The Pianist

Chapter Nine

The following day, Molly sat in Gerard's skyscraper at his marvelous grand piano. Her hands shook as they were stationed over the keys. She could barely listen to Gerard's words as they flowed off his lips in that soft tone. Her heart was racing. Her cheeks were slightly pink. Molly Valentine was not sure how long she had sat their so close to this wonderful man, but it felt like a lifetime.

"Ms. Valentine?"

Molly's eyes darted from her hands to the pianist who was beside her. His somewhat worried eyes trailed over the woman beside him before he spoke again. "Is something wrong?" He asked calmly, tilting his head to the left curiously. There was something just sincerely attractive about the way he did that, and Molly had to look away.

"Oh, no," Molly half-lied, forcing her eyes back to her hands on the keys. There was something wrong, but she couldn't remember what. Perhaps that would come later. She raised her eyes just barely, "Just... You're so good at this... Piano thing, and I'm so terrible. You'll... You'll think I look silly, that's all." That wasn't why she was so nervous. She was nervous because she was so close to him. She was nervous because sometimes beneath the piano, their legs would just barely brush. She was nervous because she had the longing to throw herself on him.

She was not nervous, however, about her mounting lies.

"I wouldn't worry about that," He replied, "I'm just glad that you returned today. You've only just started learning the piano today, and I've been playing for a lifetime. Besides, I'm not one to judge others anyway."

Molly didn't have to ask why. She nodded her head once in affirmation and looked back to the piano helplessly. She so badly wanted to impress Gerard, and she wished that somewhere inside her, she had possessed musical prodigy skill that she had never known about. The chances of that were very, very slim.

"Put your little finger on your left hand on the lower C and your thumb on your right hand on the middle C there," He instructed very much so like a wise professor, his calm eyes studying her curiously.

"Where now?" Molly questioned, her brow creased in confusion, hands hovering just above the keys.

There was a short chuckle from the pianist. He reached forwards, hands aching with hesitance, and he very gingerly took Molly's palms in his. Molly's eyes grew wide as she watched his hands guide her fingers to the proper place among the unfamiliar keys. She was shocked that he felt comfortable enough to touch her so readily, even though there was a little hesitance between his palms. After a few seconds, Gerard placed her hands on the C's and smiled again.

"There, there now, silly Molly," He said, chuckling softly as he pulled his palms away. He leaned closer to the piano and pointed to her thumb, "Your fingers there are on C, D, E, F and G. After that, there's A and B and then it starts again, but in a higher octave."

Molly nodded her head importantly, studying her hands closely, taking in every single word. She thought it was strange how the keys only went from A to G.

"Go ahead, Molly," Gerard coaxed, a very small smile still on his scarred face, "Try it out."

So, very, very nervously and with shaking hands, Molly let out a slow breath and pressed down her thumb, and the most brilliant sound filled the skyscraper. It was only one note, but it was a start to something very, very wonderful.

"I did it!" Molly chirped, her face brightening as she turned to Gerard, "Did you hear that?"

"And you did it wonderfully. Good job," He complimented, returning Molly's smile with a source of amusement towards her enthusiasm. Molly could not sense her childish excitement for the one note. Her body and mind were overwhelmed suddenly. She was going to learn to play the piano, just like the pianist. It was at that moment that Molly decided she would work very, very hard so that someday, she could be as good as the pianist is.