Children of his own.
His heart did a little squeeze at the thought.
For so long Dean knew he wanted a family, but didn’t have anyone special to make him want to take that step.
Abby made him want to take that step.
It was crazy that now that he was thinking of it, he was excited at the possibilities and with that excitement came a touch of impatience. Now that he knew exactly what he wanted for the rest of his life, he wanted it to begin right now!
With his mind reeling, he remembered that Abby’s mother was coming in for Christmas. What if they could get married at Christmas? Neither of them had large families and while he knew his parents would want to be there, he wasn’t sure they’d come on such short notice and deal with the cold.
Maybe they could have a New Year’s Eve wedding! He thought. How festive that would be! There was always a big celebration in Silver Bell and he knew he could get the whole town involved to help them out!
It was perfect!
It would be romantic and wonderful and...
A loud banging on his car window nearly scared him to death.
Josiah.
Climbing from the car, he let out a low laugh. “Dude, you scared the hell out of me.”
Josiah laughed with him. “You were just sitting in there and I’ve been trying to get your attention for a few minutes. You okay?”
Smiling from ear to ear, he replied, “Yeah. I am. I really am.”
He noticed the surprise on his friend’s face and decided to share with him what he’d just thought of in his car.
“So...wait. You want to marry Abby? Like...for real?”
“What do you mean for real?”
“As in you’re in love with her and not just wanting to get married for the sake of convenience?”
The wave of anger that hit him was unexpected. His smile faded as he faced Josiah. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? Why would I marry Abby for convenience?”
Josiah took a tentative step back. “I’m just saying that it all seems a little...coincidental. You barely knew Abby before Maya came to live with you and then she starts helping you out and then you’re dating and now you want to marry her. Dean, seriously, you need to think about this and not rush into it.”
“I’m not rushing this, I...”
“Dude, you’re rushing it. It’s been just a little over a month...”
“How fast did you fall in love with Melanie?” Dean interrupted.
Frowning, Josiah glared at him for a moment. “Not the same thing.”
“It’s exactly the same thing. Three weeks. You fell in love with her in three weeks. You were living together after two. How is this any different?”
“Because it’s you, dammit!” Josiah snapped. “Dean, you’re my best friend and I know you better than you think. You’ve been living a solitary life for so damn long and now you’re going from one extreme to the other.” He paused and sighed. “Look, I’m not saying that you don’t love Abby – if you say you do, then you do, but that doesn’t mean you have to marry her right now.”
“You have no idea,” Dean began, his voice so low it was a near growl. “My whole life I’ve had to put how I feel and what I want aside because I had to be cautious. I have missed out on so much because I was too scared to take a chance and actually live! Well now I want to live! I want to be happy and I want Maya to be happy and I want Abby to be happy! And you know what? I think we can all have that if we can be together as a family!”
“Okay, but...”
“No!” Dean instantly interrupted. “It’s not the same as what you and Melanie had. It was just the two of you. I have Maya to consider and Abby and I know that we can’t just live together. That’s not the right example to set and I certainly don’t want to give the town anything to gossip about.”
“You’re letting the past play too much into this,” Josiah countered. “No one thinks about comparing you to your sister anymore – they haven’t in a long time. You need to move on from that. People live together all the time.”
Dean shook his head. “I won’t do that to Maya. Her life was turned upside down already. She lost both of her parents and her life hasn’t been the least bit stable. I’m trying to change that. I need to change that for her. When Abby and I get married...”
“Have you even talked to Abby about any of this?”
“What...about getting married?”
Josiah nodded.
“Not exactly. Not yet. But...that’s the direction we’re heading in. I know it and if we could just get some time alone so we could talk about it, I know she’d agree with me. It makes perfect sense. Why should we wait?”
“I can’t argue with you on the waiting part because it’s exactly how I felt with Melanie, but...here we are a year later and we’re not married and we’re okay.”
“But you’re living together,” Dean argued. “For all intents and purposes, you’re married. You’re just missing the piece of paper. And again, it’s not the same for us. We have...”
“I get it. You have Maya. But don’t you think it would be just as devastating for her if you rushed into this marriage too soon and then you and Abby end up divorcing?”
Dean opened his mouth to say something and then instantly closed it.
He hadn’t thought of that.
In his mind, he and Abby were forever. He knew it. He could feel it. But what if Josiah was right? What if...?
“Look, I can’t tell you how you feel or how Abby feels, and there are plenty of people who get married after knowing each other for shorter periods of time than the two of you. I just want you to be careful and really think on this before you just jump in. No matter what you decide, I’m going to be right there with you supporting you. You know that, right?”
And he did. It takes a real friend to point out when you might be making a mistake and yet still promise to be there for you.
Nodding, Dean replied, “I do. And...thanks.”
“No one deserves to be happy more than you and I think Abby is great. I care about you both and don’t want to see either of you get hurt.”
It would be easy to say that they weren’t going to get hurt, but who was he kidding? He had no control over that.
