Page 11 of Something Stronger
I went through all the desserts with her, and she settled on this sundae that was made with chocolate ice cream and M&Ms. She requested whipped cream and a cherry too. By the time she finished, it was dark out. We walked back to our cars, said our goodbyes, and I headed home all the while playing her words through my head. “He doesn’t come to my stuff, you do.” I would talk to Charlie about this tonight when I brought upthe idea of Amy moving to the more advanced class. I hoped he would listen and actually hear what I was telling him, but part me worried that all of it would fall on deaf ears as many of our conversations do. Only time would tell; I only hoped my daughter wouldn’t be the collateral damage.
Chapter 7
5 years ago
Louisiana
“Did you see that?” Amy came running up on the porch. Charlie and I were relaxing on the porch swing, and she’d been working on tricks in the yard.
“I did. When did you learn to do that?” I smiled as she beamed with pride. I knew her teacher had been working on her side aerial for weeks, but Amy kept putting her hand down. Her teacher said she knew she could do it, she just lacked confidence. I was waiting for the day when she would try it without putting her hand down.
“I just…” she paused for a moment. “I don’t know, I just did it.” She rushed back into the yard and flipped again.
“Isn’t she kinda young for those tricks?” Charlie glanced at me, concern shadowing his face.
“Not really. If you saw some of the other girls in her class, you’d see this is actually right where she should be.”
“But, isn’t she dancing with a group that’s two years older than she is?” He seemed a little worried that I wasn’t more concerned for her safety or something.
“She is, but it’s because she’s advanced. There are kids her age who are landing these tricks. She wants to compete in solosone day, and this is how she gets there.” I shrugged. If her teachers thought she was ready, I wasn’t planning to hold her back. “You should come to the competition next weekend. It’s a real eye-opener to see these girls dance,” I suggested.
“Ok, I’ll try. I think I can probably go for some of it.” The fact that he even agreed surprised me. Usually dance was just us girls and Charlie watched through pictures and video.
“Mama, look!” Amy shouted as she took off running and began a tumbling pass. “You think when I’m bigger, I could do cheer?”
“Maybe. We’ll have to see how much time you have. Dance takes up a lot of time right now.”
“When would she have time for cheer?” Charlie grumbled.
“I don’t really know what you’re worried about. It’s usually just her and me at all these things. I’m the one at the studio and all the competitions. How would her adding more to her schedule affect you?” I snapped. I was over it. Charlie hadn’t come to any dance stuff since the first year she took lessons. He didn’t come to school functions, and if he weren’t writing the checks each month to pay for the stuff, you’d never know he was there.
“All of this is expensive, and someone has to pay for it,” he griped.
“You know, she’d rather have your time than your money.” I rolled my eyes. I was so tired of him playing the card of cost. I was working now too, and yes, dance was expensive, but we were not close to struggling.
“If I don’t work, then I can’t pay for this, and then there’d be nothing for me to go to,” he snapped.
“I just can’t with you sometimes. All we do is bicker. Just go to the office, if that’s where you want to be.” I stood and went inside. I needed to get away for a few minutes before I said something I didn’t mean. Amy had already made a comment afew weeks ago that Daddy and I always seemed to be mad at each other. It was times like these that made me question why I was still here. The hard part was that I still loved him and I knew the guy I fell in love with was still in there somewhere, and every once in a while, he would make an appearance.
Ooooooooo
“Rise and shine.” I rubbed Amy’s back to wake her. “Gotta get up. It’s competition day.” Her eyes flew open and she sat up.
“I packed last night.” She pointed to the dance bag on the floor by her closet. “Can you check to make sure I didn’t miss anything?”
“I will if you start getting ready.” I smiled as I stood from where I was perched on her bed and went over to unzip the bag. She had tights, shoes, hair accessories, socks, extra clothes, and her makeup kit. “We need a brush,” I called as I stood and made my way over to her dresser.
“I was waiting until I fixed my hair,” she called from the bathroom.
“Let’s get this show on the road.” Charlie stood in the doorway. He was dressed in jeans and a tee that said ‘Dance Dad’ across the chest. I’d bought it for him when Amy first started dancing, and he’d never worn it.
“You’re coming?” She grinned.
“I am.” He smiled. “I took the weekend off. I’m coming for all of it.”
“Well, what are we waiting for?” Amy clapped happily. Her hair was sticking up in every direction and she was still in her PJs.
“I think you might need to get dressed.” He laughed as he pointed at her.
