Dance and Be Glad

by Melissa Wardwell

  “Thank you, Mike, for holding the door. I just need to lock up.” She glanced to the door, hoping it would break the familiar tension between them.

  “Oh, right.” He let the door go, it shutting on its own.

  “Shall we drive or walk?” she asked as she locked the door.

  She turned from the door in time to see the girls approaching the door to the pizzeria. “I guess we’re walking,” he stated the obvious.

  “I guess so. You know, if this wasn’t such a small town, I would be freaking out right now. I guess that is the nice thing about this place. Everyone knows everyone and we watch out for each other.”

  “You really have no problem with them not waiting for us?”

  “Well, I’m not totally a free range parent, but I know that Katie is getting to an age where I need to let her spread her wings a bit.” Jill stepped toward her truck, “I just need to put a few things in the truck.”

  His heavy footed steps told her that he followed her. His hand reached for the door handle before she could reach for it herself. “What is ‘free range’ parenting?”

  She laughed to herself as she put the bags in the truck, locked the door, and reached to shut it. He beat her to it, again. She looked at him to thank him. Big mistake. The streetlamp’s light accentuated his enticing eyes and strong jawline giving him a roguish look that sent shivers through her. She cleared her throat to cover any reactions she had toward him for fear he would see what his nearness did to her.

  She stepped up to the sidewalk and began walking to the pizzeria; Mike was hot on her heels. “Free range parenting,” she began to explain, “means that I let my kid come and go as she pleases without pestering her about where she goes. I do quite the opposite, but not to the point of nagging.”

  “So I shouldn’t be concerned with her walking the streets with Katie and Sarah?”

  “Well, you can if you want. I can’t tell you how to parent.”

  “You seem to be the only one who thinks that.”

  Jill was about to ask him what he meant when they arrived at the door to the restaurant. The girls had waited for them just inside the door.

  “Sorry we ran ahead. We’re freezing. I had them get us a table though,” Katie quickly informed.

  “Thanks sweetie.”

  The quiet of the street gave way to the noise of the crowd that was packed into the little restaurant and arcade. Ringing bells, late nineties music playing over the speaker system, and voices trying to talk over it all. It was a circus of fun.

  “Mom, did you bring quarters for the games?” Katie’s excitement was uncontainable.

  “Of course. Are you prepared to be beaten at Pac Man again?”

  “You’ll be eating my dust this time.”

  The party was guided to a table in the back corner by a flirty teenage hostess with pink hair. She clearly thought Mike was young enough to swing her hips a little wider than normal for. Awkward.

  As soon as they were seated, the girls began their pleading to go play games. “We have to order first.”

  Katie huffed, “Mom, don’t you know what we all like by now?” Her daughter’s attitude earned her the mother death stare.

  “Katie Anna, don’t you mouth off. Now sit down until we have placed the order.”

  Katie complied with an apologetic look. Over all, Katie was a good kid. It just took a firm moment to get her to snap out of the growing attitude. Mike sat across from Jill and mouthed “Wow” to her. She replied with a shy smile as she picked up a menu, making it look like she was reading. In reality, she was hiding her embarrassment. She hated to correct her daughter in front of others.

  “So how do you usually do this?” He was clearly lost in this table of estrogen. Mike tried to look like he was comfortable, but it wasn’t working.

  “We usually get a pitcher of pop or two and of course some pizzas, then the girls go play until pizza arrives. There’s really not much to it.”

  While still mindlessly looking over the menu, Jill kept one eye on the man across the table from her. Mike placed his elbow on the table and leaned forward. His long finger peaked over the top of the menu and he gently pulled it down so that she was forced to look at her. “And what do you do while the girls are playing?”

