From "Whisper Dancing"
“Someone
broke you heart?” Clara asks.
“No.”
“You
answer too quickly. You are lying to me, Jimmy Quinn.” Peering through the
keyhole, “Who was she? Who broke your heart?”
He can
feel her eyes watching him. Turning away before answering, “She didn’t break my
heart. Life did. Her name is Laura. Life broke everything when we moved here,
away from Cambridgeport. Not long after, she wrote me and told me she was
moving to Texas with her father. Her mother died from the flu. I haven’t heard
from her since. I may never see her again.”
“Perhaps
you will. Did you love her?”
“No. I
don’t think so.”
“And
yet your heart aches.”
Silence
re-enters the rooms separated by a door locked by greedy capitalist. The space
behind the wardrobe grows darker with the withdrawal of day. The young pair,
unknown to each other just hours before, lost in thought, consider what the
future may bring. Jimmy breaks the silence—
“There
was no music.”
“What
do you mean?” Clara, whose name means bright and clear, asks.
“When
you were dancing. There was no music. You have a music machine, but no music.”
Clara
laughs. “Music machine! It is called a phonograph, silly boy. Have you never
seen one?”
“Of
course. I just didn’t know…”
“It
doesn’t matter. The phonograph…the music machine does not work. The gears are
broken. But I don’t need that stupid thing. I can hear the music.”
“Like
in your mind?”
“No,
not in my mind. I can hear the music, just as I hear you.” Clara places her
mouth close to the keyhole, “The music whispers to me, Jimmy Quinn.”
His
heart jumps. Who is this girl?
“Whisper
dancing?”
“Yes!
Yes, that is what I do, Jimmy. That is wonderful! Whisper dancing! You are a
clever boy Jimmy Quinn. I would give you a hug if not for this stupid door!”
“Jimmy,
supper is ready,” his grandmother’s voice interrupting the revelation.
“Come
back tomorrow, young Mister Quinn. I look forward to the intrigue.”
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