“Listen, I meant what I said this morning. I’m here if you need me. Even to just talk. Just because we meant something else to each other before, doesn’t mean I can’t be a friend now.” Yeah, right.
Mike nodded his head in agreement, “You’re right. I’ll admit, I was hesitant at first, but I need a friend.” He reached out his hand to her, and she took it, “Thank you, Jill. It means a great deal.”
“Well, we should go. I have chores to do before the sun goes down.”
“Yeah, okay. I’ll go get Katie.” His stroll to go for the girls did not match his haste to greet her.
Minutes later, Katie came running out with Mike and Emily hot on her heels. Emily followed Katie to the passenger side of the truck while Mike came to her side and placed his hands on the door. She could see he had something to say, it was to obvious. He wouldn’t look her in the eye and he stammered a bit in his speech.
“Jill, it’s good having you in my life again. You’re still an amazing person.” His adoring eye locked on her made her jittery.
“I hope to see Emily next Friday,” she deflected. “It’ll be good to have her around again.”
“I’ll talk to her.” The corner of his mouth tilted up on one side, “I hope she does, It’ll be good for both of us.”
Patting her door as he backed away, she put the truck into gear and backed into the turn around to head down the driveway. Glancing in the rearview mirror, she saw him standing with a hand on Emily’s shoulder. Both were waving but no smiles on their faces. Katie and Jill both waved out the truck windows in response. Well, Katie was more hanging out the window shouting and waving to her friend.
“Katie, get in here and sit down.”
Her daughter did as she was told but had a comment of her own to make. “Mom, Emily’s uncle is hot.”
Nervous laughter filled the cab of the truck. Jill had no words to respond because she couldn’t deny her daughter’s observation.
Chapter 4
Mike felt completely out of his element. Here he was standing in the doorway of this little dance studio with twelve little girls running around. The ocean of pink that surrounded him made his head spin. High pitched laughter and talking made his ears ring as he wondered what he’d gotten himself into.
He thought that Emily would cling tight to him as they walked in the door but the group of girls were overly excited and welcoming. She pretty much pushed him away. Mike observed the closeness of the little ballerinas; they were like sisters.
The studio was a one room dance studio with what looked like a couple of rooms off the back. The concrete floor made a nice surface for dancing. At least that’s what he assumed. One wall was nothing but mirrors while the opposite wall displayed inspiring quotes that surrounded the studio’s logo. He had been walking by this building for a while and never noticed before. In fact he was always so busy on his phone that he never bothered to even look in the windows. Maybe if I had stopped to look, I would have run into her sooner.
Movement from the back of the room near a stereo system was the object of his thought. Jill smiled and laughed as she greeted Emily with her arms wide open to welcome her in a hug. He had never seen her look so happy. She truly was within her element in the space.
Still feeling very out of place he tried to get her attention without causing too much of a spectacle. When she noticed him, she came to greet him; she made his heart thunder in his chest and his palms sweat. His emotions were a roller-coaster he’d evaluate later.
“I’m so glad she can make it,” Jill’s soft tone called him from his thoughts.
“Yeah she threatened to never speak to me again if I didn’t bring her,” he laughed at his own joke. “What should I do while she’s here?”
“Well as you can see we have no seating for parents.”
“I see that. Is there a reason?”
“There is. I was having parents sit here watching and trying to instruct their children while I was trying to instruct them. I need these children’s undivided attention. As long as mommy and daddy are in here there is a distraction. So what most parents do is go for a walk around town, wait in their cars, or just go home. Since you’re more than 15 minutes away I’m going to guess you’ll probably stay in town?”
“Yeah but what if there’s a problem with Emily? I mean what if she...”
They watched the girls warm up while she reassured him.
“If she has a problem I’ll send Katie out to get you. But I am sure she will be just fine, at least within these walls. She has been here for six years now so this is a safe place for her. She knows that. If it makes you feel any better, you are welcome to sit out there on the bench just outside the window. It’s a bit cold today though.” She placed her hand on his forearm. The sensation caused him to flex that muscle. “She will be okay.”
Mike left the building and was about to go to the car, when he remembered there were some things that needed to be done next door.
He went around to the door of his building, and for the first time in a month, was reminded of a dream God had put on his heart as soon as he moved back to Michigan: to care and serve others.
Stepping over the threshold, he was hit with the frostiness of the space. It occurred to him that when he was last in the space, heat wasn’t necessary. His last day here he turned the heat way down, expecting to be back in the day after Christmas. Boy how things had changed.
The music coming from the dance studio next door sounded more like a nightclub to him than a place of learning. Better insulation will be a must. When he caught on what the group was actually dancing to he was pleasantly surprised. The walls were thin enough that he could make out the tune and he was all too familiar with it. It was one of his favorite Christian artists.
After turning the heat up a little more, Mike went about his business of cleaning up papers on his desk, paying and filing invoices, and returning phone calls. He was off to a bad start with suppliers. He hoped they would all understand.
