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- Story Listed as: Fiction For Adults
- Theme: Love stories / Romance
- Subject: Love / Romance / Dating
- Published: 04/10/2024
Hairy Harry
Born 1949, F, from Zurich, SwitzerlandIt was a balmy Monday evening at the end of March, and Harry was getting ready for the Young Talent’s Piano Concert in the small concert hall of the well-known Tonhalle Zurich. Harry – himself a fairly advanced piano player - but, of course, at an amateur level – had attended this concert series since its inception. Humming a well-known sequence from a Chopin Etude, he draped the silk scarf around his neck, which he usually wore instead of a tie. After enjoying a roast beef sandwich, he set off. He took the tram to Bellevue and walked from there to the Tonhalle. He was early, so he stood for a moment on the lakeshore and pondered the water.
Harry was a retired electrical engineer, now 75 years old and relatively wealthy, having successfully commercialized several patents during his professional career. He had succeeded in everything professionally. Privately, in his opinion, his life had gone completely wrong. After completing his doctoral thesis, he wanted to marry his long-term fiancée and start a family. However, she ran away with another fellow student for no real reason. Harry was shocked, deeply hurt, and betrayed. In addition to his damaged sense of self-esteem, an anger kept rising within him. But he decided to stay strong, put up with it all, and had thrown himself into his professional career with great enthusiasm. And so the years went by. Of course, there were moments when he longed for a partner despite the arduous experience. However, he was now the CEO of a successful company and had no idea how he could land a suitable female with his busy agenda. He had a winning demeanour and impeccable airs, but at the same time, he was very determined and perhaps even reserved. The latter was probably a self-protection. And so it happened that he – at 42 - finally married his long-time professional assistant, who was ten years younger and always seemed to admire him, which he considered a good starting point.
A few months after the wedding, he secretly asked himself whether this step had been right. Their relationship seemed somehow distant to him. Something was missing. But since it was missing, he couldn't substantiate it. Several times, after thinking about it for a while, he let it go again and shrugged his shoulders. And he let himself be wholly carried away by his job.
After the birth of a son, his wife devoted herself entirely to raising the boy and also spent a lot of time with other mothers. The mothers went shopping together, looked after each other's children, played tennis or went swimming. Harry was responsible for looking after the boy on Saturdays, which he enjoyed and the two got along brilliantly. On Sundays, they often went out with another family with twins the same age as their son.
Harry had gotten used to his wife's certain reserve, although he had tried to initiate a conversation about it twice. These attempts went wrong and almost ended in a physical argument. She claimed that she contributed everything that seemed important to her to their relationship, and always maintained proper behaviour. He couldn't discuss anything more with her, so he had given up.
Their son was already entirely independent at the age of eleven, doing his schoolwork efficiently and playing a lot of sports in his free time. Harry's wife had plenty of free time, which she spent with her friends. A domestic worker took care of a large part of the housework.
One Friday shortly before noon, his wife appeared in the office and asked to speak to Harry, who had just returned from an important meeting. He was utterly stunned to find his wife waiting in his office. She told him bluntly and with a stone face that she was four months pregnant. At first, Harry wanted to jump up joyfully, but then stopped as if struck by lightning. The child could never be his because there had been no intimate moments between them for years. He looked at her questioningly. Her face remained as a stone. Harry's inner life completely collapsed at that moment, which caused great pain. But he controlled himself with all his strength and stated matter-of-factly, "Well, I congratulate you and the unknown contributor, who will indeed also pay for the new living being. I also assume that you will start a life together with him!" She now seemed somewhat surprised at his composed message and looked at him with a slightly whining look. Harry added coldly, "I won't stand in your way and wish you all the best for the new family. It's best to start packing right away!"
He turned and left the office. At home, he instructed the housekeeper to help his wife pack quickly so the move could occur on Sunday evening. He didn't care where his wife would move, with whom, or even whether that was possible. Or rather, he dictated himself to be ice-cold and unyielding. This cheating of hers had affected him deeply. Harry went for a long walk until midnight, pausing on different benches along his way and staring at meadows, trees or the path. He later walked for about an hour along the stream that he liked so much, shedding tears repeatedly - at that time, there were hardly any walkers left, at most a few joggers unaware of his condition.
Shortly before his 56th birthday, Harry was divorced, free to pursue new endeavours. But he refused to even think about such a thing. He no longer wanted to imagine a female being in his life, even theoretically. The mere thought made him angry, followed by deep sadness, and always made him question what was happening to him and why things failed in his private life. He felt heavily used. And it was not good for his soul to waste more thought on it. Harry had retired at the age of 68 - his son took over the helm of the business. From then on, Harry could devote himself to the activities he had often neglected during his career: travelling, concerts, art exhibitions, attending lectures and the occasional round of golf with a Pro. Plus regular long walks. He had resigned himself to his fate as a lone wolf and was actually happy.
