I pull on some clean running shorts and pad out of my room in as much of a trance as a kid bewitched by the Pied Piper. If I’m honest, it feels like the music is pulling me along. I’m a sailor, sucked in by a siren’s call. I stand at the top of the stairs and I take in the sight, the sound, in amazement.

Marlowe is sitting at my Steinway, her back to me. She’s pulled all of that long blonde hair out of its perky ponytail and it cascades down her back in untamed waves. Her back is straight, but she’s swaying. Her fingers are featherlight as they move over the piano keys. She’s singing some version of Ave Maria—not the Schubert one, but I can’t recall which. It’s the one my sister had performed at her wedding, I think. Mark, wise man that he is, is lying on the floor beside her, head resting on his paws, gazing up at her in awe.

Her voice is extraordinary. Extraordinary. Her speaking voice is lovely, sure—feminine and melodic—but her singing voice is rich and pure, with a gravitas I can’t articulate. It packs a serious punch, filling the vast room. As the hymn progresses and the tension builds, I find myself gripping the balustrade. Marlowe sings the Sancta Maria part, her voice soaring, making every note sound as effortless as breathing.

Every Catholic knows the Hail Mary by heart. It’s a hymn we’ve all recited thousands upon thousands of times, most of us without ever thinking about what the words mean. But, even in Latin, Marlowe sounds like she’s praying. Her voice is nothing short of beseeching, the lofty vocals of her nunc et in hora desperate, and I find my eyes pricking with tears. It’s the weirdest feeling, but it’s like I’ve trespassed upon her as she prays hard for something she wants very, very badly.

I stand here and let the music wash over me as I watch the performer below turn my home into a concert hall.

Marlowe is an impressive woman. Of that, there is no doubt, even if I can, in my more introspective moments, admit that I’m guilty of taking her for granted and, worse, objectifying her. Her looks, her presence, have affected me from the first moment I laid eyes on her. Since stepping foot in my office, she’s overachieved. She’s an extremely capable assistant and a great lay.