The call with his contractor was not a good one though.
“I’m sorry for your loss, Dr. Emerson, but we do out of state work in the winter months. We’re in Texas right now.”
“I understand. Thank you for the wonderful job you did thus far. I need to get in here, so I’ll just find another. I hope you understand.”
“I do. The bill is paid in advance so we are good.”
Mike hung up the phone, concerned with who he could call. The place just needed the cosmetics of the space completed. He rose from his office chair at the back of the building and paced the hall trying to force his brain to think of who to call.
“I bet Ryan would know who to call.”
Now pacing the waiting area, Mike called his friend. Ryan’s answer was so matter of fact that it made Mike chuckle.
“Of course I do. Tiffany.”
“I forgot. Thanks man.”
“Yup. Tell her she owes her big brother.”
“Will do.”
They hung up the call just as the music in the room next door pulled him from his concentration and his anxious pacing.
Mike stepped outside and took a peek in the front window to watch, the softer music drawing him in. It was a pull toward something pure and innocent.
The young girls moved with grace and elegance that he didn’t think possible for children so young. Their arms stretched to one side or the other as they bent and knelt in what he thought were awkward positions. The more they moved in fluid motion he began to see the little dance come together. He thought they were quite advanced for being so young.
He was so entranced by the dainty feet clad in pink slipper-like shoes that when a sharp banging sound rang through the air, he dropped his phone on the concrete ground. It took him a minute to see that it came from a stick Jill held in her hand. When she started yelling over the music, he grew concerned. Was this beauty a tyrant in the dance studio?
“Right arm up… left arm up… now arms in 5th position. Drop arms to fir
st position. Right arm up to corner one, arabesque. Spin, arms in second position. Battement left to corner one, repeat with both arms rolling forward. Press body and arms to corner two. Chaines turn to the right, arms go down to first position, drop head. Arms up to fifth position. Step pique, arms in fifth position. Balance' right, left, right, left. Remember ladies, chin up, shoulders down, and breathe.”
“I thought this was dance, not military training,” Mike remarked to himself.
What he saw made him think of a movie that Emily watched one time called “The Red Shoes”. The evil dance instructor used his rod to beat out a tempo while forcing the fair lady to dance for him. The sweet, elegant, graceful, red haired beauty he knew as Jill took on the form of a stern and commanding instructor. He imagined what these little girls might feel like having someone beat the floor with a stick at them. He wanted nothing more than to storm through the doors and take his niece out of the class. Who did she think she was instructing children that way? He thought she was a sweet woman who cared about her students and their well-being.
A still, small voice stirred, calming his temper. Just watch and see for a minute. So he did. He observed the faces of little girls and the face of Jill. There was no fear or need for control. It was just a tool for an instructor to use to tap out a tempo for her little dancers to dance to. She was using the wooden rod to tap on the floor so they could feel the rhythm in their feet.
Mike took a deep breath. Peace of mind flooded through as he continued to watch the girls move to the music. Now that he had a cool head he could really see the sense in it. Who was he to think that she would ever put any of these girls into danger or that she was as controlling as the dance master?
He leaned over to pick up his cellphone, which appeared to be broken. Irritated with himself and the broken device, he walked back into the office, gathered his things and locked up.
It occurred to him while watching Jill finish class that maybe he was being a little too obsessive over his niece. She would be ten in a couple months for goodness sake. He needed to quit seeing her as a four-year-old helpless, little girl. It was hard for him to look at his niece as a girl on the verge of womanhood. Oh no that’s a scary thought. What’ll I do with her then? I have no idea what it’s like to go through all those womanly things. I may be a doctor but I don’t deal in this kind of thing very often. Lord, what did you get me into? Why did things have to happen this way? Why can’t she have her mother to guide her through this time she is about to embark on? How could you take her parents when she needed them more than anything right now?
Mike had been a believer for many years. He knew in his heart that God wouldn’t do things like this on purpose to people but his head was having a very hard time processing everything. He felt a lurch in his stomach and he knew what that meant. It was God’s warning trigger in him to be sure not to let his questioning of God’s plan turn into bitterness. He could see the direction that his emotions were taking him. Father, help me to train this young girl that you have entrusted into my care. And maybe even a little help would be nice.
At that moment a voice beckoned him, “Mike, classes are done now. Come on in.”
He followed her into the studio, “That sure was awfully fast for two classes.”
“Well I want dance to be fun for these kids, not a chore. I'm not about to become like the evil dance master.” She winked at him and he couldn’t help but smile.
“Yeah well you’re kind of scary in there. I honestly don't think I ever thought you were capable of that.”
“When I have that many little girls in a room, I have to use whatever means necessary so they can hear what they need to, within reason of course.” She leaned into his shoulder and bumped him, “You need to relax, Emerson.”
“Yeah, well.” Her teasing scrambled his thoughts, “Is there anything else about you I should know?”
