Sterling stood near the piano, expression unreadable. Ethan bowed because Bellcroft had taught him to. Then he lifted the violin and began. The Bach went honestly.
Not transcendent. Honest. The Accolay began tightly but settled after the second theme. In the development passage he nearly overshot a shift and corrected it just in time. He finished, lowered the instrument, and heard only the turning of a page.
“Thank you,” Naomi said.
He left convinced he had lost.
This conviction lasted almost forty-three hours. On Sunday evening, while Dana chopped bell peppers for a skillet dinner and Ethan reviewed a math workbook out of loyalty to the idea of summer homework if not the execution, his phone buzzed with a Bellcroft email forwarded from Naomi Chen. He had won the gala preview slot. Ms.
Sterling’s accompanying note was characteristically restrained: “You earned this by playing with growing command and unusual integrity. Report Tuesday with marked parts. We have work to do.” Dana sat down so abruptly she nearly tipped the chair.
Then she laughed and cried at the same time.