43. THE FAREWELL
The director-manager could not be more satisfied with the concert results and was the first to congratulate the duo.
“Thanks, Nina and Nano, I will never forget this great concert. The sponsors are delighted for the positive image you have left. As for you, Nina, we lose a great singer-songwriter, but we gain what is most difficult to achieve in this business: the prestige of having recorded the best artists. When things like this happen in our business, we remember that prestige and benefits are often bad companions and worst friends, but we cannot give up. You're free now, and I need not ask you what you've decided!”
Marc also congratulated her, but he communicated something that disturbed the happiness of that magical moment:
“Nina, your parents are outside this venue, they have attended the concert confused among the public, and they want to congratulate you, but they fear that you do not want to receive them because they feel like they've let you down ...”
Nina apologized to Nano for being away for a few minutes, without giving him a reason, and headed toward the venue's exit. And there were her sad parents, sitting on a lonely bench, amid empty containers, food scraps, and other objects left behind after the concert.
“Dad, mom? Why haven't you entered the premises? The guard would have let you pass!”
“Nina, daughter,“ replied the father, “we weren't sure if our presence would make you happy ... We have both let you down!”
“Yes, it's true, I've always felt alone and misunderstood, but it was loneliness that made me find my way. Mom, the Dad, don't feel guilty; we have all made mistakes! We are human, and nobody is perfect! I owe you both something more important than my vocation and my triumph: I owe you my life, and in this, you have not disappointed me!”
The morning after the concert, Nina and Nano had breakfast on the hotel's terrace where Nano was staying. Nina read the reviews and press releases about the concert and read one out loud:
“Nina retires from the stage at the height of her fame.
The singer-songwriter Nina, a revelation of the year, declared at the end of her concert that she retired from the musical stages to marry Nano, “A love of two young people, arisen from the friendship of two teenagers,” according to her own statements. “I have had an extraordinary personal experience that has enriched me,” she told the media. “I have understood how important it is to protect the mental and moral integrity of adolescence because it is during this hard age that our great ideals and our adult behavior take shape. ”
The popular singer-songwriter announced her imminent marriage to guitarist Fernando M., known in the world of music as Nano, specialized in classical guitar themes by national authors. The cheerful couple will live in London, a city that contributed decisively to Nanos's musical training and where they teach a master's degree in Spanish classical guitar. Goodbye, Nina and Nano, we will miss you! »
“And what do they say about the concert?”
“Practically everyone agrees on the praise, but this is the most interesting: «The same record label that launched Nina to fame, has signed the contract with Lali Boon, the fun singer-songwriter who became known as Nina's opening act. According to its director-manager. “Lali Boon will be, without a doubt, the revelation singer of the year!”
“I hope your parents are happy and stop quarreling. Bravo, Lali! This girl must have been born on stage.”
After taking the last sip of coffee for his breakfast, Nano made an unexpected proposition to Nina:
“Nina, when they gave me the napkin with your song, «Sing with me,» I didn't know you would celebrate this concert, and I assumed you would be. I walk towards the small town where we met, and there I went to your search, but I only found the evocative places where we had been together. Now I remember that when the bus we were fleeing went up the hill and we lost sight of the town, you told me that one day we would return to that place without running away from anyone” Nina smiled wistfully at the memory of those difficult but creative days. “I think this is the best time to fulfill our wish.”
“Nothing would make me happier!”
“I have rented a car. When you finish having breakfast, we can start this nostalgic trip!”
When there was only a faint glow of a sun hidden behind the landscape's soft hills, they went up the hill that gave access to the bay where the small coastal town they longed for was located.
“Ah, Nina, I forgot to tell you something. The last time I was here, I toured the places that brought you your memory, and on the terrace of the apartment where I met you, there was a sign announcing its sale. I'm not rich, but this last tour has been very lucrative. I thought this was a superb place to kick back and relax after a hectic concert tour. I spoke to my London bank on the phone, and… ” Nano took a key attached to a guitar-shaped key ring from one of his pockets and said to amazed Nina. “Here is the key to our apartment!”
Nina couldn't believe what she was hearing.
“Nano, finally you and I are alone again, and on our own…. It's not possible!” She exclaimed, surprised because as they approached the beach, an enormous banner had hung up, welcoming them, saying, “Welcome Nina and Nano!” and a sizable group of residents and vacationers, apparently waiting for them. But the amazing thing was that among them was Marc with Lali and the managing director.
When they got out of the car in surprise, the director-manager informed them of what had happened:
“I think we've all had the same idea: rest here for a few days to take the stress out of the concert: The banner was the piano-bar.
