by Jessa Chase
"Then get the hell out," Daniel muttered as he turned to push himself up with his arms. "Nobody asked you to stick around and help the cripple."
"Daniel!" Logan spoke harshly to his little brother, but Claire had already turned to go. She pulled her coat off of the coat tree and tugged it on, hoping the tears that clung to her lashes would wait until she was outside to fall.
"Claire, you don't have to go," Kate said as Claire grasped the front doorknob. "Daniel...he's having a hard time with this, but he didn't mean what he just said. Please come back in."
Claire faced Kate and dammit if the tears did fall. "It's not him. I mean, it is, a little bit, but mostly it's me. I'm so ashamed, but I really do have to go. I just...I can't do this."
Kate bit her lip but nodded. "Okay. Drive safe, please."
Claire rushed out the door and felt the cool evening air hit her like a slap in the face.
Chapter 5
DANIEL
Daniel flipped through a catalogue the hospital had given him before he'd been discharged. He couldn't believe the sheer amount of accessories that came with having a part of you surgically removed. Specialized clothing, pants with side zippers to make it easier for caregivers to undress you. He tossed the catalog on the floor in disgust.
"No freaking way in hell."
He glanced up from the bed when he heard a soft knock on his door.
"Come in," he said with a sigh. He was surprised to see Kate and not Logan entering, though he shouldn't have been. Logan would have walked right in, not waited on the other side for his permission.
"I wanted to see if you were doing okay," Kate said as she took a seat at the writing desk nearby.
Close enough to initiate a talk about personal things, far enough away that he wouldn't feel pressured. His sister-in-law was good.
"It takes a lot more than a crying girl at a dinner party to mess me up these days," Daniel responded. "I'm not as fragile as Logan seems to think."
"Well, I was referring to your surgical site and how it's been healing, but sure let's talk about what happened at dinner tonight first."
Daniel shrugged. "Claire's great, she's always been every guy's wet dream. As much as I really enjoyed seeing her and talking to her again, I can't expect her to jump back in where we left it in high school and handle all of this," he swept a hand across his lap, indicating his missing limb. "Particularly when I can barely handle it at the moment."
Kate scooted the computer chair over until she was within touching distance.
"I think you should give Claire a chance to decide for herself what she can handle. Don't you?"
She reached her hand out, slowly, until it was hovering over his left knee.
Daniel nodded silently, giving her permission to tug down the compression sleeve he had covering what was left of his leg.
"Your incisions do look good, Daniel," she said as she ran her fingers along the stump. "Pretty moderate redness, and still some swelling, but that's all to be expected. How's the pain?"
"Are we talking physical pain now, or are we still on the emotional bit?"
Kate socked her brother-in-law in his arm and smiled. "Physical, you smart-ass."
"Right. Well it hurts less than it did before they lopped it off, I guess." Daniel rocked back on his hips to readjust himself in his seated position. "Still not used to all of this, but I suppose that is going to take more time than I've given it so far."
"It will," Kate replied. "But you're tough, you always have been. I don't have any doubt you'll get through this intact." she raised her hand to her mouth and gasped. "Oh my God. Daniel-"
"Ha, amputation joke. Nice, Kate." Daniel socked her back, twice as gentle as she'd done to him. "No wonder my brother fell so hard for you."
They laughed together for a moment, and Daniel genuinely enjoyed Kate's company. He was so glad his brother had found his soul mate, that they were happy and expecting a little McAllister in a few months.
"I still think you should still consider working with Claire on the building of the parade float," Kate said after a moment. "I do hope you'll consider it, I really think that it would be good for both of you to work together."
Daniel nodded. "I want to help out. I have some ideas already in fact, I mostly just need to figure out how a one legged guy gets down and prostrates himself in apology."
"I don't think that'll be necessary," she replied with a smile. "Claire's got a pretty big heart and you've always had a special place in it."
"Here's hoping."
CLAIRE
“Thanks for meeting me again,” Claire said as Kate sat across from her in the diner booth. “I wanted to say how sorry I am for what happened the other night.”
Kate waved her hand dismissively. “Oh don’t even worry about it, Claire. Maybe it was just too much too soon. But it wasn’t your fault, regardless.”
Claire bit her lip and looked unsure. “It was so nice seeing you guys, and seeing Daniel again. I just wish it hadn’t ended on such a sour note.”
At that moment, Daisy appeared at their table with a steaming pot of coffee. She smiled and turned over their mugs so she could fill them up.
“Good morning!” She said happily. “Anything fun planned for the day?”
Claire tapped the notebook she had on the table in front of her. “I have some plotting and planning for the Lavender Day parade ahead of me today. Hope you don’t mind me borrowing the table for a while. If I try to do this at the studio, I’m more likely to get bogged down with the day-to-day business stuff.”
“Not a problem at all,” Daisy said brightly. “Did you guys want something to eat to go with your brainstorm session?”
Kate laughed. “Well, you know. The usual for me please.”
“Blueberry waffles and bacon?”
“Yep. I fully plan on being as big as a house by the time this kiddo makes his appearance.”
