Mark, the Professional

Chapter 17 A Piano Master

“Joe, you can surely play better than him.” The young man shouted.

“Right. Do it! You are a master at the piano, Joe.” Another guest supported.

Most of the guests were regulars and knew Joe well. They had seen him perform and knew that he was good at the piano.

“Alright, challenge accepted,” Joe said finally. “However, if you lose, you should apologize to our customers here for your arrogance.”

Mark nodded with a smile. “Sure.” 

You will be embarrassed and feel sorry for yourself. Joe thought with a sneer.

Soon the manager heard about the competition between Joe and a stranger, he joined the crowd to watch the show out of curiosity.

“After you, sir.” Mark stepped aside and said politely.

“You are making a fool of yourself.” Joe gave Mark a contemptuous look. He chose a difficult tune, hoping to embarrass Mark as much as he could.

It was a tune that requested mastery skill, much practice and perfect control of the pace. If one made a tiny mistake, the whole tune would be ruined. Joe had practiced it for months and he was in fact, preparing for an important competition.

All the guests were music lovers and as soon as Joe sat down to play, they recognized the tune straight away. It was “The Little Bell” by Franz Liszt.  

The crowd applauded passionately, extremely impressed. It was the best they had heard Joe play. With a proud grin, Joe said “Thank you.” 

Mark clapped his hands with a smile and commented, “You have practiced well and you completed it without making any mistakes, which is rather impressive, though you will still need to work on the big leaps in the right hand and with faster speeds. The most important thing lacking is your emotions, I would say. It would have sounded better with some genuine passion.”

Joe frowned at Mark’s comment. “Let’s see how well you play then!” He said rather angrily.

The manager wasn’t pleased to hear Mark’s remark either. It was him that picked Joe to work at the café after all and it was indeed not an easy tune to play at all. “It’s easier said than done, young lad. To make it fair, why don’t you play the same song Joe played just now?

To everyone’s surprise, Mark didn’t seem awkward or nervous. He nodded with a smile and said, “Sure, though I haven’t played in a long time. I will give it a try.” He said plainly.

It was the same tune played on the same instrument, yet it sounded so different. Joe did finish the whole tune without making a mistake, but Mark played it so perfectly and, most importantly, with passion, as if he composed the tune himself and understood every sound of it and the meaning behind it.

When Mark was halfway through the tune, Joe knew that he had lost. Seeing how much the crowd was enjoying it, Joe felt embarrassed and sneaked out from the back door.

The guests stopped talking gradually and immersed themselves in the beautiful melody. When it finally came to the end, there was complete silence in the café. Mark looked up at the manager and asked, “Am I qualified to play a tune here later please?”

“One more!” A guest exclaimed.

“Bravo!” Another one applauded and shouted with excitement, followed by thundering applause.

“It was amazing.”

“It was the best I’ve ever heard!” One compliment followed another.  

The manager didn’t even think of Joe, instead, he walked up straight to the stage and gave Mark a handshake. “You are a genius, a master at the piano! You are more than welcomed to play here any time and as many songs as you like.” He said with a grin.

“Thank you. I will play just one song, just one for a friend.” Mark said clearly. The manager seemed a bit disappointed in hearing so, but he replied politely, “No problem. Would you like to have a drink while you wait for your friend?” He gestured to Mark to take a seat near the stage.

Just then, a slim tall girl walked into the café. She was wearing her hair up neatly and a partly formal blue dress that showed her slim waist. She took a seat by the window. It was her regular spot.

She glanced around the stage and saw that Joe was absent, but a stranger was standing by the piano next to the manager.

“Joe isn’t in today?” She asked the waiter after ordering.

“Miss Foster, we have a mastery pianist here today! Joe competed with him, but he lost and left. He must have felt embarrassed.” The waiter replied with a mysterious smile and took a look at Mark on the stage.

“A master? Hmm.” Betty Foster turned to look at the stranger on the stage. He looks more like a model than a musician. She thought and was rather intrigued. “I would like to see how mastery he is.”

Betty was a music lover. Music was her savior as whenever she felt stressed from work, she sought comfort in music. Melody Café was located near Foster Future Advisor and Betty had become a regular there.

“I’m sure you will enjoy it.” The waiter said confidently.

Mark had noticed Betty come in. “Thank you, but perhaps later. I actually feel like playing another song now.” Mark sat back down. The friend he meant to play a song for was actually Betty Foster. He had planned it. The manager was pleased to know that Mark was playing again and excused himself down the stage.

Seeing Mark sit back down, the guests went quiet immediately and watched Mark with expectation and excitement.

As Mark’s fingers danced beautifully on the keys, Betty listened and watched in amazement. She recognized the song from the very beginning and gazed at Mark in surprise.