ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY)

by Marie, Bernadette

  “Keep it together, man,” he warned himself as he came upon a barbershop. Just the sight of it had him wincing.

  The last time he’d been in a barbershop, his father had dragged him there. He hadn’t approved of the length of Thomas’s hair and was bound and determined to make his point.

  Thomas parked the car, squared his shoulders, and went inside.

  There was a line of men on a bench and all eyes turned to him when he walked through the door. He hung his jacket on the rack near the door. Instructions were called out to him to sit and wait, and he did.

  Men came and went and the line moved down the bench.

  As the next chair opened, Thomas stood and started toward the space. At the same time the door opened and a young man, perhaps of fifteen, walked in and toward the open chair.

  “What are you doing here? You have practice,” the barber said to the boy.

  “Didn’t want to go. Thought I’d see if you needed help here.”

  “You think you can just miss practice and the coach will let you play. Go.” He turned back to Thomas and nodded with his head for him to sit in the chair. Thomas sat as the man reached for a cape to drape over him.

  “I’m not going back.” The boy moved closer to the man as if daring him to scold him more. “If you don’t need my help, fine, but I don’t care about basketball and I’m not going back.”

  The boy turned to walk out, but the barber grabbed his arm and swung him around.

  “Don’t you dare talk to me like that.”

  Thomas sat only inches away. He could see the marks the man was making on the young boy’s arm. His own arm began to ache from the memory of having been grabbed like that.

  He swallowed hard and stood from the chair.

  “So you play basketball?” His voice cracked as both sets of eyes turned toward him. “Great sport.”

  “No one asked for you to talk to my son.” The barber stiffened his back but kept his grip on his son.

  “No, but I think you could let go of him and have a discussion rather than hurt him like you are.”

  The man let go of his son’s arm and took a step toward Thomas. His heart began to race and he could feel the sweat bead on his forehead. It had been a while since he’d been hit. He braced for it.

  The man walked up to him until they were chest to chest. Thomas saw the fear in the young boy’s face as he turned and ran from the shop.

  “You have something to say?”

  Thomas balled his fists at his sides. “I don’t think you should touch him like that.”

  The barber kept his eyes directed on Thomas. He ran his tongue on the inside of his cheek, moving closer to Thomas until he nudged him backward.

  “Why don’t you get the hell out of here and never, ever come back.”

  Thomas sucked in a breath and stepped to the side, away from the chair. He noticed all eyes were on him, but he kept walking.

  He released his fists and let the door slam behind him.

  Perhaps he hadn’t stopped the young boy from eventually getting beaten, but for that moment the boy had gotten away.

  He hurried to the car and fell into the seat behind the wheel. Breathing deeply, he tried to slow his heart rate. No child, no matter the age, deserved to be treated the way that man treated that boy or his father had treated him.

  Trying to control his anger, he drove toward the mall. He’d just find one of those franchise places and get his haircut.

  He emerged an hour later from the mall salon looking well groomed, he thought. His nerves were still shaky and his jaw hurt from grinding his teeth when he thought of the man. He didn’t want to go back to the house in that state of mind, so he decided to walk around the mall to kill time before he returned.

  He’d been only a moment from pounding his fist into the face of the man who’d made him so angry. The beergut-and-bar-fight build of the barber guaranteed he’d have beaten Thomas down, but it didn’t matter. No one deserved to have children when he treated them like that.

  He walked down the mall, looking in windows. He gave it some thought. Only someone who couldn’t control his anger would think of sticking his nose where it didn’t belong and hitting a man over his own family business. He sucked in a breath. It was only proof that he was no better than his father. But the cycle would stop with him. He’d never have a child that he could pass on such a trait to. No, the anger and abuse stopped with him. It was the least he could do for humanity.

  He continued his walk through the mall. Things had changed a lot in the eighteen years that he’d been away from the States. The mall crowd seemed so much younger than he’d remembered. When had he gotten so old?

