Josh sat at his kitchen table with a half-full glass of milk in front of him. He sighed and his chest heaved. Singers have a lot of lung capacity, you know. There was a knock at the front door and Sweeney barked, just in case Josh hadn't heard.

Josh pulled open the big wooden door and his eye's bulged at the sight of who it was.

"Woah! I mean, hi. Lucia. Come in." Josh walked into the living room before she had a chance to answer; and took advantage of having his back to her to roll his eyes.

"Sit down, please." Josh faked politeness and waved to a chair.

"Josh, it's so good to see you." She crossed her fish-netted legs. "I miss being on tour with you." She wore a tight black shirt that showed a little more than her neck, and a skirt of some sort that made her look like a, well, you know. Her brown eyes seemed particularly intense for an already extreme person.

"Everyone likes being on tour." He sniffed.

"Well, that may be true, but I especially liked it because I was with you. We had such wonderful evenings together."

"Yes, that is true. There's nothing like having 15,000 people scream my name night after night."

Lucia rolled her eyes dramatically. Why was he so naïve?

"Would you like something to drink?" Josh offered.

Lucia laughed out loud. "Don't you think I've already had a drink tonight? Sure, I'll have a martini."

Josh went into the kitchen and poured a glass of water.

"Lucia, why are you here? Not just to reminisce, I hope."

She laughed again. "No, why would I do that? I'm here because I want to be with you."

"You just want to hang out?" That didn't make any sense to Josh.

"Listen, why don't you come over to my place for a while? We can open a bottle of wine and it'll be just like the old times."

"Do you have board games?"

"No, silly." Lucia got up and walked to the door. "I have to go."

"Already? I didn't get to ask about Rosa. I mean, how is she doing? I bet she's big now."

"Rosa is fine. Her father takes great care of her. But I really have to go. Nice seeing you."

She stood on the stone steps about to leave.

"Well, goodnight."

"Goodnight."

G

She slid her new key into the lock and it worked. What a relief. The living room was empty and so was the kitchen. Tiptoeing, she glanced into the bathroom, the patio, and his bedroom, but all were uninhabited. She stopped and rubbed her chin. Where could he be? Her thoughts were interrupted by a sound – the sound of chords. She tilted her head and recognized the sound more specifically. E chord, broken B. A trill: was it G and A? She looked to the heavens and a tear slid down her cheek.

"You have inspired me,

Like no one else can do,

You are my heart's key,

I'm so in love with you.

You have in- Mom?"

He took his hands off the keys and held them in his lap. She noticed the deer-in-the-headlights look and rushed up to him to hold his hands. Lindy looked him deep in the eyes from her kneeling position.

"Josh, were you just singing and playing?"

He nodded.

"I only heard a few notes; that was a beautiful song!"

"You liked it?" He seemed surprised.

"I loved it! I want to hear more. And I think you should play this song for David. You know he would like it and come up with some ideas for 'riffs' or whatever you put in songs."

"I think he would like it. I mean, I did sing a few lines for him a couple days ago. I'm not sure if he liked it, though. I didn't sing it very well."

"Joshua Groban. I've never heard you not sing 'very well.' And David has always liked what you do with music, so I'm sure he liked it immensely. How does it feel to be back into music?"

"It's like I've been away from someone special for a long time. I missed it."

"Aww, honey. Well I am so happy for you! You keep on playing and I'll go dust."

G