Love & Second Chances

Chapter Twenty-Two - Garrett's POV

In all the years that I lived as an orphan under the protection of my uncle, and even in the first few years that I lived in my family home, I had never imagined that my life would turn out the way it had. Looking back at myself in those years, I hardly recognized myself. While I managed to retain a portion of my rebellious adolescence, much of it had withered away over the years. I was no longer the young man who climbed a tree in order to enter a woman's bedroom. Nor was I the young man who was convinced that he would never again be happy after the love of his life left. I had grown to accept that life was unpredictable, and that you had to take it in stride. I had matured. For the most part anyway.

Elizabeth was still always in my thoughts. When it came right down to it, she would always be my first love. However, I had forced myself to stop pining for her many years ago. My life was better than I could have ever hoped. Lucy made an excellent wife. The relationship we had was not always the greatest, but I had come to genuinely love and care for her. Although I had to admit that I loved her more in the way of a companion and friend. She often knew how to lift my spirits and help me solve any issue I was having. I was increasingly thankful to have her at my side.

With the help of her late father, I was able to make my dream a reality. I was now a rather well known composer living in upper class London. A business agreement had been made between myself and the director of a local theatre. My music was used in a majority of their productions, where they were heard by thousands who came from all across England. At times I found it difficult to remain humble. I finally knew what my father had meant when he said that fame and fortune were two of the devil's greatest weapons. It was very easy to fall prey to such temptations. Thankfully Lucy was good at helping me keep my feet planted firmly on the ground. If it had not been for her, I was fairly certain that I would have fallen into that trap.

There were certain times looking back at my life that I found myself wishing that I had done things differently. Despite how wonderful my night had been with Elizabeth all those years ago, I wished that I had restrained myself to wait until my wedding night. In addition, I wished that I had married Lucy after I began to love her. Making a random decision based off of one's bitterness and grief was not the way to select a wife. However, there was no use in reflecting upon past misdeeds now. Life had turned out rather well regardless of those factors.

Lifting my hands from the ivory keys of the piano, I picked up the sheet music I had just finished to give it a thorough examination. The theatre director had commissioned me to write new music for his upcoming rendition of Romeo and Juliet. This particular piece was meant for the balcony scene. I found it surprisingly easy to compose actually. In fact, every piece I had composed so far was easy. Perhaps that was because I could easily relate to the two main characters. I knew how it felt to be in a forbidden love story. I knew how it felt to climb into a woman's bedroom. It seems that there was a good use for those experiences after all.

Carefully setting them aside, I pulled out another pile of sheet music and flexed my fingers in preparation to begin again. Unfortunately, the moment my fingers touched the keys, the door swung open and in came my two young daughters, giggling as they scoured the room for a place to hide. I could only assume that they were currently playing a game of hide-and-seek with their brothers. Under normal circumstances, I was not pleased when they barged in while I was working, but since I had finished the previous composition a bit earlier than expected, I decided that I would let them have their fun.

"Hide me, Papa!" exclaimed the youngest, as she crawled underneath the piano.

My eldest daughter tried to reason with her that hiding under the piano was not the wisest idea, but was forced to give up and find a hiding spot of her own as she heard footsteps approaching. I chuckled as I watched her climb ungracefully over the sofa. She seemed to have inherited my dislike of propriety. Lucy had such a hard time getting her dressed each morning. She was much more content to run about in her nightgown or steal some of her brother's clothes. The expression on Lucy's face when she saw that fiasco still made me crack up.