The melody in our hearts (10 page)

She had talked with Ryan about this, and he was happy enough to stay in Boston and spend Christmas Day with her, either at her campus or at Berklee. He knew some students there who wouldn’t be going home either, so he thought they could throw a party and celebrate together –“just like Harry Potter spending Christmas at Hogwarts” he had told her cheerily.

A week before Christmas, when Ryan was just about to speak to the dean to ask for permission to celebrate Christmas Day on the school premises, Kevin came up with the idea of both of them going home with him, to his family’s mansion in Maine, not far from Portland.

“You’ll like it there,” he said, seeing that Ryan was a bit unsure about it. “And make sure you bring Valerie. The invitation is valid only if she comes with us.”

He winked and smiled saucily, and Ryan looked up at him.

“Valerie is off-limits, Kev!” he warned, seriously. “You keep your hands off her if you want to live.”

Kevin giggled and slumped down on his bed.

“Uh oh…seems like somebody has feelings for a certain girl we know…this sounds pretty much like jealousy to me….”

Ryan glared at him and shook his head in resignation: Nobody would ever understand the way he and Valerie felt for each other.

“She’s like a sister to me, Kev, and just like a responsible big brother, I won’t let any weird artist get his paws on her and break her heart. You’re warned.”

Kevin shrugged and then threw up his hands in surrender.

“Okay, as you wish. I’ll try to behave.”

They both laughed, but Ryan was sure he would have to keep an eye on Kevin: He knew him too well, and he had recently been talking too much about Valerie. Ryan was sure he had been invited to celebrate Christmas with Kevin just because that would give Kevin an excuse to be around Valerie, as he knew Ryan would never leave her alone in Boston.

Kevin was a good guy, but he just wasn’t right for Valerie, and Ryan would do anything to keep him away from her. No matter what it would take, he promised himself right there and then that he would not let Kevin break Valerie’s heart.

When they reached Kevin’s house, they realized for the first time that he belonged to a very wealthy family, even though he had never said anything or bragged about it.

“Wow!” Valerie said, as soon as they got out of the car. “How many bedrooms does your house have? A hundred?”

“The house itself dates back to the Civil War. It’s obviously been restored a few times since then, but the main structure hasn’t been changed, so yes, there are lots of rooms – not a hundred though.”

He winked at Valerie and she blushed: He could be so cute at times, and she had to keep reminding herself that she had to study hard to become a doctor and couldn’t let a pair of cute green eyes distract her.

“So, are you, like, a millionaire or something? Will we have dinner served by butlers in black suits and bow-ties?”

He laughed and shook his head, taking his duffel bag out of the trunk.

“Nope, no butlers, sorry,” he chuckled. “And I ain’t a millionaire either. Dad’s got a very successful job, so let’s say we haven’t had trouble with money lately.”

Ryan looked at the house in awe and wondered why Kevin had never said anything about being so rich. Not that it would have mattered to him anyway, but he just thought it would have been nice knowing it before getting there and feeling totally awkward about the clothes he’d brought and the silly presents he and Valerie had bought for Kevin’s parents.

They followed Kevin’s father inside, and everything seemed even bigger than it had looked from the outside. They were introduced to Kevin’s family: His mother, Nathalie, his Grandma Isobel, his siblings, Daniel, Cassie, and Cindy, and his dog, Max, a beautiful Golden Retriever who immediately became Valerie’s friend, wagging his tail as soon as she patted his head.

Kevin showed them to their room, hoping they wouldn’t mind sharing it, and winking at Ryan while he was saying it.

“Cut it out, Kev!” he said, glaring at him, and Kevin giggled, pulling the door behind him and leaving them alone.

“What’s wrong?” Valerie asked, as soon as Kevin was gone.

Ryan shrugged and put his duffel bag on the bed.

“It’s just a silly thing between roommates, nothing serious.”

He looked around the room and walked toward the window, looking out at the garden, which was totally covered with white, fluffy snow.

“Wow, this is what I call a room!” he said, hoping the change of subject would make Valerie less suspicious about what he and Kevin were referring to.

She took his arm and pulled his sleeve to catch his attention.

“Do you mind sharing room with me?” she asked, feeling a bit hurt by his behavior.

She would’ve never thought he would, but from the way he had spoken to Kevin, she thought that maybe he would have preferred to share a room with him instead. After all, they were roommates and good friends too; maybe it would have been more obvious that they should share a room in Kevin’s house, too, considering they were both boys. Ryan would probably feel better to spend time with another boy, instead of feeling awkward by sharing a room with her.

He turned to look at her, bewildered.

“Why should I mind? We shared room before, back home, didn’t we? On New Year’s Eve, when you stayed at my place, remember?”

She shrugged and looked out of the window.

“We were kids back then. I thought maybe it would feel weird for you now….” she trailed off and felt she was blushing.

She had to admit it: It felt weird even for her, come to think of it. She was twenty-one now and he was twenty-three; they weren’t kids anymore, so anyone would consider this weird. But why should she? He was like a big brother to her, and things shouldn’t be awkward between siblings, should they? At the end of the day, though, they weren’t real siblings, even though they acted as if they were, so it was kind of normal that they should feel awkward. Especially with Kevin hinting that they were more than friends….

“Whatever you’re thinking in that silly brain of yours now, it’s nothing to do with you!” He put his arm around her shoulder and squeezed her a little. “You know how people never really understand the way we feel for each other? Well, Kevin’s just one of them. But I’m taking care of that, don’t worry. He’ll get it, sooner or later.”

