Chapter Text
"Apartment 1B," he muttered under his breath, pressing the appropriate doorbell on the panel beside the door. He looked around a little, she lived in a well-manicured Brooklyn brownstone that had since been converted to a multi-unit of apartments. He could see a bustle of movement out of the corner of his eye in a window to his left.
She opened the door, ushering him into the main foyer, and then into her own apartment. She returned his smile, and she motioned for him to take off his shoes, and opened up a closet for him to hang up his coat.
She looked fairly similar to the headshot he had seen on her website, maybe a few more dark circles under her eyes, and the honey-tones in her hair were beginning to fade. He was surprised to find that she was taller than he had imagined, perhaps just a few inches shorter than he was.
"Anything to drink? Water? Tea? Coffee?"
"If it's not a hassle, coffee?" he said.
"I've heard that you like espresso?" she said, her head tilting slightly. "I'll make you a few shots and while that's going, we can talk a little more about what your goals are."
"All righty," he said, following her down the hallway into the kitchen. In contrast to the darkness of the entranceway, the kitchen was newly renovated and featured large picture windows that looked out into the small fenced-in backyard.
"So we talked a little on the phone, but just tell me again what you'd like to do."
"Well, my younger sister Lux is finally getting married and I want to perform something for them at the wedding, Run Run Se Fue Pal Norte by Violeta Parra. It's a Chilean ballad that our mom used to sing to us," he said.
"Right," she said. "If I recall correctly, you said the wedding is in May? About one month from now?"
He said yes, watching her tamp down the espresso grounds on both of the portafilters. Was she making him two, or making them both an espresso? She put the portafilters onto the machine, and the aroma of heady espresso soon began to fill the room.
"Do you read music?"
"No," he said. "Or at least, I probably have forgotten by now. I did take an intro to piano class when I was at NYU but that's been ages ago." He felt himself shrug apologetically, but she just shook her head, pouring two glasses of water.
"So you're that kind of coffee person?" he said, hoping his tilted head conveyed his sense of jocularity.
"What if I am?" she said coolly, setting one of the glasses in front of him, tilting her head slightly to the side.
"I have to be honest, I can't really tell the difference between something from Starbucks and something from the local third wave shop," he said. She studied him for a moment, and turned back to the espresso machine, which had finished its pulls.
"Right, no matter," she said. "I've taken a look at the ballad and it's fairly basic in its harmonic progression so if you're committed to practicing regularly you should be fine. Ice?"
"Nah," he said. She poured both of the shots into a mug, and pushed it over to him. So they were both for him. He took a sip, and followed her into the living room.