After looking at his watch, he tore himself away from pondering the lake and walked briskly to the concert hall. As always, he got a glass of dry white wine from the buffet and sat at one of the round tables in the foyer, slowly filling up with concertgoers. With an elegant swing, he crossed his leg, but in doing so he hit the edge of the table with his foot, causing his wine glass to vibrate. Intuitively, he reached for it, and during the maneuver, he swiped the program booklet that had been laid out from the table, which sailed away and landed at a lady's feet at the next table.
Harry quickly jumped and took two steps to the next table, where he nimbly picked up the escaped program. He got stuck with one knee on the floor for a moment because he had acted too frantically for his age. "It's been a long time since a man knelt at my feet!" a friendly voice sounded above his head, and Harry tore his gaze away from the lovely, black and white striped ballerina shoes next to the program flyer. With the program in his hands, he slowly looked up and into the beautiful face of a lady - probably a few years younger than him - who was beaming happily at him. Apparently, he had disturbed her while she was studying the program booklet, which she now placed on the table. Harry could barely move and was stunned. "Come on, I'll help you up!" came the pleasant voice again, and he felt the firm grip of her hand on his upper arm so that, with her help, he got back on his feet. As his head passed her shoulder, the scent of her perfume hit him. Infatuated, he stammered somewhat audibly while bowing, "Forgive me for my clumsiness and for disturbing you while reading the program. And thank you very much for your kind help!" He hurried back to his table and then whispered to her with a slight smile, "Enjoy the concert!"
Now, the gong sounded and the audience streamed to the hall entrances. Harry didn't go to his usual seat in the first row of the balcony but walked briskly to the back, where he sat down in the middle of the last row – the last three rows had always been mostly unoccupied. From there, he could now closely monitor the audience in front of him on the balcony, and still have a direct view of the stage as the rows of seats rose slightly towards the back of the hall.
Just before the lights went out, he spotted her in the second front row at the right end. She had strands of her hair, which fell to her shoulders, gathered at the back of her head with a shiny silver barrette in the style of certain princesses in ancient paintings. And she seemed to exchange words with a charming smile with those sitting beside her. Harry felt a pang of jealousy. And he could not believe his reaction. Now, the door to the artist's room opened, and a young, slim man, dressed all in black and with wild curly hair also black, walked purposefully across the stage to the concert grand, where he immediately grabbed hold of himself and bowed deeply towards the audience. Then, he turned on his heel, sat down on the piano bench, paused for a moment and began to play with visibly and audibly complete devotion. The young man played a piece by Handel in a new, almost romantic dreamy style, which the composer would undoubtedly have been happy about.
Harry sat there and rocked his head slightly with the music, and in the final passage at the end, his head movement really slipped into the vivace rhythm. Then came a longer piece by Ravel, played beautifully, too. The lady that he had met in the foyer also nodded and smiled in agreement at her neighbour. Anew, Harry felt a pinprick. He leaned forward, trying to see who was sitting next to her, whether she was part of a couple. The last piece before the break was by Chopin - one of those pieces that started off somewhat fragile and then became profound. The young man in black at the piano now leaned back and played the Adagio passage in a heartbreakingly beautiful way with his eyes half-closed.
At this point, Harry felt a radical change within him. He breathed deeply and surrendered to the music. Somehow he saw high fences falling slowly and gently and his chest seemed to want to sing. Harry stared ecstatically at the silver hair clip in the second row in front. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he liked it.
The young talent received thunderous applause and admiring shouts, which he seemed extremely happy about.
Harry rushed out and disappeared into the toilet, where he locked himself in a stall and tried to get hold of himself. He felt transformed and didn't know why. Something seemed to be happening to him. It was scary because he had always had his emotions under control in every situation. Now a higher power seemed to intervene. He shook his head several times and walked out to the washbasin, where he held his hands under the cold stream of water. While he dried his hands, he looked into the mirror and marvelled at himself. Finally, he shrugged and rushed out just as the gong sounded. Back in the hall, he saw her again a few meters in front of him. She looked around and smiled at him. Harry gave her a relaxed wave and smiled back.
Now, after the break, was Liszt’s turn. Great compositions played brilliantly throughout. Harry felt several kilos lighter, he seemed reborn and his head kept rocking with the scintillating cascades of tones of unrivalled beauty. Fixing his gaze on the silver hair clip far in front and smiling blissfully. Thoughts rushed through his head. Am I crazy? Answers shot towards the questions. Yes, and what the heck, freaking out a little and enjoying life are not forbidden! Harry also jumped up and joined in the vigorous applause for the artist who really had given his last fire.
