“And strings? Dominants?” Lucy regretted saying that the moment it left her lips. Of course. Dominants were fine for most people, but Shizuka Satomi was not most people.

Shizuka looked as if she had just smelled something unpleasant.

“For this violin, Evah Pirazzis. I want a little bit of attitude. The regular Pirazzis would be fine … though the E might be a little bright. Maybe a gold E. What do you think, Katrina? Shall we add a gold E?”

Katrina shrugged. How was this even happening?

“I’ll put them on, if possible.” Lucy examined the violin carefully. “Evah Pirazzis carry a … higher tension, so sometimes … they can be a bit much for a student violin.” She checked the construction and quality of the wood. Good and good.

“Evah Pirazzis will be fine,” she declared. “Anything else?”

“Katrina?” Miss Satomi asked. “Is there anything else you’d like to check?”

“C-can you help—” Katrina blurted before stopping herself.

“Help?” Lucy asked.

“Katrina?”

“Nothing,” Katrina mumbled.

Why had Katrina even opened her mouth? She hadn’t even told Miss Satomi that she’d moved the sound post, let alone why. She didn’t know how to explain it, anyway.

Miss Satomi put her hand on Katrina’s shoulder.

“She’s going to take the best care of your violin.”

“I promise,” Lucy said.

The doorbell jingled and then they were gone.

I promise.

What could have possessed her to say such a thing? And the expression on that student’s face as she left …

Lucy Matía slumped on her stool. But a violin—and a promise—were now resting in her hands.

What she had not told Shizuka Satomi was that she had already canceled requests from Aoi Miyazawa. What she had not told Shizuka Satomi was that she had already sent a note to their oldest clients that for now, they should find other shops.

Yes, her grandfather had said that she had the “hands of a Matía.” But her grandfather had said other things, as well. As did her father. Things her brothers were unable to hear. Things that she had never been told.

For MATÍA & SONS, the sign said.

And though she was a Matía, she was not a son.

“Katrina? You see over there?” As they drove, Shizuka pointed at a small storefront.

“It used to be Iris Salon. That’s where an old lady used to cut my hair.”

“Oh.”

“So much has changed. When I was young, most of these signs in the area were in Spanish. That nail salon used to be Angel’s Upholstery. And the kitchen supply store used to be Super Videos, and before that, there was an old man who repaired shoes.”

“Oh.”