A Kind of Magic
“What’s the story with the piano benches?” Sam asked.
“Ha! They are from the shows Tom Waits did at the Royal Theatre Carré in November of 2004. I am his biggest fan, and the proprietor of the theatre is a good friend. When I heard Tom was coming to Amsterdam, I asked if I could buy four identical piano benches and have them placed at the piano on stage for his three shows plus his rehearsal. My friend agreed. Those piano benches were all used by Mr. Waits.”
“They are his prized possessions,” Luuk added with a smile.
Max slapped Luuk’s knee.
Sid, Sam, and Kenny stood there in various degrees of shock, awe, and reverence.
“Wow! That’s a helluva story,” Sid finally said.
Max and Luuk just smiled.
“He wrote songs about your city, you know? ‘9th and Hennepin’, ‘Christmas Card from a Hooker in Minneapolis’, He drew great inspiration from there.”
Sam didn’t know that, but she nodded along with everyone else.
“Aren’t you worried they’ll get ruined?” Sam asked with a concerned expression on her face.
“What is ruined?” Max pontificated, “I think putting them behind a glass enclosure, or roping them off from anything other than looking, and oohing, and aahing—that would ruin them.”
Sam looked quizzically at him.
“I love telling the story of the benches, especially to people who’ve sat on them, especially to the ones who know of Tom Waits. I’ve savored thousands of reactions over the years. Some people are amused. Some people are amazed. Some are ecstatic. It’s the reactions—they are the joy of having these benches, not the benches themselves. So, I leave them for people to sit on, enjoy some music, and make a really cool memory.”
Sam smiled and thought, That’s perfect…
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Excerpt from All or Nothing Girl, the forthcoming novella from Blake Charles Donley
Blake Charles Donley 