June 200- (during the recession)

The Dean of the College of Engineering and the head of the School of Architecture shook hands with benevolent donors as excited upperclassmen, exhausted graduate students, and notable alumni were given tours of a brand new computer and maker lab. Press statements and departmental memos announced that the banks of high resolution 3D printers and design software would support a new wave in cross departmental collaboration and foster ties to the business community.

In this economy, such donations were sought after and rare.

The checks must have been quite large, too. It wasn't often that entire sections of a university were turned into cocktail receptions. This one was complete with live music, recruiters conspicuously sniffing around the top students while local politicians and business leaders circled the bar together.

Once he had a drink, Erik Brodeur skirted the noisy crowds and found his way to the string quartet. Though the architecture firm he worked for had donated, he had little interest in chatting up students. Not when he was trying to finish a huge project of his own, driving himself to exhaustion, and unlikely to give a good impression. Certainly not when there was music playing. Erik stood with a curving rock wall to his back to hear it better.

"I thought I might see you here," said a voice at his side. "Have you renewed your tickets yet? I hate having new people around me at the symphony."

"Good to see you Nadir," Erik greeted and the two men shook hands. "And yes, I wouldn't miss it. Your wife sounds great tonight."

Dr. Nadir Khan smiled at his wife as she slid her bow across the cello strings. "Rook enjoys these events. She loves the symphony, too, but she gets to play with just her favorites this way.

Erik glanced at the young violin player. "Favorites, huh? How old is he now? Fifteen?"

"A few weeks ago. He takes after Rook," Nadir touched his forehead in a gesture of reverent gratitude before he continued. "She has been teaching him since he could hold a bow in his fist."

In the flickering light of decorative torches, they listened as Nadir's son tackled a brief solo, and applauded as he bowed shyly afterwards, all elbows and pink cheeks.

"He's very good, Nadir. You should be proud," Erik said, stirring his cocktail.

"No man is as proud as I. They're playing a duet next weekend, a wedding reception. You should come and hear them. Maybe bring a girl to dance with?" Nadir teased.

Erik raised an eyebrow and finished his drink. "I would, but some big installations are happening at the site next weekend. I'm going to be busy until the air handling is dealt with." Just the thought made his insides curl. His designs had been fine, but there were already signs of trouble with some of the compromises on site. He rubbed his face with the heels of his hands, dreading the pre-dawn meetings and midnight phone calls to come.

Nadir clucked at him. "Lead architect, bah. I was married at your age. Even my days as an intern were not so brutal."

"Thank you for the encouragement, Dr. Khan. It's my first as a project lead, I'm the youngest they've ever had." As the violin gave way to a sultry viola piece, Erik had a thought. "You know, there's always a big party at a ribbon cutting. Do you think Rook might be interested in playing at the reception when my building is opened?"

"I'll ask. I can't imagine she'll say no," Nadir said with a nod. "Text me a date when you have one?"

"Will do. How's the practice?"

"Good. I've teamed up with a dream team of surgeons who needed a neurologist. My caseload is larger these days but we may bring in another soon. I need someone to train."

"Aren't you a little young to retire?"

With a shrug, Nadir looked away from Erik to his wife and son. "If I train a replacement now, I can reduce my hours. I want to enjoy my family." He turned back to Erik and mimicked drawing a bow over a violin. "Who knows, maybe Rook will teach me to play?"

Erik rolled his eyes. "I'll give you your first lessons. I can't let you embarrass yourself in front of her."

Nadir shook his head with a laugh. "You are so young, my friend. Love, like music, makes men fools or madmen." He looked at his wife fondly. "I am gladly a fool for her."

The quartet finished the piece and went to break. "I will see you at the next symphony concert, Erik! Good luck next week, and text me with a date!"

Then, Nadir hurried away and gave his son and wife a hug before shaking hands with the other quartet players.

Though Erik smiled, he rubbed at his chest and the tiny ache there. He worked more than sixty hours a week these days, and it left little time for companions of any kind, much less for a relationship anything like Nadir's. The Persian might have been the most fortunate man Erik had ever met.

As he waved goodbye and turned to leave, his eye was drawn to a pretty blonde who waved at him to join her. She turned out to be rather uninteresting, and left an impression that lasted no longer than it took to straighten his rumpled sheets the next day. With the month he was about to have, anything more would have been impossible.

…

August 200-

Late summer had dug in its heels and left the evening warmer than expected. In spite of the heat, a crowd milled about the doors of the small convention center, a marvel in miniature, and admired the curving entryway to the foyer. His careful design carried the sound of the quartet, led by Rook and her son, across the foyer and out the open doors to the courtyard.

Erik stood away from the party, flipping through his sketchbook and doodles, occasionally holding up one drawing or another to compare to the final version. This marvelous evolution, the process right before his eyes in the shape of concrete and glass. So much like a song that builds from a single theme and grows, sprawling and entangled, into a whole symphony.

It had been rotten towards the end, with inspectors and their findings that had to be verified over and over. The contractors and their compromises, but he'd been assured it was resolved. No less than four hours a day had been devoted to just the kitchen and service corridors those last two weeks.

He closed up his notebook and tucked it into his scuffed leather drafting case. The big, flat portfolio was awkward to carry around but he couldn't resist bringing it, not when he saw the site fully lit. He'd take it back to his car later.

Music floated on the warm breeze, and Erik walked back toward the entryway. Nadir's son was playing his solo and Nadir smiled broadly as always. When he saw Erik, he exited the foyer and joined him in the courtyard.

"Well done, Erik," he gestured towards the building. "You do nice work."

"If you only knew the hell it took to get it done."

Nadir chuckled and together the men walked toward the foyer. "I am a specialist in nerves and the brain. Give me some credit for understanding obsession. Besides, you missed a concert, so it must have been bad."

With a tired sigh, Erik rubbed a hand down his face. "I was sorry to miss it."

They arrived at the doors, and Nadir held one open. "Here, you can apologize to Rook by yourself. I have to get her bouquet from the car."

Erik turned with a scowl. "Don't you dare," he managed, but Nadir was already striding away, laughing. Left to face Nadir's formidable wife alone,

Erik slapped on his most winning smile as the door swung closed again and tried to think of something charming to say. As he was about to reach for the door when he heard a strange whoosh.

Metallic clicks. More whoosh.

From the side of the building… his building. The kitchens and main air handling systems.

Inside the foyer, Rook waved and gestured for him to join her and her son. Erik nodded and held up a finger. Rook smiled.

The metallic clicks and whooshing grew louder, then

Boom!

…