by Kahn, Denise
“There’s another problem.”
“What problem?”
“Just like you Sam thinks both Max and I are dead.”
“Oh, man. And Max thinks Sam’s dead.”
“Uh huh.”
“Is Sam working at the Singing Pub?”
“Yes, Davina gave me her schedule.”
“That lady sure is resourceful.”
“That she is.”
“So when we walk in she’ll probably be on stage.”
“Right. And if she sees us, especially Max and me, she’ll probably faint.”
“I can relate to that.”
“That’s what I mean.”
“Here’s what I suggest. I go in and see Sam on my own, tell her what’s going on, then I join you at whatever table you’re sitting at. Sam goes up on stage and does her thing. And then Max will know.
“Have I told you how special and smart you are?”
“You can tell me as many times in this lifetime as you wish.”
“I intend to.”
Max, Colin and Chantal stood outside the bar.
“You alright with this?” Max asked Chantal.
“Yeah, I’ll be fine. You two go on ahead and get a table. I’ll be with you in a few minutes.” Chantal knew the pub well from her days at the university. She quickly went to the back and made her way to find Sam. She knocked on the door.
Max and Colin made their way into the Singing Pub, Max on a crutch, Colin with the sling around his shoulder. They had that air about them that said ‘yes, we are warriors, we are tough and even though we’re really nice guys don’t fuck with us’.
The only sounds were of people talking, laughing and ordering drinks or food.
“Hey, Music Man, over here,” Colin said, guiding them to a table.
“Right behind you.”
They sat down, looked at the menu and waited for the waitress to come over to take their orders.
“This is really some place. Look at all the pictures on the walls. Everybody’s singing in them.”
“Yeah, Sam told me how special…” Max couldn’t continue, his throat had a lump the size of an orange. He knew how difficult it would be to control his emotions.
“Hey, man, I’m sorry.”
“I’m okay.”
You certainly will be, Colin thought to himself and remembered his conversation with Davina.
A waitress came to their table. “Gentlemen, good evening, haven’t seen you in here before.”
“Yeah, first time,” Colin said.
“Well, welcome.”
“Say, isn’t there any music playing or someone singing?” Max asked.
“Oh, always. The guitar player’s just taking a quick break.”
“I see, thanks, looking forward to it.”
“How did you hear about the place?” She asked.
“A good friend of mine told us about it and I promised I would come and see it. I brought my buddy along.”
“Well that’s great. We never disappoint,” she said looking at Col.
After the waitress took their orders and left, Max turned to his buddy. “I think she likes you,” he said chuckling.
“Well, she seems very nice, but my heart belongs to Chantal.”
“Good choice, my friend, she’s a great girl,” Max answered, trying very hard not to think about Sam. “You two are probably one of the best looking couples I have ever seen.”
“You and Sam aren’t so bad yourselves.” Colin caught himself just in time. “Aw, shit, I’m sorry, man.”
“That’s okay, don’t sweat it.”
Chantal joined them. “Hi boys.”
“Hi beautiful,” Colin said and kissed her cheek.
Chantal sat in a chair next to Colin but positioned it in such a way that Max’s view of the stage was somewhat obscured.
The people in the pub started to clap as Sam picked up her guitar from the stand, shook it a couple of times, something she now always did since the scorpion, and started to strum the instrument. She played a Persian song she and Max had discovered back in Iraq and came to call their own.
Max’s heart stopped. Could it be? No, it was impossible. Sam was killed. But it was their song! And only Sam could sing it the way he was hearing it now. He whirled around, looked at her, and turned back again. He thought he was day dreaming again, but the music played on. He looked at the couple, his eyes questioning. Chantal nodded.
“It’s really her, right?” Max asked.
“Yeah, Music Man, it is.”
“How long have you known?”
“We found out today in New Orleans. Your mom’s phone call along with all the other news,” Colin said.
Max immediately remembered the daydream he had in the desert at the CSH, when Sam was playing the guitar and singing to the wounded, where he saw his mother, her hand on the shoulder of the love of his life, singing together.
“My mother is the most amazing woman in the world! She even brings the woman I love back from the dead.”
“That lady sure has some connections,” Chantal said.
Max slowly turned around and looked at the face of the woman he adored. She was even more beautiful than he remembered. Sam kept singing, using all the self-control she possessed, but her tears were running down her cheeks. Max picked up his crutch and starting walking towards the stage. He climbed the stairs one at a time, and very slowly. Sam kept singing. Everyone in the pub was watching, and holding their breath. They knew something was going on, but they didn’t know what. What they did know was that something special was about to happen.
Sam looked at her audience and spied Colin and Chantal. She smiled when she saw the big man and Colin nodded back and blew her a kiss. He laced his fingers around Chantal’s hand and she squeezed back.
