Jessica’s days carried on in a regular pattern of constant work. Visiting with Lance, more work, visiting with Lance, a couple trips into town for a breather, and more work. Finally, after a week had gone by, they were back up to full staff again. She walked with a cup of coffee down the hallway to check in on Lance. It was early yet, ten minutes before her rounds were due to start. She knocked on his door and heard him call out. Opening the door, she stepped in, and he looked up in surprise.
She smiled. “I know I’m early,” she said. “I just somehow ended up at work a little bit too early, so I have time for a cup of coffee and thought I’d stop in and say hi.” His smile was real, and she loved that about him.
“You know you’re always welcome here,” he said. He dropped what was in his hands.
Looking at it, she asked, “Sheet music?”
He nodded. “It is,” he said. “I used to write music too.”
He gave her a lopsided grin that reminded her of a little boy caught doing something he wasn’t supposed to. “Wow,” she said in awe. “You really are multitalented, aren’t you?”
“Well, I was,” he said. “Trying to get the fingers to do what I need the fingers to do now? Well, that’s a different story.”
“But you don’t have to figure it all out right away, do you?”
“No,” he said. “Not necessarily. As long as I’m figuring it out and making progress.”
“That’s true.” She smiled at him. “I didn’t bring you a cup of coffee because I wasn’t sure if you were ready or not.”
“I’ll get one when I head down for breakfast,” he said. “I was just looking at some songs and wondering if I wanted to try writing again.”
“Well, if you need anything,” she said, “just ask.”
“Thank you,” he said. “I might.” He looked down at the pages, picked them up, and tucked them into the bottom of a big notebook he had.
“Is that a special song?”
“Not really,” he said. “It’s one I’ve been working on for a long time.”
“That means it’s definitely special then,” she said. She looked at her watch and groaned, hopping to her feet. “Honestly, the time whips by when you’ve got to head to work.”
He laughed. “The time just whips by, period.”
She waved at him and headed to her office. Once there, she sat down and started her day.
Shane popped his head in a couple hours later and asked, “Have you talked to Lance at all?”
“This morning for a minute,” she said, looking up from her computer monitor. “Why? What’s the problem?”
“No problem,” he said. “His hands are definitely strengthening up nicely. The shoulder needs more work, but it’s getting there too.”
She beamed. “That’s great,” she said. “I know he’s been quite concerned about playing music.”
“Not only playing music,” Shane said, “but apparently our boy is very talented and actually has played in several bars and clubs.”
She looked at him in surprise. “He mentioned that. I’m not surprised, as he does seem to hold an audience.”
“I was hoping that maybe we can get a little more music back into his life, but we still have some patients and staff who don’t find it appealing,” he said.
“I was thinking about asking Dani if maybe on Saturday or Sunday he could have an hour, and they could shut their doors and ignore him for that sixty minutes.”
“That’s not a bad idea,” he said. “To schedule it ahead of time, so they can deal with it however they choose.”
She nodded. “He does go down to the pastures a fair bit,” she said. “I know the animals are really enjoying that.”
He laughed. “Still, it would be nice if we could hear it too,” he said enviously. “I know we can’t do it late in the evening or in the afternoon when people are sleeping or napping, but maybe four or five o’clock before dinner.”
She nodded. “Let me talk to Dani about it.” He nodded and disappeared. When she was done with rounds, she stopped by Dani’s office and mentioned what Shane had said.
“You know what? I was thinking about that too,” Dani said. “I’d love to hear more live music, though I know that we do have some people who aren’t terribly happy about it, but, if we gave them specific times and alternatives, then it’s something they could plan for. But we should pass it by Lance first though,” Dani said.
“I’m sure he’d be fine with it but—”
“But I think we should pass it by him,” Dani said, laughing. “And, by the way, I’m getting the piano tuned too.”
“Wow,” she said. “You know something? Once you do that, you may find you’ve got a bunch of musicians in the place.”
“And that would be fine by me,” Dani said. “I think music is good for the soul. Particularly for anyone like Lance. Getting it back in his life could be a huge motivator.”
“Agreed,” she said. “So let’s hope this works out with everybody.”
“Are you serious?” Lance looked at Dani in delight. “I’d love to have an hour to play on Saturday. I mean, I’d take two or three if I could,” he said, as he held up his hand. “I know an hour is already a lot.”
“It’s not a lot for anybody who likes live music,” Dani said with a smile, “but it’s a lot if you hate music.”
It was hard for him to imagine anybody who hated music, but he knew there had been complaints, so he was grateful for anything. “If you say an hour,” he said, “then so be it.”
“No, I think you’re right,” she said. “I think we’ll switch it to an hour and a half, then see how that goes. I will schedule it for between four and five-thirty on Saturday afternoons, and then people could go for dinner afterward.”
He nodded. “I’d really like that.”
“Are you okay to play in the common room?” she asked. “Then we could make it a bit of a concert. I don’t want to do it here in your room, where you’ll clog up the hallway with people.”
He laughed. “The common room works great,” he said. “I can sit there in my wheelchair or maybe one of the chairs there,” he said. “Honestly, I don’t really know how strong I am or how long I can play.”
