TIME-TO-SEE-74
Everyone had chosen to have dinner in the informal Castle dining room the evening that the mariners returned. The six parents were seated around a large rectangular table. The boys were all seated at their own table just a short distance from their parents. Both tables were chocked with a wondrous display of fine food for the diners, and everyone was enjoying their time together.
The boys were still dressed for their day's activities: shorts, and scruffy shirts a bit dirty and smelly, and tennis shoes. But no one cared, least of all the boys...
After a long conversation with Sean, Artie got up from his seat and went over to his dad at the table where the adults were sharing dinner. Artie began: "Dad, Sean said that he got his puppy from a pet shop near Dublin. He said that it wasn't too expensive. Do you think we could go there? I'd like a puppy too. I want an Alaskan Malamute just like Sean's..."
"Oh, my," Mr. Donnally replied. "Caring for a dog, especially a puppy, is very serious business, Artie. It takes lots of time, and you have to be responsible for seeing that the puppy gets fed many times everyday... Are you sure you want all that responsibility?"
"Yes, Sir," Artie responded without letting a moment pass. There was absolutely no doubt in his mind that he wanted a puppy like Spirit.
"Well, then, son," Mr. Donnally answered, "I'll find the proper name and location of the pet shop from Sean's father here, and we'll make a visit there on our way back home.
"Oh, super, Dad," Artie answered. And he returned to the other boys happier than his dad had seen him in years...
With dinner over, everyone retired to the Castle Grand Salon where a string quartette and harpsichord was playing Renaissance music.
When the musicians paused, Hugo excused himself and went to them, speaking with the guitarist. The guitar player handed his instrument to Hugo who turned to speak with the guests in the salon.
"I hope everyone is feeling well this evening after that wonderful dinner and in a mood to receive a small musical gift that I would like to give to each of you."
He continued, "When I was granted the gift of hearing, the first sound I heard actually came to me on Christmas Eve of last year. Those very first sounds were music: a Christmas song, Silent Night, which was playing on my son's computer game box."
"I fell in love with music at that moment, and my dear partner and first love, Kevin, arranged for me to receive music lessons immediately in the hospital. It was there that I learned to play the guitar.
Now I must confess that my repertoire is sorely small, but it contains all of the excitement I felt in those first days of sound, and it became a new means to convey the love that I felt..."
"This evening, I feel most fortunate to be sharing life with such wonderful people and five wonderful boys who are the light of their parent's lives... First, to say thank you for present company, I would like to play a short Renaissance Composition for Guitar. Second, I must confess that my Latin spirit is crying for release; therefore, I will play next the well-known, Malaguena. And for my last gift, if I may indulge your patience, I will sing a love song for my partner, Kevin, without whom, I would not be hearing and life itself would not bare the sparkle and deep love that it does."
"Please...." and the salon grew quiet.
Hugo began an intricate Renaissance selection that was lively and demanding in it's fingering and fret work, like a beautiful graphic-- complex and colorful-- a tonic for the mind. Hugo's fingers moved swift and furiously over the frets.
Mr. and Mrs. Donnally sat with their eyes fixed on Arthur, as Hugo played. And Arthur sat listening to Hugo with his mouth hanging open...
All of the boys were fascinated at how proficient Hugo was. They only thought of him as dad or Hugo, not as a musical artist who could delight them with his performance.
The Renaissance piece was quite short, and when he finished, not only did his friends and family applaud, but also the musicians and several other guests in the salon.
Hugo nodded and smiled at the reception he received.
Then he became noticeably serious. He straightened his body, lay his arms gracefully over the guitar body, strummed it with a loud and striking first chord, and then began the leading melody of Malaguena.
The flamingo-like rhythm awoke the spirits of two young Spanish women who worked in the castle. They hurried to the salon, and when Hugo began the most well-known section of the melody, he pounded the strings in fiery accents. The women began a flamingo dance step, their shoes striking the wooden floor with abandon.
The melody had been completed in its entirety; yet, Hugo was too full of fire to end with one repetition of the piece. And so he began an encore version. The musicians all returned to their instruments and played improvised accompaniment for Hugo and the exquisite dancers.
This time, Hugo was sweating, and the dancers whirled in abandon. Everyone in the salon was a part of the stirring rhythm.
Finally, when Hugo played the three ending chords, he brought the strings on his guitar to complete silence by smothering them with his hands! The women gave a final whirl and ended in deep bows to the floor amid the folds of their lovely gowns and complete silence!
The entire salon exploded with applause at so colorful a display. And Hugo simply hung his head in exhaustion... He had just given his heart to his listeners.
Eventually the applause concluded, and Hugo rose from his position near the musicians and carried his chair over to the grouping where Kevin sat. Hugo placed the chair directly in front of Kevin, maybe six feet away, covered the seat of the chair with his handkerchief and put one foot up on the handkerchief. Cradling the guitar on his one hip, and looking directly at Kevin, Hugo began, open to the entire company who would bare witness to what was about to occur.
