The Bus Driver Part 3

He leant forward and reached out to hold her two hands. His eyes shone with confidence.
"Then we'll have to fill it, won't we?"
"And just how will we do that?" thrusting her face towards his.
He was lost in though for a moment and then nodded his head.
"We'll meet tomorrow. I'm taking you to a symphony concert. I think that that would be a good place to begin."
"Hmmmm. OK. If you say so."
"Right. I'll pick you up at 6:45 then?"

Luki saw him arrive and park his car and walk towards her door. Instead of wearing a formal suit he was in a smart casual charcoal suit with a grey silk shirt without a tie. She smiled. She knew that what she had chosen would match perfectly.
When she came out he looked at her, gave a little whistle and said the shortest word possible. "Wow" has only three letters but it made her day.
She was wearing a knee length black dress, a silver jacket and a dark red orange scarf. Her only jewellery was a bangle and a pendant with a single red stone.
Alexis took her arm and as he led her to the car whispered in her ear "you look stunning".
All she could do in return was to give a joyful laugh.

When they arrived at the magnificent State Theatre, the immediately drove down to the underground parking place and were lucky to find a place near the elevators.
One floor up, in the glittering foyer, hundreds of well dressed visitors were milling around shaking hands, embracing and exchanging latest items of news.
The foyer was well designed and there a large number of stand up tables where people could gather and share a drink or two. Alexis brought two Cape sherries to their table..
He held up his glass and proposed a toast.
"Here Luki. A drink to all the great composers, musicians and conductors".
"Oh Alexis. What a great toast. I'll drink to that".
As the glowing liquid flowed down her throat she suddenly became aware of the greatness of the moment. To spend an evening listening to wonderful music. Music created and played by people who loved their chosen art.

"Tonight's music has been particularly well chosen. On one glorious night the people here will hear works by Schubert, Beethoven and Borodin."
"Borodin? Oh I'm sorry but I'm not familiar with him. Who is he?"
"He's a great Russian composer. Wrote unforgettable music. Tonight they've chosen his Polovtsian Dances. It's very dramatic. An explosion of music, wild wild dances and always the echos of the Steppes in the background".
"Wow, Alexis. You know all this?'
Just then at the sound of loud electronic chimes told everyone that it was time for them to find their seats.

Luki noticed, with a sense of excitement, that he had obtained seat in a box overlooking the stage. From this high vantage point, they had a magnificent view and when the curtains were drawn, they could see every musician clearly. They were all smartly dressed and there wide variety of instruments shone, sparkled or reflected light from polished wooden surfaces.
He grabbed her arm rather firmly and said urgently "now this is very important".
"Look at every musician. Look t their faces. Note their expressions. Look how they hold their instruments."
"Yes I'm looking, I can see them. They look very serious."
"Now look over there at the tuba player. Over there. With those vertical pipes. Do you hear that note. That's A on the musical scale. It's a wind instrument and so it's perfect pitch. Now listen to the others trying to tune their instruments to that A. Can you hear them?"
Her eyes moved from player to player as she tried to identify the sound coming from each instrument.

Then, to her utter amazement, after about ten minutes of this pre-performance practising, he grabbed her arm very firmly and asked her to get up.
She looked up in great surprise.
"What's the matter? What's up? Where do you want to go? We just got here?"
He bent down and whispered something i her ear. Immediately all her resistance faded. She rose to her feet and followed him down to the parking area and soon they were heading for the Eastern suburbs.
She didn't say a word until they reached a small restaurant, went inside and sat down.

When he asked her if she would like a hamburger, she shrugged her shoulders and said, without any emotion "why not?"
She continued to remain silent until her dish was placed in front of her. Then she couldn't contain herself any longer.
"Alexis. I don't know what's just happened. Have you turned into a control freak? Is it something in your family? What made you pull me out of such a splendid setting. With all that music to come."
She slapped her hand on the table hard as she almost shoutedd "why? Why?"

She was far too upset to see the kindness in his eyes as he spoke.
‘Listen to me Luki. I can take you to see this concert tomorrow night or even on Sunday afternoon. That's no issue. You can hear the music then. You can even hear the music by slipping a CD in your music player.
But that won't help you. Your box 2 will stay empty. Just to experience things at arms distance will do nothing for you. Those musicians are filling their box 2's while you are a mere spectator. You're just a life's passenger. Looking but not getting involved."

"But isn't it all about the music? What do the players matter? Tell me that".
"No it's not about the formal music pieces tonight Luki. Tonight it's about the people who love music. About people that play the music of old masters with a passionate love. I wanted you to see them."
"So have you ever been close to these musicians? Is this just an idea?"
He looked at her for a long time and then down at his hands.
"Once, completely by accident, I was in a hotel room with a Jewish clarinettist. He was practising for a Jewish wedding planned for a little later in the main hall."
"So what happened?"
He stopped playing for a while, smiled at me and nodded his head at a chair. As he did his practise runs I was taken to a magic world. He was playing parts of melodies that were thousands of years old. I was lost. I was transported. The clarinet, so close to me, sounded like a divine instrument that could not have been made by man. It was an experience that still thrills me today. Even as I tell you the story now."

Her eyes had grown large as if she was experiencing a new thought. A new concept
The he pointed at her untouched hamburger.
"Look, I'm not going on until you take a bite. Ok?"

She looked down and immediately realised that she was ravenous. She took a large bite. The mushrooms were delicious and the sauce ran down her cheeks. She grabbed a serviette and wiped frantically.
"There you are. I'm sure that you enjoyed that. Now let me tell you why I did what I did.
I want you to put what we experienced tonight in your box 2. Tonight was for you. For something deep down inside of you. I wanted you to experience the hearts and minds of the musicians. I wanted you to feel one with them. Do you remember them? The one with the greying temples? Those eager young men and those beautiful women with hearts dedicated to beautiful music?"
"Yes Alexis, I saw them. I truly did".
"Did you see their dedication. Did you see them striving to get the right notes. Can you imagine their anticipation of the moment when the conductor raps his baton on the podium? When all their years of study begin to pay off?"
"Think of it like this. Think of striving ever upwards. Going up the stairway to Paradise rather than sliding down to the gutter."

She put down her hamburger, swallowed quickly and burst out laughing.
"Oh man, you're so funny. Crazy I mean. The trouble is that I know what you're saying. I understand everything. Does that mean that I'm going crazy too?"
He smiled gently at her, reached out and took her hands in his.
Luki dear. Take tonight and put it in your box 2. Let's fill your box item by item."
She looked at him for what seemed an age and then slowly nodded.

The next Friday afternoon, near her disembarking point, Luki walked up to Alexis and whispered to him.
"I'm sorry but you won't see me on Monday morning. Don't wait for me. I won't be coming. I've been thinking about things. I'm going away for a month. There are things that I have to do."
Continuing to look ahead, he nodded his head.
"Go Luki. There are times when you just have to do something. There's no other way. Go and do them."