AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 24
AtthreethirtyMondayafternoon, I pulled into the dance studio parking lot. This morning, I called Mark and explained that I wouldn’t be working for him any longer. He was kind and understanding, but asked for me to send any recommendations his way. I spent the rest of the morning at Amy’s house, having an “emergency girls session” with her and Hannah. Once again, I realized that I had the most incredible support system: people who truly loved me and my family and wanted to help in any way they could.
But now, I was here at the studio and ready to talk to Lisa. I gathered myself mentally, determined to be strong, and walked into the studio. I knocked on the door to Lisa’s office.
“Come in,” Lisa called.
As I walked in the door, I noticed the frown on her face. “Please sit,” she said stiffly.
I sat in the seat across from her, ready to launch into my explanation of why I wouldn’t cover for Blake’s teams anymore. But before I could say anything, she spoke. “Ivy, I’m so sorry to do this. But I have to put you on temporary probation.”
My eyes widened. “I’m sorry, what?”
She pressed her lips together. “After what happened with your teams, and the way you spoke to your novice girls, the moms complained about your coaching abilities and asked for you to be removed.”
“Oh.” I felt like I swallowed a rock. “What does that mean, exactly?”
She looked down at her desk, scratching the back of her neck. “You’ll be removed from your coaching and teaching responsibilities for the next two months. Without pay.”
I blinked fast. Not only was I losing the money from helping with Blake’s teams and the catering jobs, now I’d havenomoney coming in. At all. But I had more questions. “And who is going to cover my teams?”
“Blake.”
I laughed out loud. “You didn’t bother to tell the parents that she’s done nothing this year? Literally, nothing? That every one of her teams wasmychoreography, costuming, staging, and rehearsing?”
Her eyes darted around the room. She was too afraid to look at me. “You know these moms, Ivy.”
“Yeah, I do!” I swiped at the angry tears that fell. “But I also know that you haven’t been giving me the credit I deserve, while Blake gets all the praise. You worked me to the bone and let her take the credit.” I stood up. “You do what’s best for your business. All I ask is that I can apologize to the novice minis today.”
Lisa stared at me, stunned. “Yes. Yes, of course,” she stammered. “But Blake will be there to run the rehearsal after you leave.”
I nodded and stood up, pushing my chair back and storming out of the room. I ran to the bathroom and hid in one of the stalls while I tried to gather my thoughts and prepare to face the minis.
My phone buzzed.How did it go?Scott had sent me a text.
I squeezed my eyes shut to keep any more tears from falling. I couldn’t walk into the rehearsal at four, looking like a crazy mess. I typed out a quick response.Not well. I’ll be home around four thirty.
I’ll be there, came his quick reply.
I sighed with relief at his response. I’d figure out the money side of things later. For now, I had to concentrate on my apology. I unlatched the bathroom door, splashed a little bit of water on my face, and decided I just looked like I had a bad case of allergies instead of hysterically sobbing. Good enough. It was time to face my little girls. I headed into Studio A, taking a deep breath as I walked into the room. Lisa stood in the corner, checking her watch and her phone. As expected, Blake wasn’t here.
Surveying the group, I felt a nervous energy in the air. The poor girls were terrified of me. They wouldn’t look me in the eye and huddled together in the room.
“Hey, girls,” I said gently. “I won’t be running your rehearsal today, but we need to talk first. Let’s sit in a circle.” They followed my command and sat in a little circle cross-legged, their eyes down in their laps.
“I need to apologize,” I began. Eight little heads popped up and looked at me. I looked each one of them in the eye. “I am so sorry to all of you girls. You deserved better than me as a coach, and I let you down.”
“We let you down, Ms. Ivy,” Raelynn spoke up. “We forgot our dance.”
I shook my head. “No, Raelynn. It wasn’t your fault.” I took in a shaky breath. I never knew apologizing to seven-year-olds would be so difficult. I willed myself not to cry. “I didn’t spend the time and attention on you girls that I should have. But more importantly, I was very unkind to you after your performance. For many of you, that was your first time performing a competition piece. You should have had fun and been happy. We should have celebrated. But instead, I was rude and hurt your feelings. I am very sorry, and I promise I will never speak to you girls that way again.”
The girls nodded solemnly.
“Can you forgive me?” I asked.
They took that as their cue to rush over and smother me with hugs and giggles. I wished I could enjoy this moment and let their lightness fill my soul, but instead, I had to leave them in Blake’s hands.
Who still wasn’t here.