  The memory of the typical pizza night came to mind and must have shown on her face as Mike dropped the flirtatious look and sat back. “Until the Friday before Christmas, this was mother-daughter night.” Jill looked at the beautiful faces of the three little girls seated with them. They were remembering as well. Turning to Mike, she proceeded with the story. “This is the first night in over nine months that these three have been together for pizza night. Emma and Sarah, Rebecca and Emily, and Katie and I would come here every week after dance classes. We are still missing two members of the group. Emma isn’t feeling well, so that is why she couldn’t be here. And Rebecca, well, you know why she isn’t here.”

  A shadow crossed his face, his shoulders slouched. Emily reached and put her hand on her uncle’s. When she had his attention, she stated proudly, “If mom can’t be here, I’m glad you are.” Mike slowly bowed his head and kissed the girl on her forehead.

  “I am glad I’m here too but I’m sorry your mom couldn’t be here instead.”

  Everyone at the table was misty eyed. Even with so much noise around them, all that mattered was right here.

  And then ‘Pink Hair’ showed up snapping her gum, “Nothing I love more than a man and his daughter.” The girl had no clue and Jill was getting ticked.

  Mike rolled his eyes through the mist pooling. Jill went ahead and ordered through clenched teeth. Why do girls try so hard?

  “I’m ready to go play. Uncle Mike, do you have some quarters?” Emily’s soft tone was barely audible but everyone at the table caught the meaning and could agree. Time to have some fun.

  Mike searched his pockets and came up with only a dollar. “Sorry sweetie. I usually don’t have change.”

  “It’s okay, Dr. Emerson. Mom always has more than enough. Come on Em.”

  The three girls scurried off, leaving Jill and Mike alone.

  Not a word was said for the longest time. Mike pulled out his phone when it vibrated and she let him have his space to answer the text.

  The pitchers of pop came, along with breadsticks. She thought to just leave it to him to get his own, but the voice in the back of her mind prodded her to offer to serve him.

  “I see you’re busy so I can pour you a glass. Which pop would you like?”

  He began to protest but she gave him the same look she had given Katie earlier and he caved. “Coke. How do you do that?”

  “Do what? Make you obey?” she replied with a laugh.

  “Yes. It’s scary. One of those looks makes the inner boy want to crawl under the covers and hide,” he commented as his laughter in unison with hers cut through the sadness that had built around them. “Have you always had that ability?”

  “No, I think it came the minute Katie was born.”

  “Not a natural instinct I remember reading about, but I guess it is possible. I suppose not many dad’s master it as well as mothers.”

  “I wouldn’t know.”

  His smile fell, “Right. Sorry about that. That was completely heartless.”

  “No, it wasn’t. You weren’t here so how could you expect to be mindful of it. It’s been over nine years, Mike.” Jill hoped that her calm tone settled his mind.

  “I know, but he was my best friend. I kicked myself for years for not being there for the funeral; and for you. Did he even get to see Katie?”

  “No. Well, via video chat he did. She was present every time we chatted. He had this habit of calling while she was feeding.” She was not about to elaborate, so she let the thought linger in the air and hope he picked it up.

  “Why, would he call…..Oh,” he began to laugh. “Never mind. Don’t explain. I had a father tell me how he enjoyed watching his wife nurse his daughter.”

  “Nothi
ng was ever seen, but I think it was the idea that he was part of something back home.”

  A natural flow over serving each other breadsticks and pop had taken place during their little dialog. Being one to analyze details like that, she did her best to not look too much into things.

  “So, what have you been doing with yourself over the last seventeen years?” she asked between bites of fluffy bread sticks and sauce.

  “Oh, not much. I spent eight years getting my medical degree, but not all at once. I just graduated with my doctorate three years ago. In between, I went on a few mission trips to help distribute vaccines and other medical supplies. I told you I did some work in Georgia for a bit. Oh and I was married.”

  Jill had taken a sip of her pop, but when Mike mentioned being married, she spit it across the table. “Oh, sorry!” she declared immediately. They scurried around to get napkins to blot the mess. Jill went to his side of the table with a hand full of napkins and began to blot at his shirt. Heat crept up her neck when she firmly planted her hand on his chest. Clearly he still worked out. She froze in place. Definitely not a boy anymore.

