“You betcha.” Phil whispered under his breath. “If there’s anything I can do to help-”
“There’s nothing you can do, thanks. I’m going to resolve all this on Friday at Alaina’s concert. All I can do is lay low until then.”
“Okay, good luck, man.” Phil clapped him on the shoulder.
“Thanks.” Brett sighed as he walked to the back of the site. Hopefully he’d find something to do away from the street where anyone could see him. As much as he dreaded Alaina’s reaction, Friday couldn’t come soon enough.
***
Alaina stood in front of her class and used her knuckles as a drum roll on her desk. “I’ve talked to the conductor of the opera along with the president of the board, and I’m able to offer everyone in the school free tickets to my opera performance this Friday.”
Everyone applauded, and she held up a finger, waiting for silence. “That’s not all. I’ve submitted all of your opera ideas to the conductor, Altez Vior. He’s going to choose the one with the most promise and you’ll start working with the composition teachers at Julliard to perfect it. Because…” she did another drum roll. “The Metropolitan opera, along with the orchestra will perform somebody’s opera next season. He’ll announce the winner before Friday’s concert.”
Gasps filled the classroom. Some of their mouths dropped open.
“No way.” John shook his head. Alaina was proud to see him wearing his new sweatshirt.
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Another girl shouted from the back.
Jackie hid her face. She hadn’t made eye contact with Alaina since their argument yesterday. Alaina watched her with concern. She thought the good news would cheer her up.
But, she couldn’t bring it up in front of class. Sighing, Alaina turned to the chalkboard. “Onto today’s lesson. Harmonic progressions that mirror the plot. When you should use a major chord versus a diminished seventh.”
After class, as she packed up her purse, the classroom door opened and Jackie came in.
“Jackie. I didn’t expect to see you after school today.”
“I know we don’t have a lesson planned.” She picked at a string hanging from her sweatshirt. “I wanted to apologize about yesterday.”
Alaina wanted to throw her arms around the girl, but she restrained herself, holding her hands at her sides. She’d already scared her away once. “Apology accepted.”
Jackie kicked her boot against the floor. “I guess what I want to say is, I thought about what you said. Whenever I’m focused on my music, I don’t feel like I have to…”
She glanced down at her arms.
“Cut yourself?” Alaina gave her a hard look.
Jackie nodded. “I want to try.”
Hope rose inside Alaina. She hadn’t failed. “You mean you want to continue lessons?”
“If you think it really will help me get into college.”
Alaina gave her a warning stare. “That means leaving Dinny’s gas station behind.”
Jackie laughed. “He’ll get over it.”
“Good.” Alaina pulled out one of her books. “Today we’re doing an exercise my teacher taught me when I was about your age.”
Jackie raised both eyebrows, her backpack still on her back. “You mean, right now?”
Alaina winked. “I’ve got fifteen minutes, and we have a lot of work to do.”
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Bianca’s Revenge
Alaina adjusted her costume in the mirror as nerves ran up and down her spine. She’d prepared for this day all her life with hours of practicing, singing lessons, competitions, and rigorous studies. So many things hinged on this night and it all started in five minutes.
Was she ready?
Alaina touched up her makeup- this time using a newly bought lipstick that Bianca couldn’t have gotten her hands on. After checking her dress was properly fitted for the zillionth time, she tiptoed backstage and stood with the other members of the cast.
The audience chatted beyond the curtains in a din of subdued conversations. Alaina pulled an inch of the fabric back and scanned the crowd. All the seats were full. In the second balcony she could make out the students in her class along with others from Heart House. Pride surged inside her, calming her anxious nerves. They’d come to support her.
It should have been enough, but she searched the audience for one more familiar face.
Lance.
As much as she’d coached herself not to let him matter so much, she still hoped beyond words he’d come.
Altez took the stage, and the audience quietened as he began his speech. He thanked all of the major donors and the president of the board.
Alaina’s thoughts drifted back to Lance. He hadn’t called her all week, but she couldn’t say she was surprised. He’d been running hot and cold this whole time, and his unpredictability had become the only predictable thing about him. If only she had more of the pieces to the puzzle.
Altez’s voice pulled her back to reality. “I’d also like to thank Alaina Amaldi for organizing a new competition for the students at Heart House.”
Alaina snapped up. This was it. He was going to announce the winner.
Altez turned to the cast backstage. “Alaina, can you join me?”
What?
All of the cast members around her perked up and smiled. Tamino, along with a few of the flamingos pushed her forward. “He’s asking for you.”
Alaina walked on stage, and the audience applauded as if she’d already sung her part in the opera. But, they weren’t clapping for how well she could sing, they were clapping for the work she’d done. Altez greeted her with a peck on the cheek. He whispered in her ear. “I wanted to make sure you were a part of this.”
Shock ran through her, along with gratitude and a warming sense of pride. She’d done this for the students, and it gave her immense joy, beyond anything she could have won for herself. “Thank you.”
The conductor pulled an envelope from his pocket as he explained all the details of the competition. “And the winning opera is… Lady of Venice by Jackie Anderson. Jackie, if you’re out there, will you please stand up?”
