Chapter 34

• David is beaming in his seat in the Lincoln Center theater. He is only one face among a sea of them, but his girl’s eyes flitter over her audience as she gracefully moves across the stage. It doesn’t take long for her to find him and her expression softens so subtly he’s certain that only he noticed. She sits down at the piano, beneath the spotlight that washes her in gold; a sun among worshippers.
• His happiness twists into nerves as she begins to play. It isn’t that he doesn’t trust that she’ll play perfectly, it’s only that the thought of her upset in any manner still tears him apart. He wishes he was still able to watch her from the wings, ready to catch her if she should ever need him.
• She does play perfectly though; her talent has only crescendoed in her four years at Juilliard, leading to her offer to join the New York Philharmonic Orchestra as a pianist. She’s the youngest ever to be offered such a position. He has the utmost faith in her, even as he grips his armrest in anticipation, until the echo of the last note dissolves into the air. He thinks that he might be the first one who stands, the first to applaud in the entire theater. He’s only vaguely aware of the others clapping because there isn’t a force on Earth that could tear his attention from his baby girl.