Phlebotomist Harriet
Quimby and Professor of music Nathan Robinson had been dating for close to six
months and were getting very serious.
To the untrained eye
they seemed an odd couple, she a beautiful willowy health professional and him
an unspectacular looking academic.
But it was also
patently obvious that miss matched or not they were obviously in love.
Despite their
differences and a six year age gap they were a two halves of the same coin.
Her marriage to William
Quimby ended as a result of his lies and deceipt so when her relationship with
Nathan began Harriet stated
“I have only one rule
or perhaps more aptly it is my no lies policy, we have to have absolute honesty
or nothing”
“I agree” Nathan said
“Unreservedly”
In the fullness of
time although they still had their own respective homes they were always
together when commitments allowed although in truth they were each other’s
primary commitment and when they were together it was generally always at his
house.
Apart from when Nathan
was out of town lecturing and it had been that way since the very beginning.
When Harriet first
agreed to go out with Nathan she didn’t have it in mind that it was a date as
such in fact she didn’t, even to that day, understand how it happened, she
remembered that she agreed that if she went with him to a Jazz gig in return he
would take her to the opera and it was as simple as that or at least it seemed
so simple and matter of fact.
But go with him to the
Jazz gig she did and one gig led to another one and then to drinks, and dinner
and the pictures until she suddenly had space in his wardrobe and a drawer for
her knickers and then she could hardly remember the time before they met.
They did however still
disagree musically but in all other matters they were simpatico.
Nathan was a jazz fan
and when he wanted to relax he always listened to Beiderbecke, Goodman, The
Dorsey Brothers, Jelly Roll Morton or Artie Shaw but of an evening he would
always defer to Harriet’s favourite, Puccini.
Just to look at her
lovely face as the wonderful melodies washed over her.
When he first asked
her out she said
“Ok I will come with
you to the Jazz Shack to hear you play again, on one condition”
“Name it” he said with
enthusiasm
“You have to come to
the opera with me”
He went to speak but she
silenced him with a look
“And I don’t mean
Gilbert and Sullivan either”
“Puccini’s Madame
Butterfly, one of the greatest pieces of early 20th century music ever written”
she said with authority
“It’s a date” he said
His one and only
regret since they had been together was that his part of the bargain that he
should take her to see Madame Butterfly had remained unfulfilled.
They couldn’t find a
performance at the time and she had to settle for Tosca, which she did without
a single word of complaint.
But a promise was a
promise and his failure to keep it would have to be put right.
Nathan had been away
for three days lecturing on the question of whether Jazz had an effect on
speakeasies or vice versa and Harriet was missing him terribly.
She had been at his
house all the time he had been away as she felt to lonely in her flat.
When Nathan drove onto
his driveway he was delighted to see the lights were on, which meant Harry was
home.
He opened the front
door and was surprised to hear the sound of Bix Beiderbecke coming from his
study.
“Hello!” he called as
he closed the door.
“Nathan?” Harriet called
back “is that you?”
She appeared from the
lounge and rushed towards him
“You’re early” she said
and kissed him.
“Yes we wrapped up earlier
than I expected” He replied
“How come you’re
listening to Bix Beiderbecke, you hate jazz?”
“It’s growing on me” Harriet
replied
“Really?” he asked
doubtfully
“Yes I’ve got to like
it” she said
“Liar” Nathan said
“I’m not lying” she
said innocently
As they walked to the
lounge
“What happened to your
no lies policy?” he asked
“I hate it when you
remember what I say” she said grumpily “and then use my own words against me”
“So?”
“Ok” she confessed
“If I can hear your
jazz playing in the study it’s like you’re only in the next room and not miles
away and then I don’t miss you so much”
Later that evening
after they had made love Nathan said
“Can you get some time
off around your birthday?”
“Yes I think so” she replied
“Why?”
“I thought we might
get away on a mini break” he replied, “Hotel, opera, posh restaurant”
“Really?”
“Yes it’s your 30th
after all” he replied
“That’s a big
birthday”
He would have liked it
to have been a surprise but he needed to tell her in order for her to book the
time off.
Harriet managed to get
the time off and then he made all the arrangements and kept all the details
secret until the day came for them to leave.
They were stood in the
hallway with the bags packed when he said
“Have you got your passport?”
“You don’t need a passport
for Covent Garden” she said and snorted
“No, that’s true”
Nathan said “But you do for the Met”
“The Met?” she asked
“Yes” Nathan replied
“The Metropolitan
Opera house?” she asked “in New York City?”
“Yes, but I can change
it to Covent Garden though if you’d rather” he offered
“Don’t you dare” she
said and kissed him
“I can’t believe
you’re taking me to New York” she said and squealed
“Well it is your 30th”
he explained
“Well if you’re taking
me to New York for my 30th what will you do for my 40th
“Well that’s easy” he
said
“What?”
“I’ll change you for
two 20s”
“Bloody cheek” she
said but kissed him anyway
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