Page 43 of Echoes of a Silent Song
“Bah.”Vic waved a hand.“So many people have come through those doors since I left, I don’t think anyone even knows where to find my shoes anymore.But you’re doing a fantastic job.”
Callum blinked at the praise.“Thank you, sir.That means a lot coming from you.”
Vic’s dimple deepened.“Wouldn’t have sung your praises to administration if I didn’t believe you could do it.”
“And if you weren’t totally desperate.”
Vic chuckled.“Well, desperation did have something to do with it.But even at the eleventh hour, I’m not leaving my choirs in the hands of someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.And you, my friend, know exactly what you’re doing.”
“I wouldn’t go that far.”Callum crouched to corral the extension cord.“There’s a big difference between professionals in Boston and teenagers in Peterson.”
“That may be, but choir is choir.And that choir sounds significantly better than it did this time last year.”
Callum straightened.“Really?”
“C’mon.You know I wouldn’t lie to you.”
Callum’s smile froze on his face.A couple of weeks ago, this comment would’ve passed without notice.But now?Now that an eyewitness had claimed something happened that Vic had claimed didn’t happen?Now, he wasn’t so sure.
Callum lowered his voice.“Vic, can I ask you something?”
“Sure.Anything.”
“Are you sure you didn’t know Iris Wallingford?”
Vic blinked.“Come again?”
“Iris Wallingford.The two of you were in the same grade.You were in choir together.In band.There’s ...there’s even a picture of the two of you together on the band page in the 1970 yearbook.”
“Is there?”Vic pursed his lips.“Huh.Well, I’ll be.I never saw that picture.My parents never bought yearbooks.Couldn’t afford it.But I’ll take your word for it.”
“And that’s not all.A former school librarian told us she saw the two of you in the library together.Working on music.She thinks the two of you were an item.”
“An item.”An odd expression crossed Vic’s face.“I suppose you could call it that.Iris and I went on a couple dates.Nothing serious, though.I wasn’t her type.Not good enough for her.Or her parents.”His gaze shifted to something behind Callum, and he smiled and waved.“Sorry, Callum, I just spied some alumni I haven’t seen in a decade.If you’ll excuse me?”Without waiting for a reply, he clapped Callum on the back and strode away.
Callum watched him leave, the stadium lights reflecting off his satiny Peterson Patriots jacket.It was entirely plausible.The librarian could have interpreted events one way, while Vic’s version could be the real story.
But why would Vic have first claimed not to know Iris at all?Why not just come out with the truth?They’d dated briefly and ended things.That happened often enough in high school.And maybe Iris meant so little to him, maybe the relationship had been so brief, that Vic truly hadn’t remembered it.Not until something jogged his memory.
But what didn’t happen every day was someone’s high school significant other passing away while still in high school.Surely that would’ve been worth at least a little bit of brain space.
Blair was still up in the stands, clutching a Styrofoam cup of something and leaning over to talk to Joy.Her puffy coat and her adorable hat were the same shade of Peterson blue, and her fingertips were peeking out of a cute little pair of white gloves, and why did the wordscuteandadorablecontinually spring to mind when he saw her outside of work?It was bad enough Wednesday with the T-shirt and jeans, and now, with her all bundled up like a snow princess despite the fifty-degree temperature ...
At least he didn’t find her cute at work yet.That would make things wicked awkward.
Well, cute or not, he needed to talk to her.Tell her what Vic said and get her read on it.She knew Vic far better than he did.And he wanted to believe Vic.
But right now, he wasn’t quite sure he did.
“Blair!”Joy grabbed Blair’s left arm, practically vibrating with excitement.“They sound fantastic!”
“Don’t they?”Blair returned the embrace as best she could with aright hand that clutched a mostly empty cup of hot cocoa.“I’m so proud of them.”
“You should be.I’ve never heard the national anthem sound that good.”
“I have.”Her senior year at Peterson had been filled with core memories: an ambitious combined work with orchestra, a performance at the regional choral directors’ convention, even a trip to New York.Vic had pulled out all the stops that year, and the results had been nothing short of amazing.She remembered exchanging glances with her fellow sopranos.Did we really do that?Yes.We really did.
And now she saw those same expressions on the faces of her students.These kids for whom she’d do anything, these kids who’d had nothing but instability and chaos in choir, were now experiencing the true magic of making music together.Tears pricked the back of her eyes, and she turned her attention to her hot chocolate.“But it’s been a long time.”
