none of them compared to you."
Steven laughed and Howard smirked and
nodded.
"Okay," he said. "Have your little girlie secrets.
See if I care."
"Thanks for giving us permission," Ice said.
She didn't say much, but when she did, it carried the
chill that her name suggested.
Howard glanced at her and then quickly
returned to his breakfast. There was no question she
intimidated him far more than Cinnamon did. "I've got to get to an early lesson," I said. "I'll
take care of my own dishes."
"Butter him up for me, will you?" Steven cried
after me.
Actually, my morning went relatively better
than I had expected it would. Somehow, when I put
my fingers to my bow and held my violin, my fatigue
took a back seat to my enthusiasm and I was able to
play well enough for Mr. Bergman to give me a real
compliment. However, it was couched in one of those
between-the-lines type of remarks.
"Madame Senetsky certainly has a gift for
recognizing exceptionally talented young people." he
said. He had taken me through what he called the
basics, moving me along quickly because of his
satisfaction with my performance at almost every
level,
"Thank you," I said. He looked at his planning
book and kept his eyes glued to the pages, ignoring
me, as if thank yous were unnecessary and even