Dear readers, I hope you enjoy my story. Please rate and even more important comment on what you liked or hated. It helps so much. This story has been an experiment for me. Telling it in two alternating voices was something I really wanted to try. Please tell me if it worked for you. And Thank You to two Literotica former authors for their inspiration. Wish they were still here.
Carl Carbone had always wanted to learn the piano. Now that he was retired, maybe the time was right. In fact, if not now, he had no idea when he would ever get there.
Carl had a piano; it came with the house he and Shirley had bought 25 years ago. Life was just too busy for him to learn until last year when he finally stopped working and Shirley passed away. His wife had played a little and all the kids had lessons, but he never had the time. Now he thought, "Let's teach an old dog some new tricks."'
And Carl had time, too much time on his hands.
Carl asked at the music store in the larger town just a bit south of his small hamlet, if they knew any piano teachers who might want to help an older beginner. They suggested Jenny Springfield who lived 3 blocks way. They referred many students her way and everyone always spoke highly of her teaching methods. Carl called her from the store hoping she might be able to see him next week to see if this crazy (sometimes he thought stupid) idea had any merit. She answered on the 2nd ring and said, "I have nothing scheduled for the rest of the day, why don't you come over and let's see if we can work something out."
Carl confidently said "Okay, see in a few minutes." But he wasn't really sure he was prepared to actually go through with this idea. He nervously drove the three blocks, missed the big old farmhouse, and circled the block a second time. Struggling to work up the nerve to stop and go in, he couldn't remember being this nervous in years.
As he pulled over to the curb he thought, what if she laughs at this old man? What if I am too old to learn? A thousand negative What if questions were racing around inside his head.
Carl finally took a deep breath and thought "What if it turns out great?" And besides if it was just too awkward or uncomfortable, he could just leave quickly and never come back.
So up the front steps Carl trudges, head down, to be met at the front door by a beautiful white-haired woman, about 5'3" tall, average build for an older woman, not flabby but not lean, with the most astonishing blue eyes he ever saw. Jenny had a big smile as she welcomed Carl into the front parlor and took his coat.
The front room was decorated sparsely with just a couch, a chair, an end table with lamp, and a piano. The walls were bare except for one beautiful painting hanging near the piano. It was a country scene showing a distant farm with a stream meandering through the farm fields in the foreground. Carl thought he had seen something similar but couldn't figure out where.
Before he could say anything, Jenny motioned for Carl to sit on the couch as she took the chair. Carl had stammered his hello on the way in and now he nervously wrung his hands and Jenny reached over and grabbed his hands in hers. She looked into his eyes and said, "There is no need to be nervous, it is only us chickens here."
Carl laughed and relaxed a bit. His mother had used the same expression all the time growing up. He looked into Jenny's sapphire blue eyes and smiled. His tension was draining from his body.
Jenny's first impression of Carl was of a tall (over 6') man with salt and pepper hair. His physique was of someone who kept fit with a broad chest and toned arms. His hands were calloused like he did manual work versus sat in some office. And when she looked at his face, he had a lopsided grin, when she finally got him to relax a bit. His eyes were a deep hazel that you could lose yourself in.
Jenny asked Carl why he wanted to learn piano. Carl explained how he loved all kinds of music but never learned to play any instruments. He nervously asked her," Can you teach someone this old to learn to play."
"I have never failed to teach a student young or old who wanted to learn" was her emphatic response. "Do you have a piano to practice on."
Carl told her about buying the big house 30 years ago with the piano and how he never had (or made) the time to learn. Now his situation was very different, and he hoped she could help him change that.
Jenny's face lit up as she asked Carl "Did you buy the house from the Dandridge's up in North Fork by any chance?"
Carl's face registered shock as he responded "Yes, how did you know".
Jenny's smile grew into a wide grin as she said "Those were my parents; I grew up in that house. I guessed because that was the right time frame for when they sold and moved in here with me."
Well, that broke the ice on all of Carl's nerves. They talked about the house, the neighborhood, improvements Carl made over the years, the big maple tree in the yard Jenny used to climb in her youth, and before they knew it, 2 hours had flown by. The conversation was easy and at times they were finishing each other's sentences.
But that didn't stop them, they kept talking like they were lifelong friends. Carl shared stories of his children, his jobs in construction, and hobby of woodworking, his wife's passing and his current loneliness.