  “I got it. Thanks,” he told her while releasing her hand from his chest and the napkins. “I didn’t think me mentioning I had married would cause a Coke shower.” His nervous chuckle indicated he was just as embarrassed as she was.

  Moving back to her place, she tried to decide which had been more humiliating; spitting on him or practically feeling up his rippling muscles.

  “So, um, how long ago did you get married?”

  “Oh wow,” he exclaimed as he began to count his fingers. “I think it was about seven years ago. It didn’t last long. She thought she was getting a sugar daddy and I thought I was getting a woman ready to settle down.”

  “I am so sorry. Was it a hard separation?”

  “Well, let’s just say we were trying to divorce longer than we were married.”

  “Ouch.”

  “Not exactly my brightest moment.”

  She could see that he didn’t really want to talk about it any longer, so she attempted to change the topic. “So, where all have you been in your travels?”

  “I mostly travel to South America and Africa. I’ve seen some pretty great places. I had another trip scheduled for Christmastime, but I don’t think that would be a good idea. I would go to some pretty rough areas and now that Emily and I only have each other I need to play it safe.”

  “Well, maybe someday you can go back to it. When she is older, you can take her with you. I’m sure you’ll marry again and then Emily wouldn’t be alone.”

  “Jill, since you’re asking some pretty personal questions, can I ask one?”

  “I suppose.” No. She knew what it was because it was the direction their conversation was going in.

  “Why didn’t you ever remarry?”

  She put on a nonchalant air and answered as plainly as she could while playing with her napkin. “Easy, who would want to marry a woman with emotional baggage, stretch marks, flabby skin, a daughter, and debt up to her eyebrows? No one I can think of.”

  Mike reached for her hand, stopping her anxious fiddling. When their gazes locked, he replied, “I can think of at least one.”

  Chapter 5

  He had no clue what possessed him to be so forward with her but he couldn’t stand to hear her degrade herself the way she was. The more time he spent with her, the more truth his statement held. The desire to get reacquainted with her grew more with every word, smile, and touch. She was stunning in his eyes. She always had been. In fact, she looked very fine in the pair of jeans she was sporting now, but he wasn’t going to tell her that. Keep it friendly.

  “I’m sorry. That was forward of me. I just want you to see that you are not a hopeless case. You have quite a bit to offer the right man.”

  She didn’t respond with anything more than a shy smile that was simply intoxicating.

  Before anything else could be said, pizza arrived at the table as well as three hungry young girls.

  He watched as Jill went back into service mode and dished out pizza for all. So much had changed for the both of them and there was much to catch up on. He had so many questions for her about her life and about being a single parent. He also wanted to get her take on the phone conversation with Emily’s grandmother. It had been haunting him all week.

  “Yoo-hoo?” The gentle touch of her hand on his stirred him from his thoughts. “Where’d you go?” Her stunning smile drew him in and he couldn’t pull his eyes away from her. “What pizza did you want? We have hungry savages waiting for you.”

  “Oh, right. Sorry ladies.” He selected his pizza and they joined hands to pray. When he should’ve been thanking God for the food provided, he found himself watching her instead. She bowed her head, but never closed her eyes like normal and let one of the girls pray over the meal. Her furrowed brow concerned him. Jill was an avid prayer and had a deep love for the Lord, at least she used to. When he heard Katie say amen, he reluctantly let go of Jill’s tender hand and put the moment in the back of his mind for another time.

  In less than fifteen minutes, the three sweet little girls managed to devour two pizzas and two orders of breadsticks. He had always imagined that girls ate like birds; they sure were giving him an education. Extra credit came when they proceeded to have a little burping contest. He wasn’t sure if he should be appalled or laugh at their antics.

  “You look confused, Mike. Something bothering you?”