Someone from the hotel where you are staying knew your intention to come here, they should have warned them, and they have already announced your performance; it will be hectic!”
Lali approached Nina and gave her another unexpected news:
“Nina, don't be surprised that I'm here too, they are the things of destiny, Marc and I have promised each other, that's how everything stays with the family!”
The two friends hugged each other with smiles at the joy of the unexpected meeting and the news.
Behind the group of people surrounding the newcomers were Nina's parents; when she saw them, she exclaimed in surprise: ”
“Dad, Mom, you are also here!”
“Yes, daughter, the director-manager invited us to spend a few days at his house on the hillside, and we could not refuse his generous invitation.”
“Then, we are all there!”
“Yes, I think so,” said the managing director, “and we have agreed to celebrate this meeting with a huge and tasty fish grill.” I suppose, Nina, you will like fish, or do you prefer meat?”
Nina exchanged a knowing look with her mother and exclaimed, amused.
“It still weighs on my conscience, having left it on the plate without trying the last fish grill my mother invited me to. What a waste, I will never forgive myself!”
“No, daughter,” the mother interrupted, changing another knowing look with Nano, “I had her wrapped for the cat, and that was Nano's dinner that day!”
“Then it's all settled,” said the managing director. This is how we work in our star factory! Tomorrow, afternoon, that you will be rested from the trip, we meet in this restaurant, and at dusk, when it refreshes, Nina and Nano can delight us with their new songs, but it will not be at the piano-bar, that we would not all fit, but outdoors, on the beach, on the small stage prepared by them. Do young musicians agree?”
Nina and Nano made an approving gesture with their thumb.
“Then until tomorrow,” and addressing Nina's parents, he said, “If you wish, you can stay with your daughter and return to my house whenever you want. I guess they will have a lot to talk about.”
“No, I think that after the concert, Nina told us everything she had to say. They will want to be alone. Now our daughter already has someone to take care of her and protect her. Nina doesn't need us anymore. If you don't mind, we will retire with you. Tomorrow will be another day!”
After the inevitable autograph signing, they were finally free from the harassment of fame, and they made their way to their new apartment on the beachside. In the afternoon, the beach kiosk was closed, and they collected the hammocks. The piano-bar entrance was illuminated, and there was the sound of a piano, which played Beethoven's “Für Elise.”
“Someone is playing the piano…”
“And with excellent technique and sensitivity!” Nano added in surprise.
“I'm dying to know who is playing!”
The small place was deserted and practically dark. It was only illuminated with a beam of light on the sheet music of the person sitting at the piano. Sensing Nina and Nano, she stopped playing and turned to them in surprise.
“No, please, keep playing!” Nina pleaded.
The pianist was the young woman who used to accompany the director-manager.
“I'm so bad! But aren't you Nina and Nano? I apologize that I did not go with the others to receive you ... I remember the night that you, Nina, sang here your song that my father loved...”
“Your father? So, you are the daughter of the managing director of the record company?” The youthful woman nodded, but with a melancholic expression. “Your father must be happy to have a pianist daughter…”
“Unfortunately, the opposite happens, he doesn't want to see me sitting at a piano… He thinks I have no talent for music and that I will be an excellent business-woman, as he is, and I think that Is right.”
“What a great paradox! Your father can recognize the musical talent of others, but not that of his own daughter,” exclaimed Nina, annoyed. “Why don't you open up to your father and make him see he's wrong?” The youthful woman seemed to have accepted her situation with resignation.
“It's too late! To become a standout pianist, it is necessary to start your career when you are still a teenager, as I think is your case. If fate doesn't decide otherwise, when I finish university, in two years, I will be a new executive of my father's company.”
“Sorry, there's no worse feeling than working at something you don't like.”
“I've already assumed it. At least I have the consolation that I will be responsible for the recent releases.”
“I am sure you will do a magnificent job!” And they said goodbye to the frustrated young pianist without hiding their sadness.
“It seems to be inevitable,” said Nina, once outside the piano-bar, “that all parents see their children as their reincarnation and insist that they follow in their footsteps. To be an artist, the first great difficulty is to overcome the resistance of your own parents, who take great measures about your future when you are hardly aware of the same future and cannot oppose it. Everything else is easier.”
When they reached the place next to the terrace where they met, Nano exclaimed, without avoiding the emotion of that fortuitous encounter.
“It was a few seconds when our eyes met, but enough to know that we were born for each other. But you did not need a lover then, but a friend. Unfortunately, you could see it for yourself! Because from friendship to love, there is a step, but there is often an abyss from love to friendship.”