“His?!” Daisy squeaked, and Claire laughed.
“Slip of the tongue,” Kate said quickly. “I swear. We aren’t finding out.”
“Uh huh,” Claire said with a smile. “And I’m sure you aren’t borrowing the clinic ultrasound and taking peeks between patients or anything.”
Kate chuckled. “That actually hadn’t occurred to me until just now.”
“Likely story,” Daisy said with a cluck of her tongue. “Claire, did you want anything to eat?”
Claire looked at her notebook again, and then shook her head. “Just coffee for me, thank you.”
As Daisy headed off for the kitchen, Kate turned her attention back to her old friend.
“You look worried about this float project. Is there anything I can do to help?”
Claire sighed. “I guess I am worried, but mostly I’m overwhelmed by the planning. Starting to think I got in over my head, but I’m just so desperate to curry some favor in this town.”
“I definitely know that feeling,” Kate said. “But I wouldn’t worry too much. This town adores you. I hear nothing but good things about what you’ve done with the dance studio.”
“Yeah? That’s really nice to hear. I love this place so damn much. It’s good to know I’m able to contribute.”
Kate reached her hand across the table and patted Claire’s hand. “You are. Would it be less stress on your shoulders if I just asked Logan to help you out and we left Daniel out of it for now?”
Claire shook her head vehemently. “No, please don’t do that. I’d really like a chance to talk to Daniel myself first and see if we can just start over.”
Kate smiled. “I have a feeling he’d really like that too. Look at us, talking about the McAllister boys. It’s a little bit like being back in high school again.”
Claire laughed out loud at that. Some of her fondest memories of that time were being with Daniel, but she also affectionately remembered spending time with her good friend Kate. At a time when she’d felt very isolated by her family’s wealth, Claire had felt honored that Kate had befriended her. Maybe it
was the fact that they both had difficult home lives, or maybe it was just something they saw in each other, but they’d been fast friends from nearly the first day they’d met.
She was very glad to have a chance to rekindle that friendship as an adult, with the two of them back in Madelia again. Was she also hoping to rekindle something with Daniel? Of that, she wasn’t sure, but she did recognize the burning, fluttering feeling in her chest that appeared when she thought about or spoke about Daniel. It was a feeling that she thought she’d left back in her teenaged years.
“Who would have guessed we’d be where we are today. You and Logan...”
“You and Daniel...?”
Claire reddened. “I wasn’t meaning that, exactly. More I meant us back here in town and...Oh God, I’m blushing again, aren’t I?”
Kate nodded as she took a sip of her coffee.
“Don’t tell either of them about this,” Claire said as she pointed a finger at Kate. “Pinky swear.”
“Pinky swear.”
Kate’s food arrived before long and soon discussion turned to other small-town topics, but Claire held that warm feeling in her chest for the rest of the day.
*
“So let’s settle down here for a minute and talk about the Lavender Day parade,” Claire sat cross-legged on a yoga mat in the center of her studio. 10 girls and boys, ranging in age from 4 to 12 sat on similar mats in a half-circle around her.
Her Marmot Scout troop, made up of the majority of the children in Madelia.
“To start with, I thought maybe we’d talk about the theme they have picked for the parade this year. Does anyone know what the theme is?”
A hand shot up. “It’s ‘Service’ Miss Weaver.”
“You are correct, Abigail. And what does service mean? Somebody else?”
The other children fidgeted and avoided eye contact with their troop leader.
“Okay...Abigail? She pointed to the pig-tailed girl, who looked like she might explode if she didn’t answer soon.
“Service means helping somebody else do something they can’t do themselves.”
Abigail was far and away one of Claire’s smartest Marmots, and her eagerness reminded Claire of herself at that age.
She smiled. “That’s a great way to explain it. So service can be the way Miss Daisy brings you your favorite dessert at the diner on your birthday, or even how your mom or dad helps you with your homework or ties your shoelaces. Any other examples you can think of?”
“My daddy was in the Army, that’s service isn’t it?” A shy boy named Tommy spoke up. He had an unruly mop of red hair and eyes that looked much older than his eight years.
Claire had always had a soft spot for little Tommy, knowing his mother Darlene struggled to make ends meet as a young widow.
“That absolutely is a kind of service,” Claire replied. “It’s a kind of service that is very important for our whole country. Great job, Tommy.”
The little boy nodded and a tiny smile crept out.
“So when it comes to decorating our float, what kinds of things do you think we should include? Remember to think about service and what that reminds you of.”
“Cupcakes.”
“Doctor stuff, like...band aids?”
“What about camo?”
Several kids spoke at once, and it took Claire a few minutes to calm them back down enough to write down all of their ideas.
It was certainly an amalgam of concepts, but their outpouring of creativity encouraged Claire. She figured her job was primarily directing that creativity into something resembling a parade float.
A few more frenzied minutes spent brainstorming and Claire had filled up two pages of her notebook with ideas. She saw the first parents arriving in the room next to the studio and knew it was time to start wrapping things up.
“Okay everybody! This was such a good troop meeting! Before we get cleaned up and put away our yoga mats, let’s all stand up and stretch out our muscles.”
