Awakenings: The Greek, The Russian and Me

Chapter 24

The next morning I get to school early and hover near the door of my first-period class. Then I leave five minutes before the lecture finishes. I meet with Olga and some of her friends in the cafeteria for coffee between classes. "Where's Erik at this time?" I ask.

She smiles knowingly and says, "Downstairs in the basement where they have the music classes and the piano practice rooms. Take that elevator down; then turn left as soon as you exit."

I smile back at her and grab my stuff. "See you later," I call out. Following her directions, I find a row of piano music rooms. They look like large telephone booths with a piano inside. I continue to walk down the row until I spot him. He's wearing jeans, a red T-shirt, and sneakers. I watch him play; he's totally absorbed in the music, and then he suddenly glances in my direction and stops playing as a wide smile breaks over his face. I approach the door and enter the room. "You play so amazingly. I love to see you at the piano," I say in a low tone.

He smiles while checking his watch. "We have time. Let me play for you one of my favorites." He places his hand on the keyboard and begins to play a beautiful tune. It sounds almost like bells with a backdrop of dancing butterflies. Visions of the forest during early morning hours enter my mind. I watch in fascination as his hands glide over the keyboard and produce such beautiful sounds that resonate in my very soul. When he's finished, he smiles and says, "Did you like it?"

I bend down and kiss him as I whisper against his lips, "It was amazing."

He smiles and then wraps his arms around my waist and brings me down on the bench. "How did you know I was here?" he asks.

I smile back. "What was the name of the piece you just played?"

"It's called 'La Campanella,' by Liszt. I'm guessing Olga told you where I was. Remind me to thank her." He plays with a strand of my hair. "We should be getting to class, or we are going to be late. Today is the last lecture before finals next week," he says as we stand up and head toward the door.

We reach the lecture hall and take our usual seats. Today we're paying close attention to everything, hoping not to miss a thing in preparation for next week's final. During the lecture I can feel Erik's warmth radiating and his leg gently brushing the side of mine. My heart skips a beat with his touch, but at the same time, I feel calm some- how at knowing that we are friends and lovers. The lecture soon comes to an end. We leave the lecture hall hand in hand as we head to the cafeteria to meet Olga and some of his friends for lunch. "You guys make such a cute couple," she says with a huge smile. I grin, but deep down inside me, I'm in fear that Conn will show up. I rationalize the situation, remembering Pete's words: "He won't want to make a scene at school." I breathe in a sigh of relief as I take a seat across from Olga and Erik goes to get some food for us. "You know, he's very happy. I haven't seen him like that in a long time. Don't break his heart, Fran; Erik's a good man, and I don't want to see him shut down again," she says quickly in a low whisper so no one else can hear her.

I look at her in amazement and then follow the direction of her eyes. She's looking at the Greek table, and in one moment I see Conn staring in our direction. I turn quickly around and meet Olga's gaze. "I won't. Erik is amazing in so many ways," I say, and she gives me an ap- proving smile.

A few minutes later, Erik arrives at our table with a tray full of food. We gawk at the tray as he smiles and says, "Olga, you know I get stressed at the end of the semester and pig out."

She laughs. "Yes, you do, and lucky for you that you have a fast metabolism, or you would be as big as a house."

We chat about upcoming finals, summer school, and summer plans as we eat. I find that I'm able to clear my mind completely and forget about Conn. Halfway through lunch, Pete approaches the table, and Olga gives me a funny look. "Fran, I straightened out everything with the date. All is good," he says as he helps himself to a french fry.