Chapter 11

 

 

 

Callie stood outside the assisted living home, holding a vase full of calla lilies, and said a silent prayer that her grandmother was up to seeing visitors. Taking a deep breath, she pulled open the door and stepped inside. Per usual, the patterned carpet and plush furniture gave the space a homey look rather than a medicinal one.

The desk nurse, Monica, looked up at her with a beaming smile. “Good morning, Callie. Beautiful flowers. Are you here to see Priscilla?”

“Thank you and yes. Do you know how she’s doing this morning?”

Relief flowed through Callie when Monica smiled. “Yes, I was just in the dining room. She just finished breakfast and seemed to be in good spirits.”

Callie felt her eyes begin to pulse with tears. Alzheimer’s was an awful disease. There were times that she didn’t know who it was worse for, the patient or their family. The first time her nana hadn’t recognized her broke Callie’s heart. Over the past couple of years, it had gotten a bit easier, but it still hurt.

“Can I see her?”

“Of course.”

After signing in and affixing a visitor’s badge to her shirt, she made her way to room 202. Pushing the door open and seeing her grandmother sitting in a chair rather than her bed was another bonus. The morning sun shone brightly through her window.

Her room looked like a regular apartment less a kitchen. She had a small living room, bedroom, and private bathroom. She was so thankful that her grandfather was smart and had left Nana with the means to afford such a wonderful place. Plus, the sale of her home also helped to cover the cost.

“Hi, Nana,” Callie said, taking a few steps inside.

When her grandmother’s head turned, the familiar smile that Callie had missed appeared. “Callie?”

She nodded. “Yes, it’s me. I brought you flowers.” Callie walked over and placed the vase on the small table in the corner before giving her grandmother a hug, which she returned in kind.

“They’re lovely and my favorite. You know that’s how you got your name.”

Another memory, good. “Yes, and I love it. How are you?”

“You know, things could be worse. Edgar made scrambled eggs for breakfast. They were a bit dry, but palatable.”

Callie laughed at the critique. “That’s nice. I’m sorry I haven’t been here.”

Nana tilted her head. “You were just here, sweetheart. Don’t you remember? You didn’t like the eggs either.”

Callie’s heart sank. She never knew what to do in these situations, so she just played along. “Right, silly me.”

“Always forgetting things.” Nana laughed. “How’s your dancing? Did you join a troupe yet? You know, men love dancers. It’s the legs. Nothing a man doesn’t love more than legs.”

“Nana!”

“Well, maybe breasts.”

Callie giggled a bit, shocked by her. “Do they? I’ll remember that. And, no, I haven’t joined a troupe. I teach classes now. I actually have one soon.”

“Right, right. I used to be a teacher too… I think.”

“Yes, you were. The best teacher.” Callie wanted to tell her about her book and about Hudson. She had a feeling she’d get a kick out of it, but she could tell that her mind had started to drift away. “Well, I should get to my class, but I wanted to come and see you. I’ll be back soon, okay?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll be here.”

Callie leaned down and kissed her cheek, committing to memory the way her skin smelled of the lavender soap that she and her grandmother both loved so much. She was happy that the nurses took such wonderful care of her—since she couldn’t do it herself. “Bye, Nana. I love you.”

“Love you too.”

Before she walked out, she looked back at her grandmother, who once again was staring out the window. Feeling a bit better about seeing her and being able to talk to her, regardless of how short a time, Callie left and drove to the studio.

Thankfully, when she arrived fifteen minutes later, she still had an hour before the class started. It was her time to stretch and work on choreography. Of course, the steps she did would be modified for five-year-olds, but for now, she’d let the music dictate the next sixty minutes.

“Canon in D” began to flow through the speakers and through her body. Letting the music dictate her movements was one of Callie’s favorite things about ballet. Similar to writing, where the characters decided the direction the story would go, so too did music direct the dancers. She’d wait for the right moment to plié or her favorite: perform a grand jeté. Dancing freed her from having to think. It was a wonderful feeling to be able to let go and not worry, since that was one of her biggest personality traits.

