"Sean, isn't that the third change of clothes you've had on in the last hour?" I asked.
"I think someone's a little nervous," Dana said, as she put her arm around his shoulders and gave him a quick squeeze. "Relax, your grandparents won't care what you're wearing."
"I know, but I want to look good when they get here."
Fin and Tatania had called from the hotel to say that they were on their way to the house. They were coming for lunch and from what we were able to make out from Tatania, they were very excited about the meeting. We had finally found a time in Sean's busy schedule for them to come and spend some time with him, so they drove from Halifax and were staying in a hotel in the city.
When they came into the foyer Tatania took one look at Sean and said, "Oh my goodness. There's no doubt your Seamus' son."
She then grabbed him and wrapped him up in a big hug. When she finally let go, Fin stepped forward and Sean put out his hand to shake Fin's, but he had other ideas and wrapped his arms around Sean in another hug. They were not shy and retiring people and it was clear they were thrilled to finally meet their long lost grandson.
Tatania was a very good looking woman with stunning features; blue eyes, which Sean had inherited and jet black hair. Fin had grey hair and was about 6 feet tall. Both of them were trim and looked physically fit and were in their 50s.
"Al and Dana, we're so happy to finally meet you face-to-face," Fin said.
"Forgive us, we didn't mean to ignore you, but we've waited a long time for this day," Tatania said, as she was looking at Sean with a big smile.
We moved into the living room and Dana and Sean had prepared some hors d'oeuvres to munch on before we ate. Fin and Tatania had brought a very nice bottle of wine as a house gift and they also had a gift bag for Sean.
"Seamus told us that you're a big Toronto Maple Leafs fan, so I hope you like what we brought you," Fin said, as Sean took the tissue paper out of the bag.
He smiled as he unfurled the authentic Toronto Maple Leafs jersey to take a look at it. When he realized it was signed, his mouth dropped when he looked at the signature.
"One of the other pharmacists that I work with is Swedish and he had played hockey with Mats Sundin in Sweden. He still keeps in contact with him and he arranged for the jersey and signature," Fin said.
Sean had now recovered and he passed the Jersey to me and Mats had written 'To Sean. Keep dreaming of the Leafs winning the Stanley Cup. #13 Mats Sundin'.
Sean was a little overwhelmed, but remembered to thank them, and then he got up and gave them a hug, which they fully enjoyed. We talked for about an hour and naturally they wanted to hear all about Sean. The talk steered away from his past life, as they sensed that he wasn't comfortable talking about that. There were lots of other things to talk about, as they were starved for details about him. It was obvious to both Dana and me that they were genuine people and were sincere in their interest in Sean. We had a sense when they arrived that they were good people, because Barney had accepted them and didn't try to attack them when they came in.
"Seamus told us that you had entered math contests at school, but he didn't know much more than that. I looked up the results of the University of Waterloo contests for the last two years and found your name," Tatania said. "You're quite the math student."
She told us that she organized the writing of the Waterloo contests for her school board and that she rarely had any of her Math students place as well as Sean. He loved the attention and was at ease talking to them.
Dana and I found them very easy to talk to as well and we were sensing a bond forming with them, as we had a lot in common, other than Sean, despite our differences in age. They wanted to know as much about us as they did of Sean and in turn, we got lots of information about their backgrounds.
"This is so odd that as Sean's grandparents we're younger than his parents," Tatania said to us, as she chuckled.
Tatania was from Russia and she had lived in Canada for many years and was fluent in English. Her father was a famous conductor and had been with many orchestras in the US and Canada after he had defected. Tatania was an accomplished Oboist and she still played in amateur orchestras around the Halifax area but she didn't want to follow in her father's footsteps as a professional musician. Instead, she graduated from the University of New Brunswick in engineering and practiced in the field for a couple of years, but because of Seamus, she decided to teach Math to get the summers off.
Fin was a graduate Pharmacist and at one time owned his own drug store in Halifax. He met Tatania when they were in the same youth orchestra in their teens. Both of them were particularly interested in Sean's musical abilities.
After a while, Dana and I got up to put out lunch. Tatania got up with us to help, which left Fin and Sean talking in the living room. They were talking hockey and music, things they both had in common.
"Fin and I wanted to thank you so much for all that you've done for Sean," she said, as she dropped her voice so Sean couldn't hear. "It broke our hearts when we tried to adopt Sean shortly after he was born, but were unsuccessful."
