Tom had gone straight home. He had been careful with the bass guitar the whole way, and was staring at it softly with an etch of a smile on his face. When Tom arrived at the flower store he quietly slipped in, trying to avoid either walking or running into his Granny. He knew if she saw him with the guitar she would make him play for her, and as much as he loved her he wanted to get comfortable with music again first.
Tom made it silently to his room, and moved to the checkered bed in the corner. He slowly plucked each string, testing if it was in tune. They weren't even close, and it took Tom a solid half hour to remember how to tune by ear.
The bass guitar sat in his lap, and he was thinking about playing. But that's what stumped him, the music used to just flow to him. And after his separation from Susan he had clearly lost skill. So Tom closed his eyes, and tried to wipe his mind of everything. But one thought couldn't escape, and that was Tord. So he let it be. And as Tom started to think of Tord's smile, and soft raspy voice in the morning a melody started to flow to him.
Tom's fingers moved over the neck of the bass guitar smoothly, everything was flowing. He didn't even know he was playing, because Tom's mind was caught on Tord. And it wasn't until Mrs. Laila came into his room that he realized he had been playing. She looked surprised at first, and the room went silent. They just looked at each other before she smiled.
"You should play in the store. It might attract customers."
"You sure?"
"That's the best music I've heard in a while. Now get down there and get me more customers."
Tom nodded, smiling softly. He walked down the stairs and sat on a chair in the corner of the flower shop. And he started playing.
After a while a small crowd had formed around him, though they didn't seem to be buying any flowers. Mrs. Laila was proud of the boy for his talents, but she didn't enjoy the crowd taking up her store. So she had Tom stop for a moment.
"If you would like to continue listening to my kiddos music then you gotta buy some flowers."
Tom expected everyone to leave, but much to his surprise everyone bought flowers to continue listening. He didn't think he was that good, and was surprised to see the crowds reaction.
After a while Tom had to stop because his fingers were aching. The crowd left. He headed up to his room. Tom then fell asleep on his bed, even though the sun was still high in the sky. The untouched present for Tord laid in the corner of the room, almost forgotten about.