Harry rushed to the cloakroom, hoping to meet her there again. Luck was on his side, and she stood before him, looking at him beamingly again. They exchanged sentences full of enthusiasm about the concert and suddenly she came closer and carefully removed a gray hair from his jacket. His breath caught in his throat and he thought he would fall over. He then managed to gallantly help her into her coat and, stuttering slightly, said, "See you soon; that means until the next concert here!" She nodded, gave him another smile, and hurried out.
At home, Harry sat down on the sofa with a glass of red wine. He was only sitting halfway forward on the cushion, with his back straight and staring intently into the room without seeing anything. That means he didn't see what was in the room, but his eyes saw the silver hair clip. And he looked at it as if spellbound. Every now and then he took a long sip of wine. Then, he saw the bright smile she had given him. He felt like he was losing his mind. After ten more minutes of trying to think about what was going on, he suddenly realized: Yes, he had fallen in love. And this at the age of a grandfather. Simply incredible! He let out a huge laugh, got on his feet and danced around his living room.
The following six weeks until the next concert seemed like an eternity to Harry and he often could hardly contain his impatience. He went through all the phases of falling in love and oscillated between madness and bliss several times. What if she didn't like him at all, or if she wasn't free at all. It would be the end of the world. And then Harry began to imagine what would happen next and somehow he was also uncertain of how he should treat this great lady - he had absolutely no experience. In this regard, his life had been rather dreary to desolate. He decided to get some of the famous Hollywood films from old times and study the romantic behaviour of men. His son raised both eyebrows in astonishment on his next visit when he saw the collection of old cinema tearjerkers lying around the TV and asked in amusement, "Yikes, what's going on here, has a mermaid kissed you?" Harry simply looked at him with a gentle smile on his lips. As Harry walked away, his son remarked over his shoulder into the room, "Yeah then, good luck and please keep me posted!"
Finally, the time had come, it was Monday and the next piano concert took place in the evening. Harry was already sitting in the foyer an hour earlier. His heart was pounding and he tried unsuccessfully to study the program. The words and lines blurred before his eyes or curved like waves. And then she stood before him with a beaming smile, "It's nice to see you again!" She held out her hand to him. Harry jumped up, took her hand, bowed slightly and replied with his best smile, "What a pleasure to see you again!" Soon, they were toasting each other and introducing themselves.
Her name was Liliane, she had been single again for over 10 years - her ex-husband had left her for a much younger woman – and she stayed in the house they once lived together on the outskirts of town. She had the upper floor remodelled to suit her needs. Two students from China lived on the ground floor and paid a modest rent, but took over the gardening and cleaning work. She enjoyed travelling near and far, loved music and wrote poems, which she also published. Harry was completely blown away and thrilled.
Of course, Liliane spotted the two hairs on his dark jacket - which he had pulled out and carefully placed on his shoulder beforehand. She leaned over and removed them so that he could enjoy her perfume again. It almost robbed him of his senses, and he would have liked to close his eyes to enjoy it humming something romantic. The gong sounded and the concertgoers streamed to the entrance. They both took a seat in the back row and kept giving each other almost familiar looks during the concert, so much so that one would have thought they had been a couple for a long time.
Harry didn't notice anything of the piano playing, although he did see a young, delicate-limbed woman with long hair and a top modern, backless evening dress passionately touching the keys. However, the music somehow passed him by. He just thought of Liliane next to him and was completely happy. A state he had never known before.
During the break, they strolled down the corridor and chatted about the music they were listening to. Even though Harry had barely noticed the playing before, he managed to continue the conversation because he immediately agreed with all his passion for everything Liliane said. After the concert, they walked along the lakeshore to Bellevue. At some point, Harry plucked up the courage and suggested having dinner together the following week, since it was so long before the next concert, as he noted with the most sincere look and charming smile. Liliane happily accepted.
Back home, Harry sat leaning back on his sofa, his arms spread out on the back and his legs stretched out. Scenarios spun in his head like a carousel. He tried to program how he should behave further, since he had to somehow take action as an old-school cavalier. But he had never cared about something like that in all these years, let alone thought that he could even find himself in this situation. At some point soon he had to take Liliane in his arms and kiss her. The mere thought of it electrified him completely, but at the same time it made him panic. He was already an old boy and had little experience. But he definitely didn't want to mess it up with inexperienced approaches.
This topic occupied him for the next few days and nights, and robbed him of his usual composure. And then he had this completely crazy idea. On an evening walk, a man from the neighbourhood came down the street with a collie dog. They had often seen each other from a distance. Now Harry spread his arms and greeted the dog exuberantly - he gave the surprised-looking owner a short greeting. The dog looked up at Harry with interest and panting happily. "Yes, you can jump up, I like dogs!" he called out to him. The owner looked at him puzzled and explained, "It's an old dog, it doesn't jump at people anymore!" Harry simply knelt down and enthusiastically hugged the longhaired animal. “Please don’t complain about a lot of hair on your jacket afterwards!” said the neighbour and shook his head slightly. Harry countered, while cuddling the dog, "It doesn't matter at all, absolutely not. I can easily brush it off again, don't worry!"
