Laughing, Nicole narrowed her gaze. “As if I don’t know Mina and Clara have already planned some crazy vacation thing.” Her friends were too predictable for that to not be the case.
“But, you don’t know where and how long.”
Nicole blew out a breath. “Clara can’t be gone long as she has a son, Mina has the meeting of the century on the eighth, and I now have to drive you to a job interview on the tenth.”
Danny clicked her tongue. “By the tenth.”
“Either way. We won’t be jet setting too far for too long.” She didn’t care where they went. She’d have her girlfriend and her best friends with her. It sounded like the best birthday she could ask for.
Danny’s forehead wrinkled. “Why do you know everyone’s schedule like that?”
“Someone has to keep track of things.” Nicole knew Clara’s schedule fairly well, too, just in case something happened, or they needed to plan something quickly, and Clara and Mina were the same with her. None of them were hard to keep up with.
Danny snorted. “Anyway. We’re still expected to do dinner with your parents, right?”
“Of course.” Nicole suspected she’d have birthday dinners with her parents until they were all dead. She didn’t mind it, especially since they liked Danny now.
“Enough of that nonsense. Time to waste this day.”
Nicole was about to ask what Danny meant, but sweet lips on her mouth was an excellent clue. She immediately returned the kiss. This was a post-Christmas tradition she could like.
“Not to make things depressing or anything, but you know this has been the most normal and best Christmas time for me.”
Nicole groaned. She didn’t want to think about why that was, or she might talk Danny out of the job arranged by Christine.
Danny stared down at her. “We’re going to build many good Christmas memories, right?” Her eyes looked worried, but hopeful.
Nicole cupped Danny’s face with both hands and kissed her. “Of course.”
“Then, it’s all right. Don’t hurt for me. Everything got us to this point, and I don’t regret it. I actually like knowing why my childhood was so screwed up, though. I’m not mad about it anymore.”
Nicole tried to smile, but deep down, she hurt for Danny. She caressed Danny’s cheek with one thumb, and Danny took hold of her hand.
“How did you get this way?” Nicole breathed. Danny was some kind of unicorn or other mythological creature. She knew how to walk away from a fight, knew how to accept the past was the past, and kept going despite all the horrible things hurled at her.
Danny grinned. “Why, don’t you know, this is all you? You made me this way. Screw what happened in the past. I know I have a happy future with you and that’s enough.”
“That is enough.” Nicole kissed her again. “Okay. Anything you want to tell me then is fine.”
“I don’t think there’s anything right now. I mean, all my holidays were spent alone in my room as a kid and my teen life was an unending party. This is nice and wholesome. It’s order where there used to be chaos, light where there used to be darkness, warmth when it used to be freezing, and best of all, healing where there were gaping, bleeding wounds. I love it. There were years I didn’t even know it was Christmas.”
How can you miss Christmas time? She looked deep into Danny’s eyes. “Never again.”
“I know.”
“No more messed up birthdays either. We’ll celebrate any and all holidays. There’ll definitely be more parties.”
Danny’s face lit up. “Then, we’re definitely having a cookout when it gets warm?”
The brightness on Danny’s face made Nicole grin. “Didn’t I already agree to this?”
“Who works the grill if we have a cookout?”
For some reason, the question made Nicole burst into a fit of giggles. “Does it matter?”
“Your dad thinks it’ll be you because I’m the housewife, but I could work the grill. I mean, it doesn’t look hard.” Danny sounded too eager.
Nicole laughed even more. “Baby, if you want to work the grill you can, but I thought you liked being the housewife.”
“I do, but I can work a grill!” Danny held her head up high, tilting her chin in an almost superhero-like pose. Then, she squinted and her brow wrinkled. “Um, I think anyway.” She looked back at Nicole. “I’ve never done it before.”
That was far from a surprise. “Well, we’ll have several over the course of years. You’ll get comfortable with it and you’ll be great at it and if not, I’ve got it. Okay?”
