The Low Notes

The Low Notes

written by Kate Roth

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First Edition

©2012, Rebel Ink Press, LLC

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Acknowledgments

Thank you to my husband Adam, the love of my life.

Thank you to my loving family, Mom and Dad, Sarah and Annie, Matt, Mindy, Izzy and Claire.

Thank you to my wonderful in-laws, Jill and Greg, Lauren and Adam.

Thanks to Sammy for putting up with the laptop for so long and still loving me unconditionally.

Thank you to the women of Bliss for encouragement, curiosity and courtesy while I typed away.

Thank you Julie Young, my teacher, friend, sounding board and the Paula I need.

Thank you Jana for being a part of the brain child that eventually became this story and a dear friend.

Thank you Amanda Neighbors for reading and encouraging me along the way.

Thanks and an abundance of love to Maggie Mahurin, my best friend for 17 years. You've inspired me more than you know.

Thank you Laura for helping me to find the strength within myself to make this dream a reality.

Many thanks and much love to Britni Hill. You are a confidant, a reader, an editor, a partner, the cheerleader I often need and so beyond an incredible friend.

Thank you to Rebel Ink Press for believing in me.

Thank you to all of my amazing friends who supported me along the way.

Thank you to all of the beautiful clients of KRB.

Quite simply, thank you K.D.

And lastly, no thanks are in order but I must acknowledge a seventeen year old Katie Cole, for whom this is a love letter to. Look at us now.

Chapter One

August

The house was a sea of brown cardboard boxes as he slowly unpacked his life. There was something truly strange about moving back into your childhood home as an adult. Putting each book on a shelf, each dish in a cabinet, felt odd. The last time he'd spent a night in the house he was seven years old. Sitting on the living room floor was for playing with matchbox cars, making elaborate roadways and tunnels out of pillows and the lines of the old shag rug, not something so mundane as organizing DVDs. It wasn't until the reading of the will a few weeks ago that Kevin even knew his father had held on to the house. It had been looked after by his Aunt Margot over the years. She made sure it was kept clean and checked that everything was still in working order.

So with no place else to go, nothing keeping him in Michigan, Kevin decided to move back to Wexley Falls, where he'd been born, to be near the only family he had left. And yet he couldn't quite figure out if he felt comfort from the home he grew up in or haunted by it.

There was a quick knock at the door and Kevin's cousin Jeff and his wife Jennifer walked in. They were greeted by Sasha, Kevin's large Irish Setter. They each gave her an automatic pat on the head and made their way into the living room, checking out Kevin's progress.

“
How goes the unpacking?” Jeff asked clapping his cousin on the back. Kevin stood up amidst the boxes and some of their strewn about contents.

He made a face, “It sucks so far.”

“
Well, can we help in any way?” Jennifer asked looking around unenthusiastically at the huge job to be done. Kevin didn't know Jennifer that well but he did know that tone in her voice. It was a courtesy offer, not a real one. He shared a knowing glance with Jeff and replied, “That's sweet, Jen, but I think I got it. Could wind up being cathartic, you know?”

“
Before we leave I have a quick favor...” Jennifer said with a coy grin.

Oh no,
Kevin thought,
she didn't.
Shouldn't he be the one asking favors?

“
My dear friend Lynn is dying to meet you so I told her you guys could meet up at this little piano bar down the street tomorrow. Have some dinner, listen to music. Jeff and I go there a lot. It's just a quick walk up the street in that cute little arts district. You'll love her. She's so sweet and she's very pretty. So tomorrow night at The Black Jewel at seven. She'll meet you there.”

Not a favor but a done deal already,
he thought to himself.

Again Jeff looked at Kevin quickly, an apology wrapped in an 'I owe you'. Kevin wasn't mad, just annoyed. The last thing he wanted was a date. He'd just buried his father, now he was moved into a vaguely familiar town without a clue what to do with himself and no job yet to speak of. He didn't need a blind date to be the sour cherry on top. But Jennifer had already made it known it was her mission to find someone for Kevin. She had some sort of fantasy of double dates and raising kids together that couldn't be shaken even by Kevin telling her to her face that he wasn't ready to date.

