The Piano Teacher

By Stephanie Jacks

Everybody loves Stacia. She's smart, charming, and successful in the hospitality world. She's a popular Philadelphia socialite who knows how to put together beautiful, successful charity events, and can work a room like nobody's business, making everyone feel special and valued. Years ago Stacia married her high school sweetheart, the love of he

• Language: English
• Publisher: Palmetto Publishing
• Release date: Jun 10, 2022
• ISBN: 9781685159191

Book preview

THE MEET

I MET JOHN AT a Social event.

We loved John. John was intellectual, charming and full of wisdom and knowledge. You know the important wisdom, all about old school wealth and family lines… yea, he knew everything about everybody, well "everybody that was somebody" … But when John played the piano, something would happen to us, our Soul would feel somethin, somethin amazing that felt as if we just drank fine wine or had been touched by an Angel, it soothed our Soul and it sure felt good. John was old wealth in many ways, he was a blessing to our lives.

It was an exclusive Black tie affair in the Ballroom of the Ritz Carlton. Grand Pianos, beautiful gowns and who’s who of the Philadelphia Social circle. The best champagne and Michelin Star Hors d’oeuvres, maybe with a slightly privileged feel.. but not as if we were snobs, we were here for a Charity fundraiser event, although we were certainly feeding our flesh in the meanwhile…

Whatever our reasons were for our various Social events, it felt great getting all dressed up in our black and white and getting the best of the Arts, and of course, giving back to those less fortunate.. The Arts.. fine spirits, culinary designers and musical geniuses. That was what John was, a musical genius, very talented, able to reach souls.. I was very impressed with the way John played the piano. It was exactly what we needed.

It seems everyone’s life has been challenged lately and that was across the board in all walks of life. The devil doesn’t care who you are. What’s this world coming to? Who knows, anyway, after experiencing what felt like ultimate pleasuring of the soul and feeling as if I needed a cigarette afterwards, I decided to introduce myself to this distinguished talented gentleman. Hello, my name is Stacia, I really enjoyed the piece you played, you got a cigarette, ha, I laughed with a flirtatious note.. I’m just kidding, but I loved the way you played that Piano.

Do you give Piano lessons? I asked as if I were joking. Yes, as a matter of fact I do. I am a music teacher at the University, but I recently decided to take on a few students to give private lessons to. My time is very limited, so I can only choose the extreme few that are what I consider to be geniuses. Oh, that’s great, I said. My grandson plays some, he has a unique talent. He’s gifted, but his gift could really blossom with teachings from a master such as you… I would love to meet him, said John. Really? I would greatly appreciate that, I said. I’ve been looking around for some professional lessons for him for some time now. With teachings such as yours he could really take off.

Over the next few months John and I became very good friends. John became a fixture in our home and we loved having him. He even got my husband and I to invest in a Baby Grand Piano. That beautiful White shiny Steinway absolutely set our top floor Condo Suite off. It was refurbished but still gorgeous. Besides, although we weren’t poor, we wanted to instill the value of money in our grandchildren. That piano was a great investment, it played like a Grand Piano that was brand new for a lot less money. It was gorgeous and went well with the Vintage Ebony and Ivory floor tile in our Condo. John and that Grand Piano was an addition to our lives that felt Heaven sent. Life felt great and life was grand.

Our grandchildren would stay with us often and our home was filled with love. John loved children but never had any of his own. His wife had died many years earlier and although they didn’t have any children of their own, their mission had been to reach and teach underprivileged children all over the country. That was another passion we shared, our mission to give the children within our reach access to all types of music and dance and indigenous foods. Expose them to the wonderful world of Arts and the education and background history of different cultures. Exposure to Arts, music and culture not only fine tunes a young mind to be able to learn better academically, but the Arts help us to express ourselves more clearly and give our minds a vivid imagination and a more creative direction in life. John and I shared these values and passions in life. The bottom line is that we ALL absolutely need the Arts in our lives to help grow our minds and become the best we can be in life. After all, it seems like life today is surely different from what we experienced as a child. Even though we didn’t have cell phones or all the other technology, life was much richer…these poor kids today don’t even know what they’re missing. Humm...The world has certainly changed and with all the new and exciting things to make our lives better, the world certainly doesn’t seem no better.

My husband Bryson is a little on the lazy side. He doesn’t want to do much in life but sit in that damn chair and watch TV since he retired from the NFL. He mostly watches Sports these days, but he loves to occasionally watch those Action Jack flix like Rambo or Rocky. I get sick of that shit. I guess maybe he has a thing for Sylvester Stallone. Anyway,.. Bryson was once the love of my life. He played Professional Football once upon a time and was the most handsome romantic gentleman I had ever met. He had dark deep eyes, but his eyes were very bright and sparkly. Bryson also had a smile that could be on a Colgate commercial. Just by looking at Bryson, you could see he was special, he had that it factor. He was going to be someone in life. He was always low key, but had an absolute zest for life. He had a lot more energy and was fun to be around, he was my best friend. Lately Bryson has become lazy and boring as hell and I just can’t take his boring ass no more. John ended up pretty much becoming the husband/girlfriend I wish I had in my husband. Yea, I said it. Anyway to say the least he was a great addition to our family. Bryson didn’t seem to mind too much, it was a way of letting his ass off the hook of all the things I had been nagging him about for years. The social events Bryson hated to go to, the Plays I wanted to see, the trips I wanted to take, hell, just the life I wanted to live. The life we should be living, just life… I love my husband but I had started to love John too…(not in the way a spouse loves) but in a way that was new to me. I thought John was God sent… Hm, it seems like Bryson started to love John as well.