But he couldn’t wait to prove his friend wrong.
****
“...and then I’m supposed to go over to Silver Street and look at some property!” Abby said with a bit of a huff as she walked around the classroom and picked up trash that had been left behind. “Why can’t people throw out their paper and water bottles?”
“What time do you need to go look at the property?”
Looking over at the clock on the wall, she sighed and seemed to pick up her pace. “In fifteen minutes.” She threw the trash out and quickly walked over to the corner where she kept her gym bag and pulled out a sweatshirt. “I’m really hoping this is going to be the place. On paper it seems like it will work for almost everything we need. The price is something I can definitely afford – with the investors – and if we can agree on everything, I can take occupancy on it by January 2.”
“Abby! That’s great!” Dean walked over and scooped her up in his arms and spun her around before kissing her. “Are you excited?”
She smiled but it felt a little forced. “I am. I really am. I think.” She paused. “It’s just a bit much right now. I swear I’m already barely holding on by a thread with all I have to do and this is just one more thing on my plate.” Putting the sweatshirt on, she pulled out her scarf and quickly wrapped that around her too.
“Then I’ve got my mom coming in and the recital and the parade and there’s been some issues with the costumes...” Another pause. “I normally take the first week of January to simply sit and do nothing because I’m physically ill from pushing myself too much and it looks like I won’t even get to do that this year. I’ll still be sick, but I’ll have to work through it. Fun times.”
Fluttering around the room, Abby saw that eve
rything was in its place and then smiled distractedly at Dean. “I’m sorry, but I really need to get going.” Then she looked around again. “Where’s Maya?”
“Out in the lobby talking to Jenny,” he said and she could tell something was bothering him.
“Are you okay? Is everything all right? Maya didn’t mention anything when I picked her up...”
He shook his head and gave her a half-hearted smile. “I was hoping we could have dinner tonight, but I know you’re busy and you have a lot going on. I just miss you.”
Her shoulders sagged as she looked at him. “I miss you too. I both love and hate this time of year. I long for the day when I have a studio of my own and more people working with me so that it’s not all on my shoulders.” Stepping in close, she kissed him.
“What can I do to help you?” he asked and the sincerity in his voice almost made her cry. It wasn’t often that anyone asked her that and she wasn’t sure how to handle it.
But she found a way.
“Tell you what, why don’t you go and get Maya and I’ll meet you both at the diner in about forty-five minutes? Will that work?”
“Are you sure? You just said...”
Abby placed a finger over his lips to silence him. “I know and you reminded me that I also need to take some time for myself. I really didn’t want to go home and cook and Dan made his famous meatloaf at the diner today. A little comfort food on a cold night sounds perfect.”
He pulled her in close and kissed her again. “You’re perfect.”
Chuckling, Abby moved out of his embrace. “Hardly, but I’m glad you think so.” Another glance at the clock showed she was going to be late. “I really need to run. See you at the diner!”
She waved to Kathy and Jenny and Maya as she ran out the door. The drive over to Silver Street took all of three minutes and yet it was so filled with anxiety that made it feel much longer. This was the place. Deep in her heart Abby knew it and yet she was afraid to get her hopes up.
Millie was waiting out front along with her realtor, Bette, and Alima Levy who owned the building. They were all talking and smiling and looked...professional and prepared. Abby looked down at herself and groaned. Why hadn’t she thought to change out of her leggings and sweatshirt?
“Too late now,” she murmured, grabbing her purse and climbing from the car. With a smile plastered on her face, she approached the trio of women and greeted them.
“Abby,” Millie said with a huge smile, “I think this is it. It has the most square footage and it’s already got walls up to give you four classrooms and there’s a large storage area in the back that can be transformed into a stage and practice area!”
Abby nodded and was about to comment when Bette chimed in. “Let’s get out of the cold and go in and take a look.” They followed her to the door and Abby’s heart beat wildly in her chest. Both Bette and Alima were talking about all of the features of the building and Abby knew it was for her benefit, but once she walked through the door, she didn’t need words.
She was envisioning it all.
Four rooms that, with a little bit of work, could be easily transformed into studio spaces for classes.
The large entryway could be transformed into a reception area with the addition of a desk and if she added some comfortable chairs, it would work beautifully as a waiting area.
And the storage area was a wonderful blank slate that would probably take the most work but in Abby’s mind, she could already see the stage set up and part of the room serving as a storage area for props and costumes and dressing rooms.
“It is zoned for commercial use,” Bette said as Abby continued to wander around. “The whole town is on board with this project, Abby, so I don’t think you’ll have any problems moving forward.”
“With a little elbow grease from a team of volunteers,” Millie chimed in, “we can have this place painted and cleaned up in no time.”
Finally Alima weighed in. “For a long time now, I had no idea what to do with this space. Now I know it was waiting for this project.” She paused. “So what do you think, Abby? Will it work?”
“I...I’m having a hard time figuring out how I’ll get it all done,” Abby began cautiously, a tremble in her voice. Her emotions were running high – she wanted this to work and knew that it could – but she was overwhelmed by looking around at all of the work that needed to be done.
