Page 46 of Full Throttled

I hear him moving around on the other end of the line. “Where are you?”

“I’m at work. Can you grab me a different shirt at least from my room? I really don’t want to wear my work shirt.”

He chuckles a bit. “Of course, anything in particular you want?”

“Just a long sleeve shirt please. The autumn air has a bit of a chill to it.” I was always a spring or summer girl, but Drake always loved autumn. Secretly, it made me like it a little bit more.

I hear the squeak of my bedroom door. “Damn, Zo, remind me to fix that shit,” Zayde comments about the squeaking.

I sigh. “It’s not that big of a deal. I mean in comparison to where I was living, the clubhouse and it’s squeaky door is like a castle.” I laugh at my joke, but apparently Zayde doesn’t find the humor in it. I can feel his mood change over the line of the phone.

A muffled growl comes from him and I bite my tongue as I wait to see what his reaction will be. “Look, you’ve got to stop trying to make a joke out of what you’vebeenthrough while you were gone. I don’t find it funny and it grates on my damn nerves and causes issues with my temper, which I’m trying really hard to calm.”

“I’m sorry,” I tell him quickly. “I didn’t mean to upset you. I know it wasn’t a joke and hearing about my past bothers you, but I laugh to keep my head level. I know it might not make much sense, but being able to laugh about it makes me feel better about the situation. I don’t mean to upset you.”

“I know you don’t, but it brings out the worst side of me. I’m trying really hard to let all of the shit in our past go.”

“I know you are. I’m proud of you, Zayde.” I take a deep breath because I know how much those few words will mean to him. They are such simple words, but they hold such a powerful punch. They can mean so much, but in our family, with our father, they were words you rarely got to hear, if ever.

Zayde clears his throat. “Thanks,” he mumbles. I hear the truck door shut. “I’ll be there in a few.” The call disconnects and I sit there waiting in silence for Zayde’s headlights which appear in record time. I don’t even want to ask how fast he drove to get here. I hop out of the car and rush towards him. He holds out the clothes and shoes to me. “Go get dressed, I'll wait here and we can go to the recital together.”

I pause. “You’re going?”

He nods. “Yeah, Aubree asked me if I was coming and I love that little girl. I’d go sit through every damn dance recital in the world if she asked me to. Actually, most of the guys from the club will be there.”

I nod and smile before turning and heading back into the shop. I rush past Victor, “Got to use the restroom,” I tell him, as I hold up my clothes in the air. I hear him chuckle as I shut the door.

We barely arrive in time for the recital. I notice Drake scanning the entrance in the back as we walk through. His shoulders sag in relief when our eyes meet. I give him a small smile before Zayde and I make our way to where Drake, his family and the guys from Sons of Sin are sitting. Arbor waves at me from her seat next to Stryker.

I take a seat next to Drake and his hand instantly grips mine. He leans in just as the music starts. “I was starting to get worried about you.”

“I’m sorry. The shop got slammed, Victor was late because of a wreck and traffic jam, then my car wouldn’t start so I had to wait for Zayde to detour to come get me.”

Drake’s eyes soften, the stress fading away. “You didn’t have to rush to get here. You could have missed it with all that going on.”

I squeeze his hand. “It’s important to Aubree, so it’s important to me.”

His eyes say everything that our words can’t in this moment. He loves me. He may still be learning to trust me, but he does love me. Tonight though has shown him how hard I’ll try for him and Aubree because they’re important to me. I love them both and I’m not going anywhere.

Drake and I manage to draw our attention away from one another and up to the stage where the group dance is happening. All the kids, of all ages, that attend Tip Toes are doing the opening and closing number. Right now they are currently dancing to Monster Mash. Aubree is easy to spot with brown ringlets bouncing and an even brighter costume.

We ended up taking purple leotard and leggings and sewing on strips of sequins that are pink, silver and turquoise and making a petticoat skirt of the same colors to make Aubree her own version of Cheshire. Arbor hand made her a pair of cat ears and a tail to complete the costume. She, without a doubt, has the brightest costume on stage, but nothing matches the smile on her face.

We sit through performance after performance until finally the toddlers age group takes the stage. Londynn felt so bad about Aubree not being drawn to play a skeleton, that she moved the music around the groups so that the toddlers could dance to “This Is Halloween” from The Nightmare Before Christmas. The lights go out and the song starts. Soon each character in the dance act appears in a spotlight with Aubree in the middle, front and center. The sense of pride that blooms in my heart is unexpected.

This little girl may not have a single drop of my blood in her veins, but I know that I couldn’t love another child any more than I do her. She dances to perfection, then again, I’m biased and she is only three, but it’s the smile on her face that makes you keep your eyes on her.

As the final dance comes to an end, we all stand up to applaud the kids' hard work as well as the teachers that take the time to spend with them. As soon as they are dismissed, Drake squeezes my hand before grabbing a bouquet of bright multi-colored daisies. I’m not sure how I missed them before, but Aubree is going to love them. There’s also a box of candy and stuffed unicorn that will probably get stuffed on the shelf in her room because nothing is as good as Jack.

I watch as he makes his way to Aubree. She jumps into his arms and squeals with delight. His entire face lights up and this right now is a memory I never want to give up. Aubree’s eyes land on me and she claps excitedly. “Zoey!”

Drake puts her feet on the ground and she comes running to me, while Drake hollers for her not to run in the crowd. I get down to her level and open my arms just in time for her to run into them. Today has been a hectic, stressful mess, but in this moment with these two people I forget about all that. This is what is important. “You came!”

I pull back just enough to see her big blue eyes that look just like her father’s. “Of course, I did. I couldn’t miss you dancing.”

“The costume was so good!”

I laugh. “It was. You made Cheshire proud.”

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