The Stars That Tremble (22 page)

“Your nemesis?” asked Mike.

Gio didn’t feel like he could elaborate. He tilted his head toward Tracy Quinlan, hoping to convey the relevant information through body language and telepathy. Mike nodded, so maybe he understood.

“I decided to go with ‘Ah, fors’è lui’ after all,” Emma said.

“That is the perfect choice, because Amelia Quinlan is singing ‘Sì. Mi chiamano Mimì.’”

Emma’s jaw dropped. “Are you serious? She was the one who suggested I sing it. Said it was perfect for me. She was going to do something from
Tosca
.”

As sabotage attempts went, this was an odd one, and sure to fail given that Emma would undoubtedly outshine Amelia. “Interesting,” Gio said. He glanced back at Amelia, who stood next to her chattering mother and looked bored. Gio supposed the blank expression on her face also could have been caused by nerves, but Gio suspected Amelia cared a lot less about this audition than her mother did.

“Is something going on with that woman?” asked Mike quietly, his gaze on Tracy.

“I’ll explain later,” said Gio, trying to think of a way to gracefully bow out of the room. “Good luck with the audition, Emma. Not that you need it. Remember to sing from the top of your head.”

Gio wanted to watch the auditions but thought better of it. He shook Mike’s hand, which felt like both the most appropriate and most absurd thing he could do. Then he turned to the room. “Best of luck, everyone.
In bocca al lupo
.” He walked back out into the hall.

Dacia followed him out. In rapid Italian, she said, “You are crazy. You shouldn’t be here. Mrs. Q has you in her sights and intends to blame you if her daughter doesn’t get into the program.”

“I wanted to see—”

“I know who you wanted to see.” She grunted. “I overheard the girl in question warming up about an hour ago. She’s fine, but she’s not as good as most of these other singers.”

“What would you have me do? What will
you
do? She’ll come after you and the other committee members next. She’s already spoken with Howell. She made a big show of mentioning how the Q family had dinner with him last week.”

“She knows about you and Mike.” Dacia spared a glance toward the classroom. “She knows you and I are friends. If she goes to Howell and exposes your affair, Howell could look at it as favoritism. She’ll tell him something that will put you in a bad light. That means either disciplinary action for you or Emma getting kicked out of the program.”

“He wouldn’t throw Emma out of the program.”

“He might. You don’t know what he would do. You know as well as I do that the Quinlans are ruthless. Howell might be persuaded by the great sum of money they are no longer contributing once their daughter gets rejected from the program. But I, not to mention this committee, will not admit a girl who doesn’t deserve a spot. We’ve got six spots open and thirty students auditioning for them.”

“I don’t mean to put you in a difficult position.” The words sounded weak to Gio’s ears. He didn’t want to cause trouble for Dacia, but he knew he was anyway so he could have Mike.

She crossed her arms over her chest. “I love you, Gio. You know that. I want you to be happy, and if this man makes you happy, then that is good. But you’ve created a mess. Mrs. Q will use your relationship as a weapon against you if she does not get her way. I do not wish for bad things to happen to you, but I know how this girl performs. She barely even wants to be here. How can I admit a student like that to this program in good faith? But her family keeps this school afloat. If she pulls out funding, programs will get cut. Your opera workshop will probably be the first thing to go.”

“You know I would never ask you to compromise your integrity.”

“I still won’t.”

“Shit.” There was just nothing else for Gio to say.

“Howell’s around today,” said Dacia. “You can’t let him see you talking to your boyfriend. Just in case.”

Gio kicked the wall, which was not at all satisfying. Maybe he’d been cocky, but it hadn’t ever seemed like a possibility that Emma wouldn’t get into the program. She was too talented by far to get rejected. He’d been wagering with himself that Tracy Quinlan didn’t really have the guts to go to Howell, but if she and her husband were inviting him over to dinner, maybe she was capable of more than he thought. Still, he imagined he’d be reprimanded but keep his job, since there was no rule against dating a student’s parent, and more to the point, Emma was no longer technically his student.

Now he wondered just how much trouble Tracy Quinlan could cause for him.

“I am so sorry, Dacia.”

“Knowing what I know puts me in an untenable position,” Dacia said, still speaking Italian. “And even if I did go against my conscience, the other committee members could, and probably will, still reject her.”

Gio glanced back at the classroom, where Tracy Quinlan was lingering near the doorway. The
her
in question was so clearly Amelia, and Gio wondered how much Italian—if any—Tracy could comprehend.

“It is out of our hands, then,” he said.

Dacia bit her lip and looked toward the classroom. “I just do not know what to do or what we can do. Perhaps I’m wrong and nothing will come of this. Perhaps this girl will give a fantastic audition and get in with no problem. Perhaps Howell can see right through everyone’s bullshit. But we should be prepared for certain consequences.” She sighed. “I love you, but I cannot help you now.”

Gio nodded. “Nor should you have to. I understand, Dacia.” He looked down the hall and contemplated hiding in his office for the rest of the day. But then he added, just so Dacia would understand, “I think I’m falling in love with him.”

The hard look on Dacia’s face softened, but she said, “You better be sure before you put your ass on the line.”

W
HEN
Emma’s name was called, Mike walked with her to the studio room where they were holding the audition. “I’ll be right out here, okay?” He hugged her tightly. “I love you so much.”

“I love you too, Daddy.”

“You’ll do great.”

Mike waited outside the room as she went in and someone closed the door. After a moment, there was muffled speaking and then the prettiest sound drifted out of the room. He had been hearing her sing around the apartment all week, but just as with the final workshop show, it was another thing entirely to hear her sing for other people. Her voice was light and airy, like a bird singing, but there was strong emotion behind it too. Mike had no idea what the words meant, but it sounded like pain and love and hope all rolled together, and he marveled that a girl as young as Emma could reach into herself and act out those feelings. He leaned against the wall and closed his eyes for a moment. He didn’t have the vocabulary to describe it, but it was beautiful and he could hardly believe the sound came from Emma.

