Chapter Twenty-Four
Eroica was so happy that it almost worried her. She had just walked out of her last final and she knew that she had done well. The next day was graduation day, and Mark was taking her. The sun was shining and life was wonderful.
The campus was alive with relieved students who had finished finals and were now turning in sheet music and borrowed paraphernalia. Eroica was on her way to the recital hall to get rid of all of her chamber music. It was in complete disarray. She meant to put it all in order before it needed to be turned in. But with studying for finals, that hadn’t happened.
As she walked she shuffled papers around and tried not to bump into anything or anyone. She wasn’t very successful, though. In trying to open the door to the recital hall, everything fell out of her arms and scattered all over the floor. With her foot she scooted all of it into the foyer so that she could close the door. Eroica was forever trying to make order out of self-inflicted chaos.
“You certainly know how to enter a room gracefully,” Mark laughed as he walked in behind her.
“Quit teasing me and get down here and help me.”
While they picked up and sorted pages of music, they could hear others talking in the recital hall.
“Another school year gone by, and Mark Wallace still hasn’t gotten himself engaged,” they heard from the violist. “He is becoming a legend here. Those rumours are probably as close as he will get.”
“Actually, I think he has a girlfriend,” Allisun commented. “Right before Valentine’s Day I was at his house giving his little sisters their violin lessons, and I overheard him on the telephone. He had called some girl’s parents to ask them if their daughter had a favorite type of flower. Then he made another call and ordered two dozen yellow roses.”
“Where did he have them sent?”
“I don’t know. Right then Blythe started playing Go Tell Aunt Rhodie on her violin and I missed it. My guess is that he has a girlfriend at another school.”
Eroica could no longer pretend that she hadn’t heard this. She looked up from sorting pages and saw that Mark had been watching her.
“It was you?” she hesitated.
“I didn’t think that you would accept them from me any other way,” he shrugged. “That Allisun! I’ve always thought that she talked too much.”
“I hoped that those flowers were from you. Thank you, Mark. I don’t deserve everything you do for me.”
“No, you deserve more.”
He seemed reluctant to continue the conversation, so Eroica changed the focus of it.
“So you spoke to my parents?”
“I talked with your father. And I’ve talked with him a few times since then. He wanted to know how you were doing, and he didn’t think he’d get a straight answer from you. Your father cares about you a great deal.”
“I know. I miss him. They are coming to visit in July. You’ll have to meet them.
“I would like that. I think we have this music sorted out well enough. And I think I’d better get in there before Allisun says anything else.”
“Why,” Eroica teased, “Do you have any more secrets?”
Mark’s whole countenance changed. He obviously did not like this sort of joking. Eroica followed him into the recital hall and wondered if he were keeping something important from her.
When Mark came to pick up Eroica for her graduation, she had been ready to go for the last half hour. She was so excited about the day and about being with Mark that she hardly slept all night. She opened the door and met him on the step.”
“Wow,” he remarked, “You look beautiful.”
She did. The peachy-pink fabric and lace that Tilly had put together were perfect for her.
“Tilly made this dress for me,” she said, spinning around like a little girl. “She can make anything look nice.”
“It helps that you are in it.”
“Let me grab the silly cap and gown that we have to wear, and I’m ready to go,” she dismissed his compliment.
“I have a small gift for you, Eroica,” he stopped her. “It isn’t much, and I haven’t forgotten my promise to not propose to you.”
Mark handed her a small velvet jewelry box, just like before. Inside was another CTR ring, this one a little different than the one she had lost.
“Oh Mark, you make me feel terrible.”
“But it was supposed to make you feel good.”
“Well, that’s what I meant,” she laughed. “I promise I won’t lose this one.”
“Don’t make a promise like that. I know what it’s like to make promises that are difficult to keep. Besides, it makes it easy for me when I want to buy something for you.”
Eroica gathered up her cap and gown and wondered about Mark’s difficult promises. She wasn’t about to ask him what he meant, though.
“Let’s get out of here before one more person asks me what I’m going to do with my future,” Eroica cried as soon as she had caught up with AnnaMaria, John, and Mark. The ceremonies had gone by in a whirlwind, and Eroica was now a graduate. “I’m too hungry to make any wise decisions about my future, anyway. Let’s go eat.”
“I imagine that by now you have learned to stay out of Eroica’s way when she’s hungry,” AnnaMaria said to Mark.
“Oh yes,” he laughed. “I figured that one out clear back in September.”
AnnaMaria and John had never asked Eroica about her relationship with Mark. They were sure that she would insist that they were just friends. So AnnaMaria and John kept their thoughts to themselves, and hoped that Eroica would have the sense to marry Mark.
“Okay Eroica, you have had a chance to eat something,” John began as they waited for their desserts to come. “What are you planning to do now that you have graduated?”
“I’ve thought about it a lot. But I just don’t know what to do with myself, apart from teaching piano lessons. I called Dad, and he suggested that I go back to Germany. There are so many opportunities available there. But I don’t want to go back to Germany. Not right now, anyway.”
“I have a few suggestions, if you’re interested,” Mark joined in. “The college needs experienced musicians for the summer music camp programs. You are well-qualified, and you have attended a lot of music camps. You are perfect for the job.
“I have worked with the Deseret Music Camp for several summers now. I take charge of the chamber music classes—no surprise there. At first I felt that it was a two-person job. But after working with some hard-to-manage personalities, I decided to go back to doing it by myself. That’s a lot of work, though. I would love to hire you and have you help out with the chamber ensemble classes.”