She told us that Sean's mother and her family made it impossible to get Sean away from her. They knew that she would not be a good mother, but the courts wouldn't have sided with them if they had pushed the issue. Sean's mother was vindictive and she made sure that they couldn't see him, despite their numerous requests. They were also very disappointed with Seamus that he walked away, which had caused strained relations until recently. They were very happy when he told them that he had made contact with Sean and ecstatic when Seamus said they could make arrangements to see him.
"We're so grateful that Sean got this wonderful break in his life, finding you two. I know it probably hasn't been easy raising a teenage boy at your ages, let alone two of them. You both are saints."
"Both boys are wonderful young men, so it hasn't been as difficult as you might imagine. They have their days, though. Jake will be home on the weekend, so we hope you're still around to meet him," I said.
Apart from the good food that Dana prepared, lunch was a very pleasant time. We were all at ease with each other and had a great chat while we ate.
"Why don't you show your grandparents the music studio," Dana said, after we had finished lunch. "I'm sure they would be very interested to see it."
After Sean had showed them around the studio, they asked if he would play for them. He was a little shy and after some prompting from all of us, he picked up the violin and played some of the first movement from Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik', which is what he was practicing for Melissa's grandmother's wedding. It was a little shaky, but got much better near the end. Fin and Tatiana loved every note he played and gave him a big clap and bravo after he was finished.
"Very nice technique, Sean. Don't get frustrated; it's not the easiest of instruments to play," Fin said, as he gave him a big smile.
"Perhaps you could play something for us, Fin. Seamus said you're a fiddle champion," Dana said.
He told us that he had won a couple of fiddle competitions in the past, but now he only played for his enjoyment. He had played in various groups in the area, but at the moment he wasn't performing with any of them. Sean handed him his violin and Fin looked it over before he started to play.
"This is a very nice instrument," he said. "Someone has good taste."
We told him that Sean had done the research and we insisted on buying it for him, rather than using the one from the strings program. Fin then started to play and we instantly recognized the piece.
"That's from Vivaldi's 'Four Seasons', wasn't it?" Sean said.
"Very good. That's the start of the 'Spring' movement."
"My husband can play good music when he wants to," Tatania said, as she let out a big sigh. "But most of the time he wants to play that 'diddly hoo' music."
It was clear that Tatania wasn't a big fan of his 'down home' fiddling.
"Are those guitars I see over in the corner?" Fin asked, as he looked at Sean and gave him a big smile.
"Oh, you're not going to corrupt our grandson, are you dear?" Tatania said, with a frown as she chuckled.
Fin told Sean that he'd teach him a good east coast fiddle song and after some reluctance Sean agreed and picked up his acoustic guitar. Fin told him what chords to play and then tapped out the beat with his foot and they started. They were very entertaining and Sean picked up the chording fairly quickly, as Fin played away.
"Your turn, Sean," Fin said, indicating he wanted Sean to play a solo.
There was a momentary look of panic on Sean's face, but he started into what suspiciously sounded like one of his rock guitar riffs and everyone gave him a big clap when he was finished.
"Well, maybe we should form a group," Fin said, as he patted Sean on the back.
Fin and Sean were about to play another song, when we were interrupted by a clap of thunder and we quickly went upstairs to find Barney. He went crazy in thunderstorms and usually ended up digging in the cushions of any nearby chairs or sofas. He also became very ornery and we had to approach him with caution.
"I found him," Sean yelled from our bedroom.
When we got there, he had dislodged the cushion from a chair and was madly digging on the exposed seat. He had also somehow got into a tube of Dana's lipstick, which he likely had knocked off the bedside table.
"Oh no! He's got a red moustache now and I've lost my best tube," Dana said, as she gave Barney an angry look.
Finally Sean got a hold of him, without getting bitten and we put him in his cage to calm down.
"Hopefully that will come out of his hair when we give him a bath," I said.
"Never mind that little rascal, I hope I can get the lipstick out of the seat," Dana said, clearly exasperated.
If it hadn't been for the lipstick problem it would have been a funny scene, but no one wanted to laugh and risk Dana's wrath. She was not happy and started to mutter under her breath about dropping him off at the SPCA shelter. Both Sean and I didn't get too concerned, as we knew that when Barney had calmed down and had his bath, he would make things right with Dana with some strategically placed dog kisses.
Fin and Tatania left later in the afternoon and when we were saying goodbye at the door, Fin shook my hand and said, "Any guy can make a baby and become a father, but it takes a man to be a dad. Sean was very lucky to find you."
"I was the lucky one, Fin," I said, with a big smile.