“Thanks, Nina and Nano, I will never forget this great concert. The sponsors are delighted for the positive image you have left. As for you, Nina, we lose a great singer-songwriter, but we gain what is most difficult to achieve in this business: the prestige of having recorded the best artists. When things like this happen in our business, we remember that prestige and benefits are often bad companions and worst friends, but we cannot give up. You're free now, and I need not ask you what you've decided!”
Marc also congratulated her, but he communicated something that disturbed the happiness of that magical moment:
“Nina, your parents are outside this venue, they have attended the concert confused among the public, and they want to congratulate you, but they fear that you do not want to receive them because they feel like they've let you down ...”
Nina apologized to Nano for being away for a few minutes, without giving him a reason, and headed toward the venue's exit. And there were her sad parents, sitting on a lonely bench, amid empty containers, food scraps, and other objects left behind after the concert.
“Dad, mom? Why haven't you entered the premises? The guard would have let you pass!”
“Nina, daughter,“ replied the father, “we weren't sure if our presence would make you happy ... We have both let you down!”
“Yes, it's true, I've always felt alone and misunderstood, but it was loneliness that made me find my way. Mom, the Dad, don't feel guilty; we have all made mistakes! We are human, and nobody is perfect! I owe you both something more important than my vocation and my triumph: I owe you my life, and in this, you have not disappointed me!”
The morning after the concert, Nina and Nano had breakfast on the hotel's terrace where Nano was staying. Nina read the reviews and press releases about the concert and read one out loud:
“Nina retires from the stage at the height of her fame.
The singer-songwriter Nina, a revelation of the year, declared at the end of her concert that she retired from the musical stages to marry Nano, “A love of two young people, arisen from the friendship of two teenagers,” according to her own statements. “I have had an extraordinary personal experience that has enriched me,” she told the media. “I have understood how important it is to protect the mental and moral integrity of adolescence because it is during this hard age that our great ideals and our adult behavior take shape. ”
The popular singer-songwriter announced her imminent marriage to guitarist Fernando M., known in the world of music as Nano, specialized in classical guitar themes by national authors. The cheerful couple will live in London, a city that contributed decisively to Nanos's musical training and where they teach a master's degree in Spanish classical guitar. Goodbye, Nina and Nano, we will miss you! »
“And what do they say about the concert?”
“Practically everyone agrees on the praise, but this is the most interesting: «The same record label that launched Nina to fame, has signed the contract with Lali Boon, the fun singer-songwriter who became known as Nina's opening act. According to its director-manager. “Lali Boon will be, without a doubt, the revelation singer of the year!”
“I hope your parents are happy and stop quarreling. Bravo, Lali! This girl must have been born on stage.”
After taking the last sip of coffee for his breakfast, Nano made an unexpected proposition to Nina:
“Nina, when they gave me the napkin with your song, «Sing with me,» I didn't know you would celebrate this concert, and I assumed you would be. I walk towards the small town where we met, and there I went to your search, but I only found the evocative places where we had been together. Now I remember that when the bus we were fleeing went up the hill and we lost sight of the town, you told me that one day we would return to that place without running away from anyone” Nina smiled wistfully at the memory of those difficult but creative days. “I think this is the best time to fulfill our wish.”
“Nothing would make me happier!”
“I have rented a car. When you finish having breakfast, we can start this nostalgic trip!”
When there was only a faint glow of a sun hidden behind the landscape's soft hills, they went up the hill that gave access to the bay where the small coastal town they longed for was located.
“Ah, Nina, I forgot to tell you something. The last time I was here, I toured the places that brought you your memory, and on the terrace of the apartment where I met you, there was a sign announcing its sale. I'm not rich, but this last tour has been very lucrative. I thought this was a superb place to kick back and relax after a hectic concert tour. I spoke to my London bank on the phone, and… ” Nano took a key attached to a guitar-shaped key ring from one of his pockets and said to amazed Nina. “Here is the key to our apartment!”
Nina couldn't believe what she was hearing.
“Nano, finally you and I are alone again, and on our own…. It's not possible!” She exclaimed, surprised because as they approached the beach, an enormous banner had hung up, welcoming them, saying, “Welcome Nina and Nano!” and a sizable group of residents and vacationers, apparently waiting for them. But the amazing thing was that among them was Marc with Lali and the managing director.
When they got out of the car in surprise, the director-manager informed them of what had happened:
“I think we've all had the same idea: rest here for a few days to take the stress out of the concert: The banner was the piano-bar.
