"What William calls playing the piano for the dance class, because he is blindfolded and plays only the pieces he has memorized," Dr. von Rohr told him.
"Why is he blindfolded?" Jack asked.
"There are mirrors in the exercise hall," Professor Ritter said. "Lots of mirrors. William always wears the blindfold there, or--sometimes, at night--he plays in the dark."
"Jogging, after the finger exercises--depending on the weather," Dr. Horvath carried on. "Or sometimes a trip to town, with Hugo."
"We haven't really talked about Hugo," Professor Ritter told the others.
"Must we talk about him?" Dr. von Rohr asked. "Maybe not now? I'm just asking."
"Sometimes--I mean after the finger exercises--William needs more ice water, doesn't he?" Dr. Berger asked.
"It seems to help," Dr. Krauer-Poppe said with resignation.
"Lunch--I mean after the jogging," Dr. Horvath continued.
"Or after the Hugo business," Dr. Berger said, shaking his head.
"Not now, Manfred!" Dr. von Rohr said.
"More hot wax, after lunch," Dr. Krauer-Poppe noted. "More ice water, too. William often does this while he watches a movie."
"One of yours, actually," Dr. Berger told Jack. "A different Jack Burns film every afternoon."
"And another one in the evening!" Dr. Horvath cried. "Always a movie before bed!"
"You're jumping ahead, Klaus," Dr. von Rohr said.
They entered the building with the exercise hall, which was outfitted like a dance studio; barres and mirrors ran the length of the interior walls. A piano, a C. Bechstein, shone a glossy black in the late-afternoon light--like the coat of a well-groomed animal.
"For the finger exercises, both the morning and the afternoon sessions," Dr. Krauer-Poppe said, pointing to the piano. "He plays again after the movie, in the afternoon. This time, not for dancers--it's a yoga class. The music he plays is more atmospheric, softer--like background music, you might say. But he's always blindfolded if there's any daylight in the room."
"The finger-cramping can be disturbing to the yoga class," Dr. Berger interjected. "Less so to the dancers, even if William is in obvious pain."
"He hates to have to stop playing," Dr. Krauer-Poppe said. "He pushes himself."
"Ah, well . . ." Professor Ritter said. "After the yoga class, we have the ice water ready--and the hot wax, too, if he wants it."
"And the ice water again," Dr. Berger stated; he was making sure that Jack had all the facts, in proper order.
"Calisthenics!" Dr. Horvath continued, waving his arms. "Especially if there's been no jogging. Just some abdominal crunches, some lunges, some jumping!" (Dr. Horvath was demonstrating the lunges and the jumping, his big feet thudding on the hardwood floor of the exercise hall.)
"We have group therapy three times a week--the patients discuss dealing with their disorders. Your father's German is quite good," Professor Ritter told Jack. "And his concentration is improving."
"Just so long as no one starts humming a tune," Dr. Berger interjected. "William hates humming."
"Another trigger?" Jack asked.
"Ah, well . . ." Professor Ritter said.
"We have a movie night, every other Wednesday--in this case, usually not a Jack Burns movie," Dr. Berger stated. "Once a week, we have an evening of lotto, which William doesn't like, but he loves the storytelling cafe--this is when we read stories out loud, or the patients do. And we have a night when our younger patients visit the gerontopsychiatric ward. William is very sympathetic to our patients who are growing old."
"Some nights we bring the older patients to the exercise hall, where they like to hear William play the piano in the dark," Dr. von Rohr said.
"I like it, too!" Dr. Horvath cried.
"We have patients with schizophrenic or schizo-affective manifestations," Dr. Krauer-Poppe told Jack. "I mean those who are in a relatively stable remission phase, the ones who have sufficient ability to concentrate. Well, you'd be surprised--the schizophrenics like listening to your father play the piano in the dark, too."