Page 19 of The Lost Story of Sofia Castello

18

LISBON, 1940

All the time I was singing, I lost myself in the emotion of the piece, but as soon as it was over, I became a bundle of nerves. As a freshly composed song, it was undoubtedly rough around the edges, but would they be able to see the potential?

‘Well, I see what you mean,’ Emilio said to Alexandre, running his fingers along the piano keyboard in a final flourish. Like a true musical maestro, he’d picked up the melody almost straight away, and he’d even begun adding extra harmonies by the last verse and chorus. But what did he mean by ‘I see what you mean’? I looked at Alexandre anxiously.

‘Well done!’ he exclaimed, leaping to his feet. ‘That was—’ He broke off for a moment as if searching for the right adjective. ‘Remarkable!’

‘It really was.’ Emilio came over to join us. ‘The use of the jacaranda seed as a metaphor was wonderful.’

‘Thank you!’ My words burst out on an exhale of relief. ‘I’m so glad you liked it.’

‘I didn’t just like it; I loved it,’ Emilio enthused. ‘Say, have you thought of adding in a bridge before the final verse. Maybe we could bring it down a key.’ He headed back to the piano and started playing around with a few melodies.

‘This is a very good sign,’ Alexandre said with a grin. ‘If you get Emilio this enthused, you know you’ve got a hit on your hands.’

‘Come on over, kid.’ Emilio beckoned to me. ‘Let’s see what we can do.’

The next couple of hours passed by in a blur. At some point, Alexandre sent his secretary, Fatima, to get us some food, and by the time I left, my song had become a clearly defined piece. Emilio had come up with a really catchy hook and I couldn’t stop humming the melody, which I took to be another good sign.

‘This is definitely the song for the exhibition,’ Alexandre said as they walked me over to the door. ‘Congratulations, Sofia.’

‘Yes, congratulations,’ Emilio said, shaking my hand. ‘I hope this is the start of a long and very successful working partnership.’

‘Are you serious?’ I stared from one of them to the other. It had been hard enough believing that I might have a shot at the expo song, I’d never dared to have dreamed of anything else.

‘Of course!’ Alexandre exclaimed. ‘With a talent like yours, you could go all the way.’

‘Yup.’ Emilio nodded in agreement. ‘I can see you going down real well across the pond too.’

‘Whoa! What pond are we talking about here?’ I said. ‘The new Lisbon Marina?’

The men laughed.

‘And you’ve got sass too.’ Emilio grinned. ‘Americans love a spirited woman.’

It was hard not to get carried away at this point, but the good thing about having taken more than a few knocks by the tender age of twenty was that I was able to temper my excitement with an ‘I’ll believe it when I see it’ attitude.

‘All right, all right, hold your horses,’ I quipped, determined to maintain a cool exterior. ‘So what next?’

‘Next we get you into a studio with some musicians to lay down the track,’ Alexandre replied.

‘I’ve got some great guys for you to work with,’ Emilio added.

‘Sounds good to me,’ I said as casually as I could muster, although inside I was fizzing like a shaken soda.

The second I stepped outside, I felt completely disoriented. I’d arrived in brilliant sunshine, but now twilight was gathering, casting long shadows along the street. I glanced at my watch and saw to my surprise that it was almost seven. I’d been so immersed in what we were doing, I’d lost all track of time and I was meant to meet Judith in the café at six. I quickened my pace and tried to process my thoughts.

‘Can you believe this is happening, Mama?’ I whispered, gazing up into the velvet blue sky. The first of the evening stars winked down at me, and I was sure I heard her whisper back: Of course I believe it – you can do anything you set your mind to .

I arrived at the café anxious I might have missed Judith, but there she was, tucked away in a corner, with her nose in a leather-bound book. It was so nice to see her, and to be able to share my good news with her, I was hit by a brilliant idea.

‘I’m so sorry I’m late,’ I gasped, sitting down.

She looked up at me over her glasses, clearly surprised. ‘Are you?’

‘Yes, it’s almost seven.’

She laughed and nodded at her book. ‘Once I start reading about plants, I lose all sense of time.’

‘That’s just like me and singing!’ I exclaimed. ‘Speaking of which, I have excellent news!’

As I told Judith about my audition, her smile grew bigger and bigger.

‘I’m so proud of you!’ she exclaimed.

‘Yes, well, that’s not all the good news,’ I said.

‘What else?’ she asked, eyes shining.

‘I want you to move in with me. You’ll be safer, and it will be so much fun.’

‘Oh no, I couldn’t.’

‘Why not?’

‘I don’t want to put you at risk.’ She leaned closer. ‘If I move in with you, it could make you a target for the Gestapo too,’ she whispered.

‘I’m not scared of them!’ I exclaimed, and I was so buoyed up from my audition success, I actually meant it. Oh, how those words would come back to haunt me!