Nocturne(64)

Cynthia smirked a little and said, “I will say, it made our senior year super interesting. There were rumors that you and Fitzgerald snuck off together.”

“I can’t imagine why,” I said, running my hand over my navy eyelet dress.

“He disappeared the same day you did. Although he turned up with the BSO a week later.”

I tilted my head and said, “What, did he take leave or something? What do you mean disappeared?”

She gave me a stare. “He stopped teaching. Surely you knew that.”

I took a sharp breath, surprised. But maybe not. He hated teaching anyway. Though I wondered how he managed to pay for that giant monument to his ego ... the one-of-a-kind cello he toted around as if it held the secrets to his soul.

It probably did.

“Savannah!”

The shout startled me, and immediately a smile spread across my face.

Nathan!

“Excuse me,” I said, and walked away from Cynthia without another word.

A moment later I was laughing as Nathan wrapped me into a warm hug. We squeezed each other tightly, and unexpectedly I began to choke up, tears flooding my eyes. I hadn’t seen Nathan in years. We’d talked on the phone, emailed, and chatted online, of course. But I missed looking into his eyes and watching his dimples. I missed being hugged.

“Christ,” he whispered. “I missed you so much.”

I leaned back and looked up into his eyes. “Where were you earlier? I looked for you at the ceremony.”

He shook his head. “Flight got delayed.”

“We’re going out for drinks this weekend. I need to spend some time with you.”

He slipped his hands down to my shoulders. “How long are you in town?”

I shrugged. “I’m off for the summer. No firm plans.”

He blinked then said, “We need to talk then. I’ve got a short term suggestion anyway.”

Over his shoulder, I saw Madeline chatting with a small group of women. “Okay, let’s talk later. We need to catch up, anyway, but let’s go say hi to Madeline.”

He nodded and fell into step beside me as I approached Madeline’s group.

“She looks so happy,” Nathan whispered as we neared Madeline. “Do you know how long she and James have been together?”

I chuckled a little. “I do. They started dating the summer I worked at Tanglewood with Madeline.”

That dimple appeared as Nathan laughed, too. “That must have been interesting.”

“That whole summer …” I trailed off, shaking my head at what I once thought was the best summer of my life. After all, a man I highly respected and found incredibly attractive told me he was falling in love with me.

It wasn’t so great, after all.

“You okay? Is he here?” Nathan’s eyes surfed the crowd briefly.

“He is,” I nodded, “but I’ve been able to avoid him so far.”

Despite the rocky road our friendship endured during Nathan’s last year at the conservatory, I hadn’t thought twice about showing up at his Chicago apartment unannounced a day after I quit school. I drove all night from Boston to Chicago, showing up at his apartment at around 3:30 a.m. Though I could see “I told you so” wired through his tense jaw as my chin quivered through the details of Gregory, he never said it. Not once. He just handed me a pillow and a blanket and told me to get some sleep. Said I looked like crap. I left for Europe a week later.

“Madeline.” I gently placed my hand on her lace-covered shoulder as Nathan and I stood behind her. Her long ginger hair was held in place at the base of her neck with a floral clip. The skirt of her off-white gown rustled as she turned around.

“Savannah! Nathan!” Madeline hugged us at the same time and kissed our cheeks. “I wasn’t sure you’d be able to make it!” she said, looking at me through green eyes glittered with happiness.

“I wouldn’t miss it, Madeline. I’m back for the summer.” Even if I didn’t know what my plans were from here, I could play the part.

Madeline nodded with a slight smile on her lips. Her eyes were warm as she took in my words. Reassuring, somehow. I would be just fine.

She turned to Nathan, asking him about how things were with the symphony. They discussed the unsteady finances of American orchestras as I tuned them out, feeling like a stranger to the conversation, and fixed my eyes on a familiar woman just across the group. It took a moment to recognize her, because her hair was now dyed almost black, and when I’d known her it was the color of honey.

Oh. Karin Briggs.

It was the woman from the conservatory’s administrative office that Gregory casually dated during the semester I was his student. Her hair was cut into a reverse bob that fell just beneath her chin. She looked stunning in her floor-length chocolate colored gown.

When she caught me studying her I gave a polite smile, but she didn’t return it. She seemed to pale a little, if anything, and I looked over my shoulder to see why, but found nothing there. Meeting her eyes again, she grinned a sort of half grin that did little to make one feel warm. Confused, I sipped the rest of my wine, set it on the tray of a passing waiter, and retrieved another.

It was already shaping up to be a long night before I looked past Karin and saw Gregory Fitzgerald approaching from behind her. I’d seen him already at the church, but his proximity at the moment was disconcerting. My pulse raced as I realized it would do no good to try to hide. He would see me in a few seconds and that would be that.