The owner told me this store was a non-profit dedicated to Battered Women. All of the irems were donated, some used, some new. All the more reason to drop some big bills here. I felt empowered.
I found a porcelain leopard-themed bathroom set, a silver antique hand mirror, and a bone china ONLY A ROSE tea set made in England. Elation city!
THEN . . . I spotted a piano. As I walked over to inspect it, the owner told me she researched it, and it was a Louis XV player piano crafted in 1926 that was donated two days ago by a very wealthy Cumming resident.
The piano was magnificent! The keys looked good, but I could tell it needed to be tuned. I opened the top and read THE MATCHESS PIANO COMPANY, Philadelphia, PA USA. The mahogany finish was stunning.
I called Larry to leave his precious boat to see this work of art. He mumbled,"Last month French classes, this month a piano." I ignored that comment and asked him to rush over to the store. He handed over the $1,000, and thrilled, I vowed not to spend another cent on what he calls my WANT NOT NEEDED items for a time.
Larry hired movers to transport it the 50 miles from Cumming. These guys wrestled it into my living room and told me it weighed 700 pounds. For real.
On Monday I called Inzler Piano Company in Lawrenceville. The piano guy told me he had calls in Marietta today and would come over to look at my piano. When he arrived, he lifted and slid doors and compartments to look at every possible part of this amazing machine. After the inspection, he asked me to sit, and he began this discourse.
"Ma'am, do you know anything about player pianos? Did you inspect it before you bought it? I cannot tell you how many times I have inspected player pianos that people have forked over thousands of dollars, and I have to tell them will serve as a nice piece of furniture. After the shock wears off, they sometimes get angry with me."
I thought a minute before I spoke. "Do you have any good news for me? My husband has an elephant's memory. He will remind me about this silly purchase until the day I die."
"As a matter of fact, I do. Someone spent $15,000 to $20,000 restoring this piano. The structure, finish, keys, parts are all in spectacular condition. This piano was built in 1926. The parts are no longer available, so damaged or worn out parts must be rebuilt; therefore, the enormous cost. All I have to do is tune it. You must have had an angel on your shoulder when you found this piano."
I about fell off my chair. He turned on the player, and as I watched the piano roll turn, the keys jumped to life, and old show tunes reverberated throughout the house. He showed me how to work the mechanisms, knobs, and how to load the piano rolls. He told me that the QRS piano roll company was still in business, and I could find it on Google. He turned off the player, sat there and played beautifully. I sang along to TEA FOR TWO. I was mesmerized, relieved, and excited.
I called Larry to tell him the good news. He drove home from his office because he wanted to hear the words from the mouth of the expert. He looked at me and said, "You done good, Baby!"
I so wanted to tell him that was an incorrect verb tense.
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