For The Love Of Chéri (CHAPTERS 1-112 REWRITTEN)

Chapter 86 : Where Is My Mind....?

Chéri looked down, "Yeah, they zero in on troubled and haunted people."

"Does your friend play well?" Monique asked.

"Yes, he's very talented. He also had this thing where if you played a Christmas carol in the wrong key, it would sound creepy. He would do stuff like that for a gag years ago. Even though the man is a humour vacuum." Chéri said.

Monique smiled, "What did he like to play?"

"His favourite piece is Chopin's Nocturne op nine number two, which he plays a lot. Probably because it's poncey and flowery." Chéri said to Nathan.

"What does poncey mean?" Nathan asked.

Lennon turned his head to them. "Its British slang. It sorta means... overly pretentious. Lovin' expensive elitism and bein' a pain in the ass."

"Language, Lennon." Merrick said.

"Sorry, Paa." Lennon said as he stared at the keys. "Hmm, what should I play."

"How about Moonlight sonata? You love playing that, and I love hearing it." Monique asked.

"Nah, I wanna play somethin' modern." He said before he glanced at his phone on the top of the piano and recalled his ringtone. "Oh, I know!" Lennon said before touching some piano keys to re-find the key he wanted. "I haven't played since last Christmas."

Lennon started playing the two-note intro to a piano solo version of 'Where is my mind'.

There was total silence for nearly three minutes as he played the solemn, slow piece. There were few hesitations and he played it with a pure emotion that touched all the onlookers. He played it as if it were the only allowed outlet to vent all his pain and frustrations.

By the time Lennon had finished, Chéri was in a flood of tears, and Monique wasn't far behind with a tear falling down her cheek.

"That was really beautiful, Lenn." Logan said.

"Nearly made me well up, Lenn." Nathan said. "What the heck."

"It sounds kinda sad." Merrick asked as he put his arm around Monique to comfort her.

Monique put her free arm around Chéri and hugged him close.

"Aww, momma!" Lennon said as he got up and went to hug his mother, he then noticed Chéri all red-eyed and crying. "Cher..." he said lovingly.

"Share what?" Logan asked casually as he was looking on his phone.

Lennon instantly registered his slip up, then said at once. "Share a hug with momma!" He said as he hugged her tightly, which prompted Logan to jump up and hug his mother.

Lennon then stood up and said. "To lighten the mood, I'd just like to remind y'all that someone I won't name, let's just call him...Logan. Well, years ago he wrote to Santa when he was little, askin' for a packet of cigarettes cause Paa won't buy him none, and then he assured us he was gonna get the smokes and momma and Paa wouldn't never find out. Then he got a letter back from Santa saying NO!" Lennon said before he, and everyone laughed loudly.

"Santa sure don knows his onions." Merrick said. "He even enclosed a pamphlet about the health risks and a nice picture of a black lung." Merrick said before laughing so much, he had to stop and cough, making everyone rally around him.

Logan stopped laughing. "Yeah, that was horrific, Paa! Santa's got a dark sensa humour! Let me remind you ALL what someone, who I won't name...let's just call him LENNON! Wrote in his Santa letter years ago! Momma and papa would say to leave our letters on the high mantlepiece before we all went to bed, and not to touch them so Santa would know where they were. But, we would all sneak down and open them to find out what each other wanted for a laugh." Logan said as he and Nathan started to laugh. "So, when the unnamed person, who we're gonna just call LENNON, was little, he asked for a chemistry set, and the Sylvanian country house with the Badger family!"