AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“So did you invite him?” Tamia asked, looking at me.
“‘Him’ who?”
“Don’t play stupid with me.” She rolled her eyes.
“If you’re talking about Kyle, the answer is no,” I said, zipping up one of the girls. She turned around and I put my thumb up. She looked so cute. I was happy Nana Rue and Grandma Lucy had agreed to design and pay for the costumes. Most of the girls couldn’t afford them. Nana Rue had adopted the class after I took them to see her play. After the performance the girls begged to go backstage to meet the lady with the beautiful voice. When they crowded into her dressing room, showering her with praise and kisses and compliments, Nana Rue fell in love. “You are all me,” she said, hugging each one of them tight. “You are all my girls.” From that point on, she, along with Grandma Lucy, whom she’d recruited for the project, hung out with the girls during every class session. They claimed they thought it was good for the girls, but really I thought it was good for the grandmothers too.
“Why didn’t you call him, Troy?” Tamia handed me another costume.
“Because he doesn’t want to speak to me. How many times do I have to tell you?”
“How do you know that?”
“Okay, maybe I discovered it somewhere between the eighty some-odd phone calls of mine he’s refused. No, maybe it was when he kicked me out of his hotel room in Los Angeles. No, when he refused to talk to me at the church.” I waved at Tamia. “Are you reading me now? Are you reading me?”
“You give up too easily, Troy.”
“What? Is this the woman who hated the Take Her Man Plan, now talking about not giving up on something you want?” I laughed.
“I was against that, but that was because it was for a man who didn’t deserve you in the first place. This one does and he’s worth fighting for,” Tamia said seriously. “That’s what you have to ask yourself, Troy. ‘What’s worth fighting for?’”
“I guess you’re right, Mia.” I shrugged my shoulders. “But there’s nothing else I can do about it. The man doesn’t want me. He’s made that clear.”
“That’s a shame.” Tamia exhaled softly. “I mean, just think about it…all the time you spent trying to take Julian from Miata, Kyle was trying to take you from Julian. Maybe he was trying the ‘Take His Girl Plan.’ You guys were pretty much searching for the same thing, but one of you was looking in the wrong direction.”
“I never really thought about it like that,” I said, “the Take His Girl Plan.”
“Well, I’m just saying, I always thought things would work out between you two.”
“Me too.” I shook my head.
“Well, all I have to say is don’t be jealous when you see me with my date tonight.” She playfully tapped me on the back.
“Date? To the fall pageant?”
“That’s right, trick. I have a man who loves the theater. When I told him the fabulous Troy Dancers were performing, we had to get tickets.” We both laughed.
“Sounds like a nice guy,” I said. “Why haven’t you told me about this mystery man?”
“Maybe I have. Maybe I haven’t,” she replied, handing me another costume.
The pageant turned out to be a huge success. The audience was packed, the girls looked amazing, and their dance routine went by without flaw. I’d be lying if I said I was at all surprised with how things ended up. The girls had worked so hard at their routine during the days leading up to the pageant. I never had an empty space in the studio, and with the help of a few chats with Nana Rue, even Shanika was able to move up to the front of the classroom.
As the girls walked off the stage to a standing ovation, I hugged and kissed each one of them. They looked so happy; the smiles plastered on their faces reminded me of how I’d felt after my first dance recital. By the time Shanika came skipping off the stage, I was a crying mess. I was completely overjoyed for them. They’d worked hard at something and had seen the results. That’s all I wanted for them—to see what it was like to really set their minds on something and achieve their goal. As Kyle and I had discussed that day in the park, that was the best thing I could ever teach them.
“I’m so proud of you,” I whispered in Shanika’s ear.
After I hugged her, I turned to walk back to the studio, but I heard Ms. Bessing, the settlement’s director, call the girls back on. They ran past me, storming the stage. I was a little confused, because they’d only practiced one routine for the show. Ms. Bessing asked the audience to give the girls another round of applause for their hard work. The auditorium was filled with the sound of clapping hands and I could see cameras flashing from my place backstage.
“You may not believe it, but these girls have little dance experience,” Ms. Bessing said. “They come here from diverse neighborhoods throughout New York so they can have the opportunity to learn how to dance. If it wasn’t for Kids in Motion, they really wouldn’t have had the opportunity to stand here in front of you today.” The audience began to clap again. “However, while the settlement would love to take all of the credit, without the help of one special lady, none of this would be possible,” Ms. Bessing went on.
I was about to clap, but when I realized Ms. Bessing was talking about me, my body froze. Is she talking about me? I thought looking around. All the other teachers backstage were smiling at me.
“Troy, can you come to the stage?” Ms. Bessing called.
Completely surprised, I nervously walked onto the stage. I smiled at the girls and looked into the audience. My parents were sitting in the front row with Nana Rue and Grandma Lucy dressed in outfits that matched the girls.
“The day this angel came to volunteer at Kids in Motion was a gift,” Ms. Bessing said. “Troy is one of our most dedicated teachers and while she’s busy enjoying her third year of law school, she doesn’t allow these girls to miss a beat. I really don’t know what we would do without her.”