Nodding, Danny smiled. “We’re staying in bed all day?”
“I don’t have a problem with that.” Of course, they’d probably only make it through the morning, but that was enough. They’d have to get Haydn eventually and take him for a walk. For now, she was exactly where she wanted to be. She leaned in for another kiss while Danny’s hands wandered her back.
***
Once the excitement of Christmas and Nicole’s birthday passed, Dane found herself meeting with Christine’s friend about the play. Nicole wanted to drive her and took time off from work. Dane appreciated the support, as butterflies conquered her whole chest. She had never been so nervous about a gig before.
Maybe it was because she had never done anything like this. Writing a score was different from playing in a band. Was she expected to lead the score while the play went on? She had no idea. Added to that, this could be a huge step for her. It could be a real job, maybe a real career. Holy shit. The pressure from the thought felt like it might break her ribs.
“Breathe, love. Breathe.” Nicole’s voice sounded distant and low, but she was right next to Dane.
Breathing in and out, Dane felt a delicate hand making comforting circles at the small of her back. She could feel the pleasant pressure through her winter coat.
Rubbing her hands together, Dane took a deep breath as they pulled up to the theater, but her lungs burned as if she was drowning. Why was it so hard to breathe? Was the air getting thinner? That could happen in the winter, right? She took another deep breath, but it didn’t seem like enough.
“Is this crazy? This seems crazy.”
Nicole parked the car and the theater seemed to loom before them, casting a shadow over Dane’s entire sense of being. The theater wasn’t anything special. It looked like a little movie theater, with narrow red ticket booths on the side and a blank marquee with green lights, but for Dane, it seemed like some mutant monster that might devour them. The lobby doors were like a threatening maw and shadows in her mind created claws, ready to drag her to her demise.
With a smile, Nicole used her free hand to give Dane’s hand a squeeze, which helped her get a little more air somehow. “My love, it’s fine. It’s far from crazy. Give it a try. It’ll be like when we saw the Christmas show with the kids, and you wanted to do things differently. This is your chance.”
Dane managed to scoff while doing her best to not hyperventilate. The day wouldn’t get any easier with a trip to the hospital. “Since when do plays have music, anyway? I mean, like a real score. It’s weird. Maybe Christine’s pranking me.” That made more sense to her than anything else right now.
Nicole gave her a deadpan look. “Danny, Christine has done a lot to you in life, but has she ever pranked you?”
Dane cracked the knuckles in her left hand, only to realize it trembled. She held her left hand with her right and took another deep breath. Heart, I really need you to calm the hell down. “No.” A prank would’ve taken too much energy, too much planning, and would’ve meant Christine paid her some mind. Okay, the lack of oxygen is making me crazy.
“Just go in and see what it’s about. Try it on for size. What if it fits?” Nicole said.
“Then I’d owe her.” The idea of owing Christine a damn thing didn’t sit well with Dane and caused a sneer to cut through her face. Yeah, she was trying to do something with Christine, but she wasn’t sure if she wanted this to be the “something.”
If this worked, she’d have a better job thanks to Christine. The idea made her want to throw up and the way her throat burned, she might.
“Baby, she didn’t get you the job. She just put the bug into a friend’s ear. This isn’t a sure thing unless you wow them. It’s you, not Christine.”
Dane nodded. This was true. The gig wasn’t a sure thing. Christine never said she had the job and when she got the call about it, ‘the friend’ didn’t seem eager to give her the gig. She needed to interview. She had to impress the guy in charge. She needed to earn the gig, like any other gig.
“It’ll be you, Danny, not Christine. You.” Nicole squeezed her hand again and continued rubbing circles on her back. “Music flows through you, pours out of you. It’s how you experience the world and you can bring others into it. You can bring others into another world of this play.”
Dane finally started breathing normally and her mind stopped spinning. “I can’t put it past Christine, Nick. She feels threatened by you and Lynn. There’s no way for her to yoyo me like she used to do. I feel like she’ll do just about anything.”