“For starters, I’ve already got committees ready and waiting,” Millie said, grinning.
“Committees?”
“Let’s see, we have a cleaning committee for starters. The ladies from Four Friends cleaning have volunteered to come in and help – Lynn, Patricia, Chris and Helena. I know they’ll do a great job but I called on another group to come in and help and they’re all dance moms – Rhonda, Chrissy, Pam and Carol – their daughters are all in your intermediate ballet class.”
If she thought she was overwhelmed before, she was seriously mistaken. How had everyone known about this and not mentioned it to her? She asked Millie just that.
“Well, I told everyone to keep it quiet until we found a place. I’m a planner and I just really wanted to get things in place so we were ready to go as soon as you gave the word.”
“I think I’m a little in shock,” Abby said with a nervous chuckle. “How...I mean...what else have you set up?”
“Shawn at the paint store said she and her husband are willing to donate the paint supplies – rollers, brushes, drop cloths, that sort of thing. And Stracey has some artwork over at the boutique that she wants to donate for the walls, Bev is organizing food to feed everyone while the work is going on and Jennifer and Monique at the antique shop have some beautiful chairs they’re going to donate for the lobby.”
“Oh my...”
Bette stepped forward and smiled. “I was talking with Kathy Jones and she said she has found you several candidates to work the front desk so you can focus on teaching the classes and not have to worry about answering phones and dealing with people coming in and out with questions.”
“Already?” Abby asked, still shocked at all of this information.
Bette nodded. “Last I heard there were three ladies – Kim, Eileen and Shannon – I’m terrible with last names – who were very excited about the possibility of volunteering their time.”
“Volunteering? But...I can’t ask people to do that. I need to fill the classes and figure out a budget and then I can see about hiring people and...”
Millie held up a hand to stop her. “Christine Miles – you know her, she’s an accountant, has her office over on Main by the diner? Well, she is offering one year of her services to help you get started.”
Tears swam in Abby’s eyes. Could this all really be happening? Could it really be this easy?
“I have a team of contractors that I use on all of my properties,” Alima said. “Bette can vouch for them that they do great work. They’re each willing to donate two days of their time to coming in and doing whatever you need – carpentry, plumbing, electric – all of it. This place is structurally sound and I have the inspection certificates for you, but I’m sure there are some special things you’re going to want to do. So all you need to do is work up your plans and let the guys see them and they’ll help you get it done.”
“Carol Owens over at the hardware store mentioned that she could get you a really good deal on the mirrors for the dance rooms,” Millie said.
“And Pam over at the copy place said she’d help out with flyers and business cards – five hundred of each – to help you get started.,” Alima said.
Now her tears freely fell. “Is the whole town involved?”
The three women nodded.
“Pretty much,” Millie said, her own eyes going misty. “I told you I was going to make it happen, Abby. As soon as I said what we were looking to do, my phone hasn’t stopped ringing!” She stepped forward, placing her hands on Abby’s shoulders. “You are a treasure to the people of Silver Bell Falls. You give so much of you
rself to your students and to the town and this is our way of saying thank you.”
“I am simply blown away,” Abby said, her voice thick with emotion. “I never expected...this is more than I ever thought...”
“Is this a yes?” Millie asked excitedly. “Is this the future home of Silver Bell Falls Dance Studio?” Then she laughed. “Or whatever you’d like to name it?”
They all laughed and Abby wiped away some of her tears. “I...I think it is!”
“Oh my goodness! That’s great!” Millie cried.
“I’ve got papers all set for you!” Bette said, smiling.
“And I’m thrilled that you’re going to be the new owner of this place,” Alima added.
“Oh my God,” Abby said suddenly. “Owner. I’m going to be an owner.” Her heart was almost beating right out of her chest as panic set in. “What if I can’t get approval from the bank? What if I can’t afford this place? What if...?”
“Gwenn at the bank is expecting you tomorrow and has every confidence that you’ll be approved,” Millie said, handing Abby a card.
“I’ve negotiated a fabulous deal for you,” Bette added and then smiled at Alima. “We all really believe in this project and we know you’re going to do amazing things here.”
“Fab...what kind of deal? This place is the biggest we’ve seen and I know what the prices were on those other places.” Abby looked at Alima. “I want this to be a fair deal for you. Please don’t expect me to be okay with you losing money on this deal.”
Alima smiled and shook her head. “Abby, this place has been empty for a long time. I’ve been doing maintenance on it and taking care of it but you are doing me a favor by taking it and loving it and making it a wonderful place again.” Then she stepped in a little closer. “Besides, I heard a rumor about some Zumba classes! My girlfriends and I are very excited at the possibility – especially after the holidays!”
They all laughed again.
“I mentioned that to my friends Isha and Laura,” Bette said, “and we’re looking forward to that too!”
Christmas On Pointe (A Silver Bell Falls Holiday Novella) Page 15