Susan Mallery - Sweet Talk

“Anything else?” Molly asked.

Claire nodded. “If you could please make sure the curtains are closed and have Amy Knight join me?”

“Right away.”

When she was alone, Claire practiced the breathing she’d been taught. She pictured herself in a safe bubble and when that didn’t work, tried to imagine a field of flowers. She paced, she stretched, she studied her music, then she put it down when she heard footsteps.

Amy ran toward her. “You’re here,” she signed.

“I know. I’m going to play the piano for a lot of people. Would it be okay if you stood like you did before?”

Amy nodded, then signed, “Why?”

“I’m scared,” Claire admitted. “Having you nearby makes me not so scared.”

“I’ll protect you,” Amy said.

Easy words, but oddly enough, Claire believed her.

“HAVE YOU EVER HEARD her play live before?” Wyatt asked as he and Nicole walked down the hallway of Amy’s school.

“No. I’ve listened to a couple of CDs, but that’s it. Talk about weird. She’s my sister. Shouldn’t I have been to at least one performance?”

“You didn’t have any contact with her,” he told her. “Why would you go?”

“Don’t try to finesse this with logic. I can’t believe how long we’ve been apart.” She waited while he pulled open one of the auditorium doors. “I wouldn’t have gone to New York to take care of her. I would have let her figure it out herself.”

He tugged on a strand of her hair. “Expect me to judge you for that?”

“Maybe. I’m judging myself. I’ve been nothing but mean to her and yet she still showed up. She leads with her heart.”

“I know.”

They stepped into the auditorium. Amy’s teacher, Mrs. Olive had promised to saved them seats, otherwise they wouldn’t have had a chance of finding a place to sit. Wyatt had heard that some of the parents were coming, but he hadn’t expected a standing-room-only crowd.

“I’ve never seen it like this,” Nicole said.

People were moving around and talking excitedly. They’d dropped whatever they were doing to come see Claire play the piano. He felt a sense of pride for her and what she was able to do.

“I hope she’s going to be able to pull this off,” Nicole murmured. “She was pretty freaked before.

“She told you?” Wyatt asked. “About…” He didn’t want to say too much in case Claire hadn’t said anything to her sister.

“The panic attacks? She told me this morning, when she was digging through her sheet music and about to fall over the edge. We talked, she seemed better, but I don’t know if she’s going to make it. She was really upset.”

“What she does can’t be easy.”

Nicole smiled. “So you like her now.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I take it the date went well.”

“Didn’t you get all the details from Claire?”

“A few. But now I can hear the man’s perspective.”

“I don’t think so.”

Amy’s teacher waved them over. “Isn’t this amazing? I’m beyond excited. Imagine being able to hear Claire Keyes in person. You must be so proud.”

“I am,” Nicole murmured.

They settled into their seats. Heavy black drapes covered the stage.

“Are you proud?” he asked quietly. “Of Claire?”

“Yes, and it surprises me, too. I guess I’ve stopped resenting her. I know this hasn’t come easy for her. She’s worked her butt off to get where she is now. I just hope she’ll be all right.”

“She’ll make it through,” he said. Claire didn’t have a choice. There were a couple of hundred people with expectations. He had a hard time accepting she would be comfortable letting them down.

“Do you really believe that?”

“I’m going on faith. It’s all I have.”

“It was easier when I didn’t like her,” Nicole muttered. “Now I have to be all worried and concerned. Before I would have been happy she was suffering.”

“You’re always looking at the bright side.”

“Shh. I’m ignoring you and sending calm, healing thoughts to my sister.”

A few minutes later, the principal stepped onto the stage. She had a handheld microphone and asked for quiet.

“We have an unexpected pleasure this afternoon,” she said when the crowd had stilled. “Claire Keyes is going to play for us.”

Everyone clapped. Mrs. Freeman waited for silence before continuing. “Most of you already know Claire’s story. When she was three years old, she walked over to a piano and began to play. She’d never seen the instrument before, had received no instruction of any kind. She was a true child prodigy. But unlike those who peak early, Claire only improved as she grew up. She studied, she played, she traveled the world, sharing her gift. Today she will share that gift with us. Claire Keyes.”

“I hope she doesn’t fall on her ass,” Nicole whispered.

Wyatt privately agreed.

The drapes parted showing a piano in the center of the stage. Nicole crossed her fingers when Claire appeared, holding Amy’s hand. They moved to the piano. Claire took her seat on the bench without looking at anyone, while Amy stood next to the piano, her hands on top of it, as if prepared to feel the music.

Wyatt could see tension in Claire’s back. There was something about the set of her head that told him she was having trouble breathing.

He swore silently, wanting to do something, anything, to fix the problem. But it didn’t require anything from him. Claire was truly on her own.

She spread out her music. Wyatt stared at the pages, at the small black dots that meant something to her. How could anyone get that right? How could she possibly-

Claire put her hands on the keys and began to play. Music filled the auditorium, the notes sure and strong and more beautiful than anything Wyatt had heard since the night he’d listened to her practice. Amy looked out and smiled at them.

She was doing it, he thought with relief. Claire was doing it.

Wyatt watched over the next forty minutes as the tension faded. Claire relaxed, apparently losing herself in the moment.

Nicole leaned toward him. “She’s doing it.”

“She’s impressive.”

“Break her heart and I’ll beat you with a stick. Worse, I won’t be your friend anymore.”

Wyatt looked at her. “For real?”

She nodded. “She’s my sister.”

He put his arm around her. “I’m glad you finally figured that out.”

