Xandros and Ally

Chapter 21 (Ally): Hating Life

Even though Xandros had taken Zed and me out to dinner -- at my cousin's requested hole-in-the-wall restaurant -- following our first day of classes, Xandros had still called me after he dropped me off at home.

"You aren't tired of hearing me talk about our classes all through dinner?" I'd laughed, curling up in a corner of my couch. 

"I felt like there was more to hear, more you wanted to say."

So I'd spent a long time on the phone with Xandros that night after our dinner, chattering excitedly with him about everything we hadn't covered over our meal with Zed. I was riding a high it seemed impossible to come down from.

I gave him more details about our day, probably more than he wanted, but he was listening closely, asking questions, making encouraging comments, laughing in the right places. I told him more about how Rio had popped in for all three classes with his wife Polly to welcome everyone, and then they both came by later, after our last class, and told us they'd heard really good, positive things from the students.

"You're the perfect addition to the foundation," Polly had said to us. "This is good, important work you're doing."

I knew that reaching unseen populations was important to them. The Foundation had been created to bring music to underserved and overlooked students, and they were expanding all the time to reach more and more people who might not ever have these musical opportunities under normal circumstances. They liked different programs like ours that specifically reached out to certain people and certain age groups. We had a class for high schoolers, a class for college students and a class for people in their twenties. Someday, if we could get the funds, I wanted to expand to older students, too.

Xandros listened to me talk about the students again, some of whom were absolute standouts, and how everyone sang beautifully. The important thing was everyone was comfortable and eager to learn and stretch themselves through music. Some had never sung before and some had a great deal of practice singing. The more I spoke, the more I remembered I wanted to share with Xandros.

When I finally wound down and realized that I'd been talking for almost two hours straight, I apologized. "I'm so sorry, Xandros. I haven't given you a chance to get a word in edgewise."

"Ally, I'd listen to you forever. Hearing the excitement in your voice, the passion...it just tells me you were right to stop working at G & N and start this program at the Foundation."

"I'm already planning how the students can participate in the next Foundation showcase."

"When is that?"

"Unknown at this point. Rio said they're raising funds for it now."

"I can't wait to see it," he said warmly.

"Xandros, can I ask you something?" I asked suddenly.

"Anything," he said.

"Why did you bring your family to help paint the classroom?"

"I said why, Ally, and I meant it. I hid you from them for a year, and I wanted to rectify my mistake. I wanted everyone in my family to meet you and to know I want you for my wife."

"Zed said that when he's messed up with women before, he let them go because he didn't care enough about them to try to fix things."

"I believe that's true for men and women, but yes."

"He also said he thinks it says a lot when someone tries to right his wrongs."

"And what do you think, Ally?"

"I'm thinking he might be right, Xandros. I think you're trying to right your wrongs."

"There are a lot of them to fix, fos mou. But I'm going to keep trying."