They asked if we would let Sean come and visit them in Halifax and when we saw Sean's big smile, we agreed. Sean was very happy at the visit and it wasn't just because his family had now grown, but also because his grandparents wanted to establish a relationship with him. He felt wanted, which was very important to him.
Sean wasn't the only one of the kids in the family that had a busy summer. Like Jake, Sean and Glen, Garth was very busy with arts activities and sports. He and Derek were now in Little League baseball and were on the same team. They were the youngest players on the team and they were struggling with trying to hit a pitched baseball.
"Come on you guys," Sean said one day when Derek and Garth were over at the house for the afternoon.
Glen, Jake and Sean took them to the park to practice their hitting, which was the real weak point of their games. Sean was the expert at hitting and even though he had given up baseball because he was concentrating on Golf and his violin, he still enjoyed going out and helping Garth and Derek. He also had a lot more patience with Garth than his Little League coach, who wasn't very appreciative of his personality.
"Can you be our coach, Sean?" Garth asked, when they returned to the house.
Sean laughed and said, "I'm sure you'll get along just fine with your coach if you hit the baseball like you did today."
Glen was very busy with soccer and teaching the young ones at the art school. The art class was turning out to be a positive experience for him, as we all noticed his personality becoming a little more outgoing. The kids in his class enjoyed him and the cool things he had them doing.
All of the boys had started on the preparations for 'Oliver' in the fall and at this stage the actors had scripts and were learning their lines. Glen was busy helping with the planning of the set design. Erin Brady had held one singing rehearsal with the main singers to familiarize them with the tunes they would have to sing and other than that, the main work would start in late August. Garth and the boys were also practicing their cockney accent all the time and they were getting pretty good at it.
"I think you boys should try out for parts on 'Coronation Street' ," Dana told them.
The boys groaned, as none of them cared for the show. Dana watched it religiously every day and it was one of her favourite things on TV.
Garth and Glen usually were over at the house at least two times a week in the afternoons after their activities in the morning. Garth was excited one day near the end of his summer theatre school, when he came in the door. However, he had to tell us a joke first, while he was eating his snack.
"This young girl came home from school one day and told her mom that they learned how to make babies in school," he said, as he started to wind up his giggling.
"Garth Webster! Is this another of Ronan's jokes?" Dana asked, as she gave him a stern look.
The giggling turned to laughter and he said, "No, no, no. I understand this joke."
Before we could say anything else he continued and said, "The mom was surprised, but she stayed cool and asked her daughter to explain."
There was the usual pause for his snickering before he delivered the punch line.
"So the little girl said it was simple. You just change 'y' to 'i' and add 'es'."
"Good one, Garthy," Glen said, as we all laughed.
When he finally had finished his snack, he remembered the other reason that he was excited. He ran to the front hall and got something out of his backpack. We were privileged to be invited to Garth's summer theatre school performance, as he had made up an invitation on the computer for each of us.
"I'm sorry, Garth. I'm busy that day," Sean said, with a straight face.
"Me too," Jake added.
His face showed his obvious disappointment, but before we could step in and admonish the boys, they started to laugh.
"Of course we're going to be there," Sean said, as he and Jake grabbed Garth and tickled him.
"You didn't think we were serious, did you?" Jake asked, as Garth had now wiggled away and was giggling.
Garth was in his element at the theatre school and he was having a lot of fun, as were Derek and Mandy. The instructors at the school were much more positive with Garth than his baseball coach.
"Master Webster is a very animated young man," Ms. Pauline, the main instructor told us, as she was making her rounds with the parents before the productions started.
Ms. Pauline was a very proper British lady who was excellent with kids. She had been on stages in Britain and Canada and had met her husband in one of the productions in Toronto many years ago. Her husband was the head of the theatre school.
"He certainly is full of imaginative ideas," she said, with a big smile.
There were four groups of kids in Garth's age bracket that were going to perform. The first part of each group's performance was something they made up themselves, which we were all curious to see. We were sure that Garth had a great deal of input into his group's offering. Mandy, Derek and two other girls were part of Garth's group.
Glen made up the set background for the play, which he painted onto two big panels of cardboard. They were the stone walls of a castle and looked very realistic. He got them arranged on the stage and then Garth came out to explain the background of their skit.
"King Pooh bear was chased out of his kingdom by the evil witch and her flying monkeys," he said, followed by his customary giggle.
"Hmm. That sounds like a familiar storyline," Dana said, with a smile.