Nicole shook her head. “You’re right to be suspicious, but don’t go in there thinking like that. You can ask the guy about his relationship with Christine if you want. You can test the waters to see if this is already a sure thing and walk away if you don’t like it, but at least go in there to find out. Don’t sit here assuming everything.”
Dane nodded and swallowed around a lump in her throat. She wasn’t sure what this fear was, but it felt like something deeper than doubting Christine. What if this was fear of moving forward? Fear of being better? If she got the gig, then it was something real. It was a paycheck beyond the pocket change she picked up tutoring. She wouldn’t have any excuses anymore. She would suddenly be living a real adult life. This was scary.
“Come on, love. You don’t want to be late.” Nicole kissed the corner of Dane’s mouth.
Dane sighed, but Nicole was right. She didn’t want to mess up an incredible opportunity. If she was late and still got the gig, then it was a sure thing, right? It meant Christine had set everything up and tried to buy her affection once again. Then, maybe she did want to be late, not that Nicole would let her. If the game wasn’t rigged, then she was certain she could wow them. If the game was rigged, then she’d run away from the whole mess as fast as she could. She wouldn’t let Christine ruin her life again.
“Wish me luck.” Dane opened her door.
“You’ll do fine,” Nicole assured her with a bright smile.
Dane wasn’t sure about that, but grinned at Nicole anyway. The cold air hit Dane and managed to help focus her. She marched into the small theater, looking for the producer. She went from the tiny, deserted lobby into the theater proper. There wasn’t much life in the building beyond what looked like auditions on the stage. There were a few people there, holding scripts, but they didn’t seem to be doing anything else. She figured one of the guys sitting in the audience was the man she needed to see. Before she could get down to them and ask, another man came up to her.
“Hey, are you here for auditions?”
“No, my name is Dane. I’m here to see Calvin Mason about music.”
He nodded. “He said something about you showing up. Hold on. I’ll get him.” He rushed over to two of the men and pointed back at her. They nodded and rose.
“Dane Wolfe?” the older and taller of the two men asked. He was dressed in a sharp, black suit and reminded her a little of Raymond. He had facial hair that was so well groomed, it had to be done by a professional. His brown hair was done in a perfect, short haircut.
“Calvin Mason?” Dane put her hand.
“Yes.” Calvin shook her hand, giving her a firm grip. “This is the director, Andrew Mason.” He motioned to the younger man by his side. He was dressed casually in skinny, brown pants and a button-down red shirt with the sleeves rolled up. He had no facial hair and a tumble of messy dark brown curls on the top of his head.
“Nice to meet you.” Dane went to shake Andrew’s hand. It was weak, and he pulled his hand back quickly, his lip curling into a sneer. Maybe this isn’t a sure thing. The director didn’t seem impressed with her and turned away from her as soon as he could.
“I’ll have someone show you to the office. Give us a second to finish up with this,” Calvin said, motioning to the stage.
Dane nodded. “That’s fine.”
She allowed herself to be led to a desk backstage by a wall. It wasn’t a well-lit space, but it was away from the traffic of production. It smelled of dust, wood, and stale air. When was the last time this place actually saw a play?
There were plenty of props and objects littering the place, creepy masks, bowling pins, a pile of clothes, broken tree cutouts, ballet shoes, and other things. She noticed a bent, discolored trumpet, snare drum, and a dusty piano off to the side, but didn’t think anything of them. In the corner, it looked like there might be more instruments, but they were blocked by a ladder and tarp. They’d have to clean the place up, unless they wanted everyone to work in a junkyard. She unzipped her coat and took a few breaths to make sure to stay calm. Barely a couple of minutes later, Calvin and Andrew sat across from her.
“Sorry for the mess and the fact that this is the office for the moment. The theater was full of junk we don’t need, so we’re trying to clear away the clutter and the office is a temporary storage area, as are most of the rooms,” Calvin explained.