  “I was just thinking that I don’t know how to process this side of little girls. I had this idea and…”

  “They are squashing all your preconceived ideas?”

  “Yeah. Pretty much.”

  “Well, considering they haven’t been together in a while, let it fly this time. I typically put a stop to it quickly but I am also a softy.”

  Joking, laughter and more bodily outbursts continued for a few more moments before Jill told them to go finish off the quarters. Mike looked down at his watch to see that they had only been there for an hour. He wasn’t ready for their time to end.

  “So, how much longer before you head out?” He could hear the pleading tone in his voice.

  “Oh, they have maybe another forty-five minutes of quarters to use if they want to use them all.”

  “What would you have done if Emily and I hadn’t come along?”

  Jill reached into her bag that she called a purse and pulled out a tablet. “I have been making my way through this great book by this indie author named Christina Coryell. She just came out with a new book and I am hooked.”

  Interesting. She’s a book lover. “What is it about this book that you like?”

  He watched her face change and contort while sliding the tablet back inside the bag. “Well, I get her character. Life didn’t go the way she planned and now she has this little girl and is raising her alone. She was a good Christian girl who slipped off her pedestal, so to speak.” Jill watched her hands as she fiddled with her fingers. “Anyway, I don’t want to talk about a book.”

  They began to stack plates for the waitress to collect while he racked his brain for something more to talk about with her. If he had never met her before now, this would be easy but for some reason he found himself stumbling over his words. What he wanted to say and what was appropriate for this stage in this budding friendship were two different things.

  “How is Rebecca’s mom handling all this?” He was surprised that she would even know about the woman. “Rebecca told me how overbearing her mother could be.”

  “Not too well. She called the other day.”

  “The day I brought Emily home?”

  Her perceptiveness amazed him. “Yeah. She’s upset that a single man who has a demanding job is raising a nine-year-old girl. She plans to sue for custody.”

  Jill’s shock was evident by her sharp intake of breath. “Has she no regard for her daughter’s wishes?”

  “I guess not. I really am at a loss on how to fight her.
She’s right you know. My job is demanding and unpredictable.”

  “What about your practice?”

  “Because of everything that has happened, I have quite a while before I can open it. Good thing I paid six months in advance on the rental.”

  “Well, whatever I can do to help,” she assured him. For the second time in the evening, she reached over and placed her hand over his. “You really are doing a good job with her. I can see the improvement already. By having her in familiar places it is drawing her out of the sadness.”

  “Thanks, I was beginning to wonder.”

  “Listen, since we both love Emily like she was one of our own, I’ll tell you when I see you being a bonehead with her. Sound good?”

  Her straightforwardness was amusing and he couldn’t help but laugh. “Sounds good.”

  Before anything more could be said, the three girls returned to the table. Michael watched as Katie slid across the bench seat and gave Jillian the saddest set of puppy dog eyes he had ever seen. Looking to the other two, he recognized a similar look but not as expertly performed. A conspiracy was brewing and he wasn’t sure if he would like it.

  “Mommy?” Katie’s tone was sad and almost whiny. “Can Emily come stay the night too?”

  “Please?” the three pleaded in unison.

  The urge to say no was a surprising sensation. After the divorce, he relished in his alone time. In fact he coveted it. But after the brief month with Emily, the thought of being alone was, well, dreadful. He had grown accustomed to having her around in the evenings. Not much was ever said but they were together nonetheless.

  It is only one night, right? This is a good thing. She needs this.

  “Mike, what do you think? I don’t have a problem if you don’t.”

  “Sure. If that’s what she wants to do.” He looked to Emily for clarification and she nodded her head emphatically. “Okay, I guess she is going with you.”

  Cheers rang through the air.

  “Wait. I can’t fit her in the truck,” Jill noted as she realized this fact. Her emerald green eyes locked on him. “Do you think you can bring her by? You have to take her home to get a change of clothes anyway.”