Life Beyond Highland (Part 12)
Four thirty is not the time for any sane person to be up on a Sunday morning. Yet, there was Helen Morgendorffer, eyes wide open staring at the ceiling. Since Jake's death, she struglled with getting a good night's rest. She began to listen to the muffled sounds of classical music coming from Daria's room. The haunting sounds of the woodwind instruments seemed to soothe Helen's soul, until she began to think about Daria and what could have been.
Daria started learning to play the flute in third grade. The music teacher at Highland Elementary told Helen that Daria could become a really good flutist with practice. So everyday when she came home from school, she would practice for hours on her scales and simple melodies. As she progressed in school, so did Daria's musical abilities. By the time she was in eighth grade, Daria was entering music competitions and placing well. Near the end of the school year, the band teacher from Highland High came to listen to the music class. He asked Daria if she wanted to attend the marching band try-outs that were being held the following week.
Daria ran home that afternoon and couldn't wait to tell her parents, especially her dad. When Jake came home from work, he would go and listen to Daria practice. Arriving home before anyone else, Daria pulled out her flute and began to play. Helen was the first to arrive home that night, her head pounding from a stress headache because of a rather difficult client. As she went to lie down, all she could hear was the sound of Daria practicing the same song over and over again. the repetitious noise made the pounding in her head worse. She stormed into Daria's room, and before Daria could tell her about the marching band try-outs, Helen began to yell at her and forbade her from practicing in the house again. Looking at her mother with moisture forming on the sides of her eyes, Daria took apart the flute, placed it back in the case and sat it on one of her bookcase shelves. It wasn't until the following week when Daria's music teacher called Helen and asked her why Daria didn't attend the try-outs that she realized how big of a mistake she had made. When Helen arrived home that night, she went to talk to Daria about it, but the damage had already been done. The first thing Helen noticed was that the flute was in the same spot that Daria placed it the week before. Daria's face showed no emotion as she asked her mother to leave her room before an apology could be made.
While Jake was in the hospital recovering from his heart attack, he told Helen that Daria still played, but would only do so if she was alone or if he was there. Helen could see that Jake loved listening to his daughter play, he felt as though it was the only time that he and Daria ever bonded. Daria had even made him a tape of her playing and brought it to him so he could listen to it while he recovered. He said it helped him relax and block the sounds of all of the machines beeping in his room. Then, Helen realized that she hadn't seen the flute in awhile. Helen started to wonder if Daria would ever play again now that he was gone.
As the moonlight streaked across the room, she turned and looked at what used to be her husband's side of the bed. A tear ran down her face as she reached over and brushed her hand across his pillow. When she decided to move to Lawndale, she was going to get rid of it, but decided against it. The pillow still had a faint smell of Jake's favorite cologne. Scooting over a little on the bed, Helen placed her head on his pillow and went back to sleep.
The next morning, Helen woke up to find Daria in the kitchen cooking breakfast. After handing her mother a cup of coffee and the paper, Daria refocused her attention to the pancakes and bacon that were cooking on the stove. After placing a couple of each on a plates, Daria went and sat down next to her mother. Opening the novel she had started reading right before their move, Daria became engrossed in the action until her concentration was broken by her mother. Looking up from the book, Daria could tell something was bothering Helen.
"Daria, sweetie, can I ask you a question?"
"Fire away."
"What happened to your flute?"
Daria held her breath for a moment and closed her eyes. "I placed it in dad's coffin before he was buried."
That afternoon, Daria went over to Jane's for pizza and a bad movie before classes started the next day. As the smell of freshly delivered pizza filled the house, Trent came out of his bedroom and joined the girls downstairs. Grabbing a slice, Daria told the Lane siblings about her new job at Fiction Addiction. Hearing the name of the store made the color run from Trent's face. He mumbled something about how he would not be able to come visit Daria while she was at work. Before Daria could say anything, Trent snagged one more slice and went back upstairs. Daria looked over at Jane for an explanation of what had just happened.
"Monique is still the manager over there right?"
"Yeah - why is there something I need to know about her?"
"Monique is Trent's ex-fiancé - she ended it when shortly before she graduated college.