Chapter 1.4

Chapter 5

Sitting on a stool in the middle of the dark corner environment Aiko awaited the moment when the band should go out again in the narrow stage of the entertainment room, a spawn between bar and recital theater in Boston. She observed her companions in the orchestra and with surprise found that everyone looked as dejected as she was. Behind a heavy dark curtain were the lights of the stage, undoubtedly one of the largest and most successful investments of the premises owners. The girl could also hear the resounding chords of the band that was playing at that moment, and with which they alternated on stage. The roars of the assistants were barely attenuated by the curtain. The whole atmosphere had a thick scent of beer and Aiko imagined that not only alcohol was being consumed by the crowd. As to confirm her thoughts Jimmy Corridan, the Irish saxophonist who also acted as director of the band and was known for his affection for marijuana, approached them; with a gesture he indicated to his mates that it was their turn to enter the scene. Resignedly Aiko got up from the bench and headed towards the curtain; her immediate concern was in what state of tuning (or detunement) the interpreter of the other band had left the piano, doubt that was generated when she heard how he pounded the poor instrument among the screams of the crowd that was standing for lack of space on the site.

While she was on stage, Aiko thought about how she would do this time to avoid Jimmy's attempts to take her to bed when they left at two in the morning and return to the hotel where everyone was staying. But those attempts were predictable and reiterated; what surprised the young woman most were the efforts of Donna, the singer of the group, to achieve the same ends as Jimmy. Aiko and Donna had become friends, so she found it more difficult to reject the sexual appetites of the woman, owner of a beautiful mezzo soprano voice that she knew how to modulate very well. Despite Donna´s intentions about her Aiko knew that her friend officiated in some way as her protector and containment fence within the musical group.

In the van they had hired to get around - driven by Mike, a San Francisco trumpet player- Jimmy, who was completely drunk, tried to slide his hands over Aiko's legs despite her screams until Donna, who was sitting next to the girl, gave the obscene member of the band a punch in the face that stopped him allowing the other musicians to hold him seated in his place after what the man fell completely asleep. Still frightened Aiko observed him and could see how a few drops of blood rolled down the blonde beard of the saxophonist, which she could not tell if they came from his lips or nose. Seeing the start of the young woman Donna put a hand on hers and laughing said.

"Do not worry. When he awakes from his drunkenness, what will happen tomorrow at noon, he will have no idea what happened, and none of the boys is going to tell him."

Then Donna was silent, and as if guessing Aiko's thoughts she added.

"Jimmy is not a bad guy but he is prey to his addictions and we have to put up with him because he is an excellent composer and he is the one who gets the contracts."

In this way, placed under the protection of her new friend Aiko culminated the tour in Massachusetts and was able to return safe with her relatives in Queens. Both Aunt Natsuko and her husband Eiichi were nervous because of the girl's lack of news in the past four days. In fact Michiko, Aiko's mother, had called two days before and her sister Natsuko had not known what to say, exposing her to a shameful situation. The girl apologized and immediately called her parents giving an explanation of circumstances about her silence but she knew she had not been convincing and had a weight in her conscience for having hidden things from her relatives.

The conclusion to which Aiko arrived was that she had to look for a new way of life, which implied at the same time changing the band and especially her friendships. Remembering the job she had had in the elegant hotel in Buenos Aires and taking that activity as a model she began a new search, which after a short time paid off. Thanks to a contact from his uncle Eiichi in the gastronomic sector, the girl obtained a job as a pianist in a luxurious Japanese restaurant in New York, which allowed her to play a repertoire more in keeping with her own tastes. That job was warmly approved by her uncles, who considered it respectable, although the change disappointed her little cousin Suzy, who had found fascinating her previous performance in a rock band.

