July 06, 726 AF
Faizan had just arrived at the Donetti's in order to deliver the rest of the tea set Miranda had ordered the day after he presented her with the teapot. Just after he'd entered and handed the package to Mimi, he heard a noise above him and looked up toward the top of the staircase. There he beheld Danica, and she was standing! However, the next thing he noticed was a boy who seemed to be about her age, or a bit younger, standing next to her and with his arm around her waist! Just as he was about to explode, the boy began to bow but was immediately stopped by Danica slapping him on the forehead.
"You idiot! What in the world are you thinking? You can't be bowing to someone while you're helping me stand up. What if we'd overbalanced? We'd have fallen all the way down the stairs. Who knows how much we'd have been hurt? We might even have died!
"Still, since you were doing that in order to show respect to my father, I suppose that, just this once, I can forgive you."
A multitude of thoughts and emotions were running through Faizan's mind. Anger, outrage, wonder, and, finally, acceptance. It seemed that there was a valid reason for this stranger to be touching his daughter, maybe...
While he was thinking, Danica continued speaking, "Father, your timing is excellent! Today will be my first time walking down the stairs by myself." She pouted, then added, "Though my balance is not yet very good. I still need Stavros to keep me from falling over."
With that she began, slowly, to walk down the stairs. Her left hand was on the banister as she took the stairs, one at a time. First the left foot, then the right, then on to the next step. The entire time Stavros was leaning to his right to counterbalance her.
Miranda, who was behind Faizan, slipped the couple a thumbs up, then added her own comments, "I know it's hard to see her like this, but, while it has been slow, she has made steady progress...though Stavros is still the only child in the family strong enough to keep her from falling when she overbalances. Dr. Fukui is hopeful that, within a couple of months, Dani will need less help and one of the girls will be able to take over."
She cocked her head to the side and rested her chin on her palm. "We still need to have both Stavros and Consuela help her on the way to school though. Were it only him, it might take them an hour to arrive.
"And, speaking of arrivals, yours is most serendipitous. The reason Danica is coming downstairs is so she can have her violin lesson. If you can spare the time, would you like to listen? She's doing very well for only having had two and a half months of practice."
"Yes. Yes I would." Faizan nodded. "If her teacher doesn't mind?"
A faint voice from the direction of the conservatory drifted over to them, "No. Her teacher doesn't mind. Please come on in."
By then Danica and Stavros had reached the bottom of the stairs. Danica grabbed the bottom of the banister with both hands while Stavros performed a full bow. "I'm very pleased to meet you sir. I'm Stavros Donetti, Danica's temporary cousin, part-time helper, and full-time classmate."
"Um, yes. I see. Thank you for helping my daughter."
"No thanks are needed. Even were she a stranger, it would be my honor to help someone in need."
Faizan nodded. At least the boy was polite and well-spoken. "Well then, please go ahead. We shouldn't keep the teacher waiting."
"Yes sir."
With that, Stavros again put his arm around Danica's waist, she put hers around his shoulders, and they set off. As they preceeded him, Faizan noticed that Stavros was continuing to lean toward his right so as to counterbalance Danica. Her steps were slow, but steady, and she appeared to be supporting about 80% of her own weight.
Upon their arrival in the conservatory, Faizan was introduced to Marcella, after which Mimi arrived with two extra folding chairs. Faizan and Miranda seated themselves, followed by Stavros -- who took his usual seat and picked up the book he was currently reading.
Marcela immediately began the lesson. As it progressed, Faizan was impressed by two things. The first was Marcela's teaching techniques. She was firm, but not a martinet. She freely answered Danica's questions, and gently guided her when her bowing technique or fingering were not quite right. When the lesson was finished, Faizan stood and bowed to Marcela. "Mrs. Piedmont, thank you so much for instructing my daughter. I can see that she is taking great pleasure in learning how to play."
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He then made his good-byes, and was escorted out by Mimi. When Danica made to stand, Miranda gestured for her to remain seated. Once she'd escorted Marcela to the door, she returned and asked, "How long were you two waiting up there for Faizan to arrive?"
"Not all that long. Maybe 10 minutes. Mimi told us when he was about to knock, so all we had to do was stand up and move to the top of the stairs." Danica grinned hugely as she answered.
