Dances with Monsters

by D. C. Ruins

  She nodded and stepped toward the door. He held it open for her and she walked through, catching a scent of jasmine and hyacinth in the air, which further agitated her. She noticed that in addition to the lavender pain on the walls, there was a swirling, cream colored border that had been painted at the very top and very bottom of each wall. She liked it, and it pissed her off. She turned the corner and saw that there was another short hallway before, with some sort of large room to her left and more wall to her right. The room had a long window and she rushed up to it to see what was inside. When she saw what it was, her jaw practically hit the floor and something like rage curled in her stomach.

  "Heath," she said in a strangled voice. "This—these fuckers—it's a studio!"

  Heath stepped up next to her and his eyes scanned what she was seeing. The window peeked into a large room. One wall was floor-to-ceiling mirrors. A parallel double barre ran the length of two of the other walls. The floor was wooden, shiny and new. Drew was utterly flabbergasted.

  Heath let out a low whistle. "Wow. I—I didn't see this coming. I thought this would be like a spa or like you said, a bakery or something like that. This—wow."

  Drew backed up until her back hit the wall behind her, and then she noticed another room further down the hall. She glared and stormed toward it.

  "Oh, they have two studios," she said mockingly. The back studio was dark, but through the window she could see herself and Heath reflected dimly in it. It had a push-door that was currently shut. She glanced to her left, seeing a little sitting area in front of the studio room, and beyond that was another little room, probably an office. She could make out the vague shape of a desk and what might have been a bookshelf in the little room, but it was dark. She growled as she turned to face the studio again, and stepped toward the door. "I have to see this."

  "Drew, hang on," he said. "I think you need to calm down.

  "I am –" A sudden creaking noise from somewhere in the building met their ears, and she froze. Shit. She'd gotten so overwhelmed and carried away with her hurt and irritation that she'd forgotten—someone actually owned this place, and even though the door was unlocked, they might not appreciate her poking around.

  "Someone's here," she whispered to Heath. "Okay, if anyone asks, we're here because—because we have a kid and—and we want her to start taking lessons –"

  "Or," Heath whispered back dramatically, mocking her stage whisper. "We're here because you own this place and you have every right to be here."

  "Right," Drew said absently, barely hearing him as her mind whirled. It was a likely story, one that could be believed; they were old enough to believably have a child of dancing age, and besides that, why would the owner leave the door unlocked if they didn't –

  "Wait," she said suddenly, looking up into his face as she realized what he'd said. "Say what, now?"

  In response, Heath took her by the hand and pushed the door open. Her heart began to thud in her chest and it all came together in the instant before he turned on the lights. Fragments of conversations about her dream studio that they'd had suddenly came back to her, the questions he asked echoing through her mind, and the understanding that this was her place hit her as the studio was suddenly bathed in bright light and she found herself looking into the faces of both their families. Happy faces, excited faces, loving faces.

  "Surprise!"

  Drew didn't even register that she was crying until her vision became so blurry she had to stop and rub her eyes. Then, she was being rushed by all of the people in the room. Her parents, her sisters. Bunz. Her nieces and nephews. Her brothers-in-law. Her dear Uncle Gino. John. Connor and Lana. Lucy and Maggie. They swarmed around her and hugged her, squeezed her, kissed her. Congratulated her, told her they loved her. She was overcome by the force of their love, and it was all directed at her. She felt light-headed; feeling the true power of love in its purest form was transcendental.

  This is mine, she thought, and cried harder. This is my dream and it's real.

  She hoped that she was being responsive to her loved ones—making the proper answers, hugging people back, but she could not seem to connect her mind and body. She was just too stunned.

  Heath elbowed his way through the small crowd to her side, and she saw he held a large manila envelope in his hand as well as a set of keys. With her favorite half-smile, he handed them to her.

  "Your ownership paperwork, and the keys," he said simply. "Congratulations, babe."

  Drew took them from him weakly. He did all of this, she realized. He did this for me. She felt an overwhelming surge of love for him as she looked into his eyes. She wanted to thank him a million times, tell him how lucky she was to have someone like him in her life, tell him that she couldn't believe he had done something so amazingly thoughtful and kind for her, tell him that he had just made her life's dream come true.

  "You are in so much trouble," was all she could manage.

  His half-smile spread fully across his face into the grin she loved. "I'll take it," he said simply, using his thumb to brush tears off her face.

  Elements was forgotten as the two families celebrated this new milestone achievement. Her mother had brought aluminum pans of spaghetti and lasagna. Bunz had baked and decorated a glorious cake, white almond sponge cake with raspberry preserves and cream cheese filling, topped with mounds of extra-light, fluffy whipped frosting, Drew's absolute favorite. Bunz had decorated it with a pair of pink pointe shoes, tied together with their ribbons. Connor popped the top on a couple bottles of sparkling juice, and everyone sat together on the floor of the backroom studio and just—celebrated.