Max climbed the last step and headed toward Sam. She was still strumming the guitar, but she wasn’t singing. When Max stopped directly in front of her she put the guitar on the stand and stood up. And then they embraced, so tight they thought they would break each other’s ribs, and they didn’t care. Max smelled her hair and kept his face next to it. “I composed a song for you,” he whispered, “but I couldn’t figure out the ending.”
“What’s it called?” She whispered back.
“Music of my Heart.”
“I like that. You’ll have to play it for me.”
“I think we could play it together, à quatre mains.”
“That is probably the most sensual thing I have ever heard.” Sam said. They kissed passionately, to the delight of the mesmerized crowd. “Amazing how music always finds a way to bring people together.”
“And back together as well,” Max said, his eyes a lustrous, deep violet.
♫♫♫
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
My very first memory of life was the sound of my mother's glorious voice singing to me, most likely a Brahms lullaby, and I'm convinced that is why music always has a delicious way of creeping into my writing and becomes one of the most important elements.
I spent twenty years in Europe because of my father, who was with the U.S. Diplomatic Corps, and my mother who was an opera singer. I worked mainly as a simultaneous interpreter and translator as I am a linguist and speak several languages, five of which are fluent. Because of my exposure to people of different nations my writing includes many foreign settings and cultures.
I am a proud mother of a gallant Marine who served in Iraq, and among the members of our household you will find Louie the cat, so named because of his clawing love of Louis XV and XVI furniture, and surely thinks he must have been a fearless Marine in one of his former lives.
Denise loves hearing from her fans and answers all her emails personally! Find out more about Denise, new releases and latest news.
Connect with Denise online:
Website/blog/newsletter: www.DeniseKahnBooks.com
Email: [email protected]
Denise’s books
Split-Second Lifetime
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On a business trip from the U.S. to Paris, Jebby meets Dodi on a flight. Jebby is an ethnomusicologist, and Dodi is an international photographer. They are immediately attracted to each other, but from the very first moment Dodi triggers what seems like past life memories for Jebby of a poignant and passionate time they shared together. As Jebby tries to figure out if she is “losing it” or if past lives really do exist, they embark on a path of adventure and romance where lifetimes and cultures interweave in modern day Paris, Uzbekistan, and in the old Southwest. Jebby and Dodi live their unusually diverse and rich adventure and romance, surrounded by an international cast and superb musicians. At the same time Jebby discovers where the Hopi originated from, that death is not a finality, love transcends lifetimes, and music is eternal.
Peace of Music
A once lost magnificent antique vase from China's 13th Century Song Dynasty reappears from the depths of the Mediterranean Sea where it comes to dwell on a piano in a doctor's home. It becomes the impetus in steering the lives of this doctor and his descendants through their heartbreaks, romances and ultimately successes. An assassination, a sabotage on a Greek island and amazing musical performances are but some of the events that strike their lives. Spanning from 13th Century China to the present, the story takes place on four continents, with talented individuals of different nationalities and backgrounds, always interrelated by music.
Obsession of the Heart
Set against an international backdrop of jet setters, music, romance, murder, terrorism and true friendship is Davina Walters, an international singer. Davina meets Jean, a young woman almost paralyzed with fear, as her sadistic ex-husband is bent on killing her. On the spur of the moment Davina decides to take her along on tour and the murderer plans his ultimate revenge in a deadly showdown.
Warrior Music
Max knew the drugs and alcohol would eventually kill him, and sooner rather than later. So he enlisted in the Marines.
His timing is unfortunate, as the events of 9/11 find him at the beginning of his military service, and he is sent to Iraq. The journey he embarks on is unlike anything he could ever imagine.
From Washington, Boston and New Orleans to the ancient sands of Iraq, Max and his entourage endure the toils of war with gallantry, patriotism, courage, heartache and passion.
Only one weapon gets them through the anguish they come face to face with... Music.
‘Peace of Music’, ‘Obsession of the Heart’ and ‘Warrior Music’ are a family saga trilogy. The three together form the Music Trilogy.
Around the World in 80 Quotes on Photos
A photograph portrays a thousand words. A quote is but a few more powerful ones. Together they are food for the senses. They make us think, wonder, and engulf us. They represent traditions, civilizations, cultures, and offer us splendor, progress, grand vistas and minute details, all in a planet rich in majestic beauty. Embark on this journey of quotes and photographs, from ancient sands to calm seas, from sky to pebbles, from natural magnificence to man-made luxury.
Photographs were taken in several countries around the world.
TRAVEL TALES is a series of short travel stories, journeys spiced with humor and interesting international characters in famous or little known places.
An American woman finds herself in an adventure in a foreign land, while discovering different cultures, local folklore, food, music, and sometimes danger.
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Connect with Denise online:
Website/blog/newsletter: www.DeniseKahnBooks.com
Email: Denise@DeniseKahnBooks
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