AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Thank you for forgiving me,” I said, after they finally gave me some breathing room. “But it’s time for me to go. Ms. Blake will be running your rehearsals for a little while.”
“What?” exclaimed Savannah. “We want you!”
I smiled sadly. “I want to be here, too. But you’ll have fun with Ms. Blake.”If she ever shows up. And even then, that’s not for sure.I gathered my things and waved to them.
Lisa was checking her phone and watch again. It was four ten, and Blake still hadn’t arrived. Surprise, surprise.
“Tell Blake I said hi,” I said to Lisa on my way out. Maybe that was a little juvenile, but I was so frustrated. Lisa looked back at me with doe eyes, considering asking me to stay, but she had made her choice. I couldn’t keep bailing her out.
As I opened the door to the studio and faced the parents, I realized I had one more apology to make. “I’m so sorry for the way I talked to your girls on Saturday, and for how distracted I’ve been this season. There have been . . . a lot of things going on. But that’s no excuse for how I acted. Lisa has made the decision to pull me from the teams and let Blake take over.”
There was a collective gasp from Derek and most of the moms. A couple of them shifted uncomfortably in their seats. Those must have been the ones who complained to Lisa. One of the shocked moms, Jenny, wrapped me up in a big hug. “We never wanted any of this to happen. We wantyou.”
I rested my head on her shoulder. “Thank you,” I whispered. “But that’s not what I heard.”
She pulled back and looked at me. “We’ll fix this.”
I smiled sadly. “I wish nothing but the best for your girls. They are a gift, and I wish I had treasured them more.” I waved to them all as I left. “I’ll see you around.”
On my way to my car, I finally let the tears fall freely. I had lost one of the most important pieces of myself, and my heart was broken. At least Scott would be there when I got home to help pick up the pieces.
I walked in the front door of my house, catching a glimpse of Scott and my parents watching Star Trek together on the couch. I almost hated to disturb them.
“Wait, so is Data human?” Scott asked, not noticing that I had walked in the door.
“No,” my parents answered together.
“But he still has feelings?” Scott asked.
My dad sighed. “It’s very complicated.” He looked over at Scott. “I can’t believe you’ve never watched Star Trek,” he commented.
“My parents didn’t really enjoy fiction,” Scott said. “Science or regular.”
“That’s depressing,” I said, walking into the living room and inserting myself into the conversation.
“Agreed,” Scott said, looking up at me. The smile on his face dropped as he took in my expression. “What happened?”
My dad clicked off the TV. I collapsed on the couch next to Scott and let him hold me as more tears fell. I thought there was no way my body could create more tears, but here I was again.
When I finally calmed down, I explained to them what had happened. How Lisa had put me on probation and Blake would be taking over my teams.
“I understand that I behaved badly,” I said. “I really do. But this seems a little crazy, right?”
My mom nodded. “Absolutely. She’s letting the moms take over, instead of making the tough calls.” She shrugged. “But this mom won’t stand for it. I’m pulling Katy from her team.”
I shook my head. “Don’t do that to Katy. She loves it.”
My mom sighed in resignation. “I’ll talk to Katy and ask her what she wants to do. If she knows that you won’t be running her rehearsals, I’m not sure she’ll want to go back.”
“We’ll see.” I leaned my head on Scott’s shoulder. “But now I have no job. I have to go look for something.”
“No, you don’t.” Scott squeezed my arm. “Take a break. Let yourself rest and recover. You need it.”
My parents nodded in agreement. “We’re meeting with Bethany Stone tomorrow. She seems hopeful that something in our case will explain why we haven’t received the full settlement.”
I looked back and forth at them and Scott. Last week, I would have been in full-on panic mode. I needed to provide for my family, take care of the dance studio, and handle everything they couldn’t. My eyes settled on Scott, the man I loved, holding me tight and sharing the burden with me. Relaxing into his arms, I realized he was right. I needed a break. I nodded up at him, and he smiled, understanding that I had accepted his suggestion.
“What if I take this week off from work and we just hang out?” he asked.
I beamed up at him. “That sounds awesome.”
