Chapter 29 - The Song at the Mansion
The mansion's west wing smelled of fresh paint and polished wood when Grace and Lily arrived.
The independent trustees had opened only the rooms approved for the pilot. A staff member greeted them at the entrance, checked the visitor list, and explained the emergency exits. The security director wore a plain uniform and introduced himself by his first name. No one asked Grace to sign a publicity release.
Lily held her mother's hand as they walked toward the sunroom.
The piano was where it had always been. The framed drawings still stood on the mantel, including the one Lily had made with the ducks on top of the piano. A new notice beside the door explained that the room was being used for supervised community music sessions and that visitors could ask for a break or leave at any time.
Lucas was waiting near the window. He did not approach until Grace nodded.
“Hello, Lily.”
“Hello.”
“I kept your music card.”
“Did you practice?”
“Some.”
Lily frowned. “Some isn't enough.”
Lucas laughed. “I had a feeling you might say that.”
The music teacher arrived with a small group of children. She explained the session and invited everyone to choose an instrument. Lily chose the piano. Another child chose a hand drum, and a boy with a hearing aid picked a small keyboard with headphones.
The teacher asked whether anyone wanted to start with a group rhythm. Lily raised her hand, then lowered it when she saw how many people were watching.
“You can start later,” the teacher said.
Lily nodded. No one insisted.
The first activity went well. The children tapped out a rhythm, then listened as the teacher played a short melody. When it was Lily's turn, she sat on the piano bench and placed her card on the stand.
She played the four notes.
Then she paused.
Then she played them again.
The room remained quiet until she finished. The teacher smiled and asked whether Lily wanted to add the fifth note she had rejected earlier.
“No,” Lily said. “This song is about waiting.”
“Then we'll keep it.”
Lucas watched from the side. He remembered the first day Lily had found him struggling to breathe. He remembered the fear in her voice and the way she had called for help. He was grateful, but he no longer saw her as the child who had saved him. She was a child who liked ducks, music, and deciding when a song was finished.
After the lesson, Lily asked whether she could see the old photograph of Isabella and Daniel. Grace checked that the room was quiet, then walked with her to the mantel.
“That's Daniel?” Lily asked.
“Yes,” Lucas said.
“He looks like he would be funny.”
“He was. He made up songs that didn't make any sense.”
“Like mine?”
“Yours makes more sense.”
Lily looked at the photograph for a moment. “I wish I could have met him.”
Lucas swallowed. “I wish that too.”
She did not ask him to stop being sad. She simply placed her small drawing beside the photograph and stepped back to see them together.
Grace watched Lucas's face. The old grief was there, but he did not ask Lily to make it easier. He let the moment belong to the people in the photographs and the child standing beside them.
A staff member approached with a message for Lucas. The prosecutor's office had requested that he attend a follow-up interview the next week. The new evidence from Henry Vale had led to questions about a meeting held at the estate before the fire. The investigator wanted to establish who had been present and whether Lucas had received any warning.
Lucas thanked the staff member and put the message away.
Grace noticed his expression. “Another interview?”
“Yes. They want to ask about a meeting I may have attended.”
“Do you remember it?”
“I remember several meetings that week. I don't know whether it was the one they mean.”
“Then tell them what you remember. Don't fill in what you don't.”
“I won't.”
Lily tugged at Grace's sleeve. “Can we get hot chocolate?”
Grace checked the time. “Yes, after we put the piano away.”
Lucas offered to carry the music stand, but he asked the teacher first. The teacher said she had it covered. He did not insist.
At the front door, Lily turned back toward the sunroom.
“Can I come again?”
“If you want to,” Lucas said.
“Maybe next Saturday.”
“Then we'll ask your mother and the program director.”
Lily nodded. She liked knowing that the answer depended on more than one adult's wish.
Outside, the winter air had softened. Grace helped Lily into her coat and checked that her scarf was secure. Lucas stood several feet away, giving them room.
“Thank you for keeping the room open,” Grace said.
“Thank you for bringing her.”
“She came because she wanted to.”
“I know.”
Grace looked at him for a moment. “That matters.”
He nodded. “It does.”
They drove away without a promise of another visit. Lucas returned to the sunroom and saw the drawing Lily had placed beside the family photograph. It did not repair the past, but it made the room feel less like a memorial and more like a place where life could continue.
After the session, the program director asked Lily whether she wanted to help choose the next month's music. Lily said she wanted a song that began softly and got louder only if everyone agreed. The teacher suggested a simple group piece where each child could choose when to join.
The idea was added to the plan. No one was required to play a solo, and children could participate by tapping a rhythm, listening, or drawing while the others played.
Grace noticed that Lily had begun to make choices more confidently. She still checked with her mother about unfamiliar places and sometimes became quiet when adults spoke about the past. But she was also willing to say when she wanted a break or when a lesson felt too difficult.
On the way home, she asked Grace whether Lucas had been sad when he looked at the photograph.
“I think he misses them,” Grace said.
“Does he always miss them?”
“Probably.”
“Can he still be happy?”
“Yes. People can miss someone and still have good days.”
Lily nodded. “Like when I miss my old teacher but like my new one.”
Grace smiled. “Exactly.”
That evening, Lucas sent a short message thanking Grace for bringing Lily to the session. He did not ask when they would return. Grace replied that Lily had enjoyed the music and that they would decide about the next visit after checking the schedule.
Lucas wrote back: That sounds right.
He placed his phone down and returned to the piano. He had learned the four-note melody, but he still struggled with the quiet ending. He played it too strongly, stopped, and tried again.
He imagined Lily correcting him, and for the first time in a long while, the thought made him smile rather than ache.
Before they left, the music teacher asked Lily whether she wanted to write the title of her song on the card. Lily thought for a long time, then printed: “Wait for the Door.”
“Why that name?” the teacher asked.
“Because you have to wait until someone says you can come in.”
The teacher nodded and wrote the title beneath the notes. Lily carried the card home herself, holding it carefully so it would not bend.
In the car, Grace asked whether she had enjoyed the visit.
“Yes. I liked the piano. I liked the room. I liked that nobody made me play again when I was finished.”
“I'm glad.”
Lily looked out the window. “I might go back. But I might not next week.”
“You can decide.”
She leaned against the seat, satisfied. For once, the visit had ended without anyone asking her to promise another one.
That night, Lily asked Grace to put the music card in a small frame beside her bed. Grace helped her choose a plain wooden one, then placed it on the shelf where Lily kept her favorite books.
“Will you remember the song if you can't see the notes?” Grace asked.
“Maybe not all of it,” Lily said. “But I can remember the pause.”
Grace smiled. “Then the important part is safe.”
Lily turned off the lamp, then called her mother back once.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“If I don't want to go to the mansion next time, Mr. Moretti won't be angry?”
“No. He has said you can choose.”
“Good. I like going sometimes. I just don't want it to become a rule.”
“It won't.”
May you like
Lily settled under the blanket. Grace stood in the doorway for a moment, listening to her breathing and watching her relax. The visit had been a good day because Lily had been allowed to enjoy it without owing anyone another one.
Grace closed the door gently and returned to the kitchen. She placed the visit card in the family calendar but left the following Saturday blank. The choice would remain open until Lily was ready to make it.
