Chapter 23
That’s an excessive amount of hookers…
Alex
I’ve been waking up early, just like at home, and working out before Lizzie drives over to the hotel to pick me up. Tuesday’s the first day we don’t have plans with Amelia, and while I’m not exactly excited about that part, I am looking forward to spending more time with my daughter.
But I am hoping a day apart will make Amelia miss me. Make her more willing to fucking talk to me.
Lizzie pulls up outside the hotel with bags under her eyes. “No offense, but you look tired, kiddo.”
“I couldn’t deal with Mom last night, so I ended up at Minnie’s. One of us was a bad influence. I’m not saying which one, coughminniecough, so we watched a movie and played a drinking game. We may have underestimated the number of times Leo fucks a hooker in The Wolf of Wall Street.”
I let out a bark of a laugh. “At least you didn’t drink every time someone says ‘fuck’.”
“Exactly. And Henry had a bad dream in the middle of the night and snuck in for cuddles, but then he peed all over both of us. I need coffee.”
A few minutes later, she pulls into the parking lot of a strip mall and turns off the engine, but she doesn’t get out of the car right away.
I follow her gaze straight ahead and see Amelia through a big wall of windows.
She’s wearing tight pants and a sports bra, her hair piled on top of her head in the messy bird nest bun I adore.
“What style of dance is this?” I ask, since I honestly don’t know shit about dancing.
“Contemporary. It’s kind of a hodgepodge, a little bit of almost every style, you know?
Like freeform. She says the music tells her what to do, and it’s her favorite way to dance.
God, I miss watching her. I used to go to every single performance, even if I wasn’t in them.
I’d come over here on my breaks at the coffee shop or when I had any spare time just to watch her dance or teach.
I came out to New York every chance I got when she was going to Juilliard, too.
Sometimes, she’ll send me a video now or let me watch her dance at home over video chat.
She doesn’t have furniture in her living room. She made it a home studio.”
I knew she still danced, but I didn’t realize she created her own space to do so.
And I didn’t know she was going to Juilliard before the accident.
We continue to watch Amelia as she spins, jumps, and moves.
Even without hearing the music, her body tells a story and I think I could spend all day right here.
She’s mesmerizing. When Lizzie sighs after seeing Amelia do a twisting jump thing, I look over at her and am surprised by the frown on her face.
“What’s wrong?”
She shakes her head and purses her lips. “She’s going to hurt herself trying to land that move.”
“That jump thing? I thought it looked good.”
“That’s because you didn’t see what it looked like before that fucking car hit her. What she’s doing now is just a fraction of what she could do before. And not just that move, I mean everything. She could do this shit in her sleep, and now she has to fight for every little thing.”
Sighing again, she finally moves to step out of the car and walks toward the coffee shop next door. I follow.
“This is where you work, right?”
“Yeah. I know it’s kind of silly to still work here after college, but I love it. I love chatting with the customers and their brightening days. Plus, I get to work with Gloria. And Haven sometimes. She mostly works at the bowling alley her family owns, but comes in for a few hours a week.”
“Not silly at all, kiddo.”
“I just… I don’t know what else I want to do yet,” Lizzie says with a shrug.
The little bell above the door jingles as we walk in, and the woman behind the counter grins at us.
“There’s my girl! I was hoping you’d show up today.
And you brought that hunk of a man that you must take after, since you sure as hell aren’t much like your mama.
” She comes around the counter, pulls Lizzie in for a hug, and then does the same with me.
“Oh, my,” she sighs, gently squeezing my biceps.
“Gloria, let him go. He’s taken. Kind of. His heart belongs to another and I’m not going to rest until he wins her back.”
“Sounds like a story I want to hear. Is it safe to assume the large drip with room that Minnie’s been ordering is yours?” Gloria asks me as she moves back behind the counter.
“Yes, ma’am, it is.”
“Oh, and he has manners, too. Tell me, who is this lucky woman who needs to be won?”
“It’s a long story,” I reply.
Lizzie scoffs, then laughs when I scowl at her.
Gloria levels me with a hard glare. “You gonna get your girl back?”
“I’m trying, but she’s stubborn.”
“The good ones usually are.” She winks at me as she hands me my coffee.
“Did Minnie come in already?” Lizzie asks.
“Of course. She’ll be back in when she’s done next door, and no, you aren’t allowed to bring her a second coffee because that means she won’t come over herself and give me another hug.”
Lizzie rolls her eyes. “Alright, fine. Did she get a pastry yet?”
“Not yet, sugar.”
Lizzie looks over the glass case for a minute while Gloria finishes her drink. “Hmm…no fritters, so I guess we’ll take three of the bear claws.”
“That girl’s passed up the fritters every damn time I’ve had them since she’s been home,” Gloria says.
Shit. They’re her favorites, no matter the flavor, but I’ve ruined them for her.
Lizzie takes the bag and her coffee, a thoughtful look on her face.
“Huh, weird. But she’s been weird since she called me drunk at the airport, so I’m not really totally surprised.
” Luckily, she doesn’t seem to realize she just kicked me in the gut, metaphorically at least. I hate that I hurt Amelia so fucking much. “Anyway, see you Thursday, Glo.”
“You bring your daddy around as often as you can.”
When we step outside, Lizzie turns to me with a wicked smile. “At least you know you have options if it doesn’t work out with your secretary.”
I glare at her, and she laughs harder, then threads her arm through mine. “Come on.” She drags me to the dance studio door and knocks on it. Amelia’s no longer in the big room with the windows, but she comes out of a side room when Lizzie keeps knocking.
Opening the door, she cocks an eyebrow at her best friend. “Shouldn’t you be on the road by now?”
Lizzie raises a shoulder. “Meh, we don’t have a set schedule. It’s Seattle, it’ll be there all damn day. Let us in.”
