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“SO THIS IS REALLY WHERE you practice?” Greg asked. “I’m surprised you don’t get claustrophobic.”
They were in the small cry room of the church, where Greg insisted Katrina give him a demonstration of what she’d been learning.
Greg sat down in the rocking chair. “Wait a minute. You don’t sway around when you sing as much as you do when you play your violin, do you? Because otherwise I need to go put on some protective gear. It would be hard to explain to the elders how I got a black eye.”
He flashed a smile, but Katrina was too nervous to return it. Didn’t he know how much she hated to be put on the spot, especially with her music? That’s why performing on her violin for the church had been so unbearable, why she’d rather stop playing at all than create music to meet someone else’s whim.
“So what are you going to sing for me?” he asked.
“I don’t know.” Did he think that after a week of lessons she’d have a full repertoire? “What do you want to hear?”
“Whatever it is that you and your teacher are working on together.”
“It’s mostly just warmups.”
“Warmups? For as long as you two spend together? Got to be doing more than just that.”
It was true. They did do more than that. Like talk about their favorite composers, about the most memorable concerts they’d attended, about how woefully deficient Orchard Grove was as a community in promoting the arts.
She was glad her back was turned to her husband. “Do you want me to show you some of my starting exercises?”
He shrugged. “Sure. If that’s all you’ve got.”
Ignoring his disappointed tone, she situated herself in front of the piano and played the first cord. She began with a few simple runs, just enough to get her voice prepared. When she was done, she glanced at her husband, trying to gauge his thoughts from his expression.
“That’s it? That’s really all you’ve learned?”
Katrina stared at the piano. “Pretty much. Some of them get more complicated, though. The ones you just heard were pretty basic.”
“Yeah. So basic that I could find you a free video online that you could practice with ten minutes a day if that’s all you’re doing. I guess it’s a good thing we’re not paying the guy out of pocket. How much does he charge for these so-called lessons he gives?”
She fought the urge to defend her teacher. “I don’t know. We haven’t discussed money.”
Greg scoffed. “Well, if he’s making a living selling lessons like this, you could do the same thing for half the price and probably end up with a full studio.”
“I’m not a voice teacher.”
He shrugged. “Apparently it doesn’t take much, at least not in this town.”
Katrina didn’t meet her husband’s eyes.
“Oh, come on,” he exclaimed. “Don’t get all pouty. I have a right to an opinion, don’t I?”
She nodded, more than ready for this conversation to end.
“I’m not saying anything against you. I love your voice. I could never understand why you don’t use it more. I just don’t see how singing a whole bunch of mah-mah-mah-mah-mahs all in a row is going to help you lead music at church. I just figured you’d be doing actual songs.” He stood up.
“Where are you going?”
“I thought we were going to watch a movie together.”
“I think I’ll stay here and practice a little more.”
He shook his head. “Now you’re all upset with me because I had a simple opinion.”
“I never said I was upset with you.”
“No, but I know you. I say one thing about your voice lessons, and now you’re all hurt like a little mouse who just got its tail stepped on. It makes me feel like I can’t say anything to you without you getting all bent out of shape. That’s not fair to me.”
“Yeah, you’re right.” She was ready for him to be gone.
“So you’re gonna stay here and practice now? All because I ...” He let out a sigh and didn’t finish.
Katrina followed him out of the cry room.
“What are you doing?” he asked. “I thought you said you were staying here.”
“I need to get my violin from the house.”
“So now you’re practicing your violin? I thought you were doing your singing scales or whatever those mah-mah-mah things are.” Since he wouldn’t be here at the church to listen to her anyway, did it really matter?
He shook his head, acting as if that one act sapped all his energy. “Never mind. Just remember to lock everything up when you’re done. And turn off all the lights.”