Gio appeared down the hall. He gestured toward the studio and Mike nodded. Gio looked around and then walked right up to Mike and pecked him on the lips.

They both just listened for a moment. Gio closed his eyes and briefly conducted her with a few sweeping hand motions, but then he stood still and smiled. Mike wasn’t quite sure what to make of his presence. He was glad to see Gio, although perhaps not at the expense of whatever trouble it might cause if that nemesis woman was around.

A man appeared at the end of the hall and walked right toward them. He stopped next to Gio and listened for a moment. “Is that the girl you were telling me about?” the man asked quietly.

“Yes,” Gio whispered.

Mike wondered who the man was, but he also knew there couldn’t be much more to the aria. They all stood there listening until she finished singing. And even then, once the song ended, everyone just stood there and savored it for a moment. Mike was too impressed and surprised to speak.

“Quite a lovely voice,” the man said, looking dazed. “What was her name?”

“Emma McPhee,” said Gio. “This is her father, Mike. Mike, this is Howell Laughton. He’s the head of the voice department here.”

Mike shook Howell Laughton’s hand.

“I have to run,” Gio said, panic etched all over his face. “Good luck!”

Gio left so fast he almost literally was running.
This is bad
, Mike thought. He wondered if Gio was in trouble and if there was anything Mike could do.

Now, however, he was left standing in an empty hallway with the head of the voice department. He didn’t want to make small talk with Howell Laughton. He wanted to kiss Gio. He wanted to rescue Emma at the end of her audition. But, no, he found himself explaining what he did for a living and how much Emma loved opera to a strange man while he waited for Emma to finish talking with the audition committee. Then, finally, she emerged with a grin on her face.

“Sounds like you bombed,” Mike said with mock gravity.

She rolled her eyes. “Ms. Russini said it was one of the best auditions she’s seen all day!”

Mike put his arm around her and gave her a quick hug. “I’m so proud of you, sweetie.” He glanced at Howell Laughton, who rocked on his heels. “Do you know Mr. Laughton? He is the head of the voice department at Olcott.”

She shook her head but extended her hand to him. He shook her hand and said, “I have been hearing about you all summer, Miss McPhee. I believe you will make a fine addition to our program.”

Emma beamed. “Thank you!” she squealed.

Mike held back a laugh. She was so serious about her music it was hard to remember sometimes that, at the end of the day, she was still a fourteen-year-old girl. And still, he could see the baby she’d been, the toddler, the girl. He was enormously proud of her.

Laughton smiled. “There are cookies and juice back in the classroom where you were waiting. Help yourself.” He patted Mike on the shoulder and then went into the audition studio.

Mike escorted Emma back down the hall. “So how does it feel to be the singer everyone is talking about?” he asked.

“It’s not like that.”

Mike chuckled. Then his phone buzzed in his pocket, so he checked it. It was a text from Gio:
Tell the little songbird she is a star and I’m proud of her
.

Mike showed Emma the message. She grinned. “Don’t let it go to your head,” Mike added.

As they walked back into the room, Emma said, “This is probably not the time to ask, but, like, you really like him, right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

“So is it, like, serious? What are your intentions?” She gave him a stern face.

He ruffled her hair. “It is serious, but I don’t know yet. Don’t be a pest.”

They each had a cup of juice and a couple of cookies. Emma chatted with the kids she knew, and Mike chatted with a few of the parents. Now that most of the auditions were over, the atmosphere in the room was a lot more relaxed. After about an hour, Dacia came by the room and knocked on the doorframe.

“Ladies and gentlemen, thank you so much for coming today. This was a spectacular round of auditions. Final decisions will be made over the next couple of days, and we will let you know next week.
Buona fortuna
,
ragazzi.
” Then she turned around and left the room.

Something wasn’t quite right. Gio had told Mike they’d post who got into the program that afternoon. But no one else seemed bothered, so he ordered Emma to gather her things. The change in procedure nagged at Mike, but as there was nothing he could do about it, he figured it was better to get out of the school.

W
HEN
Mike opened the door, Gio stood there wringing his hands.

“Are you all right?”

Though Mike moved out of the way to let Gio in, Gio continued to stand in the hallway outside Mike’s apartment.

“Gio?”

“It’s my fault.”

“Okay. Are you going to come in or just stand in the hallway?” He had no clue what was going on, but he figured he could get to the bottom of it better if they were sitting.

Gio looked around and then nodded and walked into the apartment. The TV was on low, the din of a baseball game filling the small living room with sound. Mike had been looking through a catalog, trying to figure out which samples to order for a bathroom job on Eighty-sixth Street while he waited for Gio to arrive. Emma had gone off to Isobel’s for the night, so Mike had called and invited Gio over.

It was the day after the auditions, and Mike still hadn’t heard if Emma had gotten in. He’d been hoping Gio might have heard something, but he didn’t want to press the issue. He’d been looking forward to a quiet, relaxed evening with Gio all day.

But Gio looked seriously troubled now, his brow furrowed as he fidgeted and tugged on the hem or fiddled with the buttons of his shirt.

“What is your fault?” Mike asked after he felt like he’d given Gio sufficient time to explain himself on his own.

Gio frowned. “Amelia Quinlan was not chosen to be admitted to the Young Musicians Program.”

Something about that pinged Mike’s memory, but he couldn’t quite figure out what the issue was here. “How is that your fault? You weren’t on the audition committee.”