Page 8 of Everything's Better With You
Joe picked the petite Black woman up with his big hug and they spun around in a circle.
“It’s so good to see you, although I probably should have known that you were going to be here.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “Yeah, youshouldhave because you should have called and told me you were coming. What the hell are you doing here?”
Joe barked out a laugh and looked around. “Would you believe considering a job offer?”
She blanched. “Here?You?”
“Right? That’s what I’m saying!”
Marti appraised him for a moment. “They want you to come coach cheer, huh? President Payton was talking about a lot of changes, guess you’d be one of them.”
Joe nodded. “Cheer, yes, and he mentioned me starting up a dance program. Like I would have any idea how to do that.”
Instead of agreeing with him, Marti narrowed her eyes.
“You do realize that’s a fabulous idea and that you’d be great.”
Joe sighed. “Not you, too. How can you possibly think—”
“You know your stuff,” she said. “You may not be the most upstanding citizen, and you may lack academic status, but you knowdance. You know the ins and outs of the dance world better than any academic would, and you definitely have the credibility. Why not?”
“I need protein before I try to unpack all that. Come on, I’ll treat you to some borderline toxic meat products and artery-clogging side dishes, and then we can watch kids beat the crap out of each other in the name of victory.”
Marti put her arm around him and laughed. “I’ve missed your cheerful disposition, my friend.”
Joe said hi to a bunch of folks he recognized but didn’t remember their names. He tried to smile and look engaged, but he really wanted to sit in a corner and brood. Marti’s comments hadn’t helped.
Joe’s life for the past fifteen years had consisted of concert tours, TV and film appearances, and stage productions. He had a modest apartment in West Hollywood for home base, but otherwise he was constantly on the move. He’d achieved most of the career goals on his bucket list, and at thirty-six the offers were fewer and farther between with more choreography jobs than performances these days.Dance Machinewas his steady gig, he was contracted for the next three seasons for that show for choreography and guest appearances, but then what? He couldn’t keep up with the younger dancers considering the injuries he’d been nursing for years. How much longer could he sustain this lifestyle? What if this was his best option?
It was hard not to be depressed by that. Had he really done all he’d set out to do? Was he ready to settle down and be a college cheer coach?
Joe and Marti found a spot and sat down away from the rest and Joe took a bite of his veggie burger.
“Not half bad,” he said. “Maybe I could survive here.”
“They had veggie sausages too, and bottles of kombucha.” Marti held up her bottle and took a sip. “Not bad at all. Things have changed. Modernized some. They’re not in the dark ages anymore. My son will be a freshman here next year.” She gazed at him with her eyebrows raised. “He wants to cheer.”
“That’s great,” Joe said. “But how is it possible that you have a kid old enough to start college? I swear I was just sending you gifts for your baby shower yesterday.”
Marti laughed. “Terrence and I celebrated too thoroughly aftergraduation? I don’t know. We’d always planned to get married and have kids.” She shrugged. “Guess we got to it right away. They’re here somewhere.”
“Well I’m sure the little bundle of joy will be great in college.” He laughed. “Terrell is a great kid. He didn’t have a choice not to be with you two for parents.”
After college, Marti and Terrence had stayed in the Kansas City area, where they were both originally from. Joe had tried to persuade her to take a shot at a career in dance but she wanted to stay home and be mom to her rambunctious kid with more dancing talent than she could keep up with.
“Mm hmm. He’s a good boy. He’s not ready to get out from under his parents’ thumbs. He didn’t want to stay home and go to community college so Terrence encouraged him to apply here and he got in. We’ll still be close by but he’ll be in the dorms. He struggled a bit in school so we wanted him to be in a nurturing environment.”
“I can relate.” Joe had agreed to attend Greenvale for a similar reason. Perhaps the two of them had more in common than he imagined.
“If he knows you’re coaching cheer, I’m sure he’ll try out.”
Joe winked. “If he’s anywhere near as good as you, he’ll make it.”
Marti had been a flawless performer. She was a compelling dancer with so much stage presence she had to hold back sometimes to keep from overshadowing the rest of the team. She was also a skilled flyer, meaning she had the strength, confidence and technique necessary to be tossed in the air and land precisely where she was needed, or she could stand stock still on a stunter’s shoulders and turn herself into a pretzel if she was asked to. The world was at her feet, but she chose marriage with a side of super mom for Terrell and a career teaching at a dance studio.
She grinned at him and then got serious. “I’d love to know he was in good hands.”