“Well, it’s a good time for a test then,” she said, laughing. “We’ll see you tomorrow.” And, with that, she disappeared.
And he realized that today was Friday, which confirmed that tomorrow was Saturday, so he really only had a little over twenty-four hours to plan and to prepare. He brought it up with Shane. “Maybe we could figure out,” he asked him hesitantly, “what’s the best chair for me to do a concert with?”
Shane looked at him in surprise and said, “You know what? That’s a really good idea because it makes a huge difference on your core and your back, doesn’t it?”
“How I sit determines how flexible I am and what I can play,” he said. “I need this arm free, and I must have the ability to stretch this other arm all the way out,” he said.
Shane said, “Let’s grab your guitar, and we’ll work on the different chairs to see which one is best for you.”
“I’ll get my guitar,” he said, as he maneuvered back into the wheelchair.
“Good,” Shane said. “Let’s meet in the common room, and we’ll see what’s there to choose from too.”
By the time he arrived with his guitar in the common room, Shane was looking around at the various chairs, frowning.
“They don’t look so great, do they?” Lance asked.
“It doesn’t look bad though,” Shane said. “How about a stool?”
Lance studied the lower stool and tried it out. He could hook one leg on the bottom railing and could sit with his other leg all the way to the floor for balance. He shifted so that he was sitting upright on the stool and sat for a good five minutes and then winced. “It’s a good idea in terms of guitar-playing,” he said, “but it’s not such a good idea in terms of my hips and back.”
“That’s what I was worried about,” Shane said. He looked over at a big armchair and said, “The arms here are too high for you to play, aren’t they?”
Lance looked at it and nodded.
“This pot chair here has the same problem.” Nearby was an open chair with no arms on the side. “What about something like this?” Shane asked. “You can lean back and get a little support.”
Lance looked at it and laughed. “Are you moving the cat first?”
Shane looked at the cat, smiled, and said, “This is Max. He’s taken over the place, although he hasn’t been here all that long. He’s only got three legs, but nobody told him that he’s any different.” He reached down and scooped up the cat. Max stretched in his arms, completely trusting that Shane wouldn’t dump him. Max gave a little bit of a meow and closed his eyes, relaxing into Shane’s embrace.
Lance looked at the cat and shook his head. “Such innocence.”
“It’s all about trust,” Shane said. “Sit over here and give this a try.”
Once he sat down in that chair, Lance nodded. “This one is perfect.”
“Then let’s shift it,” he said. ‘Where would you like it to be so you can face everybody?”
Looking around, Lance shrugged and said, “Well, how about over there in that corner? Then, as people come in, they can sit wherever they want.”
So, they set that up, and Lance sat there a bit. He really wanted to strum the strings, but he didn’t want to break Dani’s trust that he wouldn’t play indoors except on scheduled times. But he could run his hands up and down the strings, pretending like he was playing to test out his back. The chair was small enough that he could spread his legs on the corner and push his back right up against the chair for support. He smiled up at Shane. “You know what? This might work.”
“Good,” Shane said, and they talked about how to sit properly with his back getting the support he needed so that he wasn’t completely exhausted at the end of his concert.
Just then a man walked up and went straight to the piano. They watched in fascination as he opened it right up.
Shane asked, “Are you supposed to be working on that?”
The man, surprised to hear somebody talking to him, turned, looked at the two men, and said, “Oh, hi. Yeah, I’m here to tune it. Sounds like somebody here wants to play it, so they hired me to get it fixed. Looks like it’s been a while.”
Lance could feel something really bloom inside him. “Did Dani do that for me?” he asked Shane.
Shane slid him a sideways look. “Everybody here cares about your recovery,” he said. “It’s a simple-enough thing to do, and, yes, it sounds very much like her,” he said, laughing. “So, enjoy. I don’t know when it’ll be ready for you to play, and I doubt you can just sit down and run off a few songs, but it’s something for you to consider. Maybe next weekend?”
Lance really wanted to walk over there and place his fingers on the ivories. It had been years since he’d played the piano, and it had always been one of the best mediums for him. It was a completely different kind of instrument from the guitar and even the trumpet. He loved them all, but, at the same time, something was just so special about playing a piano. As it was, his session with Shane was almost over, and it was hard to leave, but, as he wheeled away from the piano tuner, he turned and asked him, “When will you be done with that?”
“I’ll be a good couple hours here yet,” he said, “but definitely by the end of day.”
“Perfect, thanks,” he said. He looked up at Shane. “I guess Dani would know if it’s me, wouldn’t she?”
“Most likely, if you’re any good, yes,” he said, laughing. “But you can bet this may flush out a few other guys who want to sit down and pound on the keys. And some of them may be good too.”
“That would be amazing,” he said. “I love sitting down and playing impromptu sessions,” he said, “just jamming with a few friends. There’s nothing like it.”
“Sounds like my version, minus the musical instruments and your talent, with a couple guys hanging around the barbecue with a couple beers,” he said.
“Almost,” he said, “I’ve had lots of friends over the years who played, but I don’t know anybody right now who does.”
“That’s okay,” Shane said, “maybe you’ll meet one or two here.”