After the call I watch in a daze as Stella gives me a manicure and a pedicure. My nails are painted pearl pink.
‘Mark,’ I say.
And her eyes light up. ‘Oh, Dahlia. I think I’m in love with him.’
I beam with happiness. ‘Really?’
‘Yes, really. He’s wonderful,’ she gushes.
‘Happy. So. Very happy for you,’ I say.
At that moment Molly arrives with the dress.
‘I’ll tell you everything tomorrow,’ Stella promises.
‘OK.’
The dress is unveiled and it is beautiful: velvet, halter neck, deep green, and long. Both girls help me dress, then Noah comes and gently, as if I am the most precious thing on earth, lifts me off the bed and puts me into the wheelchair that Zane apparently ordered nearly a year ago.
I look up at them all, full of love and gratitude.
‘I love you all,’ I whisper.
From my box I watch the musicians come on the stage and take their places. My heart beats frantically as I wait for the pianist to arrive. Finally, he comes into the spotlight. Oh! Wow! How beautiful he looks in his white tie formal orchestra dress code: long black tailcoat, white wing-collared shirt and bowtie.
That there is my man.
I tremble with love for him. He turns towards the crowd and bows stiffly. The audience claps.
Then, as if against his will, his eyes stray towards my box. He does a double take when our eyes touch. Suddenly the rest of the audience falls away. We stare at each other. He shakes his head as if he can’t believe his eyes.
I smile at him.
His mouth drops open as his hands rise up in a gesture of incredulity. His eyes move to my left and fall on Noah. Only then does he believe his eyes. A fellow musician touches his arm, and he glances around at the man. He says something to him then immediately turns back to me, as if he is afraid that I am only an apparition. His face full of joy and love, he takes a step as if to come to me, but I shake my head slightly. It stops him.
‘Play for me, Aleksandr Malenkov,’ I mouth and smile at him.
He nods slowly before going to take his position at the gleaming piano. From there he gazes at me until Andre Rieu comes on stage and he is given a standing ovation.
To my shock he starts telling the audience about me!
About a woman who secretly found her boyfriend’s music notes and took them to a fellow musician. He made it funny by adding in the bit about the masseuse connection.
‘It’s a tale of great love. This brave woman while trying to save him fell into a coma that lasted a year. The doctors thought she might not make it, but against all odds she is here today. Please welcome Dahlia Fury.’
He raises his right hand and waves it towards me. Every eye in that place settles on me curiously as they clap.
Heat flames up my neck and face. How on earth could Andre Rieu know I’d be here? In my confusion and embarrassment I look to Zane. He smiles at me as if his heart would burst with pride. I turn my head to look at Noah, and suddenly I know. Oh, Noah. Silent, strong and loyal to the bone. You told Andre Rieu.
‘Now … for the first time ever … in his debut performance, ladies and gentlemen: Aleksandr Malenkov.’
The entire audience erupts into applause.
Zane’s composition is beautiful beyond words, but so familiar to me it is as if I have heard it a thousand times. Even though I fight the cloak of sleep with all my might, I slip back into unconsciousness halfway through. I have no awareness of how I get home.
I come back again to the blurred sight of Zane sitting beside me in our bed.
‘You’re awake,’ he says, and it feels like no time has passed. Was it not yesterday I took his notes to Eliot’s apartment? The rest is fuzzy. I was running. Fast. Nearly falling. There was an explosion. A ball of fire. I flew. Then blackness. I frown trying to remember.
‘What is it?’ he asks.
‘Someone was trying to kill you,’ I whisper.
He nods.
‘Who was it?’
‘It doesn’t matter now. It is all in the past. The only true regret I have is what happened to you. Especially since I know it was because of me.’
‘No, it does. I need to know. Who was it?’
He sighs. ‘It was Lenny.’
‘Oh my God. I knew I never trusted him. What if he tries it again?’ I ask worriedly.
He looks at me, a hard light entering his eyes. ‘He can never hurt you or anyone again. I’ve walked away from it all. You’re all I need now. Thanks to your ingenuity and bravery, I am a musician now.’
‘You were wonderful tonight,’ I whisper. ‘Like I always knew you would be.’
He shakes his head. ‘No, you were wonderful.’
‘I’m sorry I fell asleep halfway through.’