Claire stood and the children followed suit.
“Lift your hands above your head, reach high up, and wiggle all your fingers. Okay, now let’s bend down and touch the mat with our hands. There you go! See if you can touch. If not, grab your feet and hold on, okay?”
Claire was happy to see her little troop stretching and working their muscles.
“Awesome job! I bet that feels good after sitting still for so long.” The children nodded enthusiastically.
“I see your moms and dad out in the hallway, so pick up your mats and put them away. I’ll see everybody next week!”
Claire rolled her own mat up and stacked it with the others in the far corner. She stayed with the kids until every parent arrived, leaving her alone in the studio at last.
Brainstorming about the parade and the theme of service had caused her mind to drift naturally to thoughts of Daniel and the disastrous dinner party.
She was ashamed of how she’d acted, and she knew that she needed to make amends with Daniel, but she was at a loss for how to approach the subject.
For the time being, she had a blessed free period in her studio, something that was becoming a rarer and rarer instance as her business became busier and busier.
She loved to teach dance and work with youngsters, but there was something truly wonderful about having time alone in her studio to do what she truly loved the most: dance.
She browsed through the music on her phone until she found what she was looking for; the orchestral version of the liebestod, the final monologue of Wagner's Tristan und Isolde had a melancholy quality to which Claire loved to dance. She stood, moved to the center of the room, and warmed her body up as the music came to a head.
DANIEL
She was beautiful. Goddamn, she was beautiful. Daniel had gotten himself to the studio, through the front door, and was nearly in the dance area when he saw her in there, alone. Moving her body in ways he could only ever dream of. She was so limber; she looked so strong and so fragile at the same time.
He wasn’t sure how long he could stand to stay upright, his left thigh and knee being supported by a wheeled contraption that Logan had purchased online for him. It looked a bit like the kind of walkers that old women used, except it only came up to knee height and strapped around what was left of his leg.
It still took some getting used to, but he’d gone a few blocks now and he felt like he was getting the hang of it. Standing still, however, especially after he’d exerted himself more than he had in a while, well it wasn’t his brightest move. But Daniel had never been so transfixed by watching a woman move. He might fall over any minute now, but damned if he wouldn’t enjoy the view until he did.
Daniel coughed into his fist, which surprised Claire but he noticed she didn't lose her balance. She finished the move she was in the middle of and came to a rest facing him.
"Daniel," she said in a hushed tone.
He moved forward at an awkward shuffle, still getting used to the knee walker but making the best of it.
"Claire. I wanted to explain about the other night. I am so sorry."
"There's nothing to explain and nothing to be sorry for," she replied. "Well, except for my own behavior, really. It wasn't at all acceptable, and I wanted to say I'm sorry."
Daniel chuckled. "Well, I can live with us both being sorry wrecks if you can. What do you say we just pretend the whole night didn't happen and move on? I have been thinking and I have some ideas for the float."
Claire smiled and Daniel felt like the whole room lit up around her. "Absolutely. Come on back here, I have a kind of break-room, it's not much but there's a couch and a table."
He wasn't moving any faster than before, but Daniel felt lightness in his step for the first time since, well since his step became so drastically altered.
Claire wasn't kidding when she said there wasn't much to the break-room, but the couch was comfortable and the table pulled right up to it. Daniel pulled out the notebook he'd stuffed in his back pocket and s
pread the pages in front of Claire.
"We have a frame in the barn so I was basing these off of using that. Logan doesn't have any use for it anymore, he said he'd be fine with us cannibalizing it for the float."
Claire ran her fingers over Daniel's artwork. "These are amazing. You always had an eye for this kind of stuff."
Daniel felt flustered. "Well, I mean. You know. I’ve got nothing but time right now. And this sounded like a fun project. Don't let me take it over though, in case the other night didn't demonstrate it enough, I can be kind of a pushy asshole these days."
Claire glanced at his sideways. "You can push all you want, doesn't mean you'll get your way."
"That's my girl."
Between the two of them, it took a little over two hours to settle on the design they wanted. Daniel was able to roll with the changes, erase some lines while adding others. He enjoyed sitting next to Claire, enjoyed feeling the side of her arm when it made contact with his. He felt his heart beat a little bit faster every damn time.
Truth be told, it felt like the best parts of being back in high school.
"How many troopers do you have in your employ anyway?"
Claire laughed. "Um, about a dozen or so, depending on the week. It's pretty much most of the kids in town who aren't too old for stuff like this. It's a good group though, I think they'll get a kick out of decorating the float."
Daniel pointed to one of the designs they had spent the most time on. "This right here, that'll be the most kid-friendly bit. They could cut out shapes in colored foam, maybe attach them with our help?"
Claire smiled. “That sounds doable. They are probably about as handy with power tools as I am.”
“I vote we keep the kids away from power tools then,” Daniel quipped. “And maybe you too, now that I think about it.”
“Hey now,” she said with laughter in her voice. “I guess I deserved that.” Claire glanced at the clock on the far way of the break-room. “Oh my gosh, how did it get to be so late?”