Chapter 12 Rachel
Currently playing: I don’t feel like dancing by the Scissor Sisters
***
Adam Wells rode in my car, his giant shoulders taking up all the space. The longer we drove down the road, the more I could peek at the floral tattoo crawling up his forearm into dangerous bicep territory.
He was a friend. A nice one at that. Someone to talk to who had no preconceived notions about me, considering he didn’t know much of who I was. An outside perspective that was about to get an inside view.
Our text conversations over the last month or so while he’d been gone had gotten deeper the more we talked. And by deeper, I simply meant that Adam was no longer replying to everything I sent with one-word answers.
But still, a friend was all he was, and it was all I had availability for. It didn’t mean I couldn’t enjoy the way his aroma filled my tiny car.
Eagerness pooled in my chest at the thought of him meeting my dad. It was rare for him to have visitors other than me. He always got excited when I said I was bringing someone along. Usually, it just meant Layla. Though one time Calla came with me when she heard they were having a plant propagation class. Either way, I was looking forward to seeing his face light up at someone new.
After hopping out of the car, I directed Adam to the front entrance of the community center portion of Dad’s complex. It was the middle area, with a large gym, a movie room, and multiple areas for classes. His section of the multiple duplexes was only about three buildings down, so he spent half of his time here and the other half at his home.
The decision to get him in an assisted living area was hard enough on its own, but finding a place where I felt comfortable leaving him that also allowed him to feel like I wasn’t watching his every move was challenging. It took almost nine months, but when I’d settled on this place, it had felt right. It was a tough transition, but he had been here now for three years and had made a good bit of friends. He was definitely one of the youngest guys here at only fifty-two, but with his memory slipping more as time went on, it was necessary. I knew he got frustrated that there were people here whose job it was to check in on him. It made him feel invalid, but he never blamed me for it. He never acted as though I was selfish in my decision to not care for him by myself, and I appreciated that more than he would know.
Almost reaching the front door, I stopped in my tracks and turned to Adam. He was trailing so closely behind me that he bumped into my chest, causing me to almost fall back before his hands gripped my arms. I placed my palms on his wide chest and looked up, forcing myself to see past his strong jawline.
“I should warn you before we go in there.”
He curled an eyebrow.
“Dad might think he has met you before. If you remind him of someone he went to school with or maybe an old coworker when he was young, he will get confused. Also, don’t be surprised if you tell him your name and he forgets it by the end of the night. Please don’t get offended. He is the nicest man in the world and would never hurt a fly—”
“Rachel,” Adam’s hands roamed up and down my arms in a soothing caress. “It’s okay. My grandmother had dementia when I was little. I don’t remember much, but I know the feeling of it all. I chose to be here.”
He had, hadn’t he? He’d chosen to leave a fun party with his family to come to an assisted living dance class with a woman he’d randomly become friends with. My heart warmed at that, and a sense of ease seeped through my body, allowing me to rest. He was right. It was okay.
I opened the door, and Adam followed behind me. At the front desk sat Betty. She usually worked the night shift here since she’d been hired last year. I always made a conscious effort to check in on her. Every now and then I would find her staring into the distance like she was going to fall asleep standing up.
“Hi, Betty,” I announced, and she jolted up in response.
“My darling, Rachel. I was worried you wouldn’t make it tonight. You know Jack has been all excited.”
I smiled. Of course he was. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” I turned and held a hand out, gesturing to Adam behind me. “This is my friend Adam. He loves dancing.”
Adam’s neck turned a light pink as Betty smiled at him. It was really cute.
“Well, you’re going to love tonight. I heard the instructors have a whole new routine planned.”
Oh, this was going to be great.
After catching up with Betty and learning all about her son’s newest wrestling obsession, we slipped down the hall to classroom D. Approaching the room, you could hear the loud bass of Earth, Wind, and Fire’s “Let’s Groove” playing through the surround sound mixed with the sound of feet tapping. Adam had no idea what he was in for.
I opened the door to see about ten or so couples dancing in a circle. One man in particular in the middle, the one wearing a flannel I’d bought for him last Christmas, was so focused on the dancing that he didn’t realize everyone around him was smiling and clapping his way. That would be my dad.
My heart leaped at his smile as his feet tapped to the beat and his hands clapped in the air. He’d always been such a dork. One year, he got me a karaoke machine for Christmas. It required a CD, and the only one he’d bought was Best of the ’80s. It featured a good mix, including Michael Jackson and Bruce Springsteen. I was convinced he’d mostly bought it for himself, but I loved it still. Each birthday and Christmas after that, we got a new CD for the machine. I put on a show for my family, requiring them each to “purchase” a ticket, a.k.a. colored paper with my name on it. He watched me lip sync to Alanis Morissette and even drew a pretend lighter and waved it slowly in the air for me. Mom and my sister absolutely hated it. I snorted at the memory.
