Derek's Responsiblity

This is an excerpt from my new book. Please make comments to make it better, as well as any sugguestion would be nice. Chapter 1:

It had been a long time since I had visited Rosie, my favorite and only aunt. Aunt Rosie had fallen down the stairs at her home less than 3 days ago when she had a minor heart attack. A nurse had called to inform me that Aunt Rosie had no one else who could help, Aunt Rosie was Mother’s only sister and had no children of her own. After all the support she gave me in bringing me up and teaching me how to play, I couldn’t let her down. I immediately found substitutes for my hectic teaching schedule, cancelled my concerts, and jumped on a plane to return to Alaska.

The 727 set down smoothly on the runway at the Anchorage Airport, after a short delay due to moose on the runway. The plane flight was really long from New York with only one stop in Seattle, but flying cheaply wasn’t only an option it was a necessity. My concerts hadn’t been selling out recently, but with the economic downturn people just weren’t spending their extra money like they had been. As a brilliant concert pianist, I had the option of performing with just about any symphony as a guest, but it just didn’t pay as well as private concerts.

On the flight from Seattle to Anchorage, I had sat next to a family of 3: a mother, father and infant girl. I could tell they hadn’t been parents long with the 6 month old. They had only purchased two seats on the flight, again probably due to economic hardships, so they had to hold the infant for the entire flight. The mother was a beautiful brunette with high cheekbones and polished skin, and the biggest eyes with long eyelashes, she wore jeans and a button-up shirt for the ease of nursing. The father was tall, dark, and very masculine. He had midnight black hair, cut just above his ears, and one could see the resemblance of native heritage in his features. The infant was so cute; she had her mother’s eyes, and her father’s native heritage, a tuft of black hair, and the prettiest red jumper dress with cute little black bows. Her name was Isabel. I got to hold her for about 5 minutes to give the mom a respite, the mother was forever grateful.

As the small family was walking away toward additional family & friends, they caught my attention, with everyone gawking over Isabel. It broke my heart. Someday I would have kids I just knew it, but at the old age of 31 with no prospects in the future, it wouldn’t be anytime soon. Being a concert pianist, and a private music teacher at Julliard, I didn’t have time to meet guys - let alone date. As a member of the faculty it would be inappropriate to get involved with a student, all who were too young and to driven on building a career to take a second glance at a teacher; and the other faculty members were all old enough to be my parents or grandparents. Someday I would have time to meet the right individual, settle down, and have children.

After getting my head and heart running the same direction, I headed for the Rental Car area, got a compact/economy car and raced toward the hospital, located in Wasilla – 44 miles away. Rosie was scheduled to leave the hospital today, and I got to be her escort home.