Chapter
2
“No,
Trent,
I can’t do that.”
Anthony
Clint
wasn’t
enjoying his role as chairman of the music department at Arizona
University,
very glad the appointment would be over at the end of the following year.
Then sabbatical, wonderful sabbatical. He looked forward to having time to
write, followed by a return to teaching, instead of administration. He’d
made a mistake by accepting the position, but at the time thought it would
be good for his career. He soon discovered teaching and composing were
more to his taste, and career advancement wasn’t as important to him as
he thought.
Trent
Quillium
taxed
his patience from the very beginning. The lad was a gifted cellist, but
unfortunate physically. His gangly arms and legs gave the impression he
never had a decent meal, and the blond hair framing his spotty face always
looked unwashed and uncombed. Anthony
thought
the boy needed a good mother or wife to put him together. A less
charitable colleague called him “one of God’s shop projects.”
Trent had
adored his composition teacher, Graham
Winslow,
and had followed him around, hanging on his every word. In his quest for a
recipient worthy of his devotion since Graham’s
death, Trent
alienated
many members of the music department. Being a talented player and composer
wasn’t enough to keep him from being shunned. Anthony
couldn’t
bring himself to reject Trent,
too, though he shuddered at the thought of being responsible for this boy,
who seemed so naive and vulnerable.
“Why are you driving all that way?”
Ann
Quinn
asked
her daughter when phoned
the contingent
of her family to tell them her plans.
“I’ll need both a car and my bass there. It’s the only way.
It’ll take just three days at the most and, yes, I’ll drive carefully.
Want to come with me?”
“If I were younger, I would. Now I fly,”
Ann
replied.
There was a momentary pause. “On the other hand, at my age I’m not in
a rush to get anywhere and if I come with you, it will make you stop each
day before you get too tired to drive carefully.”
“Can I take back my invitation?”
Molly asked,
teasing her mother, whose company she generally enjoyed and with whom she
traveled well.
“No. I’m coming. I’ll fly down to Edmonton
a
few days before you leave so I can visit with your sister. Is the granny
annex available?”
“There are no other grannies dropping by to use it. We’re fresh
out of grannies in residence.”
“Good. I’ll phone to let you know what plane I’m on,” she
said, ignoring Molly
attempt
at a joke, and hung up..
Molly
phoned
Anthony
right
away to let him know he would have an extra guest, and to warn him about
her mother’s insistence on being an active participant in whatever was
going on. She suspected
Anthony would
enjoy Ann,
but not without some warning of her impending arrival.
