The Piano Teacher

Chapter 1

Charlotte Richmond started thinking that her father might be right, or at least partly.

Throughout the ride all the way from Minneapolis, she was sure that all this was a waste. She figured the best thing would have been to stay back in the city and die. She had been close enough to death anyway, at least until the fever started to subside.

And now she was here. Her fever was gone, she was not dead, but she wasn't feeling much better either... until the countryside started to dominate her vision. All her life she had been surrounded by brick buildings, glass windows, and dusty streets packed with people. She was accustomed to the dirty air clogged with smoke from a thousand chimneys, everything reeking of horse manure.

But for the moment, everything was clear. The old city had faded away. Earlier in the day, she had gotten into the habit of looking over her shoulder to see the metropolis fade behind her until it was the smallest dot on the horizon. But now even that dot was gone, and everything was grassy plains and golden hills.

The sight was only distantly familiar to her, since her Uncle Samuel used to take her out on long road trips for fun when she was a girl. He was here with her now, sitting beside her on the buckboard, his thick white mustache completely covering his mouth as he concentrated on the road ahead.

The air was lighter here, it seemed. Lighter, cleaner, brighter. The buckboard rattled terribly across the dirt road, which made Charlotte feel deathly ill in the beginning of their journey, but she had grown somewhat accustomed to it over the hours. Still, several times she had to lay down in the back of the wagon with their bags because she didn't have the strength to even sit upright. She knew it was pathetic, and it made her angry and sad.

But she was at least glad that she felt a certain lightness now. Nothing substantial, but her terrible migraine and dizziness both subsided. Unfortunately, the fever of last week still left her body weak and thin. She was surprised her father made her take this trip, with her destination being so far away. It certainly sapped the energy from her, but at least the view was nice.

"Won't be but an hour or two more," said Uncle Samuel with a big smile. Samuel was an old man, older than her father by ten years, though he seemed an eternity younger because he was always happy. Charlotte loved being with him ever since she was a child. He had been a true cowboy in his younger days, wandering the plains of Kansas and the mountains of Montana in the fifties.

Now, he was still a wanderer, though his leather-like skin worn from the old Western sun and thinning white hair showed his age, and he dared not wander as far as before.

In recent years, he preferred to stay close to Charlotte, who seemed to never be well. Charlotte loved him dearly and considered him a second father, especially since he was kinder and more affectionate than her real Pa, and certainly more enjoyable to be around.

"I'm sorry I haven't been much fun on this trip," Charlotte said breathily. For the moment, she had the strength to sit up tall at the front of the buckboard, watching the two horses kick up some dirt and dust as they made their way across the prairie.

"Now, Charlie, the only way you could take the fun out of this trip is by not bein' here. And you're here, ain't you?"

She smiled at him. Only he and her father ever called her Charlie. She used to despise it as a girl since children at school teased her for it being a boy's name, but now she found it charming. "I hope father's cabin will still be there. He said he hasn't visited it in decades, and I've certainly never seen it myself."

"I camped out there only a few years ago," Samuel replied, hunched over the reins, one calloused hand holding his hat to keep it from flying away in the newfound breeze. "It's a little worse for wear, but it could still be worse. Now, I reckon we'll have to fix it up a little, but don't you worry. I'll do the heavy lifting, and you can rest like your Pa ordered."