And Hugo began a love song that was so simple and beautiful that it melted the hearts of everyone who listened. He saw only Kevin, and he felt his first day's love for Kevin rekindled:
"I'll love you forever. I'll like you for always. As long as you're alive, My lover you will be. And long after that, Lovers in Eternity we'll be Thank the Dear Lord, For leading me to thee."*
The song was short, but exquisite in its simplicity. And after he sang the last line, he stood, walked to Kevin, reached out for his hand, and said, Thank You, Kevin, for everything... (And then he mouthed almost silently: I love you...)
A warm and encouraging applause filled the salon as everyone witnessed Hugo's selfless gifts to the world.
Max looked at Brandy, reached over and took his hand, and kissed it. They too felt the depth of their love that was so amply illustrated in Hugo's simple song. Even Mr. and Mrs. Donnally reached out to hold the other's hand...
The boys were surprisingly connected to the emotion of this part of the evening.
Although they hadn't yet experienced the excitement of sharing their lives with a partner, or felt romantic love, they understood the meaning of family, and they felt secure in their families, which was a seminal experience for the best which they were witnessing tonight... They knew that there is only ONE kind of love...
Castle Dromoland, and King Boru, and all time stood still as these three families and their friends felt their place in the great family of humanity.
"How remarkable that you were actually so musically talented, yet went without hearing... It must have been like being let out of a cage, when you could hear again," Mrs. Donnally said to Hugo.
"Yes, Mama. It was an incredible experience, regaining the ability to hear, but an even more exhilarating one to discover that I could function so naturally in the musical world." Hugo replied.
"Tell her what you learned about your ability to hear pitch, Babe," Kevin said.
"After learning the conventional notes and hearing the sounds that they represented, whenever I heard a line of music, I could identify it by note without ever seeing the written music. I was told by my teacher that I had what is known as Perfect Pitch... Apparently that was a little unusual, I came to learn," Hugo confessed.
"My goodness!" Mrs. Donnally exclaimed. "Your life has been full of remarkable experiences! How wonderful..."
"Yes... for which I have been most grateful," Hugo replied with a modest smile.
Then appearing from across the salon was a familiar face. Hugo and Kevin had not noticed that Dr. Kavanaugh entered the room just as Hugo was beginning his guitar recital, and here he was approaching them and their friends.
Kevin, the first to see him, stood and offered his hand, "Dr. Kavanaugh!" he said exuberantly. "How wonderful it is to see you and-- Mrs. Kavanaugh? perhaps-- Please, allow me to introduce our friends..."
Dr. Kavanaugh and his lovely wife stood there smiling. "Oh, it's wonderful to see you as well, Kevin. And there's my boy: Hugo!" Dr. Kavanaugh abandoned his wife and Kevin's greeting and strode the few steps over to Hugo who rose to greet him.
"My, Boy! How wonderful to see you and discover a bit of what you have been doing with that hearing we "plugged back in." Dr. Kavanuagh said, making light of the extraordinary event over which he presided.
Hugo gave Dr. Kavanaugh a robust hug, patted him on the back, and said, "Dr. Kavanaugh, I was just thinking about you... You must be psychic!"
Dr. Kavanaugh said, "My boy, my wife and I decided to stay at Castle Dromoland when we drove over from Dublin, because we knew that you would be here. It's been quite a long time since I visited the castle. Isn't it a wonderful old place?"
"Yes, Sir. It is," Hugo agreed.
"Have you been taking in the wonderful sights?" Dr. Kavanaugh asked.
"Oh, only a very few of what I know lies in store for us. But it has been a relaxing and interesting experience," Hugo replied.
"I hate to bring up 'business', Hugo; but I must confess that is one of the reasons I chose to lodge here. I wanted to speak with you personally after that disturbing experience back at the University in Dublin. Actually, the medical community is quite receptive to our work, and they have received our evidence convinced of its critical and scientific validity. What you saw back in Dublin were a few competitors who were wont to accept that our studied and research-backed procedure had succeeded.
I don't think that they will be attending tomorrow, but whether we encounter a similar contingent, I want you to know that we are indeed on solid medical and scientific grounds. Our work has been documented and accepted for publication in all of the British peer review journals, and the AMA Journal in the United States has approved its publication in their next publishing cycle." Dr. Kavanaugh explained.
"Dr. Kavanaugh. There's no need to prove ANYTHING to me! I have my hearing.
I was deaf for more than 15 years... and no one need convince me that the silence that enveloped my life for all those years was real. I was deaf, and now I hear! And for that I must once again thank you profusely for your work and the gift I received from you. I certainly did not earn this blessing."
"Well. No matter. I just didn't want you to suffer in anticipation of another grueling seminar tomorrow. I expect this weekend to be entirely different and much more agreeable."
Hugo answered, "Really, Dr. Kavanaugh. I only hope that I provide the validation that your work would require. If I have been able to do that, then, beyond that, I'm not particularly interested in professional politics."
"Very good, My Boy!" Dr. Kavanaugh said with a broad smile. "You Americans are wonderful to work with..."
"Thank you, Sir," Hugo replied.