At home he carefully peeled off his jacket and inspected it. In fact, it was covered in dog hair. He began thoroughly removing part of it, leaving some around the collar and shoulders. Then, he hung the jacket in the closet. Dinner with Liliane was in three days. Before leaving, he would, of course, add one or two of his own hair.
After studying his collection of famous Hollywood films in detail several times, especially the romantic scenes, Harry decided to appoint Clark Gable as his mentor. As a result, he studied a series of famous kissing scenes with Clark Gable and various female stars. Gable had this perfectly masculine way of pulling the respective ladies into his arms and kissing them, full of passion but yet very sensitive. The scenes haunted Harry into all his nights and dreams.
It was a balmy night and Harry had reserved a table in a renowned, elegant restaurant with a covered terrace and lovely flower stands. Of course he waited at the entrance early and welcomed Liliane with a beaming smile. He also made sure she was comfortable with a table outside. She said yes, and showed him her beautiful stole - so she was well prepared. They walked behind the waiter to their table and sat down. Liliane immediately spotted the hair on Harry's jacket and put aside the vast menu the waiter had just handed out. She got up, went around the table, put her hands on Harry's shoulders and began to remove the hair as inconspicuously as possible. Harry sat there with the menu before his face and blissfully enjoyed the scene.
"Thank you very much, Liliane, for the cleanup. I just don't see these annoying things with my old eyes!" She gave his shoulders a quick loving pat and then went back to her chair. For a moment, she looked amused across the table into his eyes, which were gazing at her over the edge of the menu. They enjoyed the delicious dinner and had great conversations about this and that and shared a few highlights from their lives. Later, they walked for a longer distance and passed several tram stops, already quite familiar and even holding hands. Once or twice Harry thought of Clark Gable, but somehow it seemed premature. He definitely didn't want Liliane to perceive him as a daredevil. No, no, he could still wait. And so that night it was just an old-fashioned hand kiss.
Three weeks later, in mid-June, was the last Monday concert before the summer break. Harry decided to place two or three of his own hairs on his shoulders again, but dropped the thought of another hug from the neighbour's collie dog. Harry and Liliane had now had two long evening telephone conversations and already knew each other quite well. They greeted each other warmly in the foyer of the Tonhalle and seemed to others like a familiar couple. Harry got the wine at the bar and later gallantly led Liliane by the arm into the concert hall. He enjoyed his new role.
During the concert, Clark Gable came to his mind and in a romantic passage - a beautiful Adagio, brilliantly played by a young Italian talent - Clark Gable whispered to him that he didn't have to wait any longer. Harry looked beaming at Liliane, who returned his gaze with a sweet smile.
Harry almost couldn't wait until the concert was over. He felt longing and stage fright at the same time and tried to recall the rehearsed film sequences. Somehow, there was a huge mess in his head - the Italian pianist now played a longer, rapid passage with his arms spread out on the piano, his hands scurried over the keys from the outside to the inside and back again. These were cascades of a sophisticated piece by Liszt, which he had composed inspired by bubbling fountains outside his window.
Yes, Harry decided, he'll try it on the way home, now or never!
They strolled slowly along the lakeshore under the starry sky, stopping now and then to marvel at the water. And then, Liliane spontaneously sat down on the wall, kept his hand in hers and looked up at him with her winning smile. "Why did you spread the dog hair on your jacket?" Harry was taken aback and looked at her embarrassed, his thoughts circling wildly. 'For heaven's sake, Clark, help me!'
Harry mumbled, "Um, it was just an idea because I liked your loving touch so much!" Liliane rose very slowly, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the mouth. 'Thanks Clark!' Harry thought. Then he took Liliane in his arms in a totally cinematic style, and they kissed deeply.
The two became the happiest couple, enjoying late life to the fullest, taking good care of each other. They sporadically laughed heartily at Harry's innovative hair experiment via dog hugging to gain Liliane's touch and his study of Clark Gable's kissing scenes.
Hairy Harry(Dill McLain)
It was a balmy Monday evening at the end of March, and Harry was getting ready for the Young Talent’s Piano Concert in the small concert hall of the well-known Tonhalle Zurich. Harry – himself a fairly advanced piano player - but, of course, at an amateur level – had attended this concert series since its inception. Humming a well-known sequence from a Chopin Etude, he draped the silk scarf around his neck, which he usually wore instead of a tie. After enjoying a roast beef sandwich, he set off. He took the tram to Bellevue and walked from there to the Tonhalle. He was early, so he stood for a moment on the lakeshore and pondered the water.