“Would you be my supervisor again?” she asked warily.
“No. We would work together. You would be in charge of the ensembles that include piano. That turns out to be a surprisingly large amount. It would keep you busy.”
“What makes you so sure that I won’t turn out to be a hard-to-manage personality?”
“Believe me, Eroica, I’m counting on that,” he laughed. “The pay isn’t that great, but I think that you would enjoy the work.”
“Okay,” Eroica decided. “It sounds as if it would be a good experience for me.”
“Great. The camp begins the first week of June.”
“Your problem is solved, Eroica,” said AnnaMaria. “Mark is going to keep you busy all summer.”
“That’s not all,” Mark continued, pulling an envelope out of his suit coat pocket. “I received something in the mail for you a few days ago. I wanted Dr. Fife to tell you about it, but he said that it was my idea so I had to be the one. He did say though, that if you chose to enter, he would be there for you every step of the way.”
“What are you talking about?” Eroica nervously asked. “Why would my mail come to you?”
She looked at the envelope heading which read “Pioneer Day Int
ernational Piano Competition.”
“I’m sorry that it has already been opened, but I wasn’t going to give it to you if you hadn’t been accepted.”
Eroica quickly read the form letter, her face losing its color as she did so.
“Mark, this states that I have been accepted as one of the fifty finalists in the Pioneer Day Piano Competition.”
“Yes.”
“But I didn’t enter. I never would have.”
“I know. I entered for you. With the help of Dr. Fife and your father. Dr. Fife gave me a recording of your senior recital, and your father gave me all the other information I needed. It was actually quite simple.”
“But what about the entry fee? This is an expensive competition to enter.”
“I covered it. Your father wanted to, but this was my idea, so I wouldn’t let him. The real question,” he changed the subject, “is whether or not you want to do it.”
“Of course she does,” AnnaMaria cried as she grabbed the papers away from Eroica so she could pore over them.
“How long do I have to get ready?”
“Not much time,” AnnaMaria took over the conversation. “You have to be able to play pieces by Mozart, Chopin, Liszt, Ravel, Mendelssohn, and Rachmaninoff. Most of this you can already do. You may have to learn one or two more pieces. But you already have a wonderful concerto down cold, so half the battle is already won. The competition goes from July twentieth through the twenty-fourth. Our parents will be here.”
“Oh no. Dad makes me so nervous. I can’t do this.”
“Eroica,” Mark tried to calm her, “Nobody is going to make you be in this competition. You have already done your senior recital, and it was a triumph. A triumph that included more than just performing well. You don’t have to prove anything anymore. Not to yourself, not to a piano faculty, not to anyone. You could do this competition just for fun.”
“Nobody ever entered an international piano competition just for fun. But you’re right. Okay, I’ll do it.”
Mark, AnnaMaria, and John all clapped.
“You are going to be more than busy for the next few months now,” said John. “What do you think, Annie? Is now a good time to tell her?”
“It has been an afternoon of surprises, so we may as well. John has been offered a promotion, and is taking a job in Salt Lake City. So we are going to be moving. It’s time for us to buy a house anyway. One with more than two bedrooms. And you, Eroica, are going to be so busy this summer that you won’t even notice we’ve moved.”
“We all knew that this day was going to come. It doesn’t mean that I’m never going to see you again. It just means that you won’t be around to put my hair up when I want you to.” Eroica tried to laugh away the sadness in her voice.
“Where are you thinking of moving?” asked Mark.
“To the Sandy or Draper area. But we haven’t even begun to look.”
“I grew up in Draper. Sandy and Draper are nice areas to raise a family.”
“Well, Anna, its looks as if you are going to be packing and unpacking boxes all summer. And I am, once again, going to be locked in a practice room all summer.”
“Not with me around you aren’t,” cried Mark. “This summer you are going to have some fun.”
“That sounds wonderful.”
“Oh, I almost forgot to give this to you,” said John as they got ready to leave. “It came with a box of toys that your mother sent to Charlie and Josh.”
Eroica absentmindedly opened the envelope. Cards from her mother usually didn’t stir up much anticipation. It was obviously just a card congratulating her for graduating. This card however, was different. It was actually from her father, who hardly ever wrote to her.
“This certainly is a day of surprises,” she cried. “Anna, you are never going to believe this, so I’m going to have to read it to you.
“Dear Eroica,
This is your father, in case you didn’t recognize my handwriting. Congratulations on becoming a graduate. We are bringing a gift for you from Italy when we come to see you in July. I know how you have always wanted a harpsichord. I had Dr. Klein track down a fine one for you. He is a brilliant organist here at the music school, and he has played many, many harpsichords. He knows just what to look for. Tell AnnaMaria that we are bringing one for her as well. See you in July.
Love, your Father,
Karloff Hamilton”
“Now I know why you were always reading that book, “Three Centuries of Harpsichord Making,” said Mark. “I thought it was a textbook for a very dull class that I somehow managed to miss when I was a student.”
Eroica ignored his comment, while he and John chuckled to themselves.
“This is a dream come true for you, Eroica. And I get to benefit from it, too. Now you can accompany all of your cello-playing boys in true baroque style.”
“Owning a harpsichord is a start, but I’ll still have to get married.”
“Like Tilly says, that’s a minor detail.”
Both girls linked arms and laughingly walked outside, leaving Mark and John to pay the bill as they wondered why in the world Eroica and AnnaMaria would each want a harpsichord.