Learning to Walk Again

by S. L. Kassidy

  “That’s true.”

  “Everyone else was understanding about the time. We know Adam wouldn’t have been.”

  Danny moved some of Nicole’s hair out of her face. “Which just makes him suck more.”

  Nicole snickered through her nose. “That he does.”

  Danny tried to hold in a yawn, but it escaped through her nose. “What did you think of the show?”

  A lighthearted scoff came from Nicole. “I barely saw the show. I saw a lot of the bathroom and I’m beyond grateful it was mostly clean. I’ve seen enough kiddie Christmas shows to get the gist of it. What did you think? Allison was so shocked it was your first one.” All of Allison’s conversation post-show had to do with Danny not knowing many of the stories and she could not get over Danny confessing it was her first Christmas show.

  Danny sighed. “I hope that doesn’t make her look at her parents different.”

  “No, but I do wonder. I mean, Allison and Ben have had experiences. Why not you?” Over the months they had gotten to know the Briarmoors, they weren’t slouches in the parenting department. Their kids went places and did things, so why not Danny?

  Danny shrugged. “The world may never know.”

  Nicole frowned. No, they’d eventually know. Danny was afraid to ask those sorts of questions, but Nicole doubted the answers were as bad as Danny feared they were. Lynn and Henry were good people. Something had to have happened.

  “Did you enjoy yourself?” With a struggle, she moved a hand to the small of Danny’s back.

  Danny nodded. “I liked hanging out with the kids. But, the show itself…” she trailed off.

  Nicole squinted, studying Danny’s face, and trying to figure out if she was disappointed. “What about the show?”

  “It was really generic. I mean, the dancing was fine. But, I’d have done something different. Like, maybe a jazz version of ‘Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairies.’ I definitely would’ve done a hip-hop version of that ‘Swan Lake’ thing. I’d have had Santa sing the blues.”

  “What? You can’t make Santa sing the blues!” Nicole shook her head as much as her tired neck would allow.

  Danny chuckled. “Okay, maybe not, and I understand you’re retelling these Christmas stories, but I’d have done it different. It sold out, so obviously kids liked it.”

  “It reminded me of Christmas shows I saw as a kid, but now I kind of want to see your show.” The vision Danny had seemed interesting and her music would be beyond magnificent.

  “I’d put on one hell of a show if I knew you’d be in the audience.”

  Nicole smiled. “You’re too sweet. I’m glad you knew the stories, too.”

  Danny slid her hand to Nicole’s neck and massaged it. “Yeah, not all of ’em, but enough. I might not have gotten to watch Christmas stuff when I was little, but I read a lot of things in high school.”

  “Ah, this is where all your trivia knowledge comes from?” Nicole had been curious about that. Danny had a wealth of knowledge for someone who acted like she almost didn’t graduate high school.

  Danny gave a short nod. “Yeah. The teacher who cared about me getting out of school—Mr. Preston—said art helps influence art. He knew music was my thing, but made sure I was well versed in other arts. I read the classics and poetry. He kept trying to take me to museums, but I didn’t have the time. I didn’t think it was that important.”

  Nicole nodded. “Do you think it was important now?”

  “Definitely. Reading all of the poetry alone was worth it. My lyrics got better by leaps and bounds. I believe him about art influencing art. It gives you a starting point. Of course, once you have that, I don’t necessarily think you need to stay on course.”

  Nicole chortled. “And we’re back to the show. You’re an art snob.”

  Danny laughed a little and pulled Nicole closer, enough to give her a kiss. “I had a good time with the kids, even though I’m dead on my feet.”

  Nicole puffed out a laugh. “You’re not even on your feet.”

  “I’m so tired I didn’t even notice. You sure you still want to have a party?”

  Nicole yawned. The party would be as exhausting as this expedition. Hell, they’d have to prepare the house and then clean up after. The work ahead would probably make Cinderella weep. But, she remembered Danny’s smile when they came in after dropping all the kids off. Danny looked like the heavens had blessed her. The concept of family had seeped into Danny and taken root, blooming and opening her up. How could Nicole ever deny her that, especially when that was what she wanted for her?

