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“Okay, keep your eyes closed!” Elsa insisted to Mary as she led her by the hand into the house.
“You too, Mrs. Bjorgman.” Kristoff’s hand left her elbow where he was guiding her along to pinch her behind.
“Hey!” Anna squeaked but she giggled despite her protests. “I’m not peeking! See! Eyes are closed tight.”
“Good.” Kristoff chuckled.
Oskar made a large grunt of discontent and Anna’s eyes peeped open to see him squirming in a particularly violent manner in Kristoff’s arms.
“What did I just say?” Kristoff laughed.
“Sorry!” Anna squeezed her eyes shut again “He’s a little bit fussy today. He needs a nap soon. Do you want me to take him?”
“I’ve got him. Just shut your eyes or you’ll ruin the surprise.”
“Oh!” Olaf gave a happy cry. “I can hardly wait! I love surprises!”
“Olaf, you already know what it is.” Kristoff sounded mildly annoyed.
“I know! I helped pick it out, and carry it in-“
“Wait, you had to help carry it in? What could possibly be that big?” Anna exclaimed, her eye threating to open as they crossed over the threshold.
“Olaf!” Kristoff definitely sounded annoyed now. “Be quiet!”
“I’m sorry! It’s just so exciting I can’t wait to see their faces when they see that it’s a-“
“A piano?” Mary squealed in excitement.
Anna’s eyes flew open, and there on the far wall, next to the hutch, was a simple pianoforte. It was rather small, definitely nothing like the massive Grand-piano Anna had grown up playing, but it was a piano nonetheless.
“Wait,” Anna breathed and looked at Kristoff, “what?”
“It’s from Elsa.” He shrugged.
“And me!” Olaf chimed in.
“I don’t remember you paying for it?” Elsa raised an eyebrow at him.
“Yes, but I helped you pick it out, and then I helped you transport it all the way across the country. And then I helped carry it in. My hand in this was undeniable.”
“Think of it as a christening present for Oskar.” Elsa said as she rolled her eyes at Olaf.
“We haven’t had Oskar christened.” Anna pointed out, coming to her sister to give her a hug. “There’s nobody out here to do it, anyway.”
“Then think of it as a late Christmas present.” Elsa smiled brightly. “I wasn’t nearly extravagant enough last year.”
“Elsa, it’s nearly the end of July.” Kristoff chuckled.
“An early Christmas present then. To everybody,” she looked at Olaf in a very pointed way, “from me.”
“Rude.” Olaf muttered.
“So…” Mary had sidled up to the instrument. “Does that mean I can play it?”
“Of course!” Elsa insisted.
Mary eagerly hopped up onto the rotating stool and rolled the cover off the keys. Gingerly she laid her fingers across them and played a few random notes.
The glorious noise that filled the house brought happy tears to Anna's eyes.
“How did you know though?” Anna sniffled.
“Kristoff told me you were watching somebody play at an Easter gathering with complete and utter jealousy.”
“I was watching Martha Griggs play,” Anna said laughing and quickly swiping her cheeks and turning to Kristoff, “and I was making sure she didn’t come near you.”
“That may be the case,” Kristoff laughed and shifted Oskar in his arms, “but I saw the way you were longing to go over and play yourself. Then we got home you made me try to teach you to play the lute and when you couldn’t get the hang of it you had me play every night for a whole month. I put two and two together.”
“I just…” She laughed and came over to give him a tight hug around his middle. “I just missed making music.”
“Can you play?” Mary looked up at her in awe.
“Well,” Anna laughed, “I’m not very good. But, yes. I can play.”
“Will you teach me?” Mary looked excited at the prospect. “My friend Diana says that being able to play the piano is the absolute height of sophistication.”
“Sophistication?” Elsa raised her eyebrows. “That’s an awfully big word.”
“But it’s still true.” Mary insisted. “Will you teach me?”
“Of course!” Anna grinned and came over to join Mary at the piano. “This, right here, is middle C. Everything begins from here.”
“Wow.” Mary gasped placing her thumb on the key.
Anna hadn’t realized how much she missed the ivory and ebony keys, but now that they were within her grasp she couldn’t help but gently swipe her fingers across them, admiring the softness.
“Well.” Kristoff piped up. “Play something for us.”
“Yes, do!” Mary jumped off the stool.
“Alright.”
Anna bit her lip for a moment, trying to bring a tune to mind. She remembered a song called ‘Little Old Cabin in the Lane’, that was really meant for a fiddle, but Anna had thought it was so endearing when she was younger that she had had to learn it.
She played a quick scale, reminding her fingers what to do, then began.
She missed a few notes, and she was fairly certain she repeated a few measures by accident, and forgot an additional bar, but still she was grinning.
When she finished there was a rousing applause.
“Brava! Brava!” Olaf called then whispered under his breath to Kristoff. “What on earth was that? Has she never heard of Beethoven?”
“Olaf.” Kristoff gave him a very annoyed look.
One voice then rose out among all the others.
“Mama!”
All eyes turned to the little tyke in Kristoff’s arms.
Oskar was waving his arms wildly above his head.
“Mama! Mama! Mama!”
Anna leapt to her feet.
“Ha! He said ‘mama’ first! You are all witnesses!”