The children Braya and Branson would stay with us through the weekdays to go to a Private school that was close to the city. Braya was a little angel, she had beautiful black wavy hair that looked like woven silk when she wore her little braided ponytails. And Branson was a gifted well rounded bright eyed kid who loved to learn and would light up like the morning sun when he would tell you all about something he found new and exciting. We loved that they were staying with us. Bryson of course wanted a little buddy to watch football with and teach him all about the game. And little Braya loved anything to do with the Arts, even though she was only 8 she had more fashion sense than most people I knew. I mean the girl knew how to shop and dress, she had a style of her own and knew and rocked her favorite designers. We all loved to eat, we had our favorite restaurants but we also could whip up some designer meals at home too. We wanted our grandchildren to be well rounded by exposing them to finer things in life but at the same time teaching them how to appreciate the simple things in life. Creating memories that are special and unique, like cooking and sharing meals and laughs together, those special times are the things that really matter at the end of the day…after all God gets mad when you don’t notice the color purple…

The children loved John as well, they were always playing hide and go seek and other old school games. John had been giving Branson piano lessons and he was playing beautifully. It was like he had been playing for years,... he had an old soul. Although Braya loved the Arts and expressed some interest in Violins, she loved Ballets and fashion shows more. She maybe would tap on the Baby Grand pearly keyboard for a minute when she would walk past it but really wasn’t interested in getting Piano lessons from John. But Branson on the other hand was becoming Grand, he stroked those keys like nobody’s business and had developed a real feel for the theater. John said he felt Branson was almost ready to give his first performance. Wow, how exciting, we were so proud of what our first born grandson had accomplished in such a small amount of time. Although it was 10 years ago my daughter Andraya gave birth to him, it seemed like yesterday. We watched him look at us threw that gift of a veil over his vibrant blue eyes. We always knew Branson was special, but it took someone as talented as John to be able to show Branson how to bring out what was already instilled in him by God.Yes!John said. He is ready to stroke these keys and turn these snooty bitches out! Let’s book the Grand Ballroom and do some Invites! John was very popular in the elite social circle of the "Wealthy Philadelphians. He knew exactly what they wanted and he could give it to them. Mostly it was making some of these successful beautiful aging women feel spicy and spunky again and full of themselves…some of them a little phony if you ask me, but not all. But whatever, I was also successful but just didn’t feel the need to act like it. I had my circle of friends that I grew up with since we were preschool age, also our parents and grandparents had grown up together, we were more like family than friends. I also had what I called business friends or associates, some of whom I have great relationships with and actually would consider them a friend. But I also have business dealing and am in the business circle with some folks I would never consider becoming BFFs with. But if we wanted to get the right exposure we knew the who’s who of who should be on the VIP list. Everything had to be perfect. From the Caterer to the Décor to the Ambience. The talent was in the bag. My lil bigman Branson… I always knew he was special. Now it was our time to show him off. This is only the beginning"… I can only imagine the heights he could reach, God puts the right people in your life path at the right time, I said to myself. It’s all about timing and he is an on time God! Yes, The event planning was going perfectly. The Culinary designer had come up with some excellent cocktails and two bite combinations. Keeping in the Blacktie and White theme, he created a beautiful Espresso Martini with a perfect angelic froth topped with orange marmalade glazed fresh mint leave. It was beautiful. We paired it with a bite size crepe with turkey bacon glazed with spiced orange marmalade, gourmet chocolate shavings and a few crumbles of mascarpone cheese giving the palate something to explore. That was just one of several drink and bites we came up with. I also was in the Culinary field and although I hired the best Caterers around I would design my own menus and we would work together on execution of those food flavors and designs.The day had come. We were all so excited. Branson was calm, cool and collected playing a quick video game. Braya was focused on her fashionista debut. My daughter Andraya and her husband Mike were sipping some wine from our collection for special occasions and this certainly was a special day. Before you guys get toasted, I said, I would like to go over some minor details. Bryson was taking forever to get dressed. It was great to see him so excited, he seemed to be his old self lately. He and John actually went to Boyd Brothers to have some custom Black Tie suits made. Lately he and John had been hanging out a little. John could get Bryson to go out to lunch and shop, things that I could not get Bryson to do in years. The only thing Bryson wanted to do was watch TV in that chair. But lately he’s been a little happier and motivated, the kids had noticed it too. The old Bryson was re-emerging… Wow, John had reached him in ways that I couldn’t. That’s okay I guess, as long as his ass gets out of that chair and puts some pep in his step, I’ll take it as it comes. John finally showed up looking very handsome and dapper. You are always running late John, grab a glass of wine and go over some notes with Branson. We have been going over lessons all week, Stacia, John said, he will be fine. The best thing he can do is relax and let his God given gift come naturally. John peeped in on Bryson, you need any help there man? John asked. I’ll be out in a minute, Bryson replied. Andrea and Mike were in the kitchen doing God knows what, and Braya was scrolling through her phone in her room. Branson was dressed and ready to go and the only one sitting in the living room prepared to go out the door. John sat on the sofa next to Branson and started playfully throwing the pillows at him. I couldn’t believe how long Bryson was taking to get dressed so I started down the hall towards the bathroom and I noticed out of the corner of my eye John putting the throw cover from the sofa over he and Bransons’ head. Something did not feel right to me. I pulled the cover from