  “We’ll handle everything for the party as soon as I’m done with finals. It’ll be great,” Nicole promised.

  Danny’s fingers caressed Nicole’s back, and Nicole sighed from the comforting touch. She fell asleep with thoughts of their Christmas party still lingering in her mind.

  Chapter Three

  PLANNING THEIR CHRISTMAS PARTY wasn’t as hard as Nicole expected. It was mostly cooking, which she and Danny handled together. She also made sure everyone knew the date and stayed on their cases to RSVP. Danny found background music to play, all revolving around the holiday season, but not in an annoying way. Nicole set out board games and a deck of cards, in case the children were bored during the party and needed something to do.

  The house was already decorated. Nicole didn’t usually buy a tree, but got one this year for Danny. Christmas trees always seemed to suggest happy home and family to her. After all, her family always had one, and her grandparents as well. There were lots of happy memories wrapped up in Christmas trees, and Nicole hoped Danny would one day feel the same. They started off right, decorating the tree and Danny smiled the entire time.

  “Do you think we made too many cookies?” Danny asked as they plated the last batch of treats. The sugar cookies smelled heavenly and wafted through the whole house.

  While closing the oven, Nicole scoffed. “You know you’re asking the wrong person. There’s no such thing as too many cookies as far as I’m concerned.” She’d definitely eat whatever was left behind.

  Danny laughed. “Can’t call you a liar there.”

  They put the rest of the snacks and drinks out on the coffee table and the table by the stairs. Thankfully, they were already dressed for the party. Nicole decided to wear a Christmas sweater for the event, knowing she wouldn’t be alone, as her friends and family were bound to do the same. Danny had on a red shirt with a green sweater vest over it and black shorts. Danny claimed her outfit was just as festive as anyone’s “ugly sweater.” Nicole couldn’t even argue her sweater wasn’t ugly. It was like the designer went out of the way to knit in the singing elves to be something out of a horror movie, even making their skin an odd pale purple, but it was comfortable and sure to win her a prize at the firm’s “ugly sweater” contest at their holiday party.

  A knock at the door turned out to be Mina and her husband Shawn. Shawn grinned broadly as he stepped into the house right behind Mina. He was the same height as her, so she almost hid him, but his shoulders were too broad to fit behind her.

  “It’s been a while,” Shawn said, brown eyes scanning the place as if to refresh his memory.

  “Yeah, I’d say. The housewarming party was more than a while ago.” Mina smirked as Shawn helped her out of her coat, revealing her own Christmas sweater covered in frolicking reindeer. Her chocolate features had a hint of red to them from the cold outside. Nicole was thankful to not have to venture out. It had to be chilly for cheeks to flush from the driveway to the door.

  Nicole hugged them both, and they squeezed her tight, as if they had not seen her in years rather than days. Danny hugged Mina while Shawn got a handshake, taking their coats from him, too.

  Shawn took a deep breath. His chest covered in a cheesy sweater with dancing snowmen in the middle of snowy field expanded. “It smells good in here.”

  “You know there has to be tons of sweets at any party thrown by Nicole,” Mina said, rightly guessing the sweet smell in th
e air was from cookies, cakes, and brownies all decorated for the occasion.

  “Hey, there’ll be children here, too,” Nicole said.

  “Just don’t fight them to the death over the last cookie,” Mina replied with a teasing smile.

  Nicole chortled. “I make no promises.”

  “I didn’t expect to see you, Shawn, especially since I know you’ve been letting your time be consumed by your little pup,” Danny said.

  Shawn laughed, throwing his head back dramatically, making his thick, short dreadlocks fly, and then he smiled. If this were a commercial his teeth would’ve sparkled. It was this made-for-TV smile that got Mina to fall for him back in college.

  “You’re just mad that Night is cuter than Haydn,” Shawn replied.

  At the sound of his name, Haydn barked and rammed the gate keeping him in the music room. Nicole hoped he didn’t try jumping it again, as he had hurt himself twice doing that already. He missed the first time and tripped the second. Danny was kind enough to free him, and he charged both Mina and Shawn, lapping up their attention.

