"She visits too often, it distracts you from your music." Professor Thurman crossed her elegant legs.

"She had no water at her place, she came for a shower, for Christ's sake!"

"Yes, I heard about the shower." The professor's voice was like acid. "And then she spent the day with you in here. You're telling me you didn't take breaks to talk to her, that she didn't detract from the quality of your work?"

"No, I actually think I practice better when she's around," Graham replied. "When I haven't seen her in so long, I miss her. I love her, and I like to see her from time to time, you know?"

"Oh, what do you know about love? You're a child. You need to study now, you can think about love later."

"I'm twenty-four, I think I'm old enough to know what I want," he retorted. "Are you saying she can't come here? Are you actually forbidding her entry to your home?"

The professor sighed. "Of course not. Just maybe not quite so often. It's not good for you."

"It had been nearly a week!"

"And what's going to happen if you win the deClerq and go to England for a year? A week is nothing! Besides, you've only just met her and according to you you hardly ever get to spend time with her, how can you possibly be in love?"

"Oh, leave me alone!" He turned back around. "I really need for you to hear this part, the andante, and tell me what's wrong with it, okay?"

Professor Thurman nodded and sat back to listen.

Graham began playing, but the professor stopped him after only a few bars.

"No, no, no, you're not trying to murder the piano, for goodness' sake. Think of it as more dolce, if that helps, and remember that at this point the theme is in your left hand."

"It doesn't say dolce, it says andante," Graham pointed out.

"Oh, you do my head in sometimes," Professor Thurman crossly. "You know what I mean."

Graham carefully wrote dolce under the word andante.

"Now, play it again, from the top of the page."

"Again."

"Again."

When he'd finally worked out the passage to his teacher's satisfaction, she asked him to play through the Moonlight Sonata.

"I don't need to, it's down."

"I just want to hear it, please."

Somewhat unwillingly, Graham began playing. He tried to get himself in the mood; after all, it wasn't the music's fault that it was one of the most popular pieces of all time and was therefore overplayed to death. Surely he owed it, if not to the people he'd be performing for, to Beethoven himself?

He launched into the jaunty, quiet and lovely second movement, letting everything, letting Cress and his argument with the Prof go and just feeling the music.

The door opened soundlessly and Katherine entered, walking across the room to sit with her mother. Professor Thurman turned to look at her while Graham played, and was shocked at the look of adoration on her daughter's face.

Katherine became aware of her mother's eyes on her, and recomposed her features into a neutral, listening expression.

After a short silence to mark the space between the movements, Graham began the thundering, controlled arpeggios of the third movement, letting the day roll off him. This, this was what his life was about right now. Even the Moonlight Sonata deserved all of him, everything he could give, hackneyed or no.

He came to the somber and rather abrupt ending of the piece and remained motionless for a few seconds, hands hovering over the keys as the notes dissipated.

"Well, that was quite good," Professor Thurman acknowledged. "A few rough spots, but that can be dealt with quite easily, I believe." She turned to her daughter. "What did you think?"

"I agree, I thought it was more than adequate."

"Thanks," Graham said sarcastically. "'Adequate' and 'good,' adjectives to live for."

"Oh, come, Graham, it's the Moonlight, no one is expecting anything new or inspiring." The professor's voice was clipped and amused.

Graham needed to get out of this room, this house. He needed to see Cress. He rose abruptly from the bench. "I think our hour is up. I'm going out."

Immediately Kathrine rose from her place next to her mother. "Which way are you headed? I'll give you a lift somewhere, I'm supposed to meet Shaun in half an hour."
"No thanks, I prefer the subway."

*

Graham tried to remember where Cress said she'd be that day. This was the problem with NYU—there was no campus proper per se, but rather buildings scattered all over lower Manhattan. It was nice because there was a real sense of being right in the city, but it made things difficult when tracking someone down. He finally just texted her, and settled down in a coffee shop to wait in case she was in class. The barista smiled at him, asking his name and telling him she'd bring his order to him.

Graham was not in any mood to flirt, but the girl kept eyeing his broad shoulders and long legs and talking to him when he'd rather just wait in silence.

"It's going to be a few minutes," she said, dimpling up at him. She was pretty, and stacked, that was for sure, but nothing to his Cress. Funny how other women just paled next to her.

"So, Graham, are you a student?"

"Um, no, I graduated from Hamilton Music Academy last June."
"Ooh, Hamilton, very nice. Piano?"