Sweat trickled down her spine as she sipped her bottled water. It didn’t matter what she was doing or what she had in her mind; dancing always seemed to clear it. Performing was the best outlet she had for stress. It was as though her worries flowed out of her fingertips with every extension and toe-spin. There wasn’t much else that made her as happy. Well, except for sharing it with the next generation of dancers.

She glided over to her pink duffel bag, wiped her brow with a small towel, and tossed the towel aside. Chatter and the sounds of slipper-clad feet filled the room. Looking up at the mirror, she smiled when she saw her class start to file in, and she turned to wave at them.

Hailey ran up to her. “Hi, Miss Callie!” Her high-pitched, excited voice echoed in the room.

“Hello there, Hailey. Have you been practicing?”

“Uh-huh. I practiced in my basement. I call it my dance room. You’d love it. I’m getting a barre; you should come over and make sure it’s right.”

“You’re getting a barre in your basement? That sounds wonderful.”

“Yes, my daddy’s doing it for me. Well, Daddy and Uncle Hudson. He’s the bestest and says Daddy doesn’t know a hammer from a hole in the wall.” Her giggle made Callie laugh. “Not sure what that means, but Uncle Hudson thought it was funny. Isn’t he fun? When he watches me, we play house. You’d laugh. I bet you could help them. You should come over too.”

Confused, Callie cocked her head to the side, not sure what to say. Thankfully, Hailey’s mother walked up to them. “Okay, go get ready for class,” Isabelle said, tugging on Hailey’s high ponytail. The ladies watched her scurry off to the side, where her classmates were all chatting. “Sorry about that. Hailey gets a bit excited. She loves her uncle.”

Callie looked at Isabelle, wondering how she never noticed the resemblance before. They both had the same honey-brown hair. Except Isabelle’s had more blonde highlights running through it, where Hudson’s was more neutral. Now that she knew the relation, Callie even saw a bit of Hudson in Hailey.

“I can see that. Look, I don’t want you to think you need to add me to your guest list for your anniversary party. Hudson and I haven’t been seeing each other very long. I’d hate to intrude on a family event.” Family. She really needed to call Tommy.

When Hudson first mentioned the party, she’d been thankful that he’d agreed for her not to go. But after what happened in Hudson’s office, it seemed that had all flown out the window. Callie couldn’t imagine meeting all his family. Nor could she imagine lying to everyone.

Isabelle waved her hand back and forth. “Nonsense. You must come. It will be fun. I’m so happy that my brother found someone. To be honest, I didn’t even know he wanted a girlfriend.” A pang of guilt slammed against Callie’s rib cage. She felt the corners of her lips turn down. It’d be so easy to come clean and explain, but she couldn’t do that. Not when Hudson wasn’t there to tell his side. “I don’t mean any offense by that. I’m thrilled for both of you.”

“Thank you.”

“I wish I would have thought of it… of you two together. I see it now, of course. You balance each other.”

Callie smiled, and the alarm on her fitness watch beeped. “Thanks. I better get class started or I may have a mutiny on my hands.”

Isabelle let out a sweet laugh. “Yes, go on. Sorry, I just get so excited thinking about everything. I’ll see you in an hour. Oh, and if you want to come over with Hudson, that’s fine. Just no making out on the couch until after Hailey goes to bed.”

Still confused, but not enough for her face to flame red, she just nodded. As soon as the double door closed behind Isabelle with a clank, Callie let out a breath and walked to the front of the room.

She clapped three times. “Okay, kids. Today we’ll be running through our dance for the recital.” Squeals and cheers made Callie laugh. “But first, we need to stretch.” Ten little groans echoing off the wood floors replaced their jubilation. Callie couldn’t help the glee that spread across her face and filled her heart, remembering she used to feel the same way.

For the next sixty minutes, the only thing Callie focused on were the tiny dancers she hoped would one day love dancing as much as she did.

Following class, she made a quick call to Tommy. After she told him about her visit with Nana, she mentioned Hudson just in case one of Gretchen’s friends had seen the interview. Callie satisfied all of them as best as she could. He let her know he was happy for her. She headed home and sat at her computer. Words flowed from her fingertips at a faster pace than they had at her last attempt. Three chapters in, she stopped and stretched her hands above her head, feeling each ache release one tendon at a time. Deciding she needed a break, she tossed her glasses onto her keyboard and went to grab a snack, only to find a message from Hudson waiting for her.

