Gemotions

The dog, a miniature poodle named Princess, started barking the moment the knock echoed through the house. It was Mrs. Gable, of course. Her lips were as thin as a razor blade. "The piano, dear," she said, her voice tight. "It's… interfering with my afternoon television."

Sarah suppressed a sigh. She’d practiced for an hour. A single hour. She looked at Mrs. Gable, standing there in her meticulously pressed housecoat, and felt a surge of something akin to amusement.

"Interfering, is it?" Sarah took a long breath. She walked to the piano. She smiled. She played a crashing chord. She repeated it. And she kept playing, the sound filling the hallway. The dog picked up the barking, and they played together.