“Piano teacher?” Julia Ward was dumbfounded. She pointed at Deirdre and only found her voice after a while to say, “My grandfather is so old that he became demented, right? He’s pretty desperate, isn’t he? It’s fine if he’s hiring a piano teacher, but he has actually hired a blind one!?”The girl spoke in an uncourteous tone, but Deirdre did not pay attention to that at all. Shauna said, “You may call Prof. Ward to verify.”Julia refused to believe these people, so she walked inside to make a call in her slippers. After a while, her voice was heard coming from the room. “What the h*ck, grandfather!?”“She can’t even see! Am I going to learn from the teacher or learn to trouble myself?“Yes! You’re kind, magnanimous, and ready to help others, but don’t you try to implicate your granddaughter!“I really… Forget it!”After a while, Julia walked out, slamming the door in a rage, and said to Deirdre, “Come in. I’m just going to put this out there. I won’t be bothered to care for you
Julia was especially displeased. “Why are you smiling?”“Nothing. There’s something that I need you to know. Professor Ward hired me, so it ought to be Professor Ward who speaks to me in person if he wants to fire me. Only then I’ll leave. Even if you have the courage to infuriate me, I will not leave here either.”Julia narrowed her eyes. “Why? Do you love this job so much that you will put up with a person like me?”Deirdre said honestly, “It’s because I need money and need to make a living to support myself. If you were to pay me a full 40,000 dollars, perhaps I might consider not working as your piano teacher and tender my resignation on my own accord.”Julia was stunned for a moment before she said angrily, “You wish!”Then, the lesson lasted until night.Deirdre could tell that Julia was rather interested in playing the piano because she stopped being so cynical when she was engrossed in the lesson.Deirdre met Professor Ward at night, and he sounded like a kind, easygoing
“Uh, what did you use to wash it? Seriously, can you stop bringing all sorts of weird sh*t from your place to our house? My grandfather’s health is at stake here! Even a single germ on that thing you called a bag might hurt him, and you bet your *as you’re not gonna be able to foot his hospital bill!”Helplessly, Deirdre took the food out of the bag while Julia—not so much holding it but pinching it between her fingers—dropped the bag into the garbage bin. “What’s that supposed to be?” she asked, her eyes set on Deirdre’s hands. “My dinner,” she answered.Julia snorted. “Well, guess I can’t fault you for thinking ahead. Your food isn’t included in our agreement,” she remarked. “You can put your food inside our fridge and then microwave it in the evening. Go.”“But my food’s still steaming. It’s not good to store it in the fridge when it’s still hot.” Deirdre hesitated for a moment and pulled the lid open. “I should cool it first.”It should take the food only half an hour to co
“Huh? What’s that about your dinner?”Deirdre told Tobey how everything had gone down, and the young man chuckled. “Ha, I knew you’ve got the magic, Dee,” he remarked.A cool evening wind billowed, and he smoothed her hair. “Too bad that cost you your dinner, though. But you’re in luck. There is a pretty good grill stall in town, and according to rumors, they have less oily and flavorful options. Wanna give that a try?”“Sounds great! I happen to think today’s progress calls for a celebration.”Tobey clapped the cushion of a share-bike. “Get into my sweet ride for the evening, miss. I am but your humble chauffeur.”Deirdre got onto the backseat and tightly held the edge of Tobey’s shirt. He started to pedal, and the two set sail into the wind.During a few seemingly trivial seconds, an Audi brushed past them. “Sir, Professor Ward’s residence is right ahead,” Sam reported as he scanned the neighborhood. “Do you want to visit him now that you’re in Surstate?”The man he was addr
Julia held her chin with the thick of her palm. “I got bored of takeout, ugh! Sure, my grandfather hired a cook, but I bet she wishes she could be as good as you are. There’s no joy in eating what she makes! She still has her job because my grandfather explicitly forbids me from firing people out of my preferences!”Then, suddenly, her eyes glinted. She cast a very meaningful stare in Deirdre’s direction. “Wait a sec. Why don’t… you become our new cook!? Name your price! I bet it’ll pay you way more than being my piano teacher.”The prospect quite tempted Deirdre, but she remembered her pregnancy and dismissed the idea with a smile. “I’ll pass.”“You’ll pass? Oh, h*ll no. Are you just holding a grudge against me for being a little bit nasty to you when we first started? Huh! Who knew you could be this grudgeful, huh? Okay, I formally apologize for being a brat and a pain in your *ss! I promise I won’t ever say something nasty to you again!” she declared. “But if that’s not enough fo
Professor Ward sighed. “There’s a little… complication with her hand. It’s largely healed, but she still can’t pick up a brush anymore. So, she turned to learning the piano instead.”Brendan was as unperturbed as ever. “I see.”Inside, Julia was taken aback by the abrupt mismatched melody. “What the heck?”“It’s nothing,” replied Deirdre, laughing dryly as she tried her best to calm herself down. “It was an accident.”“It was pretty chaotic!” She rose. “We’ll resume our lesson later. I should go outside and greet Brendan. Will be back in a jiffy!”Julia went outside, and Deirdre clenched her hands into fists. She still could not stop herself from trembling. What if Brendan suddenly opened the door and came in? She pressed her ear at the door and listened. She could hear him complimenting Julia rather decorously, “You’re all grown up now, aren’t you? And all glowed up, too.”Brendan never liked saying these things, so the fact that he even did showed how much he respected Profes
Julia was in a rare mood to compliment others. “I know she sounds a little too young to be giving lessons, but I think she’s a good teacher. I actually get way more about piano from her than those teachers and their endless lectures about theories and all that junk!”A kind smile broke out on Professor Ward’s lips. “Few people could elicit such high praises from my Julia. I really think we’ve struck gold this time.”The girl’s cheeks went a little pink. “I mean, to be fair… I've been chowing down on the food she makes, too, so it’s not like I’m gonna bite the hand that feeds me, right?”“Eating her food? Young lady! And here I thought you’d rather buy takeout than eat home-cooked meals!”Her grandfather’s comment reminded Julia of the offer she had made. Deirdre might have rejected her when she asked the former to be her new cook, but maybe… if her grandfather was the one talking, Deirdre might relent after all!Her eyes twinkled. She snuck up to Professor Ward and threw her arms
Julia felt both shock and worry roll into one. She lurched and helped her up, demanding, “What’s wrong, Deirdre? Why were you hiding in the closet? And God, why are you shaking so much!?”Deirdre’s lashes were quivering. She desperately sought her voice, and when it finally came out like a leaky whisper, she exhaled, “I’m… fine…”“Miss me with that bullsh*t! You look like you’ve seen a ghost!”Deirdre sputtered out a dry laugh. It was as if she had a brush with Death itself—and for now, she lived. “I’m fine, really. I… I just need a favor. Please, Julia.”“W-What kind of favor?”Deirdre closed her eyes. “Don’t ever tell anyone my name.”“Your name?” Something larger than confusion and questioning loomed over Julia. “Why?”Unpacking the entire complexities of her life was too grueling, so Deirdre simply replied under her breath, “I know you’re a good kid at heart, Julia, but there are some things I can’t tell you. What I can say is that I’m not a bad guy and haven’t committed any