Harry was a retired electrical engineer, now 75 years old and relatively wealthy, having successfully commercialized several patents during his professional career. He had succeeded in everything professionally. Privately, in his opinion, his life had gone completely wrong. After completing his doctoral thesis, he wanted to marry his long-term fiancée and start a family. However, she ran away with another fellow student for no real reason. Harry was shocked, deeply hurt, and betrayed. In addition to his damaged sense of self-esteem, an anger kept rising within him. But he decided to stay strong, put up with it all, and had thrown himself into his professional career with great enthusiasm. And so the years went by. Of course, there were moments when he longed for a partner despite the arduous experience. However, he was now the CEO of a successful company and had no idea how he could land a suitable female with his busy agenda. He had a winning demeanour and impeccable airs, but at the same time, he was very determined and perhaps even reserved. The latter was probably a self-protection. And so it happened that he – at 42 - finally married his long-time professional assistant, who was ten years younger and always seemed to admire him, which he considered a good starting point.
A few months after the wedding, he secretly asked himself whether this step had been right. Their relationship seemed somehow distant to him. Something was missing. But since it was missing, he couldn't substantiate it. Several times, after thinking about it for a while, he let it go again and shrugged his shoulders. And he let himself be wholly carried away by his job.
After the birth of a son, his wife devoted herself entirely to raising the boy and also spent a lot of time with other mothers. The mothers went shopping together, looked after each other's children, played tennis or went swimming. Harry was responsible for looking after the boy on Saturdays, which he enjoyed and the two got along brilliantly. On Sundays, they often went out with another family with twins the same age as their son.
Harry had gotten used to his wife's certain reserve, although he had tried to initiate a conversation about it twice. These attempts went wrong and almost ended in a physical argument. She claimed that she contributed everything that seemed important to her to their relationship, and always maintained proper behaviour. He couldn't discuss anything more with her, so he had given up.
Their son was already entirely independent at the age of eleven, doing his schoolwork efficiently and playing a lot of sports in his free time. Harry's wife had plenty of free time, which she spent with her friends. A domestic worker took care of a large part of the housework.
One Friday shortly before noon, his wife appeared in the office and asked to speak to Harry, who had just returned from an important meeting. He was utterly stunned to find his wife waiting in his office. She told him bluntly and with a stone face that she was four months pregnant. At first, Harry wanted to jump up joyfully, but then stopped as if struck by lightning. The child could never be his because there had been no intimate moments between them for years. He looked at her questioningly. Her face remained as a stone. Harry's inner life completely collapsed at that moment, which caused great pain. But he controlled himself with all his strength and stated matter-of-factly, "Well, I congratulate you and the unknown contributor, who will indeed also pay for the new living being. I also assume that you will start a life together with him!" She now seemed somewhat surprised at his composed message and looked at him with a slightly whining look. Harry added coldly, "I won't stand in your way and wish you all the best for the new family. It's best to start packing right away!"
He turned and left the office. At home, he instructed the housekeeper to help his wife pack quickly so the move could occur on Sunday evening. He didn't care where his wife would move, with whom, or even whether that was possible. Or rather, he dictated himself to be ice-cold and unyielding. This cheating of hers had affected him deeply. Harry went for a long walk until midnight, pausing on different benches along his way and staring at meadows, trees or the path. He later walked for about an hour along the stream that he liked so much, shedding tears repeatedly - at that time, there were hardly any walkers left, at most a few joggers unaware of his condition.
Shortly before his 56th birthday, Harry was divorced, free to pursue new endeavours. But he refused to even think about such a thing. He no longer wanted to imagine a female being in his life, even theoretically. The mere thought made him angry, followed by deep sadness, and always made him question what was happening to him and why things failed in his private life. He felt heavily used. And it was not good for his soul to waste more thought on it. Harry had retired at the age of 68 - his son took over the helm of the business. From then on, Harry could devote himself to the activities he had often neglected during his career: travelling, concerts, art exhibitions, attending lectures and the occasional round of golf with a Pro. Plus regular long walks. He had resigned himself to his fate as a lone wolf and was actually happy.
After looking at his watch, he tore himself away from pondering the lake and walked briskly to the concert hall. As always, he got a glass of dry white wine from the buffet and sat at one of the round tables in the foyer, slowly filling up with concertgoers. With an elegant swing, he crossed his leg, but in doing so he hit the edge of the table with his foot, causing his wine glass to vibrate. Intuitively, he reached for it, and during the maneuver, he swiped the program booklet that had been laid out from the table, which sailed away and landed at a lady's feet at the next table.