She arched one eyebrow, like she did in school. “Well, I guess that’s for me to know and you to find out. That is if you’re up for the challenge.”
Did she just parlay his comment with an equally flirtatious remark? He was surprised at the sense of humor and sauciness Jill now displayed.
Before he could say anything more, the group of girls interrupted their chat with laughter. It was a little late in the night but they had yet to have dinner. He knew Emily would be hungry but there wasn’t a whole lot to eat at home. A week of working nights and sleeping during the day had kind of put a damper on his grocery shopping endeavor. Simultaneously Emily, Katie, and Sarah, Emma and Ryan’s daughter, approached him and Jill blurting their demands.
“What's for dinner?” they asked in unison. The girls were clearly caught off guard that they all had the same request.
Jill was quick to answer, “Well, Sarah is staying over tonight so I thought we would get pizza.”
An idea formed as he saw an opportunity to spend more time with Jill. “Well, I was thinking the same for Emily and me. What do you say to eating together, either at the pizzeria or at my place?” The next part he directed to Jill, “If you’re comfortable with that. “
Her quick wit shown through with, “Are you sure you can handle dinner with a group of loud and obnoxious little girls like these three? “
He saw the challenge “The obnoxious one must be yours because my Emily is too sweet to be that way on her own.”
All four females laughed wildly. Sarah replied, “Boy, you are in for a rude awakening.”
What he saw in the eyes of his beautiful niece was something he had not seen since before Christmas – joy, pure and simple childlike joy. He prayed inside that this meant there was a turning point ahead. While the three little girls giggled about his niece’s shenanigans, he turned to Jill, “She’s going to be okay, right?”
She leaned toward him again and whispered, “Yes, just give her time.”
That was all either of them needed to do – give each other time.
*****
Jill could feel his eyes on her as she gathered up her bags and changed out of her dance shoes and into her tennis shoes. It was strange having him here. His presence put her on full alert. She had expected him to drop Emily off and go next door to his office. Instead he watched her through the windows of the dance studio while she kept her stick on the floor. She laughed inside at his initial reaction. She knew exactly what he was thinking because they had watched the same movie together when they were younger. Before they dated, he would come and sit with her and her sister and watch some of the girliest movies they owned. He always said he didn’t care but now that she looked back on it he was doing it to be close to her. Now here they were seventeen years later, with responsibilities of their own and broken hearts to match.
Walking out of her office, she saw Mike standing in one corner watching the girls in fear, while Emily, Sarah, and Katie huddled in the other corner, laughing and talking in pitches that could call the stray hound. They were so glad to see each other again. Jill hoped it was the start of healing. Mike’s disconnect concerned her though. Give him time. He’ll learn.
For as long as she had known him, he had been quiet and standoffish. It was a quality she’d grown to appreciate but someone had to tell the man that he can’t be that way raising a little girl, especially one with very boisterous friends. If he was in a setting where he had to be open, you would never know how much of an introvert he truly was. He valued his solitude. At least he used to. From watching him, she figured he still was.
She made her way across the studio to his side while the girls chatted. She took her time to cross the room so she could get a good look at the man who had always been her ‘what if’. The dishwater blond locks that he once had were gone. Now he sported a much shorter cut with a little bit of gray on the sides. His eyes were still a mesmerizing blue but they hung a little lower on the corners and were not as bright and hopeful as they once were. Despite the sadness, he really had become more handsome with age. Yes he was cute when they were dating with his skinn
y skater boy, barely a muscle physique. It was clear that his years of training while running track and playing basketball had never stopped. He was lean and trim, not bulky like she heard some of her friends go nuts for. No, she liked this look. She liked it a lot.
Her thought caught her off guard and she immediately reprimanded herself. She promised to see him only as a friend and treat him as a friend. She was determined to keep it that way. To seal the friendship deal, she gave his arm a lighthearted slug while putting her feminine charms in the back pocket and acting like one of the boys.
“Hey there, are you about ready? I think if I have everything I need,” she asked him. She hoped her feelings didn’t show. He had a way of reading her before.
Letting his arms drop to his side as he stood up straight and look her in the eyes, “Did you seriously just slug me in the arm? The last girl who did that I made her pay for her own meal.”
“I did and I planned to pay for my own meal anyway. Remember, I was already planning to take Katie and Sarah there and besides friends let friends pay for half the meal.”
She could see the struggle. It was clear that he was used to taking women out and paying. She stood her ground though and gave him her most confident look. The longer she stared into his eyes, the more her insides began to melt.
“Well, shall we go?” he asked as he stepped to the door, opening it. “Ladies? Shall we?” he called to the little girls.
The girls jumped for joy then ran for the door. As Jill switched the lights off, Mike didn’t move from his post at the door. As she walked past him, she looked up to thank him. Something in his eyes caused her to stop short. It was intense and pleading. No smile, no nod, no words. What is it? Familiarity hit, then understanding and longing. Keep it to friends only. She had to break the tension.
Dance and Be Glad Page 5