Once the problem of making a living in an expensive and competitive city like New York was solved, Aiko focused on her real goal, to find a music school to continue her piano studies. Although she had an excellent training provided by the conservatory in Buenos Aires, the young woman knew she needed the accolade of reputable professors in New York to continue her successful concert career and join the small and select group of pianists who are hired in the main concert halls not only in the United States but especially in Europe. The Japanese pianist whose biography Aiko had taken as reference had studied in Paris at the prestigious Conservatoire National Supérieur de Musique but the girl had to find a way to further her career in New York where she had relatives. In short, that was the paths she had chosen to travel and for which she had left out promising prospects for her personal life. Thinking in those terms an image that had been buried since her arrival in the United States pierced Aiko´s mind, a memory that had been postponed due to the need to establish and start up her plans. But the girl knew that this image was deeply rooted in her soul and that she would not find peace until she dealt with that memory. Aiko sighed and went into her bedroom, lay on the bed and rested her head on the pillow. She fell asleep immediately with the memory of Leandro and her walking and laughing through the streets of Palermo Hollywood and still felt the pressure of the boy's arm around her waist.

He arrived at his parents' house restraining the desire to share the news he had received hours earlier by phone and had refrained to anticipate so as to be able to do so in person. Jorge opened the door for him and then his mother appeared at the kitchen door that led to the living room, still drying her hands on her apron. The scene of hugs did not exclude some tears and admonitions from Marta towards her son, whom she had not seen for a month despite living in the same city and in not so distant neighborhoods. The scene was cut by the opportune appearance of his brother Gonzalo; Leandro was impressed by the boy's stature and only then did he realize the time of his own absence.

"Hey, you're almost as tall as me! It is a lack of respect for your older brother. And you even have a beard!"

After the disorganized question-and-answer tournament among the family members in which almost all the topics were truncated by the advent of new questions, Marta reappeared at the kitchen door and announced that lunch was ready. The anticipation of experiencing a Sunday lunch again with his family produced an emotion that Leandro tried in vain to hide, while his parents and brother allowed him to process his feelings.

When desserts were being served Leandro made a moment of silence in order to create a certain expectation for his following words.

"I have something to tell you."

A silence was imposed on the table for a moment.

" I have just been informed that I was selected for the position for which I had applied in an international business consultancy just a couple of weeks ago."

In the midst of the festive comments Jorge reproached his son.

" You had not commented to me anything on this postulation."

At the request of the former, father and son had brief telephone conversations at least once a week.

"I did not want to create unfounded expectations. It was a very competitive selection process. In fact, it was completed earlier than expected."

" Do they pay you more than in your current job? " Gonzalo's question translated the scale of values of millennials.

" The initial salary is not everything. " Observed the father, who had had an important business career. " Rather, tell us about the prospects of the new job."

"It is still not much that I can tell you for sure. It is mostly my own assumptions."

Then he related the scant data he had about the prospect work. After a pause he added.

" A training period in the parent company is scheduled for within about six months.

"Where is that parent company?" Marta's question showed certain uneasiness.

"In Chicago."

" And it will be very prolonged? " Asked the father.

" Eight weeks ... but that's not all."

"What do you mean?"

"After that period, I'll have to work for a subsidiary in New York ... for an indefinite period."

Marta exhaled a moan, while Gonzalo's eyes shone with the ideas that crossed his mind.

When he returned to his own home, with mixed feelings produced by the new path that opened in front of him and the repercussions on his family, Leandro opened sat in front of his laptop and connected with the Internet. In the first place, he opened the mail box that he considered dedicated to work and reviewed the message announcing his appointment and the requirements for his formal incorporation into the firm. He re-read it as if to extract more information than the brief email could really convey. Then he prepared to go to shower and was already closing the computer when he decided to inspect his private mail as well. An intriguing message had arrived from an address that was unknown to him so he decided to open it.

Leandro felt the blood circulating fluidly in his veins. With a somewhat confused mind he pushed his chair away from the table where the laptop was. He put his ideas in order and read again the mail. That day had been prolific in emotions and the message, of indubitable interpretation, had filled his glass.