Harry quickly jumped and took two steps to the next table, where he nimbly picked up the escaped program. He got stuck with one knee on the floor for a moment because he had acted too frantically for his age. "It's been a long time since a man knelt at my feet!" a friendly voice sounded above his head, and Harry tore his gaze away from the lovely, black and white striped ballerina shoes next to the program flyer. With the program in his hands, he slowly looked up and into the beautiful face of a lady - probably a few years younger than him - who was beaming happily at him. Apparently, he had disturbed her while she was studying the program booklet, which she now placed on the table. Harry could barely move and was stunned. "Come on, I'll help you up!" came the pleasant voice again, and he felt the firm grip of her hand on his upper arm so that, with her help, he got back on his feet. As his head passed her shoulder, the scent of her perfume hit him. Infatuated, he stammered somewhat audibly while bowing, "Forgive me for my clumsiness and for disturbing you while reading the program. And thank you very much for your kind help!" He hurried back to his table and then whispered to her with a slight smile, "Enjoy the concert!"
Now, the gong sounded and the audience streamed to the hall entrances. Harry didn't go to his usual seat in the first row of the balcony but walked briskly to the back, where he sat down in the middle of the last row – the last three rows had always been mostly unoccupied. From there, he could now closely monitor the audience in front of him on the balcony, and still have a direct view of the stage as the rows of seats rose slightly towards the back of the hall.
Just before the lights went out, he spotted her in the second front row at the right end. She had strands of her hair, which fell to her shoulders, gathered at the back of her head with a shiny silver barrette in the style of certain princesses in ancient paintings. And she seemed to exchange words with a charming smile with those sitting beside her. Harry felt a pang of jealousy. And he could not believe his reaction. Now, the door to the artist's room opened, and a young, slim man, dressed all in black and with wild curly hair also black, walked purposefully across the stage to the concert grand, where he immediately grabbed hold of himself and bowed deeply towards the audience. Then, he turned on his heel, sat down on the piano bench, paused for a moment and began to play with visibly and audibly complete devotion. The young man played a piece by Handel in a new, almost romantic dreamy style, which the composer would undoubtedly have been happy about.
Harry sat there and rocked his head slightly with the music, and in the final passage at the end, his head movement really slipped into the vivace rhythm. Then came a longer piece by Ravel, played beautifully, too. The lady that he had met in the foyer also nodded and smiled in agreement at her neighbour. Anew, Harry felt a pinprick. He leaned forward, trying to see who was sitting next to her, whether she was part of a couple. The last piece before the break was by Chopin - one of those pieces that started off somewhat fragile and then became profound. The young man in black at the piano now leaned back and played the Adagio passage in a heartbreakingly beautiful way with his eyes half-closed.
At this point, Harry felt a radical change within him. He breathed deeply and surrendered to the music. Somehow he saw high fences falling slowly and gently and his chest seemed to want to sing. Harry stared ecstatically at the silver hair clip in the second row in front. He didn't know what was happening to him, but he liked it.
The young talent received thunderous applause and admiring shouts, which he seemed extremely happy about.
Harry rushed out and disappeared into the toilet, where he locked himself in a stall and tried to get hold of himself. He felt transformed and didn't know why. Something seemed to be happening to him. It was scary because he had always had his emotions under control in every situation. Now a higher power seemed to intervene. He shook his head several times and walked out to the washbasin, where he held his hands under the cold stream of water. While he dried his hands, he looked into the mirror and marvelled at himself. Finally, he shrugged and rushed out just as the gong sounded. Back in the hall, he saw her again a few meters in front of him. She looked around and smiled at him. Harry gave her a relaxed wave and smiled back.
Now, after the break, was Liszt’s turn. Great compositions played brilliantly throughout. Harry felt several kilos lighter, he seemed reborn and his head kept rocking with the scintillating cascades of tones of unrivalled beauty. Fixing his gaze on the silver hair clip far in front and smiling blissfully. Thoughts rushed through his head. Am I crazy? Answers shot towards the questions. Yes, and what the heck, freaking out a little and enjoying life are not forbidden! Harry also jumped up and joined in the vigorous applause for the artist who really had given his last fire.
Harry rushed to the cloakroom, hoping to meet her there again. Luck was on his side, and she stood before him, looking at him beamingly again. They exchanged sentences full of enthusiasm about the concert and suddenly she came closer and carefully removed a gray hair from his jacket. His breath caught in his throat and he thought he would fall over. He then managed to gallantly help her into her coat and, stuttering slightly, said, "See you soon; that means until the next concert here!" She nodded, gave him another smile, and hurried out.
