Odette leaned back on a shelf, cocking her head to the side. She was enjoying this conversation. It was a nice change from people telling her she was a foreigner ruining their country. "Yes, I'd certainly want him on my side, of course I tend to scare people away with my gibberish," she chuckled. She noticed the emphasis on the word 'talented' in his sentence. "Do you have the misfortune of hearing many unskilled pianists? For me, I often hear terrible singers." Most women she heard auditioning sounded like a cat being flayed alive.
Alvin laughed out loud.
"Ah, no, Miss LaGuardia. Only myself. My mother tried her damndest to get my to learn but I have the finger dexterity of a goat." He uncrossed his arms, holding one hand out and flexing and unflexing his fingers. "Suppose long fingers don't always equal the ability to use them correctly."
He cocked his head to the side. "Gibberish, huh? Ah, I don't know about that, miss. I'd say it might just be that most men are put off by a strong woman. Strong . . . anything, really. If we can't fight it, we get confused and scared." He winked. She did seem the type to send most men running scared in the other direction. But not really in a bad way. He certainly would've run the other way under different circumstances. Or turned into a bumbling idiot. Thank god for the cover of laundry and music talk.