  “Who names a white shepherd ‘Night’?” Nicole stuck her tongue out at Mina.

  “It’s called irony, like your ability to keep me as a friend,” Mina replied with a smug look.

  “I think you mean that the other way around,” Nicole said.

  Danny hung up their coats in the closet while Mina and Shawn made their way to the living room. Haydn followed them, whining a little. He expected a treat, but Nicole doubted they had any. The couple gave Haydn more attention, which was good enough for him.

  Minutes later, Clara arrived with her son. Little Paulo was bundled up so tightly it took Nicole and Clara together almost a minute to unwrap him. As soon as he was free, he wrapped Nicole in a scorching hot hug then ran off to play with the dog.

  “Thanks for coming, Clara.” Nicole hugged her friend.

  “Anytime, especially if he gets to play with other children,” Clara replied. “Besides, I know you’ll throw one hell of a party.”

  A blush ignited on her face. She went to hang up their coats while they greeted Mina and Shawn. Not too long after, more guests arrived.

  Soon, the party was in full swing with soft Christmas music playing in the background. Well, it was Christmas music according to Danny, but Nicole couldn’t place many of the tunes. It was a nice holiday variety, though. Snacks were eaten, and everyone mingled. The only ones missing were Luke and Thomas. Nicole hoped Adam hadn’t decided to get revenge for the show.

  Nicole chatted everyone up, doing her best to play the good hostess, though she didn’t really have to do much since almost everyone knew each other. Terri and Crow took care of themselves as far as making their own introductions and starting their own conversations. Nicole paused when she saw her parents speaking with Lynn and Henry.

  It was wrong to eavesdrop, but Nicole was curious. She eased her way over to her parents toward the sliding doors leading to the backyard while acting like she was trying to get Haydn away from the tree. Of course, Haydn was playing with her toddler cousin Wayne and not even close to disturbing the tree. Wayne lived in a house with a dog and Haydn knew to be gentle with kids, so she wasn’t worried about them.

  “Here, boy,” Nicole said softly, knowing Haydn wouldn’t respond to such a whisper while he was over-stimulated thanks to all the people.

  “You actually raised Danny?” her mother asked as if it was an impossible concept to grasp. Her wide-eyed expression didn’t help.

  “I don’t know if I’d call it that. We only had her until she was eight,” Henry said modestly. He swallowed hard after and covered it with a sniff. For a moment, he picked at something on his blue oxford shirt, eyes focused on that. He and Lynn had come dressed almost like this was a job interview, like they needed to impress all these people in Danny’s life, which Nicole thought spoke volumes. Has Danny noticed their effort? The nervousness?

  “Why didn’t you just keep her? It doesn’t seem like her father wanted her in the first place. You could’ve gone to court,” her father said.

  Henry scoffed as a frown conquered his face, hardening his typically genial visage. “And lost. We’re not totally without means, but that bastard has more connections in the legal system than a jacked-up computer. Plus, we didn’t have a leg to stand on. She wasn’t related to us at all.”

  Lynn backed her husband up with a slight glisten to her teal eyes. “We’ve experienced his power and how far it reaches. Believe me, nothing we did would’ve worked.”

  “For all of his connections, you could’ve found someone who hates him enough to take him to court, if only to make his life difficult for a while,” her mother said. Nicole had no doubt her mother would’ve loved the opportunity.

  Lynn shook her head. “We couldn’t put Dane at risk like that.”

  Nicole sighed and eased away. She didn’t want to hear any more of the horror and agony these people or Danny went through thanks to Danny’s father being a bastard. What would Danny’s father have done to her if the Briarmoors fought him for her? She couldn’t even imagine, and her parents probably couldn’t either, but the Briarmoors probably had nightmares over it.

  ***

  The party was awesome, but Dane felt a twinge every time she heard a child giggle and knew it wasn’t Luke or Thomas. Allison stuck close and took her mind off it a bit. This was definitely too much of a crowd for the poor kid. For the moment, they were in the music room, away from everyone. Allison breathed easy for the first time and busied herself by looking at Dane’s equipment, her fingers tapping at Dane’s keyboard.