  There’d been a time he and Sophia would talk about what they’d missed stateside while living in Europe. There were stores, restaurants, scenic spots. She’d always kept a place in Seattle, but he’d never had one except for in Rome.

  After a while they didn’t miss anything. Well, she missed David, he decided. Eventually she left everything to return to him, as she should have done much earlier in her career.

  He stopped at the food court and bought a hot dog and soda. Even those standbys tasted so different from the ones in Rome.

  He wasn’t sure how long he’d sat in the food court watching people pass by him, but it amused him. Everyone had their own agenda. He recognized the men who were being dragged through the mall by the woman that was three steps ahead of them. He recognized the woman on a mission. He’d seen that same expression on his mother’s face a time or two. Then there were the teenage girls that were there to be seen and heard. He wondered if that was once Carissa.

  Thomas tried to imagine her childhood.

  He knew she’d showed up on David and Sophia’s doorstep when she was very young. Sophia left to play with Pablo after that. He really didn’t know about Carissa at all.

  He took a sip of his soda, which had gone flat, and decided he’d been there longer than he’d thought. He tossed his trash in the bin and walked down the mall.

  He was tempted to buy something to make his room at Katie’s homey. However, doing so would say he was laying down roots and he wasn’t sure he could commit to that. Sure, when Sophia had first called and offered him the chance to help start the school he’d have bought land and built a house. Now, after spending a few days with Carissa, he couldn’t make that kind of statement. Eventually he was going to break her heart and hurt her. He just hoped he could convince her to move on from any feelings he knew she was having before he did just that. Even worse, he was afraid he’d physically hurt her and that had his stomach tied in knots, especially after the incident at the barbershop.

  He stopped outside a store window because he had to squeeze his eyes shut. In all his life, he’d never raised his hand to another human being. More than enough times, he’d been on the receiving end of it all, but never the giving. Yet. How far did that have to travel in your blood before you did it? After all, he’d turned into a raging alcoholic and almost killed one of his dearest friends.

  He sucked in another deep breath and opened his eyes. Pablo had destroyed his career in Rome for what he’d done to Pierre, and who could blame him? Sophia’s call had come at the right time. He’d been without work for a long time and without Pablo’s support in the music community, Thomas was just a washed-up pianist. If Pablo could, he would bury Thomas’s career completely.

  “Thomas?” He heard his name called from behind him and he snapped around to see Sophia and Katie slowly walking toward him. He adjusted his attitude and put on his best smile.

  “I didn’t mean to startle you,” Sophia said as she approached him. “You looked deep in thought.”

  “I suppose I was.”

  “Are you doing some shopping?”

  “Just killing time. Carissa is working, so she loaned me her car.”

  “All the better. She hates being interrupted when she works. Let’s just say there’s a Jekyll and Hyde personality that comes out.”

  T
homas smiled. He knew others like that. Sophia, for one.

  “So what are your plans for the rest of the day?” she continued.

  “I think I’ll drive around town and get acquainted a bit. Maybe you could give me directions to the school and I could stop by and help David.”

  Sophia nodded and began to look through her purse for a pen and a piece of paper.

  “I think Carissa and I are going to go to dinner tonight.” He said it as nonchalantly as he could, but Sophia’s head snapped up.

  “Really?” Her eyes opened wide and a smile slid across her lips. “I heard she dragged you out for a run to The Spot for breakfast too.”

  “That she did. She runs faster than you ever did.”

  Sophia laughed and went back to writing out directions to the school on the back of a receipt.

  “Okay, here are directions from the mall and then directions back home.”

  “You know me too well, dear friend.”

  “I hope so.”

  Thomas took his instructions, said his good-byes, and headed back down the mall toward the parking lot.

  Katie scanned her granddaughter’s face.

  “Sophia, what are you doing?”

  “Nothing, Grandma.”

