Page 22 of On Dancer
Cole family.That likely included Rudy. Darn it. The one day this week that I was hoping to completely avoid him. I could hardly explain my reluctance to my mother, however, so I replied with a briefof courseand left my discomfort for me to deal with privately, later.
I flexed my legs, preparing for the next run-through, but before Tavio could summon me, Kitty burst into the studio.
“My life is over.” She flopped down on the chair next to my things, eyes wide and hair more wild than usual. Unlike her stately father, she wore a mismatch of colors—red sweater, purple-and-yellow leggings, and brown furry legwarmers.
“Good morning to you as well, Katherine,” Tavio greeted her dryly. “Somehow I figured with no school for Thanksgiving week, you might sleep in.”
“No time for sleep.” Kitty waved both hands. “The costume committee needs me. Even if my mortal existence is compromised.”
“I’m sure whatever has arisen is fixable,” her father soothed.
“Marcus asked me to the winter formal.” Kitty delivered this proclamation with the gravity of reporting a power outage.
“I see. He is a friend, yes?” Tavio continued his calm tone. “A good one, I thought?”
Kitty refused to be placated. “Yes, he’s a friend. Exactly. Afriend.”
“Why not tell him you would rather go as friends?” I made the suggestion easily, having been in similar pickles before. “Hemay be a little disappointed, but you can suggest going in a group with other friends.”
“Because I don’t want to go with him.” Leaning all the way back in the chair, she gave a sigh dramatic enough to risk toppling the chair. “I want to go with?—”
The chair gave a precipitous wobble as the door opened to admit Victoria, who was wearing warm-ups and carrying her dance bag.
“Victoria.” Tavio greeted her warmly, not trying to hide his obvious relief at her arrival. “Please, console Kitty.”
“What’s wrong?” Victoria hurried to Kitty’s side.
“Nothing.” Expression bleak, Kitty hefted herself out of the chair and strode out of the room. “I should get to work.”
“I need to go after her.” Victoria offered Tavio and me an apologetic look. “I’ll be right back.”
“Take your time,” Tavio said generously. She left the room, and he ran a hand through his hair. “Save me from teen drama. Parenthood is not for the faint-hearted.”
“So I’ve heard.” Eager not to inadvertently end up discussing my single status, I returned to our earlier conversation. “How did you know you were ready?”
“For parenthood?” Tavio frowned, mind evidently still on Kitty’s dilemma. “One is never ready. But we were getting older, a sort of now or never moment, and we chose the now. No regrets.”
“I meant coming back from injury.” Unlike Tavio and Irina, who’d had a clear plan for life after performing, including children, I didn’t like to think about what would come later for me. Retirement was a hazy someday I refused to dwell on.
“That too. Now or never.” Tavio gave a sharp nod. “At a certain point, you either go for it, despite your doubts, or you admit time has finally won.”
“Never.” I made my voice firm, pushing down my own set of fears. If Tavio could do it, so could I.
“Exactly.” The pride in his smile made my shoulders lift as he continued, “And for me, I was determined to go out on my terms. Irina called me stubborn, but I had this vision of us retiring together, dancing off into the sunset.”
“And so you did.”
“And so we did.” His expression softened even more. “No regrets.”
Naturally, the source of my recent regret chose that moment to knock at the door.
“Come in, please.” Tavio waved Rudy into the studio. “What’s one more interruption in our morning?”
“Sorry.” Rudy’s gaze passed over me to land on Tavio, but not before he blushed, as visibly awkward as I felt inside. “I needed to catch you both, and since I saw the girls in the hall, I thought now might be an okay moment.”
“It is not terrible,” Tavio allowed.
“I sent out a press release about the performance. We actually got a nibble from a reporter at a local TV station. She wants to come by Monday and ask some questions, maybe get some rehearsal footage. If she does a piece on us, the exposure could really help ticket sales.”