"We watched 'The Wizard of Oz' a few weeks ago, which Garth really enjoyed," Susan said, as she chuckled.
The kids were the saviours and they came to force the evil witch and her goons out of the kingdom. It was an interesting skit, to say the least that had the audience laughing, as well as the kids on stage. It included a couple of songs that the group sang, which were very inventive, as was the dance routine that preceded the finale.
"Now I know why he brought Pooh bear today," Susan said.
The finale was a parade, where Pooh was in a wagon, which was supposed to be a carriage taking him back to the village to regain his throne.
"Well that was quite the production," Dana said, as we all clapped as they took their bows.
"I wonder how much of that was Garth?" I asked.
"I think Mandy, Derek and Garth had a big hand in the creative. I know Derek made up the 'Pooh Bear Rock' song," my niece said.
Mandy's mother told us that the dance routine was mainly Mandy's doing.
"The story idea was definitely Garth's," John said, as he chuckled. "Who else but my son would come up with something that silly?"
Their second performance was one that Pauline had helped them pick and rehearse. It was the ending scene of 'The Sound of Music', which involved them singing two songs; 'Do Re Mi' and 'So Long Farewell'.
They did a great job and Garth was the last one singing in 'So Long Farewell' at the end of the song. As much as he loved comedy and being silly, he could be serious when he wanted to be and he was also developing a nice singing voice.
Jake had a busy summer playing soccer, visiting his uncle and aunt in Italy and spending two weeks at the Canadian Opera Company's summer youth program. He managed to squeeze in golf as much as possible to play with Glen, Charles and Sean, but that was not his passion as it was with Sean.
It was also apparent that because of Sean and Jake's pursuits of their divergent interests, which had them spending weeks away from each other, that they missed each other's constant company.
Jake stayed with Carol and Kyle in Toronto during the weekdays when he was in the opera company's summer program and came home on the weekend. He was really enjoying the training and experience and was finding the program very rewarding and challenging.
Sean was staying with Katie and Marty for the two weeks that he was at the RCGA (Royal Canadian Golf Association) youth Golf Academy, which was at the same time as Jake's Opera program. Dana and I found it to be a little lonely without the two of them around.
"You know the day is coming, all too soon, when they'll likely be away at University," Dana said, one night when we sitting by the pool after dinner.
"And you know that's the start of them leaving the nest," I said, with a big sigh.
On the Saturday of the second week, the students in the opera company's program performed for family and friends at the Four Seasons Centre in Toronto. There were three groups of students and they each put on a part of an opera and the ones that were into the performing options of the program did a solo of an opera aria of their choice. They were mentored by some of the artists from the Canadian Opera Company, who provided top notch instruction.
We were going in to Toronto to see Jake's performance and everyone was going to meet up at katie's house. Even though Jake had been staying with Carol and Kyle and Sean with Katie, the boys had been able to see each other during the evenings and apparently they met for dinner a couple of times by themselves.
We were met at the door by Katie and Marty when we arrived and the boys weren't there yet. Katie had something she wanted to tell us and I was a little concerned from her expression that it was bad news.
"Dad, before Jake and Sean get here, I want you to know that we had nothing to do with .... the problem."
"What problem?" Dana asked, with concern.
Marty and Katie looked at each other trying to determine who would break the news to us.
"A lot of guys their age have them these days and they're really not that noticeable," Marty said.
"Have what? We don't know what you're talking about," I said, somewhat irritated at the run-around we were getting.
"They got their ears pierced two nights ago after they went out for dinner," Katie said.
"They got a small diamond stud in one of their ears," Marty told us.
"Oh no!" Dana said. "What were those two thinking?"
"Well it could be worse. At least it's not a tattoo," I said with a smile, trying to lighten things up.
"Please don't tell me they got a tattoo, as well," Dana said, as she looked at Katie and Marty.
"We haven't noticed anything, but who knows. There are lots of places we can't see," Katie said, with a devilish smile. "Maybe you could ask their girlfriends the next time you see them."
Dana was clearly not happy at Katie's cheeky remark, but before she could respond the boys arrived. When they realized we were there, their attempts to conceal the new jewellery were comical.
Finally Dana said sarcastically, "Well, now we can trade earrings, boys. I have some large hoops you might like."
They were embarrassed, but they recovered quickly and tried to justify the adornments.
"Everybody has one," Sean said, as Jake shook his head in agreement.
The 'everybody' was Charles and Ronald, but before Dana could respond Jake launched into a big long dissertation on the historical use of male jewellery and why he thought it appropriate for their generation.
