“Somewhere, the radio was playing—WCRB again, soft classical. I didn’t register it at first. I was too busy putting my keys down, toeing off my shoes, breathing into the hush. But then the melody changed.

Piano. Slow. Familiar.


It was Adagio cantabile.

Not Joel’s version, with its doo-wop backbone and lovesick harmonies.

Beethoven’s.

The real thing.”