We Met At Long & McQuade

We met one Friday evening in Toronto. It was cold, and slushy, I wasn’t dressed for the weather and on my walk home from one of my first AA meetings, I sought and found quick relief from the slush outside trenching my toes and shoes with extinction in Long & McQuade. 

It had been a few weeks since I’d played and my business in Long & McQuade was as much for winter relief as for finding a keyboard to rent. I’d browsed, fiddled with settings and little wheels, “testing” each make or model while really just feeling homesick, lost and alone. 

The mix of being able to play, the small talk made and the friendly + light-hearted interactions between myself and other patrons. Myself and the employees, and myself and a little girl – who truly did play her scales very well – had put me at ease. 

So when I’d finally ventured into the solarium to play the new white grand, like I and the employee talked about, I’d felt better, less homesick. And after complimenting a young girl, her burly father standing nearby, exchanging a few pleasantries, I’d gotten the chance to have the solarium and grande piano to myself, which I revelled in for some time, switching between pianos, people-watching when I didn’t need to look at the keys. 

He saw me first. I noticed him when I’d realized I was being watched. It sorta startled me though, ever since I started playing, I’d fantasized about a situation like this. And a situation it was.

(to be continued)