“Follow your gut,” Blaise said without hesitation. “Call her. Ask her to come to the house, so Salima can check her out. She has to like her too.”
“No problem.” And half an hour later, there was a follow-up note on her desk with the teacher’s name, and a time for an appointment the next day with Salima at the apartment, and of course Simon would be there too. It was set for the time Blaise usually came home from work.
The following day Blaise had only just come through the door five minutes before and was talking to Salima when the doorman called to announce their “guest.” It was the Juilliard teacher, Lucianna Goldstein. Mark had already told her that she was an Italian woman, married to an American, hence the name. And when she came through the door five minutes later, while Blaise was still taking off her coat, the woman was as incongruous as her name. She had a wide, welcoming smile, bright blue eyes, and a mellifluous voice, and a head full of shining gold curls. She had a large, generous body, an enormous bosom, and tiny spindly legs. She wore lots of bangle bracelets, too much perfume, dangling hoop earrings, and enormously high stiletto heels. And to top it all off, a hat with flowers on it that moved, which she carefully removed as soon as she entered the apartment and set down on the hall table as Blaise stared at it in fascination. It looked like a garden with tiny living things on it. There were so many different component parts to her outfit that Blaise didn’t know where to look, and she was sorry that Salima wouldn’t be able to share this vision. But the most noticeable thing about Lucianna was her voice. It was smooth as silk. And her eyes were the most brilliant blue she had ever seen, as she looked at Blaise warmly.
“Oh my,” Lucianna said with a smile that showed off perfect teeth, “you’re older than I thought you would be.” She looked straight at Blaise. “But that’s all right, it’s never too late to learn to sing.” She had a lovely accent, and Simon was grinning. The teacher thought Blaise was Salima, and she was quick to explain, as Salima arrived in the front hall, having heard the doorbell. She was listening intently and wrinkled her nose at the perfume that assaulted her as soon as she joined them.
“This is Salima, your prospective student,” Blaise explained. “Won’t you come in?” She offered Lucianna a cup of tea as they walked into the living room, but she declined, then she noticed the grand piano. It was a Steinway, and she approved. She seemed a little nervous with Salima, and even more so around Blaise. She knew exactly who they were and had told Mark she didn’t know that Blaise McCarthy had a blind daughter. And he told her that there would be a confidentiality agreement to sign if she was hired. It was standard fare in Blaise’s life. And the teacher had no problem with the agreement. She mentioned that she’d never had a blind student before.
They chatted for a few minutes, as Lucianna perched on the couch, and Salima mostly listened. She could hear that the woman was nervous, and Lucianna told them she had studied opera in Milan. She rattled off the various opera companies she had worked for all over Europe, and now she had been in the States for eighteen years, and with Juilliard for fifteen. She told Salima that if she was serious about a music career, she should apply. But for now, all Salima wanted were some lessons, and after half an hour of introductions, Lucianna asked her to sing. Simon had agreed to accompany her on the piano, and Salima took her place next to him. She was glad that he was there, and she asked Lucianna what she’d like to hear. She said she didn’t know any opera, but she knew show tunes, contemporary music, and gospel hymns. Diplomatically, Lucianna suggested one of each. She started with a song from Mamma Mia!, went on to Les Miserables, and finished with a gospel song that Blaise loved whenever she sang it. Her high notes were so high, they sounded as if they could shatter glass, and she hit them with ease. She went through the three songs easily, and Lucianna stared at her when she was finished.
“Did you warm up before I came?” she asked, looking worried.