The Piano comes to America/ part 11/ draft 2

fiction
edward w pritchard

author is editing  "The Piano comes to America" part 1 through 11, Wiley is a gay beautician, Wiley is very strong but he wishes to be demur, Wiley is hard working and ambitious, Wiley is Afro-American, his partner Dexter is Hispanic, an ex major league baseball player. The couple has had a fight and breakup and to get them back together, Dexter buys Wiley an old piano that Wiley wishes to turn into a desk to use in his beauty shop:


draft 2

Wiley was in the new boutique and was so busy he was thinking about hiring an assistant. He was thinking carefully because expansion was a big risky decision in the beauty business. Wiley was a veteran of watching costs in his small business.

After a 12 hour day Wiley was relaxing, still at the Beauty shop, by disassembling, sanding and eventually staining a dilapidated piano Dexter, his partner had bought and moved to Hartford, Connecticut from Adkins Va. The Piano was made in 1843; Wiley had found out yesterday that it was made in England according to the markings inside the piano.

Dexter, Wiley's gay partner, was returning to his old self after the identity crisis caused by leaving major league baseball and becoming unfamous. Dexter was adjusting to his new job at the insurance company and this afternoon him and some people from work were going to a minor league baseball game. Wiley was going to get a few minutes to himself and Wiley wanted to get started with turning the old piano Dexter had bought him, into his desk for use at the shop. Wiley had an image in his mind of just how the piano would be and look when finished and Wiley was excited to start the mountain of work required to do before he could sit at his new desk.

Wiley had several tool cases that he had bought himself over the years for such projects. Back in Ohio, when he had set up his first beauty boutique Wiley often worked all night dry walling and cutting molding and staining wood and doors.

The piano was in bad shape because it had set out in the weather in Virginia in front of an abandoned bar and grille. Wiley carefully removed each piece of wood trying to get to the steel skeleton that supported the old piano. The finish veneer was long gone and the outer wood was dry and brittle and shattered to the touch. Wiley switched from tool to tool as he removed the dry wood and each time after he removed the wood and piled it for possible use later, Wiley dusted the tool he had used and returned it to the tool case. Each tool was secured into each appropriate tool case by a strong red Velcro strap.

As he took off a bottom panel Wiley found a tattered envelope in the old piano. The envelope was old, faded, pinkish and sealed.
,
The old envelope was addressed to my "Dearest Husband Bradford" but the ink was faded, smudged and barely readable. Wiley decided to open the envelope. The pink letter inside read:

My Dearest Bradford:
"I was so proud when you received your Doctor of Divinity. My life seemed fulfilled to be a Minister's wife and to travel West to the backwoods of Ohio. I left Connecticut in 1844 willing to travel through Pennsylvania and come to Ohio where I knew no-one, joyous and happy just to be at your side. Traveling In Pennsylvania, I patiently endured the insults and sour judgment of the other Minister's wives hurled at me just because I wanted to study and learn philosophy, my lifelong passion."

"When you lied to me however Bradford, and attempted to beguile me concerning my most important dream, I knew I can no longer be with you. I have decided to return to my grandfather's house in Connecticut , please know Bradford I will always cherish and love you..."

Wiley stopped reading lit a match and carefully burned the letter and envelope. The letter was too personal to read further and Wiley decided that although it had happened long ago he would respect the woman and not pry into her heartache. Wiley did however look at the signature of who had written the letter and it was a woman named Olivia. A woman named Olivia whose husband a Minister had shattered his wife's dreams.

As the letter burned Wiley returning to work wondered what had happened to Bradford and Olivia long ago and began to speculate on that as he continued his renovation of the old piano that would soon become a most unique desk at a most unique beauty shop run by a 190 pound gay beautician struggling with his weight to keep off the muscle and be lithe and demur. As he worked Wiley began to sing a song in Spanish he had learned from his friend Dexter.

end
For more on Olivia see the piano comes to America part 3 to be re-edited soon.