“
Great, I'm sure she's great. I'll meet her there,” he said.

They said their goodbyes and Kevin was back to unpacking, feeling more alone than he had before. The past four weeks had been a whirlwind. It was more than any twenty-six year old man should have to deal with. He tried to push it from his mind, forget the worst of it for a moment. Losing his father was something he'd never counted on happening. He'd lost his mother so young, it had never occurred to him that he could be orphaned well before thirty. Kevin was nearly over the anger that sprung up soon after the funeral. Every now and again though he was overcome. It would flood him when he thought of how quickly his father declined, how there was no stopping the disease and how he had no one to help him. No mother, sibling or even girlfriend to lean on.

He tried to shake the feeling and gave Sasha a quick rub behind her ear before he got back to his boxes. The sooner the house felt like home, the sooner he could rebuild his life.
Hell
, he thought,
the sooner I can start my life
. It was only days after his college graduation that he realized he needed to move in with his dad. The Alzheimer's had crept up heartbreakingly fast. It was only a matter of time before his condition deteriorated. Five years went by in a long aching blink and then he was gone.

Sitting amongst the pile of books he'd been unpacking, Kevin sighed. He would get through it. He would move on. He would find a way to start over and be happy. Maybe the blind date wouldn't be so bad. He could very well be meeting the woman of his dreams tomorrow night.

****

“
Have you ever been here before?” Lynn asked, raising the thin-stemmed glass of white wine to her lips. Kevin forced a smile. “No, I just got into town two nights ago. This is my first time venturing anywhere other than the grocery store.”

“
Oh right, I forgot. Well, it’s really nice here. Kind of different,” she said, looking around the restaurant. It was nice. It was a large, dimly lit space with a stage up front and a bar in the back. Small round tables with no more than four seats at any one were placed all around. It was certainly set up to be a romantic space.

Lynn was a tall, athletically built woman with long strawberry blonde hair that she wore pin straight. She was slightly over dressed for the atmosphere in a black mini dress, heels and chunky jewelry. She seemed nice enough but Kevin’s mind was elsewhere. He was silently cursing Jen for her brilliant plan of sending him on a blind date before he even had a job. He was thinking about bills, bank statements and job searches all while Lynn was flipping her hair trying to keep the conversation going.

What did Kevin actually have to talk about? Probably best to leave out the past five years of his life, specifically the last month. Nothing brings a date down like funeral talk. He covertly breathed deep, trying to relax. If he could just get through this one date then maybe he could hold Jen off for a few weeks.

Their dinner arrived and he ordered another glass of wine for himself.

“
So have you found work yet?” Lynn asked. Again, he gave a slightly pained smile. Just what he wanted to talk about.

“
Unfortunately, no. That's tomorrow's adventure. I was working at a bank back in Michigan so I guess I'll start there. I have a teaching license I've never used so maybe I'll put in for some substitute jobs at the local schools,” he replied.

“
I'm sure it will all work out for the best,” Lynn offered. It barely sounded like she'd heard him, let alone that she was interested. He knew being unemployed wasn't exactly the most desirable thing in a man his age but it was the hard truth. And it was more complicated than she could understand.

Just then he noticed a young woman stepping onto the stage. She was stunning in a simple black dress. It was somehow fancier yet more appropriate for the venue than Lynn's outfit. The rest of the patrons gave a soft applause. She took a seat at the large black piano that had been played just a few minutes before by an older man. He played standards and easy listening stuff and while it was nice, for whatever reason, Kevin was dying to know what this girl was about to play. She wore no jewelry and only a hint of makeup. Her skin was flawless, pale with a nervous blush tinting her cheeks. Her hair was cut in a shiny black bob, hanging just above her shoulders. The young woman’s eyes squinted at the spotlight at first then as she put her lips near the microphone, her shoulders rolled back and she looked at ease.