At home, Harry sat down on the sofa with a glass of red wine. He was only sitting halfway forward on the cushion, with his back straight and staring intently into the room without seeing anything. That means he didn't see what was in the room, but his eyes saw the silver hair clip. And he looked at it as if spellbound. Every now and then he took a long sip of wine. Then, he saw the bright smile she had given him. He felt like he was losing his mind. After ten more minutes of trying to think about what was going on, he suddenly realized: Yes, he had fallen in love. And this at the age of a grandfather. Simply incredible! He let out a huge laugh, got on his feet and danced around his living room.
The following six weeks until the next concert seemed like an eternity to Harry and he often could hardly contain his impatience. He went through all the phases of falling in love and oscillated between madness and bliss several times. What if she didn't like him at all, or if she wasn't free at all. It would be the end of the world. And then Harry began to imagine what would happen next and somehow he was also uncertain of how he should treat this great lady - he had absolutely no experience. In this regard, his life had been rather dreary to desolate. He decided to get some of the famous Hollywood films from old times and study the romantic behaviour of men. His son raised both eyebrows in astonishment on his next visit when he saw the collection of old cinema tearjerkers lying around the TV and asked in amusement, "Yikes, what's going on here, has a mermaid kissed you?" Harry simply looked at him with a gentle smile on his lips. As Harry walked away, his son remarked over his shoulder into the room, "Yeah then, good luck and please keep me posted!"
Finally, the time had come, it was Monday and the next piano concert took place in the evening. Harry was already sitting in the foyer an hour earlier. His heart was pounding and he tried unsuccessfully to study the program. The words and lines blurred before his eyes or curved like waves. And then she stood before him with a beaming smile, "It's nice to see you again!" She held out her hand to him. Harry jumped up, took her hand, bowed slightly and replied with his best smile, "What a pleasure to see you again!" Soon, they were toasting each other and introducing themselves.
Her name was Liliane, she had been single again for over 10 years - her ex-husband had left her for a much younger woman – and she stayed in the house they once lived together on the outskirts of town. She had the upper floor remodelled to suit her needs. Two students from China lived on the ground floor and paid a modest rent, but took over the gardening and cleaning work. She enjoyed travelling near and far, loved music and wrote poems, which she also published. Harry was completely blown away and thrilled.
Of course, Liliane spotted the two hairs on his dark jacket - which he had pulled out and carefully placed on his shoulder beforehand. She leaned over and removed them so that he could enjoy her perfume again. It almost robbed him of his senses, and he would have liked to close his eyes to enjoy it humming something romantic. The gong sounded and the concertgoers streamed to the entrance. They both took a seat in the back row and kept giving each other almost familiar looks during the concert, so much so that one would have thought they had been a couple for a long time.
Harry didn't notice anything of the piano playing, although he did see a young, delicate-limbed woman with long hair and a top modern, backless evening dress passionately touching the keys. However, the music somehow passed him by. He just thought of Liliane next to him and was completely happy. A state he had never known before.
During the break, they strolled down the corridor and chatted about the music they were listening to. Even though Harry had barely noticed the playing before, he managed to continue the conversation because he immediately agreed with all his passion for everything Liliane said. After the concert, they walked along the lakeshore to Bellevue. At some point, Harry plucked up the courage and suggested having dinner together the following week, since it was so long before the next concert, as he noted with the most sincere look and charming smile. Liliane happily accepted.
Back home, Harry sat leaning back on his sofa, his arms spread out on the back and his legs stretched out. Scenarios spun in his head like a carousel. He tried to program how he should behave further, since he had to somehow take action as an old-school cavalier. But he had never cared about something like that in all these years, let alone thought that he could even find himself in this situation. At some point soon he had to take Liliane in his arms and kiss her. The mere thought of it electrified him completely, but at the same time it made him panic. He was already an old boy and had little experience. But he definitely didn't want to mess it up with inexperienced approaches.
This topic occupied him for the next few days and nights, and robbed him of his usual composure. And then he had this completely crazy idea. On an evening walk, a man from the neighbourhood came down the street with a collie dog. They had often seen each other from a distance. Now Harry spread his arms and greeted the dog exuberantly - he gave the surprised-looking owner a short greeting. The dog looked up at Harry with interest and panting happily. "Yes, you can jump up, I like dogs!" he called out to him. The owner looked at him puzzled and explained, "It's an old dog, it doesn't jump at people anymore!" Harry simply knelt down and enthusiastically hugged the longhaired animal. “Please don’t complain about a lot of hair on your jacket afterwards!” said the neighbour and shook his head slightly. Harry countered, while cuddling the dog, "It doesn't matter at all, absolutely not. I can easily brush it off again, don't worry!"
At home he carefully peeled off his jacket and inspected it. In fact, it was covered in dog hair. He began thoroughly removing part of it, leaving some around the collar and shoulders. Then, he hung the jacket in the closet. Dinner with Liliane was in three days. Before leaving, he would, of course, add one or two of his own hair.
