Page 28 of Down Beat

She nods with a smug smile, hands tucked between her legs.

“Ugh.” I retry the bow, and satisfied that it’s ready, head for the mic.

The sound guy waits patiently at his desk for me to start.

“Um.” I lean a little too close and wince at the feedback. “Do you want me to do a whole song, or…?”

“Whatever suits,” he calls. “We’ll work around you and let you know if we need more.”

Okay. I nod and pull in a deep, cleansing breath. Go with your favorite. I lift my violin and close my eyes, letting my senses guide my bow to the strings.

The room falls silent, enough so that a pin drop would be deafening. My breath escapes on a long exhale as I pull my bow across the strings and begin.

There it is. My heart calms, my mind at ease as I visualize the sheet music, preempt the next note. I fall back on the piece that cemented my love of violin: the theme from Schindler’s List. A beautifully emotive and sad tale. A perfect piece to play solo.

I sway as the piece builds, feeling each note rather than hearing it, completely and utterly immersed.

So much so that I don’t realize the entire theater remains silent while I bring my violin to my side and pull a deep breath to open my eyes.

Kendall sits speechless, nothing short of pride on her face. “That is why you’re supposed to do this shit.” She beams. “That right there.”

I glance across to the two sound techs. One sits perched on the back of a chair, his feet on the seat and jaw slack. The other, the guy who works the levels, stands with his hands immobilized on the board.

“Wow.” He snaps out of his trance, lifting one hand to scratch the back of his head as he looks down at the controls. “I think we’re good, but if you want to do another….”

“Something a bit faster?” I ask. “I’ve got backing tracks for a few of my pieces, but the USB for it isn’t with me.” I was so thrown by Rey at our place that I forgot to grab the damn thing.

“No issue.” He waves his hands before him. “Turn up early tomorrow, and we’ll run over them before everybody else gets in.”

“How early?”

He looks to the guy who’s now managed to shut his jaw. “What do you think?”

“Um.” He climbs off the chair. “How many tracks are we talking?”

“Four.” My hand flexes on the neck of my violin. “I can find out who was supposed to do the sound for me if it helps?”

“No, no.” He shakes his head, scratching around for something on the desk. “No need. We took over before they were scheduled to come in.” He pauses to look up at me. “You would have practiced today with them, right?”

Of course. I roll my eyes upward. “Yeah. I would have.” Duh, Tabby.

“Um. Come in three hours before the doors open and we should have plenty of time to get through it before the pretty boys rock up for their tuning.”

The first sound guy lifts a palm. “Don’t tell them we called them that.”

I chuckle, liking these two already. “Secret’s safe with me.”

“So, do you want to do another?”

I look to Kendall. “Do you need to go?”

“I’m right where I belong, babe.” She grins, flicking the back of her hand at me. “I’ve got time before I have to be at work. Play away.”

I turn back to the sound guys and give them a smile. “One more then.”

“Stage is yours, pretty lady.”