Dane shook her head. “It’s fine.” She didn’t care about the mess now that the guys in charge were in front of her.
Calvin smiled a little and leaned forward. “You came highly recommended for this project by Christine Wolfe.”
Dane wasn’t sure what to make of that. Surely Calvin knew she was related to Christine, same last name and all. Did he know Christine was her birth mother? It was kind of an open secret around their neighborhood and certain social circles, like everyone knew, but no one said anything. They pretended Dane fell out of the sky or was born from a rock and the Wolfes had been magnanimous enough to allow her to dwell among them. She wasn’t sure how it worked outside the neighborhood, though. People probably gossiped. He had to know.
“She seems to think I’d be a good fit for this, but I don’t even know what this is,” Dane admitted. Why the hell did a play need a score when it wasn’t a musical?
Andrew grunted. “Then what are you doing here?”
“Because I make music and you need music,” Dane replied as if it was obvious. This was feeling less and less like a sure thing because of Andrew. He seemed to have something against her already, glaring at her as if she had done him wrong.
Andrew crossed his arms. “We don’t need music,” he spoke through gritted teeth.
“Excuse us for a second.” Calvin stood and pulled Andrew away.
Dane watched them go off to the far end of the room, as if they were about to walk back to the audience. Calvin was all glowers with his hands on his hips with Andrew waving his arms. Director and producer seemed to be at odds over the play having music. Dane wondered if this was some kind of compromise, like Calvin had wanted a musical and Andrew didn’t, so they settled on a play with music. In the end, Calvin returned to the table while Andrew disappeared back into the audience area.
“Forgive me,” Calvin said as he sat down.
“It’s all right.”
“Like I said, Christine Wolfe sang your praises when I told her I was looking for someone to produce a score for this play. Unfortunately, for all her wonderful words, she didn’t have any recent music of yours for me to sample. Everything was years old, but it was enough for me to want to meet with you.”
Dane’s brow furrowed. Christine had samples of her music? It was probably one of Christine’s weird ways of 'keeping track of her’ and being close without being close. Whatever.
“I haven’t really made anything recently. I’ve mostly been tutoring people on different instruments, but if you want to hear somethin
g.” Dane nodded toward the instruments in the back, hoping there was more than what she first saw. It hadn’t occurred to her to bring recorded samples of her work, not that she had any. “You can go pick any one of those at random and then pick an emotion and I bet I can make you feel it.” Is this the right thing to say on an interview? Is it even an interview? Her mother seemed connected to Calvin, not Andrew. Calvin also seemed to be the boss.
Leaning forward on the creaky, dusty desk, Calvin rubbed his palms together. His brown eyes danced. “Confident, aren’t you?”
Dane shrugged. “Not so much confident. Think about if someone asked you to breathe like you usually do. That’s music for me.”
He nodded and glanced over at the pile of instruments. “And anyone of those?”
She took a closer look. “Well, maybe not the tuba.” Why there was a tuba over there baffled her. Was there a marching band scene? Maybe it was part of the ‘junk’ Calvin mentioned. You’re off track. Is this what people go through on job interviews all the time?
“But, you don’t have any of your own music?”
Dane scrunched up her face and held up a messy portfolio Nicole forced her to put together. “I haven’t had a chance to record anything, but I’ve got plenty of written work.” She put it on the desk. She had some equipment to record, but she never saw the point, even when this meeting loomed over her. She was used to people knowing her when she booked gigs. She hadn’t thought she’d need to play here.
Calvin took the portfolio and opened it. He had to read music from the way he studied it and nodded ever so slightly. He then looked up at her.
“Play this one for me.” He pushed her song in front of her.
“You wanna pick the instrument?” It seemed like it’d be a good challenge, a way to prove herself since this didn’t seem to be a shoo-in.
“Christine said you’re brilliant on the guitar. I think the one over there is missing strings, though. What can you do with that keyboard?”
Learning to Walk Again Page 12