CLAIRE WENT FOR A DRIVE after she played. She found Pike Place Market under points of interest on her GPS system and let the calm computer woman direct her to a parking garage. After walking down the hills, she crossed the street and moved toward the path offering a view of the sound.

It was sunny but breezy. The wind tugged on her sweater and blew her hair around her face. There were crowds of people everywhere, yet she felt totally alone in the best way possible.

She’d done it. Despite the fear, the pounding heart, the dry throat, she’d played and after a few minutes, the music had become everything.

She’d been horribly out of practice. Anyone with any training at all would have winced through her performance, but her audience had been kind and forgiving.

It was a start, she told herself as she stared at the water and felt life ease back into her. She wasn’t going to kid herself that she was cured, but she was making the right kind of progress. Tomorrow she would practice for a couple of hours. Limber up. Let music back into her life.

She returned to her car and made her way home. When she walked into the house, excited, wanting to thank Nicole for coming, she was surprised to find her sister pacing the length of the great room, her face pale, her mouth set in a thin, angry line.

“What’s wrong?” Claire asked. “Are you all right? Is someone sick?”

Nicole glared at her. “Tell me you didn’t know. I swear to God, if you did, I’ll…I don’t know what, but something big and ugly.”

Claire wanted to back up but she stood her ground. “Know what?”

“About Jesse. She’s selling cakes on the Internet. She’s set up a Web site that looks almost exactly like ours. The Web site address is damn close, too. But the difference is, instead of just giving out information like we do, she’s selling the cakes.”

Claire couldn’t believe it. “The Keyes chocolate cake?” No way. Jesse wouldn’t do that, would she? Not after sleeping with Drew. This was bad. Worse than bad.

“Yes. I can’t believe it. She’s even selling them for five dollars more. I’m so pissed off. I just want to find her and crush her like a bug.”

“You’re really angry and you should be, but we can figure this out,” Claire began.

“No we can’t. I knew she was a screwup. I didn’t expect miracles, but this is the last betrayal. I couldn’t do anything about her sleeping with Drew, but by God I can do something about this.”

Claire didn’t like the sound of that. “What are you going to do?”

“Press charges and have her thrown in jail, where she can rot.”

CLAIRE WAITED on an old bench by the wall until Jesse walked out. Her sister was pale and looked as if she’d been crying. Claire stood, not sure what to say or what she wanted her sister to say. When nothing came to mind, she turned and led the way to the car.

“I’m sorry,” Jesse said when they were pulling out of the parking lot.

“That’s the first time I’ve bailed anyone out of jail.”

“It’s the first time I’ve been in jail. I can’t believe she had me arrested. I never thought she’d do that. She’s supposed to love me.”

Jesse began to cry.

Claire was torn. While she sympathized with Jesse’s pain, she felt she was more comfortable siding with Nicole on this one. Jesse had crossed the line too many times.

“What did you think she would do?” Claire asked.

“Yell at me.”

“You stole the recipe and you’re selling Keyes cakes on the Internet. Yelling is usually reserved for things like violating curfew.”

Jesse turned to look at her. She brushed away her tears. “How could I steal it if I’m a Keyes, too? Dad left half the bakery to me. Isn’t that recipe half mine?”

“If that’s the best excuse you’ve got, you’re in serious trouble. Where am I taking you?”

“Home.” Jesse gave her the street address, which Claire plugged into the nav system. “I don’t get the big deal. I was making some money off the cakes. So what? It’s not like I had a job after Nicole threw me out.”

Claire couldn’t believe it. “Did you expect Nicole to keep you at the bakery after what you did with Drew? Don’t you take responsibility for anything?”

“I have to take care of myself. I’ve already told you, none of this is my fault. Nicole won’t listen to me. Whatever I say isn’t going to be good enough. I’m going to be punished forever. Nicole is never going to forgive me.”

“That’s her decision, but even if it’s true, that doesn’t mean it’s okay for you to steal the cake and then sell it like that.”

“I wasn’t stealing,” Jesse repeated stubbornly. “What was I supposed to do? She threw me out of my home. I had nowhere to go. I’m living in a shitty little studio apartment, renting space from a restaurant from three in the morning until ten. I bake cakes and yes, I’m selling them. Big deal. All my customers are out of state anyway. I’m not taking anything from the bakery.”

“What about what you’re taking from Nicole?”

Jesse looked out the side window. “Now you’re taking her side in this. Figures.”

“I’m not taking anyone’s side. There are no sides. There’s only us-three sisters who can’t seem to get along.”

“You and Nicole are getting along. That should be enough for you.”

“I’m not taking sides,” she repeated. Not exactly.

“It seems like you are. I don’t care. I don’t need either of you.”

Claire felt both sad and frustrated. How could Jesse not see the problem with what she’d done? On the heels of sleeping with Drew, it was only making a bad situation worse.

“Why do you want to keep hurting Nicole?” Claire asked. “I thought you cared about her.”

Jesse folded her arms across her chest. “I do care about her. But I don’t have any other choices.”

“Not much of an excuse.”

Jesse turned on her. “You don’t know anything about me. You don’t know what I’m going through. Matt found out about the whole Drew thing and he won’t listen, either. I know I screwed up before, but this is different.”

It didn’t sound all that different, Claire thought grimly. “I know you’ve made some really bad decisions and you’re doing your best to avoid the consequences.”

“Shut up. You don’t know anything. You have everything and I have nothing. You don’t have any right to come back here and tell me what to do.”

Jesse opened the car door and got out. Claire stopped the engine and followed her. They hadn’t even left the police parking lot. Couldn’t they at least go a couple of miles before a blowup?