The pianist started the opening chords of the Panis Angelicus. Lu and her teacher turned to each other, and Lu could see in Mrs. Benedetto's big green eyes that she knew what she was losing too. They smiled at each other because if they didn't they would cry. And then they started to sing. They sang the music one of them had chosen for the other to learn, music that came from their church and their childhood. They were two Italian women—never mind the difference in age, now—singing side by side, because that was what their people did. When you were Italian that was how you laughed and cried and prayed. They sang to forget that something precious was ending for them, and they sang to celebrate what it had been. Then, because she could never ignore an audience, Lu turned to the crowd. The melody of the Panis Angelicus was swirling upward now, melding with the old Latin text of the piece, and Lu's voice floated higher and higher as she sang the ancient words, while in her mind she was urging the people in front of her to surrender to the beauty of this music and this moment. Come with me, she commanded them with all the strength she could muster. Come way up high with me and forget all the things that make you sad. Come and remember how roses smell, and stars shine in the black night sky, and the way the world feels when it's springtime. Come, and remember everything that makes you happy. Her voice rose like a balloon, and underneath her, her teacher's voice was keeping her tied to the earth for when she was ready to come back down. When the duet ended there wasn't a dry eye in the house. And after Mrs. Benedetto had gone back to her seat to cheering and applause, the audience was in the right mood to hear the rest of the songs on Lu's program.

FORTY-FIVE MINUTES later, when her performance was over and Lu had received her applause, she stepped down from the platform and looked for the exit to the kitchen. There was a small pantry behind it where the musicians rested between sets, and that was where she planned to spend the rest of the afternoon. Mrs. Benedetto had wanted her to sit at the bride's table and meet everyone and not run off like the hired help, but Lu had refused.