Hank nodded approvingly at Andy, and the six exited the room.
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15 minutes later, Jane texted them to come back.
The Judge spoke first, “We think this is an amazing idea — for lots of reasons. To that end, we have two recommendations — and please know — they’re just that. First, our advice would be that Sara and Andy both go the Classics route — with Andy doubling up in finance, and Sara in French. Education majors learn to teach to a test. You’re teaching your kids with a much more noble goal in mind. We’d also recommend a course of reading for Alex.” He turned to him and said, “Helen and I would love to serve as your tutors on that end, son.”
Alex nodded. “It would be my great pleasure to be tutored by the two of you. Thank you.”
“Here’s our second recommendation,” said Jane. “We think you should reach out to your friends and see if they have a common interest. Put your expectations and curriculum in writing. You may even want to invite their input. My guess would be that the Broquard’s, O’Leary’s and Jacobs’ families might want to join you. There may even be others. There are classical schools that have one day of classroom instruction, alongside four days of in-home instruction. This way, when you send them to Groton, or Boston Arts, or wherever you ultimately send them, they’re not the only kids with this kind of educational experience. Plus,” she grinned madly as she said this, “your lovely children will eventually need spouses. Might as well cultivate a pool of possible matches.”
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At 9 PM that night, the family gathered in the living room. Hank and Jane had gone back to DC, and Kail and Eden had returned from their evening out. Andy and Ellen were on stools, and Christopher was seated at the piano. Andy and Christopher began playing, and Ellen soulfully entered,
Now, here you go again
You say, you want your freedom
Well, who am I to keep you down
It’s only right that you should
Play the way you feel it
But listen carefully to the sound
Of your loneliness
Andy and Christopher joined in the chorus, and their cover of Dreams was exquisite. Every time Andy played and sang it blew Sara away. How and where did this come from? These questions burned in her head as she listened, and gradually the questions would float away, leaving only the enjoyment of hearing her man sing with his sister and her fiancé. All too soon, the song was over. She looked up, and saw Andy grinning at her.
“For this next, and last, song of the evening, we need some help. We’ve already heard from the lovely Miss Sunderland,” said Christopher as he moved from the piano and pulled a cajon over to take a seat on the instrument. “Tonight, we’d like to hear from Miss Adams and Miss Jones-Easley.”
Sara looked at Andy in utter horror. He knew she could sing — but not like Ellen — or even Kail for that matter. She looked at Eden, who was laughing, and before she knew it, she too was getting off the couch. As she walked past Andy, she whispered to him, “You are so going to make this up to me later.”
Ellen had raised her microphone, and put an iPad on a music stand. There were color-coded lyrics to the song in front of them. Sara smiled when she saw the title. This, she could sing. The day a R&B aficionado from Brooklyn couldn’t represent on a Justin Timberlake song would be a cold day in hell. She looked at Andy and lovingly stuck her tongue out at him. He smiled at her — in the way that only he could do — and she felt herself get weak-kneed, and warm between her legs. “So that was his plan,” she thought. This was public foreplay. She found herself grinning, both for what he was doing, and what would come later. She shuddered involuntarily, and she caught Jessica grinning at her knowingly.
Andy began playing and took the first verse,
Aren’t you something to admire, ’cause your shine is something like a mirror
And I can’t help but notice, you reflect in this heart of mine
If you ever feel alone and the glare makes me hard to find
Just know that I’m always parallel on the other side
Eden took the next couple of lines,
‘Cause with your hand in my hand and a pocket full of soul
I can tell you there’s no place we couldn’t go
Sara entered in, her voice showing the soul and power she felt,
Just put your hand on the glass, I’m here trying to pull you through
You just gotta be strong.
Andy started the chorus, quickly joined by Sara, Eden, and Ellen.
Sara could not help grinning madly as they sang together. She loved her man — more desperately than she could have imagined — and this was just another expression of that love. She had grown up with music in the house, but not like this. All too soon, this song came to an end. Sara walked to Andy and kissed him deeply.
“Thank you, baby. You keep introducing me to myself,” she said tenderly.
“It’s about time somebody did,” he said. “You’re amazing, Bellissima.”
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As they were getting ready for bed, Andy got a text from John Moses. He was heading to Seattle on Sunday afternoon to try and hire a new men’s crew coach. Could Jen Land and Marty ride with him back to Colton? And, if it wasn’t too much trouble, could Marty crash with Andy and Cooper Hughes at the Commons until Tuesday night? Andy called him back, and they made the necessary arrangements.
Sara came out of the bathroom wearing Andy’s National Team sweater. Andy looked at her sheepishly.
“Baby don’t get weird on me now. I know who had this — but this is mine now. You’re mine now. We belong to one another. No cute cheerleader from high school can change that. You kick ass, and this sweater reminds me of that. You’re going to blow my mind, and then we’re going down to the trophy room. Jake spilled the beans. You were the MVP of that tournament, and there’s a bunch of shit you haven’t told me or shown me. I get it — or at least I think I do. I know you think that’s ancient history, but baby, it’s your history. I’m your wife, and I want to know all that history,” she smiled at him.