It didn’t matter that she knew the difference between the Hudson she’d written about and the one who’d just written her; Callie still had to remind herself that they weren’t one and the same. And when she read his text, it was difficult to separate the two.

Hi. Did you see the latest airing of Pop Entertainment?

She had to think about what he was talking about. Picturing Hudson watching a pop-culture television show was comical. Then again, if he had, then what was so intriguing?

A bit nervous, she typed back.

No, did you?

She watched three dots dance, stop, and then begin moving again.

I caught a piece of it earlier. You may want to search for it online. We went national.

WHAT?!!!!

Callie’s heart began frantically beating. National? Their relationship was national? Channeling Gina, she grabbed her phone, and sure enough, there were more sales. Callie could picture her best friend preening at the spike on the chart and the golden banner that sat prettily next to her book title. Was this real life? Everything began to blur.

Ignoring her text with Hudson, she tapped on Gina’s name. If anyone knew what to do, it would be her.

“Hi! I was just going to call you.” Her jubilant friend’s voice prompted Callie to let out a huff. “What’s wrong?”

“G, I don’t even know where to start. Hudson just told me about Pop Entertainment.”

“Isn’t it wonderful? Everyone is loving the story, and by the way, it’s the truth: you met because of the book, hit it off, and are now dating. It’s seriously the cutest and most romantic story.”

“And fake.”

“Meh, to-may-to, to-mah-to.”

You’d think Gina’s cavalier attitude would lessen Callie’s nerves, but it might have been too late for that. And why wasn’t Hudson upset? Why didn’t he send an angry or confused face emoji with his text? Even the guy she met at his office said Hudson was high-strung. Yet, like Gina, right at that moment, he seemed to be the opposite.

Her phone beeped with an incoming call. Maybe it was a blessing because, in Callie’s opinion, Gina had started to lose it.

“G, I have another call coming in. I’ll call you back.”

“I have a date tonight, so I’ll talk to you tomorrow. Bye, Cal.”

After she pulled the phone away from her face, she stared at the name Book Boyfriend. Great.

“Hi, look, I had no idea it was going to go national. Gina is on it.”

“Hello to you, too, and I’m not worried about that. Being national fodder works better for me. Yesterday, Keira got something from Portland.”

“Maine?”

“Oregon.”

“Oh.” Callie rubbed her left temple. “What’s up?”

“I’m calling because I have a question.” When Callie remained silent, he continued, “Did you tell Hailey and Izzy that you were helping me tonight?”

All she could do was blink and play back the high-spirited conversation she’d had with the sweet girl and her mother earlier in the day. You should come over tonight. Uncle Hudson is helping.

“No, we were talking about her basement. And how you were putting a barre in…” Callie looked toward the ceiling, searching for a clue that she had committed to going there. Then it dawned on her. When Hailey said, I bet you could help them, Callie had replied with, You’re getting a barre in your basement? That sounds wonderful. “Oh, she misunderstood.”

“Yeah, she has a way of doing that. I’m pretty sure that’s how she gets grown-ups to do things. I’m telling you my niece should be an attorney or in the CIA.”

Callie laughed.

“So, I’ll pick you up at six?” he asked.

Wait. “What? Six? For what?”

“Ballet-barre installation, and then Izzy and Dwight are going out for dinner. I’m hanging with Hailey. She’s expecting you. And she also said something about bringing your slippers. Not sure if you’re supposed to bring your pajamas too.”

Despite him not being able to see her, she shook her head. “She calls ballet shoes slippers.”

Hudson’s chuckle sent a wave of tingles down her spine. “That makes more sense.”

Not wanting to disappoint Hailey, and a bit intrigued to see Hudson on uncle duty, Callie said, “Okay, I’ll see you then.”

She pressed the red button and dragged herself into the bathroom to get ready for another night with her boyfriend and his niece. Then a memory rang in her ears: No making out on the couch until Hailey is asleep. “Shoot me,” she said to her reflection before turning on the shower.

Maybe the warm water would ebb her nerves. Nah, who was she kidding? It didn’t matter what the temperature was. With each day that passed, the web they weaved got gnarlier. She just hoped when they parted as friends, it would somehow untangle itself.