AllFreeNovel
Share Us
In the meantime, I head back to my car and hide the pamphlets in the glovebox. Charlie will have a full-on panic attack if she even suspects I was talking to someone about her hormones. That’s just another thing I’ll have to stumble through with Juliana’s help. How do we even broach the subject with her? The whole thing makes me feel sick to my stomach. I put on my favorite music and try to take a nap while I wait for Charlie to finish with her classes.
At some point, I hear the roar of a motorcycle and I look up to see Bones’s retreating back. In all the embarrassment of my conversation with Meredith, I’d completely forgotten about our run-in. Now he’s leaving and I’m more curious than ever. I can’t wait to tell Pocus about it, he’ll lose his shit. Bones never does anything interesting, apart from getting sent to the hospital a lot. I’m dying to know what he’s gotten himself into now.
But my curiosity is once again squashed when I look at the time and realize I need to go inside to get ready for Charlie. Her last class of the afternoon is basketball, and she’s always in a bad mood after. I keep telling her that she doesn’t have to take it if she doesn’t like it, but she keeps arguing back that I shouldn’t stifle her interests. There is absolutely no winning when there’s a teenager involved.
Just as I thought, Charlie is a sweaty, frustrated mess, and doesn’t speak to me at all on the way home. I put on classic rock just to get her to respond somehow, but she doesn’t say anything at all, just crosses her arms and stares furiously out the window. I’m grateful it’s a short drive, because I can’t take much more of the silence. It’s enough to feel physically uncomfortable.
When we get to our apartment, she stomps into the bathroom, and I hear the sound of the lock clicking. I glance over to the kitchen where Juliana is already cooking dinner. One look at me and she pauses what she’s doing to grab me a beer. She pops the top off and hands it to me as I sink down onto one of the kitchen stools.
“Rough afternoon?” she asks, though she already knows the answer.
“Rough few months,” I answer with a sigh. “Were you like this when you were thirteen?”
She laughs to herself. “Oh, honey, I was much worse. My dad hid in his room for an entire six months just to stay out of my path.”
She sighs wistfully and gets that faraway look she always gets when she talks about her parents. It’s been years since they died in a car accident, but sometimes it hits her fresh, like it just happened. I set down my beer and go to stand behind her, wrapping my arms around her waist and nuzzling my face into her neck.
“Any advice?” I murmur in her ear, hoping to take her mind off the pain.
“Wear a cup.” She laughs, turning to me and swatting me with a spatula. “I’m fine, amor,” she adds, reaching up to kiss me on the lips. “Help me set the table? Since it looks like Charlotte won’t be available for a while.”
We work in tandem, her getting dinner finished while I set the table. It’s been very important to us to always have family dinners since Charlie came to live with us. We knew she’d never had a traditional, loving family. Hell, neither had I. But Juliana had wonderful parents, and she works so hard to make us both understand what that feels like. It’s been amazing to uphold this tradition every night, even if sometimes Charlie comes to the table in a bad mood.
When she emerges from the bathroom freshly showered, though, it’s like she’s a new person. She goes to the kitchen and kisses Juliana on the cheek, thanking her profusely for dinner. She grabs cups out of a cabinet and starts filling them with ice, bringing them all over to the table and setting them at our respective places.
“What would you like to drink, Dad?” she asks sweetly, and I want to vomit from the whiplash. I look over at Juliana desperately, but she just smiles and shrugs.
“Tea,” I reply warily, hoping my choice of beverage won’t set off another round of rolled eyes and annoyed sighs.
We sit down for Juliana’s homecooked fajitas and Charlie is animated and sweet again. I think about what Meredith told me earlier. That Charlie is still, fundamentally, who she always was, but now she’s got hormones affecting her moods, and I just have to take advantage of the good times and be sensitive during the bad times. Given Charlie’s unique gift, she’s even more prone to mood swings and bursts of anger. But tonight, she’s a happy kid, telling us all about her dance class and how much she loves her teacher.
“I’m so glad she’s working out,” Juliana says. “I’ve been wanting you to try dance for a while. I was going to take you to my old dance studio if Meredith couldn’t find someone.”
“What’s your favorite style?” I ask, wanting to engage in the conversation, but also not knowing the first thing about dance.
I’d even forgotten that Charlie had dance class today. She goes to the center so much and has so many classes it makes my head spin. Juliana is so much better at keeping up with her schedule than I am, but Meredith reminded me today how important it is that I show an interest in all of Charlie’s hobbies. It will help strengthen our relationship.
“I really love hip-hop,” she says thoughtfully through a mouthful of rice. “But I think ballet is my favorite. I feel so graceful and pretty when I do it.”
“You’re always beautiful, querida,” Juliana says, taking Charlie’s chin in her hand and squeezing gently. Charlie bats her away, but there’s a hint of a hint secret smile on her lips. “I’ve been meaning to stop by and meet the new teacher,” Juliana goes on. “I’ve been thinking of asking her to hang out sometime.”
Charlie and I both look at her in shock. Me, because Juliana doesn’t generally like making new friends, and Charlie because she’s horrified that her mom would hang out with her teacher.
“Why would you do that?” I ask, putting both of our concerns into words.
“You may remember, amor, that I am still young and fun. And I love to dance,” she replies with a smile, shimmying toward me.
Charlie rolls her eyes and makes a gagging sound, causing us to break out in hysterical laughter.
“Besides, I want to get to know her better,” Juliana continues. “I think she’d get along great with everyone. There might even be a certain bachelor in the group she should get to know better.”
“Please don’t set my teacher up with one of your weird biker friends,” Charlie groans, causing us to laugh harder. My brain lights up at her words, though, and there’s a thought in the back of my mind that’s trying to claw its way out. A realization I can’t quite name. But, for now, I push it aside and take Meredith’s advice. I’m just enjoying the good times.
CHAPTERTWELVE
“And plie, plie, relevé,” Melissa instructs, walking through the pristine line of students and observing their movements.
Her expression is sheer concentration, completely focused on her students’ posture. She gently corrects anyone who isn’t perfectly postured, and helps those who are struggling to get the moves just right. She doesn’t shame any of them or reprimand them for not being perfect. She simply tells them how to do it better. If I’d had teachers like her when I was in school, I probably would have graduated. Of course, if I’d had a teacher exactly like her, we probably would’ve been caught screwing around.
