Port and Pedagogy (Blog Novel Episode #4)

(Continued from here) Once Mrs. Studebaker managed to extricate her fingers from beneath the keyboard lid her student Lenny Campbell had smashed down upon them, she sent Lenny home from his lesson early, ushering him out of her parlor with the nervous chuckle and graceful gestures one might expect of a kindly, somewhat elderly piano teacher.  She had twenty minutes before her next pupil would arrive for her lesson, plenty of time to regroup from Lenny’s devilish prank. Mrs. Studebaker closed her front door behind Lenny and returned to the parlor.  She approached the bookshelves embedded in one of the room's corners, which wrapped itself around Mrs. Studebaker's teaching chair.  The occasional title jumped off the spine of a book--Oliver Twist, The Great Gatsby, Tom Sawyer.  Mrs Studebaker's eyes landed on the cut glass decanter containing a certain depth with deep amber port. She stood still for a moment and flicked her eyes from the decanter, to the empty glass sitting next to it, and back.  She massaged her sore knuckles and, with a swoop of her arms, whisked the decanter off its silver platter and poured the glass half-full with port. Even more titles called out as the golden liquid slid down her throat--Tender Is the Night, The Sun Also Rises. When her glass was empty, Mrs. Studebaker again picked up the decanter, which still held a touch of port, and sat down with it and her glass in her teaching chair.  She held the objects before her, angling the neck of the bottle toward the glass.  But before glass could touch glass, Mrs. Studebaker raised the small carafe to her lips and emptied its contents in a single sip. Already her arms and legs were warm, and Mrs. Studebaker lost all thought of her once aching fingers.  The edges of the room were just becoming blurry when she heard her front door open.  No doubt her next student, little Lizzy Maxwell, arriving early for her lesson.