You really must start by reading the first part and the second part.
The night they were supposed to trap Burt between two simultaneous dreams, Maggie discovered she’d never felt more awake in her life, which was quite surprising since she was that sort of person that fells asleep the moment their head hits the pillow. All she could think of was how to tell Mr.Baker she’d been up until 3 am, staring with an increased sense of the desperation at the alarm clock slowly measuring the minutes. It would be so embarrassing! The next morning, when the pharmacist complained in a shrill voice he’d been stuck all night listening to Burt, she just mumbled something about having difficulties sleeping and felt very much ashamed for letting the man down.
Better coordination was needed, Baker decided and proposed they should sleep together, not as in, you know, sleep together, God forbid, he was a decent man and would never propose anything untoward to a lovely lady like Maggie. How would she feel about taking two adjoining rooms in a nice hotel? A bit weird, yes, since they lived in town, but inviting her to his house would definitely be an offence both to her and to the memory of his dearly deceased Beth.
Maggie Calhoun and Gordon Baker spent a very pleasant evening in the hotel’s restaurant, with a light dinner and a couple of beers each to help them relax. The conversation went smoothly, as they tend to do between people of a certain age who are way past the stage of trying to impress the others. No need to hide the past which was written in their wrinkles, so they swapped stories about their respective spouses and their respective honeymoons, jobs they had, cars they bought, all the achievements people use to define their lives.
Just to make sure they were on schedule, right after taking a shower, they said good night to each other at the door linking their rooms, both decently covering their pajamas under the white complimentary bathrobes.
Burt was sweating profusely as his fingers struggled to find the right keys and Maggie had the distinct impression that he started one part all over again after his alarmed eyes discovered an error in the music sheet in front of him. Meanwhile, Mr.Gordon Baker was seated at the same table as her, his fingers furiously tapping on the arm of his chair, a sound she found most disturbing as she was trying to focus on Burt and his labored rendition of what seemed to be a classical jazz song she thought familiar. She cast the pharmacist a meaningful glance, indicating with her eyes his tapping was distracting, but Baker ignored her and proceeded to take a loud gulp from the beer in front of him.
As Burt finished his performance, he sat down at their table, looking miserable. Maybe because it was her dream, Burt started to talk to Maggie, while the morose pharmacist faded into the background. He told her taking up saxophone lessons was his method of coping with a painful divorce, painful as he missed his two children, if not his cheating wife. He wanted to master the sax as that was the sort of music he’d grown up with, both his parents being huge jazz fans. His father would be so proud of him… if he could play a decent tune, that is. And he was failing. He’ll make a mess of himself at the upcoming concert his school was preparing. People will laugh at him, and he motioned towards the ghostly pharmacist.
Maggie understood the meaning of her previous dream and drew near the man, gently holding his face in her hands. ‘You have to believe in yourself’, she told him and promised she’d be at the concert to cheer for him.
And she was there. Front row. Mr.Baker would not hear of joining her and basically accused her of betrayal and colluding with the enemy. They did not speak again after leaving the hotel.
Burt Monroe, as the amateur saxophone player was listed on the poster, did not wear a scarlet suit this time, but a pair of jeans and a white shirt. He did not appear to be sweating, but he was obviously nervous and his eyes darted to the audience in search of one sympathetic figure, which he found in Maggie, who offered him her best smile and nodded several times as he was playing. Apart from one moment when he noticeably missed a key, his performance was decent enough to elicit honest applause.
After the show, she went up to Burt to congratulate him.
‘I told you everything will be fine.’
When Maggie started talking about the dreams and the pharmacist who was apparently out to get him, Burt gave a her a long and apprehensive look, made his excuses and left abruptly.
Thanks for reading!
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