A knock on the door made them both wince and, as they turned, they saw Kevin peep in.

“Hi guys! Am I interrupting something?” He chuckled when he saw Ryan glaring at him, and then he looked at Valerie, straight in the eye. “We’re just about to have hot chocolate with marshmallows downstairs, would you like to join us?”

His saucy smile made Valerie blush, and she immediately looked away. She followed Ryan outside the door and down the big winding staircase, keeping her eyes down, not wanting to meet Kevin’s again and hoping he would stop staring at her like that.

All in all, it had been a nice Christmas. Kevin’s family members had all been very kind to them, and they had had fun. They had taken Max for a walk after lunch on Christmas day and had walked for a while in the nearby woods, which looked amazing with all the trees and fields covered with snow. Kevin had stopped acting weird soon after that walk, and she had guessed, from the way Ryan had glared at him when he had been flirting too much with Valerie, making her blush, that Ryan was probably behind that, although she preferred not to ask.

Once they got back to Boston, she locked herself up in her room and, apart from meeting up with Ryan a couple of times, she didn’t leave campus, determined to pass the exam she had been dreading for weeks.

Ryan bored himself to death while Valerie was busy studying, and he would spend most of the time in the common room, playing the piano or chatting with a couple of students who, like him, hadn’t gone home to spend the Christmas holiday with their families.

Kevin would be home a couple of days before classes started again, and Ryan felt a bit lonely in that room, even if Kevin was sometimes too loud or messy, acting like a real artist. So, when he finally came back, he was so pleased to see him and chat with him again that he totally forgot the stupid way he had acted with Valerie on Christmas and how it had driven him mad.

If there was one thing he was sure of, it was that he would never bring Valerie to Berklee again, not until Kevin had set eyes on somebody else. He probably wouldn’t be able to protect Valerie from all the silly guys who were around, but he would do his best to make sure that Kevin kept his hands off her for a start; then things would sort themselves out somehow, and she would learn which guys she should trust and which she should keep away from. In the meantime, he would be her knight in shiny armor and would keep her safe from harm.

~
Fourteen
~

Seasons passed, one following the other, and so did years.

Valerie had started her third year in medical school and Ryan had started working at Berklee on a project for young students, which he loved and took very seriously, like a real professional. He still played at the jazz club downtown when they called him, but the money he made wasn’t enough to pay for the rent of an apartment and for basic things like food and clothes. At first he had accepted the project just because he would get paid, but then he started to enjoy being a part of it and had even been thinking about asking Berklee if he could become a permanent member of their staff, teaching young students.

Valerie had been quite busy, and they never had much time to meet up, so he would often go and visit her at school during lunch break, the only moment in her day she didn’t have to study or be in class.

“You will never believe what happened today.”

They were sitting outside, on a bench in the park, eating sandwiches he had bought on the way.

He sounded excited, and Valerie tried to guess what it could be.

“Um…a girl asked you out?” she asked, taking a bite of her sandwich.

He stopped chewing and glared at her, making her chuckle.

“Okay, sorry. Go ahead.”

He swallowed and took a sip of water from his bottle.

“I was playing some oldies with the guys, just for a laugh after classes were over, and this man came in saying he loved my playing. It turns out that he works for a record company and absolutely wants me to sign a contract for an album: He said he loved my voice, and he was sure I’d be the new jazz star America’s looking for.” He shook his head, still unable to believe it was true. “Can you believe it, Val, a real album with a real record company! And we weren’t even playing well; we were just chilling out!”

She almost choked and had to cough a couple of times and drink water before she was able to breathe properly again.

“An album? And you’ll sing? I thought you wanted to be a pianist.”

“Well, don’t sound over-enthusiastic, Val….” he said, in a huff.

“Don’t get me wrong, I mean, it’s great that a record company wants you to sign with them. I was just taken aback because I never knew you wanted to be a singer.”

“I wanted to be a musician,” he said, shrugging. “I never thought that anyone would find my voice good enough for an album. I’ve always thought I’d play in an orchestra and compose music, stuff like that. But I guess I can always give it a shot and see how it goes.”

“Wow,” she said, smiling. “I’m gonna have a famous friend. That’s grand! I’ll get free tickets to all the major events and get to meet famous people and…ouch!”

“You’re such a great and true friend, Val!” he said, after he had slapped the back of her head, jokingly. “I’ve always known that you love me for who I am, not for what I do….”

She chuckled, then she looked at her watch and saw her lunch break was over, so she ate the last bite of her sandwich and stood up.

“You have to go?”

She nodded. “I’ll call you later, after I’m finished here, and we can go have a drink somewhere and celebrate the birth of a new music star!”

She winked and smiled, and he handed her the paper bag.

“You haven’t had time for your muffin! Here, you can have it later, if you get bored.”

“Is it...?”

“Blueberry muffin, yes. Your very favorite.”

She grabbed the bag and kissed him on a cheek.

“Thanks, you’re a star. Talk to you later, okay?”

With that she left, running across the park to get to class in time, and he picked up all the trash and left, whistling.

~
Fifteen
~

It turned out that the man from the record company had been right: Soon after the first song aired on the radio, it became a hit. It was an old song, one of the many they had played over and over again at the club in Dublin, but it had been updated, and Ryan was not only playing the piano but also singing.