"Besides, it's our bodies," Jake added.
Finally Dana gave up and ended with one of her penetrating motherly stares. All of us were happy to go on to something else.
Jake's group was doing 'The Mikado', an operetta by Gilbert and Sullivan and Jake had the tenor role of Nanki-po. He hadn't told us much about the production and we didn't know too much about the operetta until we went online. We were making a big deal about the fact that he had the lead tenor role, but he didn't appear to be too excited at all.
In his true understated fashion he said, "It's no big deal."
When we dropped him off in the foyer to get ready for the production, we were met by the executive director of the summer program, Ms. Ciavarella.
"Your son is very persuasive, Mr. and Mrs. Burger. He was the one who wanted to do the Mikado and convinced the rest of his group," she said.
She also went on to tell us that he had a lot of raw talent and was a very 'chatty' individual.
"Giacomo is never at a loss for words," she said, with a big smile, "and it doesn't matter if the words are English or Italian."
The production was a couple of scenes from the Mikado and Jake was featured in one of them as he sang 'A Wandring Minstrel'. We could tell the difference the training over the two weeks had made in his singing, as his breath control was better and his acting had more of a professional flavour to it.
After the production was over, four of the performers from his group sang an individual aria of their choice to end their group's part of the evening. Jake chose 'Il mio Tesoro' from Mozart's Don Giovanni. He did very well, but then again all of the singers were great. He was the youngest in his group and while he didn't have the polish of a couple of the older kids, he handled himself very well and gave a great performance.
We gave him a lot of praise afterwards, which he welcomed with a big smile. Sean was the first to greet him after he came out to the lobby and they locked hands in one of their cool handshakes and touched their shoulders together. Dana was next and she had a red rose for him.
"Ô stato meraviglioso, Giacomo. Siamo molto orgogliosi di voi," she said, as she gave him a big hug. (That was wonderful, Giacomo. We're very proud of you.)
There was something that was bothering him a little, which I picked up from his body language as we walked to the parking lot. I was able to talk to him as we were behind the others as they made their way to the LX.
"You seem a little subdued, son," I said.
He gave a big sigh and said, "I hope you're not mad, but I like singing opera and I enjoyed the two weeks, but I wouldn't want to make it a career. I didn't want you to think you wasted your money and that I was ungrateful."
"Jake, you enjoyed your two weeks, you learned a great deal, you made some new friends and you got to spend some quality time with your sister. I don't call that a waste of money."
I told him that there were lots of avenues available to him now and when he was an adult to sing in amateur opera companies and choirs. I also told him that he needed to have a passion for whatever he chose to do in life; otherwise he would not be honest with himself.
"You've been with your mother and me long enough to know that we would never think that spending money on your upbringing was a waste," I said. "Feel better?"
He gave me a smile and said, "Yeah. Thanks, dad."
"The others are waiting for the star to catch up to them," I said, as I gave his shoulders a squeeze.
The last big event of the summer was Anne Morgan's wedding, which Sean and Jake had been practising for diligently all summer. They had had a few full rehearsals when Melissa had been in staying with Rachel in town and they were ready for their performance.
We arrived early at Anne's place in Toronto, with Jake, Sean and Rachel. Melissa wanted them there an hour early so they could practice beforehand. Dénis drove Stéphane and Charles and they arrived at the same time as we did. Dénis and his wife were leaving and going downtown to have lunch at one of their favourite restaurants and then they were going shopping afterwards. They were going to pick up Stéphane and Charles after they were finished, as they weren't invited to the wedding reception.
Melissa came out to the car to help the boys and Rachel get their instruments and music stands into the backyard where the ceremony was being held. Melissa wasn't her usual calm and collected self and was a little more direct than normal. Melissa was a strong-willed young woman and there was no doubt who was the ensemble leader. This penchant for leadership sometimes sparked conflict between Sean and her, as they were similar in their desire to be in control.
"I hope Melissa calms down soon. Her blood pressure must be through the roof at the moment," Dana said.
We left and went to a coffee shop to pass the time before the ceremony started. We got back just as the ensemble was getting seated to the right of the area at the front where the ceremony was to take place. We sensed that the performance was causing Melissa some stress because she always had high expectations, which were sometimes unrealistic. Sean had learned to keep things low-key when she was in one of these moods, but it appeared that he had not been as successful this time.
"Oh, oh. I think the two love birds have had a difference of opinion," Dana said.
