Nadine

By Claudio Porstmann

A small-time piano teacher who scrapes by on a handful of students.
A brilliant teenager with great artistic potential.
A relationship that does not remain only professional.
In the life of every musician, there is always one single person who changes things forever.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Mar 3, 2015
• ISBN: 9781312957787

Book preview

Nadine

NADINE

© 2015 Claudio Porstmann. All rights reserved

I

Timothy Ewans collapsed with an exasperated sigh back into his old Nissan and finished wiping the grime off his hands after changing a flat.

Great, he thought, another couple of lessons worth just to get a new tire.

Grimacing, he started the car and headed for his next appointment, fumbling for his Luckies on the seat beside him. He found the crinkled pack under his briefcase, fished one out and lit up. Although spring was just around the corner, the day was drab and damp, and as he took the exit to his next student's house it started to drizzle. In a foul mood, he flipped the cigarette out the window before rolling it up.

An hour later he was relaxing on Mrs. Mandel's sofa. They had finished their piano lesson and he was having his customary coffee and cookies, served by the elderly lady after every class.

Another cookie? Mrs. Mandel pushed the plate a little closer. No excuses now, I'm sure one more won't make a difference. She glanced sternly at his six foot four frame, the solid muscles stretching his polo shirt, and his rugged good looks and stubbornly slid the plate right up to his elbow.

You know, you never told me why you became a piano teacher, she continued, mostly to cut off any protest he might have.

It's just the funny way things happen sometimes, Timothy smiled. I was studying business administration and through a friend I got interested in music pedagogy. I began studying that too and ended up getting a degree in both fields, but I soon found out that playing the piano was more fun than teaching it.

So then what happened?

Well. He paused and ran a hand through his sandy curls, then took another cookie after all. When I left college I began working for a big upstate company. I soon had a solid career going, but then they got hit hard by the financial crisis and went bankrupt practically overnight.

Mrs. Mandel nodded slowly. So you were suddenly--

Among the unemployed, yes. Then I remembered my music studies, and I decided to open a little studio. I was full of great ideas and ambitious plans. I didn't get a single student. He shrugged. Too much competition I guess. So I had to change my strategy in a hurry and decided to offer house visits instead. At least that got things started, and after a couple of weeks I had some business. Did you know you were one of my first students?

You've certainly done a wonderful job right from the start, young man. I do hope to have many more of those exceptional lessons of yours.

Timothy smiled a lopsided smile. How could he tell her the way he felt? Five years after losing his job here he was, caught in a weekly treadmill, barely making a living with only a meager handful of students, most of them uninterested and fairly untalented youngsters. Five years, and he was still just barely able to make ends meet. His