  Katie smiled with a shake of her head. “Well, at least I

  taught you well. Matchmaking is an art and you can’t meddle too much or it gets sloppy.” “I agree. Carissa’s smarter than I am and has a stronger will. He’ll be either in or out, but by the sounds of it he’s in.”

  “I raised a hopeless romantic.” Katie began pushing her walker down the mall and Sophia followed, laughing.

  “No, Grandma, I’m a hopeful romantic.”

  David walked out of the building toting a two-by-four as Carissa’s car pulled up in front and parked. He was sure she was there to check up on his progress. She’d already called three times. When he saw Thomas climb from the driver’s seat and Carissa wasn’t with him, mild apprehension rose in his belly.

  “Hey.” He gave Thomas a nod as he headed to the chop saw set up just outside the door and set the board on the saw’s table. He pulled the pencil from behind his ear and darkened the line he’d made inside earlier. “Did you come to offer a hand?”

  “Well, I’ll be the first to admit I’m not much of a handy kind of guy, but I thought I’d come by and see what I could help out with. Carissa has students all day. I’d just be in her way.”

  David chewed on the inside of his cheek and considered him with a nod.

  “Cutting that board or taking a break?” Jeremy walked outside and stopped, scanning a look over Thomas. “Oh, hi.”

  “Jeremy, this is Thomas.” David lined up the blade with the pencil mark.

  Jeremy stuck his hand out and Thomas shook it. “So, are you here to help this loser build this wall?”

  “Loser?” David smirked and nodded in Jeremy’s direction. “You do see the man here covered in saw dust. He must be a loser too.”

  Jeremy gave Thomas a slap on the back. “C’mon inside. We’ll put you to work.”

  David followed them with the board he’d just cut. Thomas’s voice carried from the back.

  “I’m trying to convince her that we need a classroom for theory.”

  David walked to the back of the school where the two men stood looking at the empty space.

  Jeremy’s eyebrows drew together. “Theory?”

  David laughed. “Those little black dots on the paper.”

  “Smart ass.” Jeremy looked at Thomas. “Notes. I know what the hell notes are.” He shook his head at David. “Why does she need a room for that? Aren’t they just learning how to play?”

  “Dear God you have no idea.” David patted Jeremy on the back. “You’d better stop while you’re ahead.” He shifted his glance toward Thomas. “As soon as she says she wants a room for theory, I’ll build it for her.” But not a second sooner, he thought.

  By the time they decided to stop for the day, they’d erected the partition wall that would separate the parents’ area from the rest of the school. Though Thomas had been correct about not being handy, David was grateful for the extra set of hands.

  “Thanks for your help,” he called with a wave as he locked the front door and Thomas climbed into Carissa’s car and drove away.

  Jeremy tossed his tool belt into the back of his pickup.

  “So that was Thomas?”

  “Yep.”

  “Mary Alice talked about him for an hour last night.”

  David secured the tailgate of the pickup and let his grip linger on the metal.

  “What did she have to say?”

  “Just that they had eyes for each other.”

  “Eyes?” His voice shot up in pitch.

  “Yep.” He nodded. “Said they didn’t take their eyes off each other. Laughed easily. Touched.”

  “Touched?”

  “Christ, you pansy. She’s twenty-five.” Jeremy laughed as he walked toward the driver’s door and pulled it open. “Left her alone in that house with that man, and you’re scatterbrained if you think they’re just smiling at each other.” Jeremy laughed and David backed away from the back of the truck as he pulled away.

  David walked to his car and thought of them earlier that morning at breakfast. They did look very comfortable together. He shook his head. He wasn’t quite ready to think about his little girl getting involved with anyone. Especially the man she was living with, as Jeremy had so thoughtfully reminded him. He knew too well that those rooms weren’t quite far enough apart in the house once had been a boarding house with rules, but was now just a home shared by a healthy young man, David’s attractive daughter, and an old woman who had done her share of matchmaking.