Shortly after they started into Bach's 'Air on The G String', Sean stopped playing, because one of his strings had fallen out of tune. When they were finished, he fixed the tuning peg that had slipped and re-tuned his violin. He was taking it in his stride and was chuckling while he fixed the problem.
"I don't think Melissa sees the humour," I said.
"If looks could kill, Sean would be dead by now," Dana added.
Sean was ignoring Melissa and finally it was time for the processional piece, Pachebel's 'Canon in D'. The kids did a great job and Anne was beaming as she made her way down the aisle to the front to meet her groom, Monty. When the ceremony was over they played 'The Hornpipe' from Handel's 'Water Music Suite' as the recessional piece, with Stéphane duplicating the sound of a trumpet on his digital piano.
Except for Sean's string problem, the kids did a great job. Sean, Charles and Jake were really improving and certainly blended in very well with each of the pieces that were played. Rachel and Melissa carried the group and Stéphane's keyboard playing added an interesting touch. Erin Brady, their choir director, had her father write Stéphane's keyboard arrangements for each of the songs, as there was no keyboard music for the ones they chose to play. Erin's father dabbled in composing and was an accomplished musician, who had played in many orchestras in the area, as well as being our church's organist.
Melissa and Sean were having a heated discussion when we finally made our way over to the ensemble to congratulate them on a job well done after the ceremony. They stopped before we got close enough to hear them and they had cooled down by the time we got to speak to them.
"You young people did a great job," I said.
"Everyone thought your performance was wonderful," Dana said, as she pointedly directed her remarks at Melissa.
All the kids, except Melissa, had contented smiles on their faces, as they were happy with the way things had gone. Melissa, however, reluctantly smiled, as she was not in good humour. Sean was keeping his distance from her.
We left them to get ready for the reception, which was in Anne's house. They were going to play for another twenty minutes to half an hour while the guests were mingling before Anne and Monty came back to the reception from the picture taking. Rachel and Jake were trying their best to get Melissa out of her mood, as they packed things up to move inside.
The guests were mingling and eating the hors d'oeurves as the ensemble was playing. Sean and Melissa had re-arranged themselves so they weren't near each other as they played. This was turning out to be one of the more serious tiffs that they had had since they met each other.
"I know we shouldn't interfere, but this is driving me crazy," Dana said.
"Hopefully they can resolve this before we leave tonight," I said.
The guests were thoroughly enjoying the music and many of them chose to stand and listen to them, rather than chat. The ensemble played all four movements of Mozart's 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' and then they packed up their instruments. By now we had a chance to talk to Jake to see what was going on with Melissa and Sean.
"Melissa's really uptight today. She wanted everything to be perfect and she was really mad at Sean because she said that he didn't check his violin well enough."
"Now Sean's mad, because he thinks Melissa's being too bossy," Rachel added.
The reception was a buffet affair and after the speeches, there was a dance with a disc jockey. Sean and Melissa had separated themselves and Melissa's parents had noticed and were talking to her on the other side of the room.
"I think I'll mosey on over to have a heart-to-heart talk with my son," I said.
"Why don't you wait until I have a mother-son dance first," Dana said, as she didn't wait for my response and made her way across the room.
While Dana was dancing with Sean, Rachel and Jake went to talk to Melissa. After a couple of dances, Dana returned.
"Well?" I asked.
"I gave our son a quick lesson in relationship diplomacy," She said, as she took a big gulp of her wine.
They must have left to go outside together, because we couldn't see them in the room. Rachel and Jake joined us after a couple of dances and we asked whether there was progress with the love birds or not.
"Who knows? Melissa's mom and dad didn't get too far, but her grandmother had a go at her," Rachel said.
Anne came over to us with Monty and we congratulated her on her marriage and told her what a beautiful day it was. It didn't take too long before the topic of Sean and Melissa came up and Anne filled us in on her 'counselling' session with her granddaughter.
"I told her that everyone thought the music was excellent and that her wonderful young man didn't deserve her bad humour," she said, with a smile.
It was getting hot inside and was a little noisy, so Dana, Anne, Monty and I moved outside to the patio to talk. As we opened the patio doors, we noticed two figures in the darkness at the other end of the patio locked in a passionate embrace.
"I think your 'counselling' session was successful," I said, to Anne.
"Isn't young love marvellous?" Anne replied, with a big smile.
The Four Seasons - Spring Movement
So Long Farewell - Sound of Music
The Canadian Opera Company Summer Music program
A Wandring Minstrel - The Mikado
Il mio tesoro intanto - Don Giovanni
The Hornpipe - Handel's Water Music Suite