Seeing Me, Seeing You [COMPLETED]

~Chapter 1~

Corner Music Shop was started by my Italian immigrant grandfather and was passed down to my father. My mother, who was looking for some guitar picks, met my father in that shop and the rest is history. They got married and bore three children. This became "home" to my brother, my sister, and I. Everywhere you looked, Gibson and Fender guitars lined the walls. The number of talented individuals that walked into our store over the years was outstanding and we had many regular customers.

It was no surprise to my parents that my thirty-year-old brother, Franky, and my twenty-year-old sister, Molly, both became accomplished musicians. Franky became a guitar virtuoso and an expert at selling them. Molly played violin in her university's orchestra and taught piano lessons on the weekends at the shop.

I, however, was gifted with the talent of nothing. The only thing that I could play was the radio. As much as my father tried to teach me to play multiple instruments, I failed at all of them. I knew at twenty-five years of age that there was no hope for me.

Despite this sad fact, I was still whisked into the family business. As soon as we were allowed to work, we were managing the storefront after school or when our parents went on trips to Italy.

"Now Keri," My father said one busy summer morning while counting the money in the cash register, "Your mother and I are leaving to visit Great Uncle Nino in Verona for a few weeks. Franky is coming with us and your sister will not be coming in to teach lessons because of her internship this month. It's up to you to manage the shop by yourself."

"Are you sure you wanna put her in charge? She can't even tune a guitar right!" My brother joked as he finished polishing the guitars for sale.

"Shut up, Franky!" I snapped, "I can handle it."

"The new shipment of guitars come in next Tuesday. Make sure all the shelves are stocked. I found a guy on Craigslist to handle instrument repairs and teach piano lessons, so please make him feel welcome. Here's his number." He said, handing me a slip of paper. "I spoke with the guy and I told him that if he's any good, I might hire him permanently. Make sure he clocks in on time and make sure he does his job right... Here are the keys."

He put the keys into my hands. In my twenty-five years of life, this was the first time that I held the keys to my father's prized business.

"I'm trusting you, Keri..." He kissed the top of my head.

"Don't worry, Papa. I will take good care of the shop. Have a wonderful time in Italy."

Papa and Franky left the shop and I was officially on my own for the next month.

~*~

"Listen, Lady! I have a gig to-night! I need my amp fixed now or else I'm gonna be late for my gig."

This husky man in a leather vest towered over me. I tried to let him not intimidate me as I tried to calm him down.

"I've called our repair guy. He is on his way. He should be here any minute."

It was my first day on my own and already I was in a panic.

"Where's Franky? He's always here! Doesn't he usually fix these kinds of things?" He asked.

"He's on vacation, Sir. My father assured me that the guy that he found will be able to fix any issue that may arise."

Just then, the front door of the shop opened and there stood a guy around my age with wavy brown hair, a jean jacket, and Ray Ban sunglasses on. He had a guitar flung on his back and a large toolbox in his left hand. He also had something else that I wasn't sure of in his other hand. He reminded me of an 80's Tom Cruise, but much cuter. He looked pretty hip for a repair guy.

"Welcome to Corner Music Shop!" I said, approaching him. "I'm Keri Valenti, Frank's daughter."

"Trevor Forsythe. Nice to meet you."

He sat his toolbox down and he stuck out his hand for me to shake it... only he was facing in the wrong direction. Although I found it odd, I stepped over to face him and shook his hand.

"Would you be able to lead me to your repair room? I don't know if Frank mentioned it to you, but I am blind."

He unfurled a long white cane. My jaw almost hit the floor.

"Oh... of course!" I said shyly, confused as to why my father neglected to tell me.

"I hope you don't mind carrying my tools until we get to the room. That way I can hold onto your arm as you lead the way. I promise it will only be like this for a day or two until I learn my way around the store." I grabbed his tools and nervously let him grab ahold of my arm.

As we walked towards the back room of the shop, I wondered if he could tell that my arm-actually, my whole body- was shaking.

"So what's wrong with this guy's amp? And what kind is it?" He asked me.

"It's a Fender Twin Reverb. When you plug it in, it doesn't power up. Um... Are you sure that you are able to fix these kinds of things?" I hesitantly asked.

"Should be an easy fix. I know this seems weird, but trust me; I got this!"

I bit my lip as we rounded a corner to Franky's repair room.

"Okay, here we are." I said as I opened the door, setting his heavy tool box down, "The amp is on your left. There's a work bench to your right. I put your tools on top of it. Please holler if you need me for anything."

"I appreciate it. Please let the guy know that I'll have it ready in just a few minutes. I'll have you give me the grand tour of the place later."

"Okay," I said, sheepishly walking back up to the front of the store.

Ugh! Why do I have to be so awkward? Okay... So he's blind... don't act so nervous!

But I couldn't help it. I was a bundle of nerves.

"Your amp will be ready in a little bit. Trevor is working on it now," I told the husky guy, my heart racing.

Why did they have to go to Italy and leave me here by myself??

"You have a blind kid doing repairs? What kind of place is this?!" He squawked at me.

"I can assure you that he will have it working ASAP," I say to try and get the customer to shut up, not even knowing if Trevor was even capable of fixing his amp.

Fifteen minutes later, I heard the sweet tone of the Fender Twin Reverb come out of the back room. I couldn't believe it... He actually fixed the amp... Relief!

~*~
Author's Note

Alas, a new story! Thank you so much for reading Chapter 1! I am incredibly excited to share this story with you! I hope that as this story goes along, that you enjoy these unique characters that I have invested a lot of time developing. Please comment, vote, and give me your feedback!

Thank you for reading and for your support!

~X.O.~ D.K.