Page 77 of Echoes of a Silent Song

Wait.There was a psalm that talked about water.

I grabbed my Bible.Yes.There.Psalm 69.A couple of phrases leaped out at me.

The waters are come in unto my soul ...

I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me.

Maybe I could combine these somehow.Maybe I could ...

Yes.The sopranos and altos could sing the Hughes text.The tenors and basses could sing the psalm.They could alternate back and forth, just like Mother and Dr.Richards’s voices.The perfect way to capture how I felt.

The way I was sinking.

I had to get up and get my notebook, though.My body didn’t havethe energy, but the music within compelled me.It proved stronger than my leaden limbs.

So I tossed back the covers.

I got out of bed.

And I started writing once more in my notebook.

I didn’t know why I was composing.Not anymore.

I just knew that I couldn’tnotdo it.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

CALLUM HADnever been to Champaign–Urbana before.Growing up in the northern suburbs of Chicago, attending college in Ann Arbor, and relocating to Boston shortly thereafter, he’d never had a reason to visit central Illinois.To his surprise, he found it charming.Maybe it was the gorgeous autumn drive up from Peterson, with crisp blue skies and trees painted crimson and gold.Maybe it was the fact that instead of being at home in an empty apartment, he was here with Blair on an unexpected mini road trip.

Or maybe it was seeing the place through Blair’s eyes.When they’d arrived at the University of Illinois Urbana–Champaign, she’d given him a tour of the areas she’d frequented as a student, pointing out the Music Building and Smith Memorial Hall.She peppered him with stories and anecdotes and musical memories.For an entire afternoon, Blair graced him with her softer side.Warm, open, and relaxed.Just like she always was with the students.

After dining on cheese fondue at a little café across the street from the concert hall, Blair escorted him up what seemed like a million stairs to the entrance of Krannert Center for the Performing Arts, the School of Music’s crown jewel.His breath caught when they entered Foellinger Great Hall, all gleaming, golden wood and gorgeous acoustics.The same acoustician who’d renovated the famous Avery Fisher Hall at Lincoln Center had also designed Foellinger, Blair had told him.

Callum stared open-mouthed and settled into his seat, frissons of excitement pulsing through his body.What would it be like to direct a choir in this space?To hear one of his pieces performed in a place like this?

A quiet gasp from Blair pulled him back to the present, and he glanced her way.“Everything okay?”

“Yeah.Fine.”She stared straight at the stage, her concert program closed on her lap.Her face looked like it had been carved from marble, and her eyes had grown cold.

Callum resisted the urge to sigh.Clearly she wasn’t fine.He just hoped that, unlike at work, he wasn’t at fault this time.

“Blair.”He lightly rested his hand on her forearm.“Come on.What is it?What did I do?”

“It’s not you.”She opened the program again, and her slender finger pointed to a name.“That’s Derek.”

“TheDerek?”

“Yup.TheDerek.I’m not the kind to stalk my exes on Facebook, so I had no idea what had happened to him or where he ended up.I had no clue he sang in this chorus, or I never would’ve come.”

So what did that mean for tonight?Did she want to leave?Was she still hung up on this guy?Was he ...competition?

“Do you want to get out of here?”he asked.

Blair paused, working her lip in thought, then shook her head.“We’re here.And I’ve heard really good things about this choir.Let’s stay.”

“Okay.Only if you’re sure.”

“I’m sure.”