After studying his collection of famous Hollywood films in detail several times, especially the romantic scenes, Harry decided to appoint Clark Gable as his mentor. As a result, he studied a series of famous kissing scenes with Clark Gable and various female stars. Gable had this perfectly masculine way of pulling the respective ladies into his arms and kissing them, full of passion but yet very sensitive. The scenes haunted Harry into all his nights and dreams.
It was a balmy night and Harry had reserved a table in a renowned, elegant restaurant with a covered terrace and lovely flower stands. Of course he waited at the entrance early and welcomed Liliane with a beaming smile. He also made sure she was comfortable with a table outside. She said yes, and showed him her beautiful stole - so she was well prepared. They walked behind the waiter to their table and sat down. Liliane immediately spotted the hair on Harry's jacket and put aside the vast menu the waiter had just handed out. She got up, went around the table, put her hands on Harry's shoulders and began to remove the hair as inconspicuously as possible. Harry sat there with the menu before his face and blissfully enjoyed the scene.
"Thank you very much, Liliane, for the cleanup. I just don't see these annoying things with my old eyes!" She gave his shoulders a quick loving pat and then went back to her chair. For a moment, she looked amused across the table into his eyes, which were gazing at her over the edge of the menu. They enjoyed the delicious dinner and had great conversations about this and that and shared a few highlights from their lives. Later, they walked for a longer distance and passed several tram stops, already quite familiar and even holding hands. Once or twice Harry thought of Clark Gable, but somehow it seemed premature. He definitely didn't want Liliane to perceive him as a daredevil. No, no, he could still wait. And so that night it was just an old-fashioned hand kiss.
Three weeks later, in mid-June, was the last Monday concert before the summer break. Harry decided to place two or three of his own hairs on his shoulders again, but dropped the thought of another hug from the neighbour's collie dog. Harry and Liliane had now had two long evening telephone conversations and already knew each other quite well. They greeted each other warmly in the foyer of the Tonhalle and seemed to others like a familiar couple. Harry got the wine at the bar and later gallantly led Liliane by the arm into the concert hall. He enjoyed his new role.
During the concert, Clark Gable came to his mind and in a romantic passage - a beautiful Adagio, brilliantly played by a young Italian talent - Clark Gable whispered to him that he didn't have to wait any longer. Harry looked beaming at Liliane, who returned his gaze with a sweet smile.
Harry almost couldn't wait until the concert was over. He felt longing and stage fright at the same time and tried to recall the rehearsed film sequences. Somehow, there was a huge mess in his head - the Italian pianist now played a longer, rapid passage with his arms spread out on the piano, his hands scurried over the keys from the outside to the inside and back again. These were cascades of a sophisticated piece by Liszt, which he had composed inspired by bubbling fountains outside his window.
Yes, Harry decided, he'll try it on the way home, now or never!
They strolled slowly along the lakeshore under the starry sky, stopping now and then to marvel at the water. And then, Liliane spontaneously sat down on the wall, kept his hand in hers and looked up at him with her winning smile. "Why did you spread the dog hair on your jacket?" Harry was taken aback and looked at her embarrassed, his thoughts circling wildly. 'For heaven's sake, Clark, help me!'
Harry mumbled, "Um, it was just an idea because I liked your loving touch so much!" Liliane rose very slowly, placed her hands on his shoulders and kissed him on the mouth. 'Thanks Clark!' Harry thought. Then he took Liliane in his arms in a totally cinematic style, and they kissed deeply.
The two became the happiest couple, enjoying late life to the fullest, taking good care of each other. They sporadically laughed heartily at Harry's innovative hair experiment via dog hugging to gain Liliane's touch and his study of Clark Gable's kissing scenes.
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Lillian Kazmierczak
05/05/2024Gill, that was wonderful! I love how he made sure there was hair on him so he could brush it off! you couldn't have picked a better name for love. Love makes you fell young again! A hearwarming short story star of the week!
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Gerald R Gioglio
05/02/2024I enjoyed this piece very much. Couldn't help but root for that clutz Harry. Happy Story Star week.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Cheryl Ryan
04/30/2024I felt so many emotions while reading this story. It was beautifully written with a happy ending which I had wished for.
Thank you for sharing!
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Joel Kiula
04/29/2024A very good story. Love will find you when you least expect it sometimes.
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Valerie Allen
04/29/2024Good that this fellow finally found love and happiness! Cute twist about her observations. Thanks ~
ReplyHelp Us Understand What's Happening
Help Us Understand What's Happening
Mano Olivera
04/11/2024Como siempre, un placer leer tus historias, Dill!!! Muchas gracias por compartirlas!!!
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