Chapter 3

Sophie was thoroughly enjoying her time with the girls. The conversation was fun, her Riesling was smooth with just the right hint of sweetness that she enjoyed in her drinks. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed a tall blond man walking past their booth, on his way out of the lounge. She turned her head to look at him and almost dropped her wine glass. The man was a dead ringer for David Bryan, the keyboardist from her favorite rock band Bon Jovi. “OK girl, time to step away from the booze” she thought. “You’re beginning to see things. Because what on earth would David Bryan be doing in this neck of the woods” She smiled, gave herself a mental shake and attempted to turn her attention back to the conversation. Luckily, her friends were all scheduled to work this weekend, so nobody was up for a second round of drinks.

After settling their bill, Sophie said goodbye to her friends and contemplated her options. Should she go back home to Sasha or swing by the Tice Corner for some retail therapy. Smiling to herself Sophie decided to give her credit card some work out.

In the atrium David set down on the piano bench and gently caressed the shiny black lacquer finished instrument. “Talk to me sweet girl” he whispered as he lifted the hinged cover. He ran couple of scales to warm up his fingers, closed his eyes and with a deep sigh, started to play.

Sophie was walking through the hallway when she heard familiar sounding music. She stopped to listen. Recognizing the beautiful crescendos of Beethoven’s Moonlight Sonata, she followed the sound into the atrium. Grabbing a seat on a bench under one of the potted trees, she looked at the man hunched over the piano keys. He was wearing black denim pants and a gray sweat shirt, but it was the blond curls that made Sophie’s heart skip a beat. Her mind went back to the bar, and wine induced hallucination she thought she had. “Wow, how is this possible?” she thought. The music was winding down.

David saw movement out of the corner of his eye. He turned his head to look at the intruder. It was the brunette from the lounge. As the Sonata came to the end, his long fingers rested on the ivories.

Sophie got up and approached the piano and the man. “What am I doing?” she thought, but kept on moving.

She was moving toward him. He took a closer look at her. Tiny but well put together, nice curves in the right places, soft brown curls cascading past her shoulders, and beautiful liquid chocolate eyes. She was wearing black pants with a soft brown chenille sweater. A flash of silver around her right wrist, a black leather necklace with a silver pendant of some sort, but no rings… “Hmmm, promising…” he thought and smiled.


She saw his smile, gathered her courage, and came closer. “Do you take requests?” she asked him.

He looked slightly shocked as he answered ”Depends on the request I guess”

“I’d love to hear Endless Horizon” she said with a shy smile. He looked even more shocked, but nodded and started to play. Sophie leaned slightly on the side of the piano and closed her eyes.

David was watching her as he played. “She is obviously a fan” he thought. But she seemed different from the most of the fans that he has encountered, almost reluctant, “no, more like shy”. He took a look at her bracelet. It was a large curb chain with some sort of design, but it was her necklace that really caught his eye. It was a small Star of David with some delicate scrawl work across it. “Well, well, well…happy Hanukah Dave!” he thought to himself and smiled.