"Well done you two...and mission accomplished. We needed your father's first impression of Stavros to be favorable, and there's no doubt that it was. Now all we need to do is make sure that a certain young male in the family doesn't screw things up next time they meet." Miranda raised an eyebrow, smiled, then spun around and left the conservatory. The kids exchanged grins and settled down. Since there was nothing pressing, Dani was going to practice some more, and Stav would read until she was finished.
As for her father, he was busy thinking as he headed back to his workshop. Mostly he was thinking about what Danica had said. Her, "just this once, I'll forgive you" were the words Miriam always used toward him when he'd made a mistake while trying to help her with something. Not only that, Dani had sounded just like her. When had his little girl grown so much? He was so focused on that, that he never considered that her arriving at the top of the stairs at the same time he came in through the door might not have been coincidental.
An hour later Dani cased her violin and said, "It's about time we thought about getting ready for dinner Stav."
He nodded, closed his book, and set it down on the table. After walking over to her, he stood in front of her, like always. She raised her arms, like always, and he pulled her up. Then, unlike always, she continued moving, leaned forward, and gently kissed him. She giggled and said, "A reward for impressing my father."
While he was frozen, she held onto his left shoulder with her right hand, turned, and picked her violin up off the table. "Let's go, shall we?"
"Uh, sure. Right."
Anyone watching would have seen them swaying back and forth for the first five meters or so. By then Stavros' mind was back in gear, and he concentrated on their balance. That way he could avoid thinking about what had just happened.
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After they'd closed the shop that evening, Faizan called a meeting of both families. Not wanting to waste time he said, "Brother, I've decided that you are right. The third building we looked at is ideal. There's enough room for 12 or so workers, plus a sales area and a reception room for the clients on the ground floor. Living quarters for as many as 20 on the second and third floors, and ample storage on the fourth. Also, as our wives have insisted..." He turned and grinned at Miriam and Zaynab, "the kitchen there is both the largest and easiest to move around in.
"So...let us proceed before someone else buys the building."
"But, husband, didn't you say that the stairs were too narrow for Dani to manage, even after she's able to come home?"
"Yes, I did say that, but I saw her walking today when I delivered the Donetti's order. Even now she needs someone to help her balance, so, while she is improving, there is still a long way to go."
"Excellent, excellent," said Aseel. "I agree. That's definitely the best location too -- not to mention that the price is good. If you have no objections, I'll finalize the negotiations tomorrow."
Seeing nodding all around, the meeting broke up.
After they'd all gone to bed that night, Miriam turned to Faizan. "All right. What's the real reason you changed your mind."
He thought, briefly, of making up something, but realized that not once in the past 15 years had he been able to fool her. "Our daughter is one of the bravest people I've ever known, and one of the best actors. She'd have to be to hide her condition from us for so long.
"No matter which building we buy, she's never going to be able to manage so many stairs, and even the one with the widest staircase is truly too narrow for someone to carry her. Add to that how slowly she walks, she'd have to leave for school almost two hours ahead of time to arrive on time even with someone helping her.
A light came on in his mind, "Which may be the reason Mrs. Donetti said that...as a hint perhaps," he mumbled.
"What did she say dear?"
"Huh, oh, I said that out loud, did I? Well, she mentioned that with only one person helping her to school, even from their home, it would take her an hour to get to school, and... Wait a minute!
"What are you women all up to? You're plotting something, probably all three of you."
His mind was whirling, and, finally, it settled on an incident from three years ago, before they'd left Soba.
"After we met with the Wise One, you stayed behind for a time." He looked fiercely at MIriam. "Just what did she tell you that you've not told me?"
Miriam had the grace to look embarrassed, but, after thinking a while, she lifted her chin and explained everything.
He nodded, then thought a while -- looking at nothing in particular on the wall, then exclaimed, "They tricked me! It was a set-up. I ought to..."
Suddenly he twisted around so he could look directly at his wife, took a slow deep breath, then, calmly, asked, "You knew what they were planning to do today, didn't you?"
Smiling gently, she nodded. "Yes my love. He's a good boy, and, if he turns out anything like his father and older brother, he'll be an even better man. Our Danica is destined for something far beyond what we could possibly have imagined for her back in Soba. I have absolutely no idea what it might be, but I'm sure that it will be something wonderful."
She wrapped her arms around Faizan's head and pulled it to her chest. While he grumbled about his "little girl" getting involved with a boy at such a young age, she continued to hold him until he'd calmed down. When he started nibbling, she smiled. He was so completely predictable, but he was also a wonderful man. She started nibbling back, after which neither one of them spoke until they awoke in the morning.