Page 82 of Healing Eleanor

The door opens, revealing a woman likely in her late fifties or early sixties. Her black hair is streaked with silver, and she wears a calf-length maroon dress layered with a cardigan. A few sewing needles are tucked through the fabric where the buttons should be. Every inch of her screams seamstress.

It isn’t her clothing that draws me in. It’s her eyes. Crystal-blue. Just like Nik’s.

It hit me then. I know exactly who I’m staring at.

“Lily, Knopochka, what brings you here?” the woman asks, her eyes sparkling with warmth. Then, as they shift to me, her smile widens. “And who do we have here?”

“Mama Rina, this is Eleanor,” Lily introduces. “The box in her shoe broke. Nik sent us to see if you might have any extra pointe shoes.” She glances down at my foot. “And… maybe a bandage too.”

Irina’s face lights up at the sound of my name, as if she recognizes me—or at least has heard of me. My stomach flutters. Has Nik talked about me?

“Eleanor,” Irina exclaims, gesturing for me to step inside. “Please, come in, Milochka.”

The room is best described as an organized chaos: fabrics of every color, pins, buttons, and sewing machines scattered in every direction. I take the metal chair she offers, the warmth of the worn seat contrasting the chill lingering from the studio, while Lily props herself against the doorway.

“Ah, here they are,” Irina announces, pulling a pair of new pointe shoes from a cluttered shelf. After carefully bandaging my foot, she adds, “Try these on, dear.”

I take the shoes from her hands, slipping them on carefully. She has me stand so she can check my arches, adjusting slightly to ensure the fit is perfect and that I won’t risk injury during rehearsal. Her attention to detail and care is comforting. At the Metropolitan, most seamstresses simply handed over the shoes and moved on—well, with the exception of Natalia.

“I think these fit nicely. What do you think, Eleanor?” Irina asks, her crystal-blue eyes warm with genuine concern.

I test a few positions, flexing and rising onto pointe to feel how the shoes support me. They aren’t broken in the way I like, but they will do for now. “I think these are perfect,” I say with a small smile, grateful for someone who seems to care.

She smiles and tilts her head. “Good.” Then she turns to Lily. “You let me know if that son of mine is being too hard. I’ll give him a stern talking-to if he’s not.” She winks.

Lily giggles. “No problem. Nik could probably still use that talk though.”

Irina snickers, wrapping her in a hug. “Oh, don’t I know it. Tell him I said to loosen up. He works too hard.”

Lily salutes playfully. “You got it, Mama Rina.”

Then Irina turns to me and, before I can brace myself, she wraps me in an unexpected hug. “It was so nice to meet you, dear. I look forward to seeing you again.”

I stiffen for half a second, then return the hug lightly, feeling completely out of place in her arms. “Me too,” I murmur. And I mean it… I think.

When Lily and I are back in the hallway heading toward rehearsal, I can’t help but feel like a complete and total idiot. How did it never occur to me that Irina is Nik’s mother? I guess since my own mother is never spoken of with tenderness, I just assume Irina must have been something else. Someone more to him than just a mom. The thought leaves me strangely hollow. To think that a mother’s love could be so unconditional, offered without expectation and given without reserve.

“Can I tell you something stupid?” I ask Lily. “But you can’t make fun of me.”

Lily arches her brow. “I’ll try my best, but no promises.”

It’s better than nothing. “I thought Irina was Nik’s wife.”

Lily bursts out laughing so hard she nearly doubles over. “You what?” Her giggles bounce off the walls of the corridor.

I nudge her shoulder, heat rising to my face. “Hey, you said you wouldn’t make fun.”

“I’m not!” she insists through tears, wiping at her eyes. “It’s just—Nik. Married. To Irina. I mean, come on. Irina is such an old lady name.”

“So is Eleanor,” I mutter without thinking.

“Well, you pull it off.” Lily snorts, still chuckling.

“Hey!” I nudge her again, though a smile tugs at my lips despite myself.

“Okay, okay, sorry.” Lily walks backwards now, giving me her full attention. “But why would you think that?”

I take a steadying breath. “Just the way everyone spoke about her. She seemed… important to him.”