Someone from the hotel where you are staying knew your intention to come here, they should have warned them, and they have already announced your performance; it will be hectic!”
Lali approached Nina and gave her another unexpected news:
“Nina, don't be surprised that I'm here too, they are the things of destiny, Marc and I have promised each other, that's how everything stays with the family!”
The two friends hugged each other with smiles at the joy of the unexpected meeting and the news.
Behind the group of people surrounding the newcomers were Nina's parents; when she saw them, she exclaimed in surprise: ”
“Dad, Mom, you are also here!”
“Yes, daughter, the director-manager invited us to spend a few days at his house on the hillside, and we could not refuse his generous invitation.”
“Then, we are all there!”
“Yes, I think so,” said the managing director, “and we have agreed to celebrate this meeting with a huge and tasty fish grill.” I suppose, Nina, you will like fish, or do you prefer meat?”
Nina exchanged a knowing look with her mother and exclaimed, amused.
“It still weighs on my conscience, having left it on the plate without trying the last fish grill my mother invited me to. What a waste, I will never forgive myself!”
“No, daughter,” the mother interrupted, changing another knowing look with Nano, “I had her wrapped for the cat, and that was Nano's dinner that day!”
“Then it's all settled,” said the managing director. This is how we work in our star factory! Tomorrow, afternoon, that you will be rested from the trip, we meet in this restaurant, and at dusk, when it refreshes, Nina and Nano can delight us with their new songs, but it will not be at the piano-bar, that we would not all fit, but outdoors, on the beach, on the small stage prepared by them. Do young musicians agree?”
Nina and Nano made an approving gesture with their thumb.
“Then until tomorrow,” and addressing Nina's parents, he said, “If you wish, you can stay with your daughter and return to my house whenever you want. I guess they will have a lot to talk about.”
“No, I think that after the concert, Nina told us everything she had to say. They will want to be alone. Now our daughter already has someone to take care of her and protect her. Nina doesn't need us anymore. If you don't mind, we will retire with you. Tomorrow will be another day!”
After the inevitable autograph signing, they were finally free from the harassment of fame, and they made their way to their new apartment on the beachside. In the afternoon, the beach kiosk was closed, and they collected the hammocks. The piano-bar entrance was illuminated, and there was the sound of a piano, which played Beethoven's “Für Elise.”
“Someone is playing the piano…”
“And with excellent technique and sensitivity!” Nano added in surprise.
“I'm dying to know who is playing!”
The small place was deserted and practically dark. It was only illuminated with a beam of light on the sheet music of the person sitting at the piano. Sensing Nina and Nano, she stopped playing and turned to them in surprise.
“No, please, keep playing!” Nina pleaded.
The pianist was the young woman who used to accompany the director-manager.
“I'm so bad! But aren't you Nina and Nano? I apologize that I did not go with the others to receive you ... I remember the night that you, Nina, sang here your song that my father loved...”
“Your father? So, you are the daughter of the managing director of the record company?” The youthful woman nodded, but with a melancholic expression. “Your father must be happy to have a pianist daughter…”
“Unfortunately, the opposite happens, he doesn't want to see me sitting at a piano… He thinks I have no talent for music and that I will be an excellent business-woman, as he is, and I think that Is right.”
“What a great paradox! Your father can recognize the musical talent of others, but not that of his own daughter,” exclaimed Nina, annoyed. “Why don't you open up to your father and make him see he's wrong?” The youthful woman seemed to have accepted her situation with resignation.
“It's too late! To become a standout pianist, it is necessary to start your career when you are still a teenager, as I think is your case. If fate doesn't decide otherwise, when I finish university, in two years, I will be a new executive of my father's company.”
“Sorry, there's no worse feeling than working at something you don't like.”
“I've already assumed it. At least I have the consolation that I will be responsible for the recent releases.”
“I am sure you will do a magnificent job!” And they said goodbye to the frustrated young pianist without hiding their sadness.
“It seems to be inevitable,” said Nina, once outside the piano-bar, “that all parents see their children as their reincarnation and insist that they follow in their footsteps. To be an artist, the first great difficulty is to overcome the resistance of your own parents, who take great measures about your future when you are hardly aware of the same future and cannot oppose it. Everything else is easier.”
When they reached the place next to the terrace where they met, Nano exclaimed, without avoiding the emotion of that fortuitous encounter.
“It was a few seconds when our eyes met, but enough to know that we were born for each other. But you did not need a lover then, but a friend. Unfortunately, you could see it for yourself! Because from friendship to love, there is a step, but there is often an abyss from love to friendship.”
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