  The room held a bit of a smell, thanks to Haydn spending so much time in it, but Dane tried her best to keep it spring fresh in there. The windows were opened, cracked in the winter months. A plug-in air freshener helped. Now, if she could get Haydn to stop drooling, she was certain the room would smell even better.

  Dane also did her best to keep order to her things, even though Haydn liked touching more than a dog should. She could only wonder what he would do if he had an opposable thumb. Allison didn’t seem to mind.

  “You should get a newer computer,” Allison said, standing in front of her laptop on top of a speaker.

  Dane shrugged. She was lucky to have that. It survived from her other life. She lost files on it, but she wasn’t sure how. She didn’t use it much, but Nicole had taken it in to make sure it didn’t have viruses or anything. Allison moved on.

  Dane watched Allison tentatively touch the few pieces of equipment she managed to collect. Allison tucked a curled, blonde lock of hair behind her ear as she inspected a guitar, hidden away in the corner. It appeared brand new, but was far from that in terms of age. Allison ran a finger along a string, but didn’t linger. Dane was about that interested in the instrument.

  Allison paused at the keyboard again, eyes locked on it and long fingers posed above the keys. She didn’t play, instead going into the pocket of her below the knee-length, red and white plaid skirt. She pulled out her cell phone.

  “This is the keyboard I was trying to talk Mom and Dad into getting.” Allison held up her phone for Dane to see.

  Dane blinked as soon as she saw the price. “You don’t need something that top of the line yet. We just started lessons.” They were barely ten lessons in. Besides, high price didn’t always mean it was the best. Allison needed to learn that.

  Allison gave her these sad eyes that tugged at all of Dane’s heartstrings. “But, I’ll get better. You said I was good for a beginner. I don’t want to have to get another one when I do get better. Isn’t that more of a waste?”

  Dane couldn’t argue that. In fact, she often found it hard to argue with Allison, which was how Dane ended up teaching her the piano in the first place. Dane had tried to get Allison to go to someone with two good hands, but Allison wouldn’t hear of it. She wanted Dane to do it. Dane wasn’t sure if it was to bond, because of Allison’s shyness, or something else. It was nice, though.

  “We’
ll talk to Henry and Lynn about this,” Dane replied, distracted as the doorbell chimed. “Lemme get that.”

  Dane moved toward the door, half expecting Allison to follow her. Instead, Allison made her way over to Nicole, which made Dane smile. Dane opened the door and was tackled around the waist by her nephews.

  “Merry Christmas!” They cheered in stereo.

  “Merry Christmas to you guys! So glad you could make it.” Dane gave them both an extra tight squeeze before turning her attention to Adam. He stood in the doorway, like he wasn’t planning to stay. It didn’t matter to her, but she could be polite when the situation called for it. “You can come in, you know?”

  Adam nodded slowly. He stepped inside and surveyed the house as he slipped off his coat. Dane shut the door and was about to take their coats, but Adam gasped.

  “What the hell are they doing here?” Adam hissed, coat back on his shoulders. He glared at Dane.

  Dane arched an eyebrow to his tone and scowled. “Who are you talking about like that?” He was insulting someone who was kind enough to attend her and Nicole’s first Christmas party. She didn’t like him enough not to throw him out on his ass for being disrespectful.

  “Them!” Adam pointed to Lynn and Henry, who thankfully looked like they were having a good conversation with Raymond and Kathleen well at the other end of the house. All four of them smiled at each other and leaned in close, so they could hear each other.

  “Them who?” Dane asked because it made no sense for him to upset with any of them.

  Adam growled with fire in his eyes. “Don’t act stupid. You know how much pain and grief those people put Mom through.”

  Rearing back slightly, Dane turned her head. “Those people? Wait, pain they put Mom through?” Dane’s eyes widened. She couldn’t believe this bullshit. “You’re the one acting stupid.”

  With a sharp frown, Adam shook his head. “I don’t know what shit you’re playing at, but I’m not letting my kids spend any time around those monsters.”