“Do you have an appointment?”
“Your sign says ‘Walk-ins Welcome’.”
There’s no such sign. My lips turn up at their banter.
“It lies. We hate walk-ins.” Amelia moves out of the way with a smile for Lizzie, but like our new normal, she avoids my gaze.
“Your mom said you’re working on some twenty-year anniversary show thing, and I wanted to see it,” Lizzie says.
“Come on then.” Amelia leads us through a maze of hallways until we get to a room with dance costumes hanging on the walls.
“Holy shit, I remember most of these!” Lizzie exclaims, glancing around the room. “I even wore a couple of these.”
“Technically, I wore them. Yours are in my closet at the house. A few of these are Haven’s, and that tiny one is Raelynn’s.” Amelia points at the smallest costume among the collection.
Lizzie looks at Amelia, eyes wide. “Wait, you still have mine? I thought Mom got rid of them as soon as a season was over.”
“After she tossed the first one, my mom started grabbing yours along with mine at the end of the shows in case you wanted them later.”
“Tiffany didn’t want to keep them for her trophy room?” I ask bitterly.
Lizzie turns to me. “We didn’t do competitions, and she doesn’t count recitals for anything. But I took tap until a couple of years ago. It was what I did for the talent portions of pageants and was the only part of those damn things I liked.”
“You just liked making noise,” Amelia teases.
“It’s the best part!”
“Why’d you quit?” I ask her.
“I just got busy.” Lizzie shrugs and shifts on her feet. There’s more to that story. “Anyway, what’s up with all our old costumes?”
“We wanted to see if we have at least one from each big recital, like a timeline in costumes. Show the progression and growth of the studio and the dancers. It’s kind of wild to see them all like this.” Amelia reaches out and touches a small costume. “I don’t even remember the first couple.”
“‘Cause you were a freaking toddler when you started. Fucking adorable shit, though. Ten tiny tots spinning around while Angela runs up and down the front of the stage to make sure they don’t fall off. They’re still my favorites to watch.”
“Mine, too. I can’t believe Raelynn’s already moved beyond that class.
Henry, though, that kid is absolutely diving off the stage at the next show.
Probably naked. Now, you need to get out of here and start driving.
I have a whole day of dance camps to help with, and I’m teaching three classes today, so go away.
Have fun, remember to write letters home.
” Amelia waves her hands in a ‘scoot along’ motion.
“Alright. See ya later, alligator,” Lizzie says.
“Don’t meander, salamander,” Amelia replies with a smirk.
“God, you’re a dork, Minnie.”
“Yeah, but you love me.”
“That I do, Min. That I do. I’ll send you selfies at the gum wall.”
Amelia cringes. “Gag. Don’t do that. For the love of god, don’t send me any pictures that include the disgusting wall of gum!”
“Sorry, can’t hear you, too far away now. Love you, see you later, selfies coming very soon.” Lizzie laughs the whole way as she leads me back through the maze.
“Elizabeth Dawn Boyd!”
“Bahahaha, I love when I annoy you so much that you call me by my full name. I win, Amelia Grace Sinclair!” The door closes behind us, and we head for the car.
Before we pull out of the spot, Lizzie laughs again.
I look up and grin when I see Amelia flipping her off through the glass, mouthing the word ‘asshole’.
We hit the road, talking about whatever random thing pops into Lizzie’s head and listening to music. A few hours later, we’re sitting at a table outside Lizzie’s favorite restaurant for fish and chips in Seattle.
“Can I ask you something, kiddo?”
“Yes, you should absolutely squeeze the lemon wedges over the French fries, not just the fish,” Lizzie replies as she does exactly that. “And then dip the fries in the tartar sauce. I got extra for a reason. Do not waste these on ketchup.”
I chuckle and follow her instructions. “Okay, this is amazing.”
She smirks smugly. “I know. But what were you going to really ask?”
“I was just wondering why you live with your mom, since you don’t seem to get along.”
“Oh. Well, it was going to be temporary after I graduated. Calvin has a roommate and their place is small. And kind of gross. No way am I moving in there. We were supposed to get our own place months ago, but he didn’t like any of the ones we looked at, and then it was just too close to the wedding to deal with.
It’s…” she sighs and shrugs, “it’s annoying. But it’s not for much longer now.”
“I could have connected you with someone to find more places to look at. And help with finances if needed.”
“I actually sometimes forget that. Which sounds especially dumb right now. But you weren’t always Mr. Moneybags, you know?
” She points a fry at me and chuckles. “When I was a kid, your company was tiny and I hardly even realized you were the boss, you were just my dad. And even after it got big, you were still just my dad, not a bank account. Ridiculous wedding aside, obviously,” she says with a cringe.
Shaking my head, I reply, “I don’t mind. It’s just money and I have a lot of it. I wasn’t involved in your life nearly as much as I should have been. The least I can do is help out however I can now.”
“You were always only a phone call away. And you made sure I had the best time when we were together.”
“I wish I’d been around more, though. There’s a lot I didn’t know until this week. You were really good at tap, by the way. Why did you really quit?”
“You can’t say anything, okay?” She looks at me sadly.
“Okay.”
“Dance was just something I did for fun, especially after I stopped doing pageants and didn’t need a talent. When Minnie moved to New York for school, I didn’t enjoy it as much anymore, but I still went, and we danced together any chance we got.”
“Then the accident happened?” I fill in the blanks.
“Then the accident happened. Tap was already her least favorite style, and she only kept going with it because it was something we did together. But she has a lot more trouble with the movements than the other styles, so she doesn’t do it anymore, and it’s no fun without her.
We just find other shit to do together now. ” She shrugs.
“Like drinking games and getting peed on by kids.”
“Living the dream, Dad. Living. The. Dream.”