Page 105 of Echoes of a Silent Song
Righteous indignation coursing through him, Callum pressed on, forcing calm into his voice.“It’s true that Vic has been a friend to me.A mentor.He’s part of the reason I have this job in the first place.But Iris Wallingford was one of the most brilliant composers of her generation.She deserved to have the kind of career Vic had.And she deserves to be remembered for what she wrote.She deserves credit for her work.”
The audience applauded, as did the choir behind him.
“Fortunately, there is one untouched completed work remaining, and the choir would like to perform it for you now.Iris submitted this piece under Vic’s name to the Whitehall Conservatory.It would have gotten her in had she been honest, and would have launched her career had she lived.The composition professor at Whitehall mailed it back to us last month.So without further ado ...here is the world premiere of ‘I Am My Beloved’s,’ by Iris Wallingford.”
In all her years playing piano for choirs, Blair had never cried during a concert.She wasn’t much of a crier in general, but particularly not when she had a job to do.
But tonight, in the holy atmosphere of the Christmas concert, after the speech that had put Vic Nelson in his place and had the kids singing their hearts out, giving their all to the memory of someone they’d never met, her eyes stung and the music blurred.Good thing Iris had written a piano part on the simpler side.
Waves of emotion crashed through her.Vindication for Iris.Sadness at what Vic turned out to be.Pride for how wonderful the kids sounded, how they had given this piece the absolute best they had to offer.
And love for Callum.
Oh, how she loved him.
He met her eyes then and mouthed the words of love from Iris’s text, taken directly from Song of Songs.His arms still faced the choir, and she knew him well enough to know that the bulk of his attention was there as well, but him singing these lyrics to her ...it was the most beautiful moment of her life.She poured all the love she felt for him into the piano keys and prayed he could hear it.That he knew she played for him.
She was meant to be with Callum.She wanted that more than anything.Whatever being with him meant for her future, wherever she had to go, if it was with him, she’d go.She would rather be in outer Mongolia with him than in Peterson without him.
She’d always thought Peterson was her home, but that no longer rang true.It was only home as long as he was there.And when he left here, wherever he went, that would be home.
Her home was Callum.
Because the way he watched her, the emotion that turned his eyes a brilliant shade of emerald, the tender passion in his gaze, the intent with which he mouthed the words ...no one had ever looked at her like that.When the piece ended, so did the concert.The audience leaped to their feet, and Blair wiped away her tears as she took her bows.At least she wasn’t the only one who needed a tissue.Several kids had red, watery eyes, and even Callum surreptitiously dabbed the corners of his eyes with a fingertip.
When the choir had filed off the stage and the crowd had dispersed, she gathered up her music and walked to the wings, where Callum waited for her.
When she reached him, he kissed her.A deep, dramatic, sweep-her-off-her-feet-into-a-dip kiss with an impulsiveness she didn’t know he possessed.Her startled laugh was smothered by his lips, and she relaxed into the strength of his arms and melted into his kiss.
“That was magnificent,” he murmured against her lips, then raised her back to her feet.
A circle of students surrounded them, mouths agape and eyes enormous.
“Whoa,” Makayla said.
“Are you guys ...together?”Thalia motioned back and forth between them.
And the always-onJake and Brayden Comedy Hourhad apparently encountered technical difficulties, because both boys had lapsed into stunned silence.
“Yes, indeed.”Callum wrapped his arm around Blair and pulled her close.
“It’s true,” she said.
A handful of kids cheered, Thalia beamed, and Jake finally peeled his jaw off the floor and elbowed Brayden.“You owe me ten bucks,” he said.“I told you they’d end up together.”
After a few moments, the jubilant kids headed back toward the choir room, no doubt eager to spread the word, leaving Callum and Blair alone.
She linked her hand with his as they strolled down the backstage hallway.“I hope you felt that I was playing for you.I hope you felt the love in it.”
His eyes shone.“I did.”
“Because you know I love you.”Her voice shimmered.“I love you with every fiber of my being.And whatever that means for the future, I’m down.”She gripped his hand and turned to face him.“I know you want to go back to Boston, and ...and if you do, I’ll go with you.Leaving here would hurt, but leaving you would be impossible.”
Callum gazed into her eyes and trailed his fingers through her hair.“Blair, I adore you.You’ve brought me back to life.From the moment wehad our first argument, you sparked something in me that has fanned into flame, and I don’t expect that flame to ever go out.I love you.And I want to do whatever it takes to prove that love to you.”
Any more words like that, and she’d melt into the floor.
Callum glanced around, then turned back toward her.“Hey.So, okay, since this was the Christmas concert, I guess I can give you your present early.”
