The Kindness Club on Mapleberry Lane - Part One: A Summer Surprise

bit of mystery, Layla followed Veronica towards the study, the room where the door was always shut. No matter how comfortable they were with one another, Layla knew boundaries and she didn’t go into rooms without Veronica’s permission, the study included. It was only a small room and full of files and things that could probably be cleared out, but it was the only room Veronica didn’t spend a lot of time cleaning. In fact, she avoided it. Because sitting inside was the piano she’d had as a little girl, handed down to her from her parents who’d loved the instrument and taught her to play when she was younger than Layla. She’d loved to run her fingers over those keys and as soon as Sam was old enough, she’d taught her how to play too, until Herman had convinced Sam that her studies were far more important than messing around playing a musical instrument. No matter how many times Veronica argued that learning an instrument was good for brain development, hand–eye coordination, the memory, he refused to have any of it. And eventually Veronica stopped playing too because he’d complain it gave him a headache when he tried to work, or it disturbed him. He’d battered all of the enjoyment away for Veronica with his complaining, but now, with Layla, was she really ready to find the magic again? If anyone could help her do it, it was this bubbly little girl.

When Layla saw what was waiting on the other side of the door to the study, her eyes widened. She stepped forward at Veronica’s approval and lifted the polished wooden lid of the mahogany instrument. The brass pedals matched the shiny brand name on the underside of the lid now that it was open, the keys had lost their brightness in colour but the piano was as intact as Veronica remembered.

Layla tentatively touched a key and giggled when a sound rang out. She hit another and another. ‘Can you play?’ she asked.

‘I used to play, a long time ago.’

Veronica watched a lot of television for company, and a recent documentary had looked into children who played musical instruments and how it benefited them. They’d moved on to discussing adults who kept up with learning and playing and Veronica had found her jealousy mounting. She’d gone and stood by the piano, eventually sitting down on the stool, but still she hadn’t played anything. What she did do was slam her hands down on the keys and swear out loud, something she never did, berating Herman for the control he’d had over her and the way she’d never fought to be her own person. Everyone deserved that surely. And as his wife, she’d deserved his support. For better or for worse, they’d said those vows, but Herman hadn’t supported her when she was at her worst; he’d tried to pretend it wasn’t happening and his way of doing that was to make her feel small and worthless.

‘You have a play,’ she told Layla, ‘I’ll be back in a jiffy.’

Layla didn’t need telling twice and sat down on the piano stool, which was still filled with all the old music Veronica had once used.

Veronica stopped before she passed through the doorway. ‘I forgot to ask. How do you spell phenomenon?’

Layla grinned, eyes upwards as she thought, teeth biting down lightly on the skin beneath her lower lip until she said, ‘P-h-e-n-o …’ She hesitated. ‘m-e-n-o-n.’

Veronica gave her a round of applause. ‘I knew you could learn it.’

‘Do you think I’ll be able to learn how to play the piano as quickly?’ Layla’s voice followed after her as Veronica went to the downstairs bathroom for a breather. It wasn’t often Layla gave her cause to do it, but unveiling the piano and knowing there was no going back – Layla would be persistent after today – it took her a few moments to accept the change. But she didn’t mind the din already coming from the study, it filled the quiet and she’d get used to it. Maybe she could grow to love it.

Back in the dining room, she had Layla shuffle over so she could sit on the stool too. It was a long time since she’d taught Sam to play and she’d forgotten how to instruct someone on the basics. Already she could feel her fingers twitching; she knew she’d be able to remember the notes. A bit like riding a bike, except this could be done in the comfort of her own home.

‘There are so many keys.’ Layla looked daunted as her eyes drifted from one end of the piano to the other. ‘I’ll never remember them.’

‘How many do you think there are?’ Layla’s mind ticked over, counting, until Veronica said, ‘All you need to remember for now is that while there are a lot of keys there are only seven names of notes for you to learn.’

‘There are way more than seven.’

Veronica explained exactly what she meant before getting a piece of paper and a pen to draw the keys and write the notes on each of them in a group of seven. ‘You can take this home so you can learn them.’

‘What do the black keys do?’

And as Veronica explained about sharps and flats, octaves and where to position your hands, letting Layla have a play around each time, she found herself enjoying this in the same way she’d been rewarded in her job as a nurse. Looking out for others, nurturing, helping, being kind, was what she missed the most now. Sometimes she got so angry that she’d given it all up. All that time she could’ve still been working at the hospital whether full or part time as she got older, the daily interactions and busyness the very things she loved.

With Layla here now still enthusiastically hammering out the worst din in history, it kickstarted her spiritedness. She went online and ordered a beginner’s book for learning to play the piano, with exercises Layla could