Alaina searched the balcony, fear and hope rising inside her. Had she come? Would she accept the prize?
Way up in the second balcony, the students of Heart House shouted Jackie’s name. In the back row, Jackie stood, cringing in embarrassment and hiding her face with her hands. When she pulled them off and looked at the crowd, she beamed with happiness. She spotted Alaina on stage and waved. Alaina waved back thinking of the first time she’d seen her in class and how far she’d come, how far they’d all come; even herself.
Elation coursing through her, Alaina followed Altez off stage and to her dressing room as the orchestra tuned. Jackie’s piece would be performed at the Met next season. The opportunities to meet influential people and develop relationships with the composition staff at Julliard were numerous, not to mention how great the accolade would look on her college application.
Alaina had made it happen. She’d never felt so good about herself, and that pride gave her the confidence she needed to perform at her best. So far, the evening was going spectacularly well.
A knock sounded at her door.
Oh no. Was it Bianca coming to throw her off kilter?
Nothing Bianca could say would ruin this night. Alaina pulled her hair back behind her shoulders. “Come in.”
Lance walked in with a bouquet of roses, and her heart somersaulted. The entire night stopped, suspended in time, and the world blurred around her. Nothing else mattered. He’d come.
“I hope I’m not intruding. I wanted to wish you good luck before your performance.” Lance stood at the door like a shy delivery boy, waiting to be invited in.
“My gosh! Come in, come in!” Alaina took the roses and threw them aside, wrapping her arms around him. She nuzzled her face into his chest, smelling his familiar pine scent. “I’m so glad you came.”
Blissful peace came
over her as he held her in his arms. All the time they’d been apart melted away.
Lance pulled back to meet her gaze. “You look gorgeous. This must be Pamina’s dress.”
“In all its glory.” She pulled away and twirled so the chemise skirt fanned out around her legs.
Lance smiled. “Gorgeous.”
She stepped back toward him and touched his suit with both hands. Clean and crisp. She wanted to take it right off. “You don’t look bad, yourself.”
His face sobered and he took a deep breath. “There’s something important I have to tell you after the performance.”
Alaina’s heart skittered. “Why can’t you tell me now?”
He kissed her forehead tenderly. “I don’t want to distract you before your big night.”
“You’re already guilty of that.” Alaina laughed, but when she saw he wouldn’t budge, she nodded, trusting him completely. It had to be good news. He wouldn’t have come otherwise. “All right.”
“There you are!” Bianca butted in, pushing by them in the doorway. At first Alaina thought Bianca was coming for her, but she pointed a finger at Lance. “You little liar.”
Fury boiled within Alaina. How dare she ruin this perfect moment? She moved between them and turned to Bianca. “Get the hell out of here.”
A smug grin plastered on Bianca’s face. She looked over Alaina to Lance. “I visited your office yesterday, trying to book an appointment for a consultation. Turns out, you weren’t there. Someone else was sitting at your desk. Why don’t you tell her your real name?”
His real name? What? Bianca must be smoking crack. Alaina turned around, facing Lance. “What’s she talking about? Why do you have another guy doing your job?”
Lance’s face slackened. He dropped his arms to his sides. “Alaina, I’m sorry. I was going to tell you after the performance.”
Her stomach dropped to the floor. “Tell me what?”
“That he’s about as close to Lance DeBarr as a rat in the sewer.” Bianca strutted between them. “The real Lance DeBarr never attended the auction. His name is Brett Robinson, and he’s a construction worker- a lowly grunt who’s never worked a day on Wall Street in his life.”
Alaina shook her head, denial building a wall inside her. “No. I’ve met his mother…”
Lance/Brett stepped forward. “It’s true.”
All the clues came rushing back to her- his wallet, his reluctance to talk about work, the strange way he consulted with Mrs. DeBarr, his mysteriously private life during the week. Hurt crashed through her. She should have known he was too perfect to be true. Her lower lip quivered. “Why?”
“Mrs. DeBarr’s son couldn’t attend the auction, and she asked me to stand in his place. I know it was wrong, but I wanted to help her because” He winced like he couldn’t come clean and say the truth. “…it was for a good cause”
“A good cause?” Was he trying to make it seem right? He’d lied to her the whole time they were dating. “Was sleeping with me for a good cause as well?”
Bianca slipped out the door. “I’ll leave you two alone. Alaina, you’re on in twenty minutes.”
Alaina let her leave. Her anger with Lance/Brett eclipsed her anger with Bianca.
He took her hand. “I wanted to tell you the truth so many times, but Mrs. DeBarr made me promise.”
“Maybe on our first date, I would have understood, but after everything we’ve done together…” Her thoughts trailed off. How could she ever trust him again? She couldn’t.
Alaina hardened her resolve. “Get out.”
“Alaina, please, let me explain.”
She handed him the roses and pushed him out the door. “You already have.”
Alaina slammed the door behind him and collapsed to the floor, clutching her stomach. Her insides retched and her chest ached. She’d just lost the love of her life. But she’d never had him in the first place, because that Lance didn’t exist. Emptiness overwhelmed her, threatening to swallow her whole.
On in twenty minutes? She could hardly stand, never mind sing in German. This time Bianca had found the ultimate sabotage; driving a knife right into her heart.