"Yes."

"I could tell from your beautiful hands and fingers."

He didn't know what to say to this, so he did his usual and retreated into silence.

The girl, named Carina, was called away, thankfully and Graham was left to wait in peace.

When she gave him his coffee, however, he was dismayed to find she'd written her phone number on the sleeve, with the message, "Call me."

Graham pretended he didn't see it so he could leave the coffee shop without saying anything to her besides a casual, "Thanks."

He walked as he drank his coffee, just to stretch his legs and put some distance between himself and Carina. His phone pinged with a text.

"I'm headed to Washington Square Park to eat lunch, why?"

"I'm about five minutes away, can I meet you?"

"Sure. I'm not alone, though, is that okay?"

"Fine, I just need to see you."

"Okay, meet you under the arch in five."

It was a cloudless October day, windless and perfect, which was the complete opposite of his mood. He walked quickly to the park, wanting only to see Cress, to be with her. How could he feel this way, so agonizingly needy, when he'd just seen her the day before? He got to the arch and stood waiting, hands in pockets, after he tossed the cup and Carina's number away.

"Graham!"

He turned toward the sound of her voice, and there she was, looking like sunshine, a huge smile just for him. She was wearing overalls and a striped sweater, and had never looked more beautiful.

Graham took long strides toward her and swept her up into his arms, hugging her tightly. Miraculously, she still carried a little of the fragrance of the bath oil and bubble bath from the day before, and Graham felt a jolt of desire for her that went straight to his gut, remembering the shower.

"Oh, god, Cress, Cress!"

"Graham? What's wrong?" Cressida looked into his eyes as he finally set her down.

"Nothing's wrong, I just needed to see you, that's all."

"Wow, how nice for me," she said with a laugh. She jumped onto his back, saying, "My friends are over there, let's go, okay?"
Obligingly he carried her over to a bench where a boy and girl were watching them with avid interest.

"Graham, this is Andrea, and this is Josh. Josh and Andrea, Graham."

"Nice to meet you."

"Same."

Andrea had a mop of black hair, while Josh had a blond ponytail. Graham flashed back to the night long ago when Cress had gone out after their disastrous first dinner, realizing that this was the Josh she'd stepped out with that night.

"So nice that we finally get to meet you in person," Andrea was saying as she unwrapped her sandwich.

"Yeah, we've heard so much about you," Josh agreed, opening his container of sushi.

"I'm really busy right now," Graham said. He couldn't think of anything else to say.

"Yeah, Cressy told us about the competition, that's really exciting," Josh said, snapping his chopsticks apart.

Cressida handed Graham half her sandwich and the foursome sat eating in the bright October sunshine. The trees were at the peak of their fall foliage, and the park was full of people walking.

"You must be cold," Graham said to Cressida. "Don't you have a sweater or something?"
Cressida shook her head. "I left it in class on accident. Hopefully it will still be there on Monday."

"No, no, you don't have to give me yours," she protested as he started to remove his jacket. She rose and threw their wrappers away.

"Well, how about this, then?" Graham gathered her into his lap, pulling his jacket around both of them as best he could, wrapping his arms around her front.

"Ooh, now this, I can deal with," Cressida replied, snuggling into him.

Andrea and Josh looked on with benevolent affection.

"Are you guys always this cute?" Josh asked.

"I am, Graham just gets all quiet and stern," Cressida replied happily.

"Well, I have another class, so I have to go," Andrea said, rising.

"I'll walk with you, I have to get to work," Josh added, standing up.

They turned and waved to Cressida and Graham, smiling, as they left the couple alone on the bench.

"You sure you're okay?" Cressida asked worriedly, turning so she could put her arm around him. His body under the jacket was firm and warm.

"I'm fine, now," he assured her. "I just really needed to be with you."

Cressida laid her head against him, feeling the bump of the necklace where it fell over his collarbone. They remained that way, silent, for a few minutes.

"You want to go by the apartment, see the progress?" Cressida asked. "I think the ceiling's all done, it's just new drywall and mold remediation now."

"Sure, sounds good."

They held hands as they walked toward their apartments, Cressida's small hand nearly swallowed by Graham's strong fingers.

"This is so nice, to see you, and be outside and everything," Cressida announced as they walked.

It was, Graham realized. He didn't do it enough. He also didn't try hard enough to please Cress, he thought. 

He should try more.

He would try more.