Chapter 162: Doing "Fairly Well"

Emily was able to run some errands while Sylvia gave Mandy her first piano lesson. She was glad to have a bit of time to shop, and Sylvia insisted on not having anyone interfere in her tutelage anyway.

Emily wondered how Sylvia would cope being left alone with her granddaughter. She had been out a couple of hours, and she hoped they hadn't killed each other.

Contrary to her expectations, the house was quiet when she entered. Sylvia and Mandy were deep in conversation over tea and cookies.

"Mommy! Mommy!" Mandy ran over to greet her.

"How was your lesson?" Emily asked.

"I learned to play piano!"

"She did fairly well," Sylvia said. This sounded like high praise from someone who was more used to criticizing.

Mandy sat down at the piano with very good posture to show Emily what she'd learned. She played Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star. It was a simple piece that most kids started with, but Emily was amazed that Mandy played it so flawlessly. She kept up a steady rhythmic accompanimen