  CHAPTER FOUR David moved in behind Sophia as she folded the sheets from the basket of laundry perched on the kitchen table and placed a kiss on her neck. She leaned in against him with a sigh.

  “Carissa just called. They’ll both be here tomorrow for dinner.”

  “How’s Thomas settling in?”

  “Pretty well. She said they were going to dinner tonight. I think she’s taken him under her wing already. And I do believe they’re a little smitten with each other.” She confirmed what Jeremy had said to him with a wide smile.

  “Sophie, I don’t know about this. I don’t even know this guy.” In an attempt to keep his composure and his hands calm, he reached into the basket, pulled out a pillowcase, and folded it.

  “David, I wouldn’t have called him if I thought he’d bring harm to Carissa or wasn’t good for the school. I want this to succeed for her. It’s what she’s always wanted.”

  “I just don’t like you putting my daughter out there like this.” He saw her wince and wished he could retract the words.

  “Our daughter,” she corrected him with narrowed eyes. She might as well have punched him in the gut. “And I wouldn’t have done anything to harm her in any way. You should know that better than anyone.”

  David laid the pillowcase on the table and walked back around behind his wife. He slipped his arms around her waist and rested his chin on her shoulder.

  “I know. It’s just that when Carissa takes on a project she dives in. She doesn’t take her time to see things through and to be patient.”

  “You think she’ll fall in love too fast?”

  “Fall in love?” His temper was rising as he moved away from his wife and paced the kitchen. “You did plan this out.” He wiped his sweating hands on the sides of his pants. “You already have her married off.” He flung his hands into the air. “What the hell happens if she falls in love with him and he doesn’t with her? What then? They still have to work together. You moved the man over here from Rome and he has nothing. If this doesn’t work out maybe you’ve ruined his life.”

  Sophia stood before him, her jaw dropped. “I don’t want her to waste years of her life. I wasted three years thinking your proposal was enough, but not accepting it. I wasted another ten trying to figure out my l
ife and here you were waiting.”

  “I wasn’t waiting. I was raising Carissa,” he reminded her.

  “Then you should know she’s smarter than both of us.” She dropped the folded sheets into the basket. “I love them both. Carissa is my daughter. Thomas is my friend. They are two of the most talented people on this planet and by God if they’ve already found each other that’s great. If they’re not interested, they won’t think a thing about it. Dammit, David, don’t shut the door on her. She’s been in love before and had it fall apart. She’s not going to break.

  “So I introduced her to a wonderful man who I think the world of. What’s wrong with that? I knew two old ladies that did the same thing once. Imagine that conversation. ‘I have a granddaughter . . . I have a nephew.’” She blew out her breath as he watched her gather her composure and the basket of laundry. Without another word she walked out of the kitchen.

  Carissa spun into the kitchen, making a grand entrance. She’d wiggled into a pair of dark jeans and accented them with a pair of high heels. The low-cut red blouse immediately had Thomas’s attention, she noticed. She’d fastened the Saint Nicholas pendent her mother had given her around her neck and it dangled between her breasts.

  “I’m ready.”

  “You look beautiful.” He stood from his seat at the table, making a visible effort not to let his gaze dip lower than her face.

  “Thank you.” She slipped on her jacket. “Katie, will you be all right? Do you need anything?”

  “Just for the two of you to get out of here so I can turn on the television and enjoy my peaceful night.”

  “We’ll be home around ten. Call my cell phone if you need anything.”

  “Go. You hover more than your father, do you know that?” Katie stood and reached for her walker.

  “Yeah, well, I was taught by the best.”

  “Yes you were, now go.”

  Carissa led the way out the back door and Thomas pulled the door shut behind them.

  “She doesn’t like to be fussed over, does she?”

  “Yes she does, she just doesn’t want you to think she does. If she didn’t like it, she would have moved to a retirement home years ago and gone chasing some old man. As it is she was glad to have Aunt Millie around and now she’s glad to have me around.”