Free ENCORE PERFORMANCE (THE MATCHMAKER TRILOGY) by Bernadette Marie

mess.
The feeling of being caught with Carissa was worse
than he’d imagined when he’d seen David at the restaurant.
“Katie will be all right, won’t she?”
David shrugged. “She’s tough. We’ll call you.”
Thomas nodded and watched as David left the house.
He sat quietly, watching the small girl on the couch
breathe in and out. Her eyes darted beneath her eyelids as
she dreamed. She reminded him of his own sister, so sweet,
so innocent. The thought tugged at him uncomfortably. He
missed his sister. Envy surged through him when he
thought of the relationship Carissa had with Hope. He’d
been a part of a relationship like that once. But those days
were long gone.
Thomas turned on the television and the glow filled the
dark room. He turned the sound to a whisper so it wouldn’t
disturb Hope. He watched for a few minutes, but his body
refused to be still.
His fingers itched to move. He’d noticed the piano in
the study pushed against the wall. Obviously it was there
more for the purpose of lessons than for decoration, but it
was late and he didn’t want to wake Hope. He longed to
touch the keys, to make music now when he didn’t know
what else to do.
He walked to the study and shut the door.
He rested his fingers on the keys and let them slide
along them without a sound. The song he’d play wouldn’t
be joyful or beautiful. It would be painful and mournful.
That was how he felt.
Thomas walked to the kitchen and found a bowl and a
cup in the sink. He washed them and set them on the
counter to dry, then wiped down the already spotless
counters to keep his hands occupied. Soon he moved from
the kitchen to the hallway where he could see Katie’s
bedroom. The light on the nightstand was still on. He
entered the room cautiously and picked up the few items
that had fallen to the floor with Katie. He arranged her
slippers on the side of her bed, pulled the sheets and quilts
up to tidy the space. Then he turned off the light and
headed back toward the living room.
Hope was awake. She sat very still on her greatgrandmother’s couch and looked at the television through
sleep-hazed eyes. She wasn’t startled when Thomas entered
the room. She looked up at him and then back at the
television.
“Do you understand them?”
“What?” He looked at the television and realized he’d
been watching an Italian movie. He smiled. “Yes, I
understand them.”
“What language are they speaking?” She pulled her
legs under her and wrapped the blanket around her.
“It’s Italian.” He took his seat in the chair by the couch
again. “That’s what they speak in Italy.”
“That’s where you came from?”
“Well, that’s where I was living.”
He watched her as she watched the movie for a few
more minutes.
“How come you can understand them, but I can’t?”
“I lived in Italy a very long time. You learn the
language when you live somewhere long enough.”
“Will you teach me Italian?”
“Maybe I can teach you some words.”
Hope stood from her seat on the couch and walked
toward him with the afghan dragging behind her.
She stopped in front of him and made a move to sit on
his lap. Thomas tensed, and Hope climbed up on him,
laying her head on his shoulder and draping her feet over
the side of the chair.
Thomas covered her with the afghan and did his best to
settle into the chair with her. Perhaps she needed comfort.
Perhaps she was cold or scared. He wasn’t sure, but she
seemed to trust him and he wasn’t going to break that trust.
“Is Grandma going to be okay?” Her voice was
muffled against his shirt.
“I’m sure she will. Your dad said he’d call.” He ran his
hand over her soft blonde hair and she snuggled closer with
a yawn.
“Grandma is very old.”
“Yes she is.”
“Someday she’ll die.”
Thomas swallowed hard. Someday they all would die,
he thought. Some would die from old age like Katie, some
to disease like their Aunt Millie, and some by the hands of
hateful others.
“I