"Kevin," Hugo turned and spoke across the small gathering. "Have you checked on the boys recently? I see them running around the salon. I'm wondering what they're into now..."
"You're right, Babe. Let me do just that right now." And Kevin excused himself and went in search of the boys, all five of them...
"Oh, by the way, Mr. Murphy..." Mr. Donnally said to Sean's dad sitting across the sofa.
"Please, call me Max," Max answered.
"Yes, Thank You, Max. Uh, perhaps you noticed at dinner that Arthur asked me whether we could visit the pet shop where you and your son found that little Malamute puppy. I wonder whether you might jot down the address, or perhaps recall the name of it for me. I can tell that now is the time for Arthur to come out of himself, and I think that an animal might be just the device to help that to happen."
"Well, I think you're right about that, Mr. Donnally. I can't tell you how much that puppy has blessed our home by making Sean so much more accessible to us. You see, that particular puppy was abandoned when its mother died. Hearing that, Sean was instantly bonded to the animal, since his own mother met an untimely death, which has had a stunning effect on Sean. Thank goodness that his identification with the puppy's plight allowed us to gain greater access to his world. So, in a word, yes! I certainly whole-heartedly support the use of animals in the care and life of children..." Max said.
"I don't have that information on me, but I can pull it up on my laptop back in the room, and I'll give it to you at my next opportunity."
Kevin returned to the group. "The boys went up to the room where the puppy is and Sean is still there feeding him." Turning to Mr. and Mrs. Donnally, "Artie stayed with Sean, and the two of them are taking turns feeding Spirit."
And speaking further to Mr. and Mrs. Donnally, " I might warn you: I think Artie wants to move into the dormitory with the other boys tonight, where he can help take care of Spirit. Seems the puppy is still up about every two or three hours to eat, but now he's taken to playing after he eats; so that's a new wrinkle in our routine. I think you might want to be prepared to answer Artie when he addresses the issue with you..."
And no sooner had Kevin finished explaining to Mr. and Mrs. Donnally where Artie was than Artie appeared in the salon once again and danced about impatiently for his chance to get his mum's and dad's attention. One would have thought that Artie needed to use a restroom immediately...
"Mum, Dad!" Artie began. "Spirit has to eat every two hours and Sean said that if I wanted to spend the night with him that I could do the feeding.... Please, Mum, Dad, can I stay? Can I? Uh? You don't mind, do you?" Artie pleaded, hardly ending his long-winded question to give his parents an opportunity to respond.
"My Dear. You'll need to ask Mr. Murphy whether it would be possible for you to spend the night. That is his suite, and I'm not sure he would be prepared to have a visitor?" Mrs. Donnally replied.
Brandon spoke up reassuringly, "Mrs. Donnally. I ASSURE you that both Max and I are thoroughly familiar with the operation of all boy dormitories for pet lovers. It has been our destiny since we visited that pet shop, and one that we both enjoy. So far, we have had four guests on board. What's one more? Of course, Artie would be most welcome. We'll just need to ask the Castle to add an additional small bed for Artie's use... Just knowing that the boys are wholesomely engaged and safe is our concern."
Kevin then spoke to everyone, recounting that he and Hugo would be engaged in the Medical seminar tomorrow. "I might mention to everyone that tomorrow is the first day of the Galway two-day seminar that Hugo and I will be attending. Hugo is the-- shall I say-- "Guest of Honor," you know..." Kevin joked. "Therefore, we'll be away from Castle Dromoland most of the day, but we'll be back for dinner. Also, if any of you would care to join us, you are all most welcome. We can get the exact address of the venue from Dr. Kavanaugh and leave it at the desk."
Max and Brandy smiled in complete understanding. Dr. Kavanaugh chuckled and said, "We would have a weak presentation without Hugo. I only wish I could induce him to repeat his performance on the guitar. That would certainly provide colorful evidence of how beautifully hearing has enriched his life."
"Thank you, Dr. Kavanaugh." Hugo said.
And the friends continued to visit, but the hour grew quite late, especially for those who would need to be up and moving in the morning for the trip into Galway for the seminar.
With everyone's permission, Artie and Murph and Nicky and Jilder ran back up to where Spirit and Sean were preparing for the night.
"I look forward to seeing you tomorrow, then, " Dr. Kavanaugh said to Hugo and Kevin.
"Yes, Sir." Hugo replied.
"It was very nice meeting all of you," Mrs. Kavanaugh said. "Perhaps we'll speak again tomorrow evening, if you will not be attending the seminar. Good night." And she smiled graciously and preceded Dr. Kavanaugh out of the hall.
Everyone who remained: Mr. and Mrs. Donnally, and Max and Brandy, consulted one another quickly, and it was unanimous: they would ALL be attending the Medical seminar with Hugo and Kevin in Galway tomorrow. A marvelous ending to a marvelous day. All of the friends were blessed.
- The words to Hugo's love song are actually his slightly modified words that the mother sings to her son in the immensely successful children's book, Love You Forever by Robert Munsch and Sheila McGraw, published by Firefly Books in Canada. Theme: family, illness, and death. It retails for $14.95 in Barnes and Noble in the United States.