Out of Hiding by Ruth Gruener

Author:Ruth Gruener [Gruener, Ruth]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Scholastic Inc.
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

Later that fall, my parents signed me up for piano lessons with a young man named Professor Wagner. For the first lesson, he came to our apartment so he could meet Mama and Tatu, and he was a wonderful teacher.

The second lesson at his apartment didn’t go as well.

I wore my new hat and dress that day. When I arrived at his door, his maid answered and invited me into the study, saying that Professor Wagner wasn’t home yet but would be soon. I sat down on the piano bench and decided I might as well lift the cover and start to play.

“You’re very talented and beautiful,” Professor Wagner said a few minutes later, walking into the room. I swung around, and he came up close behind and handed me a piece of candy. “You’ll go very far in the field of music if you trust me and listen to my instructions.”

I’m sure I blushed at his words. I thanked him for the compliment and promised to be a good student.

Then came another compliment.

“You have lovely hands,” he continued, taking mine in his. “Perfect pianist hands,” he said, and raised one up to his eye level. “These long, elegant fingers …” Then he drew both of my hands to his lips to kiss them.

That made me nervous. I pulled my hands away and returned to playing. But as I tried to make sense of what had just happened, my hands started to shake.

“Oh, you poor thing,” he said. “You must be cold. It’s always a little chilly in this drafty old house. Give me your hands and I’ll warm them in mine, and you’ll play even better.”

“No, thank you” was all I could manage to say.

Luckily, that was where it stopped. I was so upset about the whole thing, feeling so silly and inexperienced. I didn’t know if it was decency and charm on his end or if it was something else. I was afraid to tell my mother, so I confessed everything to her friend Genia, who had become my confidante in all things grown-up.

“I didn’t know what to do, Genia,” I said. “Was he just being polite? I remember when Mrs. Gelbart’s brother came, he kissed my hand the first time we met, but this felt different.”

“What Professor Wagner did was improper,” Genia said immediately. “It was completely out of line, and nothing excuses that kind of behavior—ever.”

She made sure I heard her loud and clear. I nodded my head.

“You must always tell someone if anything like that ever happens again, with Professor Wagner or with anyone else,” Genia continued.

I begged her not to say anything to my mother, because Professor Wagner was a good teacher and I didn’t want to stop my lessons. In retrospect, though, I wish I had told my parents what had happened. But since I knew then what I was dealing with, I wanted to learn how to handle myself in those situations.

When Professor Wagner took my hand in his during our next lesson, I immediately snapped it back and shot him an uncompromising look.

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