The real lover !

Henry entered the room and deposited his umbrella onto the stand. The room was pretty much empty. He glanced around and made a quick note of things. The room was done in a traditional old way. Stuff from 1990s adorned the space. There was a large antique sofa right in the corner of the room. He went over to it and made himself comfortable. Probably the only modern thing in the room was a Television set which looked brand new. Judging by the appearance of the place, the owner perhaps loved his things pretty neat and tidy. Everything was very exquisitely maintained. There was a sound of footsteps and the next moment a lady walked down the stairs. Dressed in simple white gown she looked extremely pretty. Henry couldn't take his eyes off her before he realized, a minute too late, that she was looking at her with bemused expressions.

Introducing herself as Ms. Thanes, she asked Henry to start the lessons. They went over into adjoining room housing a large piano. He moved his hands across the instrument. Like everything else in the house he has seen so far, this also spoke of how well kept the family was. He made himself comfortable and began playing.

Henry was a professional piano player. Last week, he had been contacted by Mr. Jared Thanes, a well known businessman in London, to give private lessons to his daughter. It was not in Henry's nature to go for anything like this, but the money was good. He had read in the newspaper that the girl was mostly sick since after her break up with her last boyfriend who was a famous movie star. She had confined herself to the house and hardly went out. This was a father's attempt to bring back some life into his child.

Looking at her now, he wondered who wouldn't take a girl like that. She was so perfect. With her flawless skin and long beautiful hair. Even her eyes, which conveyed sadness of the past, looked so beautiful. It was love at first sight.

Over the next few weeks, Henry couldn't get her out of his head. His days were driven by looking forward to each lesson. So far, they haven't had so much of a conversation but a simple 'Hello', 'Goodbye Mr. Floyd, Goodbye Ms. Thanes' and general instructions all relating to piano. He did not know if he should tell the girl about his feelings or not. They had these moments of gazing at each other. Henry was sure he could feel the vibes from her. He wanted her, madly, insanely. 

He took all his courage one day and told her about his feelings. There was one awkward pause then, between the two of them. She then smiled slowly and replied, "Mr. Flyod, I am sorry but I don't think we can pursue your interests. We shall proceed with the classes from the next lesson." And that's all he got. He would come for each lesson, she would smile, at least he got her to smile now which was some comfort to him. Every class was the same. There wasn't so much of a vibe anymore. Just the teacher and the student. 

Henry wanted to know all about her. He wanted to take away her pain. Make the sadness in her eyes vanish. He got to know that Ms. Thanes was engaged to her last boyfriend. They were to be married next summer when, on a vacation, things got ugly and no one knows why and how, their relationship just ended. Ms. Thanes has, since then, been living alone in the house with a housekeeper. Her family, father, mother and two younger brothers, lived in the main city of London in the family mansion. Ms. Thanes wanted solitary of the nature and so, she moved in here despite several protests from her mother. Henry was the only outsider she saw in the house. The girl had been one chirpy bird, life of everything. She would bring smiles even to the most frowning face with her love. And now, the face who never failed to enchant anyone lacked the most essential thing: her smile. 

Henry, he didn't know why, took up the challenge to bring back life into the girl. So every lesson, he would bring her lilies, her favorite flowers. He would tell her stories from all around the world. Crack up jokes from his piano classes. Sure, from the last time, the girl had started to smile, which did not reach her eyes. But she would talk no more. All his efforts seemed to be in vain.

Then one day, while they were at their lesson, the bell rang. Housekeeper came to inform them that a parcel has arrived for Ms. Thanes. It was a large bouquet of roses and a card saying "I am sorry". Next moment, Ms. Thanes had deposited herself on the couch and began sobbing. For a few minutes, Henry did not know how to console her. He had this mad urge to take her into her arms and kiss her. But that would be inappropriate. Few things should best be kept inside the head. He slowly walked over to her side and put a hand on her shoulder. She looked up and then looked away. Henry thought he should best leave her alone for the time being. It was highly inappropriate to barge into someone's privacy. He started to walk to the door when all of a sudden she spoke, "It was from Daniel, my ex, you know". 

That was the moment when two hearts connected to each other. She told her all about herself. Her name was Emily. She was nineteen when she met Daniel at a party. He was twenty three at the time and already famous. She was herself decent enough to turn heads. They instantly caught each other’s eye and the romance began. Emily dated him for three years before they decided to get married. What no one knew about Emily was that she was a highly emotional person, what with a tough childhood and all the family problems she had been through as a child. She was also very possessive of Daniel. And like any other girl, she had this constant need of being assured that he loved her, sometimes as many as ten times a day. 

Everything was going fine. Their families had decided upon the date of their marriage. Dan was busy shooting for his upcoming movie due to which, he couldn't give much time to Emily. That is when the problems started between the two of them. They had fights every night. Emily wanted a little more of his time. Dan complained Emily always wanted more. And the saga continued for over six months. Once the shooting of the movie was over, Dan decided to take Emily on a vacation so that they can spend some quality time together and patch up their broken relationship. So they went to Barbados. Not a fortnight after they landed, Dan got an email for a new movie. He had to sign up the contract and so he went to his laptop to research for the role. That was too much for Emily. They had a big fight. One thing led to another. They both said some stuff in anger and eventually, Dan decided to break off the relationship. 

Since then, Emily had been trying to get over him. Piano lessons were a part of the get-over-Dan strategy. But she knew deep down, he is the only one she loved. He was the one who made her happy, took care of her like no one had ever done. And Henry knew now, Dan was the only one who could put back smile on her face. The flowers were a sure example of that. Even though she was crying, there was a twinge of happiness in those eyes. 

Dan had never stopped loving Emily, just as she had not. All that breaking off was done in the moment of anger. Neither of them could live away from the other. The flowers and the card was a step in reconciliation. Had it been any other situation, Henry would have told the person to throw away the flowers and move on in life. But he knew, they were meant for each other. And so he told Emily to call Dan and patch up things. 

That was the last time he heard or saw of Emily in person. Dan and Emily would keep re-appearing on the news as the most popular celebrity weddings of the year. Henry had not realized how radiant she would look with the smile in her eyes and color on her cheeks. She looked more beautiful than Grace Kelly, whom he always considered the most beautiful woman ever. He was happy he had a role in patching up their relationship, at least he got a part of what he wanted: to put smile on that face.

One day, on a bright sunny afternoon, when this story is written, bell rang to Henry's apartment. He went over to open the door and Lo! Emily was standing right outside his door, looking all radiant and beautiful like a geisha, and to his much surprise, stood right behind her, tall and empowering Daniel. He looked exactly like the same as in his movies, good looks and everything. Henry invited them inside and started making coffee. It was Daniel who spoke to him. He wanted to thank Henry for making Emily call him. Apparently, Emily had told him all about Henry and he was happy that Henry was there when this happened. He said, “Everyone has their share of emotional baggage. Some have more and some less. Some know how to carry it around. Not everyone is same. Even I have my share of insecurities. I had loved Emily since the moment I saw her. It had been a mistake to let her go. She is everything I need. I had never stopped loving her. I only broke up with her to give her a chance to find someone better. Only, I realized a tad late what my life would be without her. And I knew she wasn't happy either. Her housemaid kept telling me on her condition. So, after being apart for six months, I realized, it isn't working out the way I thought it would and I knew, we both need each other." Emily smiled a genuine smile which reached her eyes and a moment passed between Henry and her. He knew exactly what she wanted to say to him. It was a thank you. And Henry smiled back.