  The pinnacle of the night came when everyone walked outside and gathered in front of the studio. Heath flipped a switch inside, then came out and pulled on a thin rope, one that Drew had missed when they'd arrived earlier. The canvas tarp covering the sign fell to the ground, and Drew's heart caught in her throat. Illuminated in a soft glow of lights in the dark of the night, her sign—her sign!—shone softly.

  Inspiration Dance Academy.

  She began to cry all over again.

  There was much to work out. There was advertising and building clientele. There was selecting and organizing all her dance classes. There was artwork to put on the wall. There were class fees to decide on and select. And, she thought as she set her jaw determinedly, there was a business contract to be drawn up with Heath in regards to repaying him for his investment. No matter what he said, she would pay him back every last red cent, with interest.

  But for now, she was content to stand there on sidewalk, surrounded by her family—for Bunz and the Rileys were under that umbrella as much as her blood relations were—and wrap herself in the arms of a man that she loved with every fiber of her soul, a man who had loved and healed her past the horrific trauma of her past, and given her so much.

  As she smiled up into his face, and pulled him down so she could relay her emotion for him with her lips, she knew that God truly lived among them in this land of monsters.

  Epilogue

  Heath strolled into the studio, glancing at his watch. He knew that Drew's last class on Wednesdays let out momentarily. They were both so busy these days; the dance academy was becoming more and more successful every day, every week. Drew still worked at the bakery most days during the week, but her evenings were spent at the studio, teaching. She'd gained so many pupils—including his nieces—that she'd hired two extra teachers, and the second studio was already being used. She was currently exploring hiring on a few more teachers as well.

  Heath was equally as busy with the gym. If he wasn't giving private lessons, he was teaching his women's self-defense class, or dealing with the day to day happenings of managerial life. It was a lot of work, but the level of satisfaction he got for being solely responsible for everything more than made up for it. In addition, he was training for another huge tournament—Ultimate Warrior II.

  He and Drew spent as much time together as possible, however. In fact, their
date tonight wasn't just a random meal together, at least not to him. He planned to ask her if she wanted to move in together. He already knew what her answer would be, since they slept over at each other's places several nights a week as it was, and she had just as many personal belongings at his apartment as she did at hers, but he felt nervous nonetheless. It was a huge step for him, but one he knew was the next natural one in the progression of their relationship. He already knew he wanted to spend every one of his days with her, and her alone.

  The door to the back studio pushed open and two dozen young girls flew out in a mob of chattering, screaming, excited noise. There were parents in the front of the studio and in the sitting area waiting for them, and before long, the studio was empty and quiet again. Heath lounged in the doorway of the little back office where Drew was putting some props she'd used with the class away. Their first recital was just around the corner and they were in rehearsals now.

  She grinned up at him as he reached out for her, and stretched up on her toes to give him a kiss. She was still in her leotard, dance pants and the long-length cardigan she'd worn for class.

  "You ready?" he asked, knowing she wouldn't change since they weren't going anywhere fancy. "I'm starved. So are you," he added with an eye-roll as her stomach sounded off as if on cue.

  She laughed. "I am, but I want to show you something first." She took him by the hand and led him into the studio. "I was workin' on something today."

  "Oh, yeah?" he asked. "New dance?"

  "Yeah. Not for the recital. Just because. I was inspired."

  "What inspired you today?" he asked, amused. Drew was infamous for finding inspiration for dances everywhere, which sometimes included the way two squirrels chased each other, or the smell in the air after it rained, or the way a tree blew in the breeze.

  She walked over to the sounds system in the corner, and met his eyes in their reflection in the mirror. She smiled slightly.

  "You," she said simply.

  "I inspired you?" he repeated.

  "Yes. You're extremely inspirational." She pulled off her cardigan and looked at him again. "Just watch. And listen." She hit a button and hurried to the middle of the floor.

  The music began, and so did she. At first it was just a melody on a piano, but then a hip-hop beat dropped and the style of her dance changed from graceful ballet movements to a raw, emotional lyrical dance.

  Watch, and listen, she'd said, so as Heath watched her with the admiration he always felt when he watched her dance.

  She mouthed towards him two words: “My champion.”

  To his complete surprise and amazement, he actually felt his throat tighten, just a little, and his eyes burn, ever so slightly. The words touched a part of him he didn't really know existed within himself. He met Drew's eyes in the mirror again as she watched him, dancing still. She didn't smile with her lips, but her eyes crinkled at the corners.

  You're an inspiration, they said. You're a champion.

  For the first time in his life, he believed it.