he left me his cello. I wasn’t old enough to appreciate it then, but it’s one of my most treasured possessions now.’
‘That’s so special. It must have made him so proud to see you so passionate about music.’
He nodded. ‘It did. It was something that made us very close and helped me to feel close to him after he died too. Money was always tight, but my parents knew how much my lessons meant to me, and they never let me miss one. Now I’m old enough to reflect, I can’t imagine the things they must have gone without to make that happen.’
‘I love that,’ Ella said, thinking of her own parents and their disapproving gaze when she’d opened up to them about the career she’d always dreamed of. ‘I think so many parents try to put their own hopes and aspirations on their kids, rather than helping their child’s own dreams come to fruition.’
‘I wonder sometimes if parents even realise they do that,’ he said. ‘Sometimes I think they project themselves onto their offspring without even realising.’
Ella sat back, relaxed in his company. ‘Tell me how long you play for. Is it a long season?’
‘Our season has almost ended here, although we’re touring at the end of summer this year,’ he said. ‘You know, the season ending is one of those things that I look forward to on the one hand, but on the other, I’m playing with almost a hundred other musicians every night. It’s this magical feeling that just never gets old, so I don’t want it to end either.’
‘I wish you could see the way your eyes light up when you talk about playing,’ she said, smiling across the table at him. ‘What do you do when you’re not working? No, let me guess, I bet you play for fun at home. Or maybe you busk. Yes! I can see you busking on the street with your little hat out for tips.’
‘Oh, really? You can see me busking, eh?’ He pretended to look offended, only he couldn’t keep a straight face. ‘I most definitely don’t go from one of the most prestigious orchestras in London to the streets,’ he said in a posh voice.
‘Now, the clues,’ he said. ‘We have to remember to actually talk about your clues this time. I’d hate to have to message you tonight telling you we managed to forget about them all over again.’
Then again,she thought,another excuse for dinner would be nice.
‘Yes, the clues,’ she said, as Gabriel passed her the piece of folded paper she’d given him the previous day. ‘Did you have any luck deciphering anything about it?’
She took out her bag and carefully tucked the paper inside, beside the photo she’d brought with her. Ever since she’d been given them, she’d preferred to keep them with her, not wanting to risk losing them or somehow misplacing them.
‘I showed your sheet of music to a few friends after rehearsals, and I couldn’t stop looking at it that night. There’s something about it that makes me think I’ll be able to understand it if I only stare at it just a bit longer.’
‘I know the feeling. I feel like that about the photo.’ She put down her wine glass. ‘But? You look like you’ve either discovered something or you’re about to give me abut.’ Her hands went clammy and she folded them in her lap for something to do.
‘Don’t get too excited just yet, because I don’t know how this is going to help you, but I believe your mystery person was a violinist.’
‘Like you?’ she gasped. ‘I can’t believe it. What a coincidence would that be?’
‘The sheet of music is an excerpt of Pachelbel’s “Canon in D”.’ Gabriel’s mouth lifted into a smile. ‘Sorry, I can see that means nothing to you. Let me find it so you can listen.’
He took his phone from his pocket and she watched as he searched for the piece and then beckoned for her to come closer. Ella moved her chair around so that she was beside him instead of across the table from him, leaning in when he pressed play, the volume low so as not to disturb the other diners.