I will not let her win.
Alaina may not have love, but she had her singing, she had her pride. All of her students were sitting out there waiting to see her, and she couldn’t let them down. Pulling herself up, she wiped the tears from her face.
***
Earth shattering pain wracked Brett as he left Alaina’s dressing room. She’d been so happen to see him, and now she never wanted to see him again. He’d lost the one person who brought him joy in his life, the only one he’d let in since the fire.
He’d never let anyone in again.
The hurt was unbearable, shuddering through his chest until he couldn’t breathe. He braced himself against the wall several times on his way to the lobby, fighting against the crowd going in. He reached the door, and his knees weakened.
How could he leave her?
Responsible for her anguish, he’d be a coward to leave her on her performance night. He’d promised her he’d be there to hear her sing whether she wanted him there or not.
Brett walked back inside the theater and took his seat holding his flowers to his chest. Alaina had chosen the best seat in the house; the first balcony overlooking the stage. But he deserved anything less than the best. If he’d ruined her debut performance, he’d never forgive himself.
The curtains opened, and a man ran across the stage, fleeing a serpent. Even though he spoke German, the translation appeared on a screen on the back of the chair in front of him.
“Help me, or I am lost!”
The audience laughed around Brett as a tear rolled down his cheek. Opera wasn’t anything like Vikings shouting at the top of their lungs. The music transcended language, speaking directly to his soul. He was lost as well, but his serpent was remorse and it would take more than three women in giant headdresses to vanquish the vile beast.
Brett waited on the edge of his seat for Alaina to enter as Pamina. Instead, one of the servants of the Queen of the Night showed the picture of Pamina to Tamino.
Tamino held the frame in his hand. “The beauty of this woman has captured my soul.”
The melody soared in a giant leap, then ended with a soft turn of phrase. So gorgeous. Brett remembered the first time he’d seen Alaina across the street. Words could not express what he’d felt, but Mozart captured the emotion perfectly in the music. Love at first sight. It existed back then in seventeen hundred and ninety one, and it existed today in the modern world.
Tamino held the picture up. “Something stirs in my heart when I gaze upon this heavenly face. I can’t say what it is but it burns me like a flame. Is this love?”
Had it been love with Alaina? Brett was begging to think it was. He’d never cared so much about a woman. Mrs. DeBarr had told him if it was love, Alaina would forgive him. But he could hardly see her talking to him again.
Brett shifted in his seat, anxious. It had been twenty minutes and Alaina still hadn’t entered. The scene ended, and with a stirring of violins. Brett shifted in his seat. How long were these operas anyway?
Alaina took the stage, looking more beautiful than the first day he saw her. She sang, and her voice soared, pure and resonant. He couldn’t believe someone so talented had given him a second’s thought.
Because she thought you were someone else, you idiot.
Surely, she would have passed him by on the street had she seen him in his construction gear. And she had, that fateful day before Mrs. DeBarr pulled up in her limo. Alaina had looked directly at him, then got into her cab without another thought.
That’s the way it should have been.
The longer the opera went on, the harder it was for Brett to watch. But, he couldn’t tear his eyes away. So much of the storyline reminded him of his own situation.
On stage, a temple priest instructed Tamino to remain silent to prove his love for Pamina. The scene reminded B
rett so much of Mrs. DeBarr asking him to remain silent about his true identity. Sure, it was different circumstances, but Brett related to Tamino’s inner turmoil as Pamina approached him and he could not speak.
So many times he’d wanted to tell Alaina the truth. If only he’d had the courage to do so earlier. But it would have meant him breaking his promise to Mrs. DeBarr. Would Tamino break his vow?
Brett sat on the edge of his chair, beads of sweat forming on his forehead as Tamino turned his back on Pamina. Suddenly everyone on stage faded into shadow, and Alaina took the center, bright light streaming down on her hair, lighting it on fire.
“Ah, I feel love has left me, forever gone.” The achingly beautiful tone of her voice reached Brett’s ears, and it was like she sang to him alone, calling him out on everything he’d done.
“Nevermore will I feel bliss.” She reached towards the highest balcony. The sorrow welling up from within her was too poignant to be fabricated. It sung to his soul, pulling tears from his eyes. She was Pamina singing about Tamino, but she was also Alaina singing about him. Alaina had turned her emotions for him into a stunning performance. Maybe the performance of her career.
She ended the aria with a gorgeous cadence, and the spotlight darkened. The audience cheered, standing on their feet. The orchestra had to stop and wait for the applause to die down before resuming the performance.
Brett sat back in his seat, speechless at the enormity of what he’d just lost. If that wasn’t true love soaring from her heart on stage, than what was?
CHAPTER TWENTY
Parting Gift
Alaina lost her balance as she walked off stage and fell onto a flamingo.
“Whoa, are you okay?” The flamingo girl helped her stand.
“I’m not sure.” The enormity of the emotions coursing through her mind threatened to knock her unconscious. Had she sung all the words, all the pitches? She couldn’t remember. All she could feel was the power of her sorrow overcoming her. She’d embodied the role so completely; she’d become Pamina.
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