Route 66

3 Fantasie Impromptu

At sixteen, I learned how to play Fantasie Impromptu by Chopin. Even Mom didn't have the skill to play it well. I practiced an hour on weekdays and around three hours on weekends for several months and eventually learned to play it without any mistakes but knew that I hadn't quite mastered it.

There's a profound difference between executing a piece flawlessly and evoking heartfelt emotion, as one earns applause while the other leaves listeners in tears.

It took me a year and a half of hard practice before all the nuances were there.

Annette was the first I played for, aside from my parents, and as I poured my heart into the arpeggios and surrendered to the music's slow, reflective moments, I turned to find her crying quietly, tears glistening as proof of my mastery.

"I've never heard anything so beautiful," she said with a choked up whisper.

*

My parents would have liked me to attend a private college with a religious affiliation but they couldn't afford it. I ended up going to the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis along with Paul and Annette. The big city environment with all the people, shopping centers and skyscrapers took getting used to but I loved the energy. Of course Annette was my roommate even though her parents could afford any school she liked. As we drove away in a gleaming 1959 roman red Impala, Dad urged her to watch over me closely.

I studied education as many women did with the goal of being certified to teach elementary school while Annette studied psychology. When I questioned what she would do with a psychology degree she rolled her eyes and told me she was only taking it because her parents demanded that she complete four years of a university education.

"After this I'm going to be a full time model or actress, you'll see," she'd say.

Knowing Annette, I was certain she would achieve her dream, as she'd already posed for a Montgomery Ward catalog, pictures of which we had cut out and proudly included in our scrapbooks.

*

Annette was heavily into university sports as a football cheerleader and would drag me along to after game parties. On one such occasion she approached me in a drunken stupor and threw her arm around me, whispering in my ear, "Veronica, I've found the perfect man for you. Come on."

I hesitated, shook her by the shoulders, glared into her glassy eyes, and snapped, "Seriously, Annette, are you really this drunk? You've never tried to set me up before; always thought no one was good enough, remember?"

Her grin faded and eyes cleared so that for a moment she appeared to be completely sober and said, "Veronica, trust me, I have a feeling for these things. Okay?"

I nodded tentatively and bit my lip as her grin reappeared and eyes sparkled.

We approached a group of four men in letterman jackets, where three hefty ones roared with laughter, bottles in hand, while the fourth, with a sculpted build, kind eyes, and a captivating smile, appeared calm and collected, drawing Annette's grip to his arm as our eyes finally connected.

My heart raced and I was filled with feelings I'd never experienced before. It's as if my life up until this very second had been a rehearsal and my real life had just begun. Annette broke the silence and said, "Veronica, this is Blake Preston. He's a quarterback for the football team. Blake, this is my very best friend forever, Veronica Morris."

I had often scoffed at the idea of love at first sight yet here it was. I became keenly aware of my yellow party dress, hoping that it looked perfect as I swept the hair away from my face and smiled coyly. Annette always did have kind of a sixth sense when it came to knowing what I really wanted.

"Great to finally meet you, Veronica; Annette can't stop raving about you," Blake said with a flirty smile.

I felt as if I would melt into the floor as Annette winked at me.

"Say, you're right, she looks just like Judy Garland. Well, consider me the wizard," Blake said with an ear to ear grin.

The wizard? The same wizard who was pretending to be someone he wasn't?

I burst out laughing so hard that everyone turned to gawk at me, and before long, we all sounded like a pack of hyenas on amphetamines!

Blake and I slipped outside to escape the party buzz, and for the next hour, we lost ourselves in conversation, feeling like we were old friends with every moment flowing effortlessly.

I discovered he was a second string junior varsity quarterback who was pursuing civil engineering, and as I shared my passion for music and books, he eagerly asked me out on a drive-in movie date by our conversation's end.

A week is an eternity when all you can think about is being with the one who makes you feel more alive than anything imaginable. Blake called me on several occasions and must have noticed how out of breath and flustered I was when I spoke with him. I didn't hide it very well.

So this is how love feels.

I saw a lot of Paul Farnsworth as soon as he got wind of my date with Blake.

"What's so special about this guy?" he'd ask. "Why don't you call it off and save yourself some trouble, you know Annette's going to make sure this doesn't go anywhere, right?"

I smiled cheerfully, wrapped my arm around his shoulder, and said, "Annette's actually the one who introduced me to him."

He froze in a state of temporary shock.

"Don't tell me you're thinking about going steady with this jock," he said in disbelief.

"Paul...he might be the one," I said gently.