I reached for a nearby chair that was leaning against the wall and unfolded it before setting my keys and water bottle on it. Adam scooted closer to me as I waved to a few familiar faces around the room.
I looked over my shoulder, finding him inches away from me, looking at everyone warily, like a toddler hiding behind his mom’s leg in a grocery store. It was almost comical how much he hated a crowd.
The song died down, and everyone clapped. The instructor with leg warmers and an old headset lifted his microphone and told everyone to take a break.
Dad turned to face us, his smile growing even bigger as he raced across the dance space over to us. “There’s my girl!” he shouted, yanking me into a hug as if I hadn’t seen him the day before.
My eyes instantly fell to his shirt, checking for any missed buttons or signs that he had a hard time getting dressed this morning. There weren’t any. I wrapped my arms around his torso and gave a tight squeeze, cherishing the fact that he was having a good day. Bad days, the ones where he couldn’t remember why he was here or where his family was, were few and far between. But they hurt. They left scars and marks in my brain that I feared would never heal. Which was why I liked to never take moments like this for granted. I never knew when it would be the last.
“I brought a friend with me if you want to meet him.” I gestured to Adam behind me, who nodded hello.
Dad eyed him warily, his focus going from his tattoos to the scruff on his jaw. He turned to me and spoke close to my ear. “He has tattoos.”
I chuckled to myself. “So do you.”
He looked down at the few inked spots on his arms and huffed. “How am I supposed to threaten him after he watched me salsa?”
“If it helps, I don’t think anything threatens the guy. Besides, he’s just a friend.”
“Hmm.” He squinted and moved around me to get a better look.
Adam held a hand out, not the least bit threatened. “Adam Wells.”
“Jack.” Dad shook his hand, eyes stuck to Adam’s arm, taking in the airplane with a symbol I didn’t recognize behind it. “Air Force?”
I guess that was a universal thing? I wondered how many more of his tattoos related to something in his past and how long it would take me to find out.
“Yes, sir.” He nodded.
“You’re still active.”
“I am.”
“Hmm.”
They stared at each other, some kind of silent back-and-forth happening between them. Maybe being in the military just ensured that you learned how to communicate telepathically.
Adam was taller by almost a foot, but my dad was strong. He never let a day go by where he didn’t work out in some kind of way. He used to say it was so he could keep up with my mom’s looks. A sad waste, considering she was currently somewhere in California, probably trying to seduce some poor man who owns a yacht into taking her on it and feeding her succulent grapes while she fans herself. Now I figured he did it because, though his mind was slipping, he wouldn’t allow his body to as well.
After an unusually long staring contest, my dad nodded, and a slow smile yanked his lips up. “How do you know my Rachel?”
Adam and I made eye contact, blood rushing to both of our faces and our eyes widening. It would be in his best interest if we didn’t mention how we’d met or what followed after.
“Layla is my brother’s fiancée.”
I waited for Dad to ask me who that was, but today must have been even better than I thought, because he nodded. “She’s a nice girl.”
Adam nodded back, and they went back to their silent stare off. This was…odd.
The beat over the speakers picked up, and I instantly recognized it as Four Tops “I Can’t Help Myself.”When I looked over at Dad, he smirked at me, raising his brows, and I laughed.
“I know, I know.” I reached for his hand to get in a free spot on the floor.
Dad turned to Adam, who had his arms crossed and was looking out at the floor like it was going to kill him to get anywhere near it. Looking over his shoulder, Dad asked, “You coming?”
He looked from the floor to us, making eye contact with me and widening his eyes in a look that screamed help! I winked back at him. Sorry, the look said. You’re on your own.
Adam cleared his throat. “I’ll, uh, watch.”
I chuckled. We would see about that.
“Put your hips into it, son!”
“I, uh. I’m not really a hips into it kind of guy, sir.”
I spun on my heel, turning away from where my dad was doing a samba, to face Adam. “Don’t listen to him, Dad. He totally is.” I winked with a laugh.
Adam groaned and followed my steps as I did a grapevine. He cursed when he almost stepped on Margaret’s shoe. She eyed him, and I wondered if she was going to threaten to pepper spray him again. It had happened four times since Adam joined us.
After fifteen minutes of sitting in the corner, several people from the group began pulling Adam into the circle. Probably from being hip-bumped back and forth like he was in a game of monkey-in-the-middle with some geriatric women that made him give up and join us.
“I’m only doing this so they will leave me alone,” he grumbled. I turned to see half the woman in the room now behind Adam, ogling as he made some attempts to follow the steps.
“Sure, you are.” I laughed and reached for his hand, letting our fingers slip together. The smallest hint of a smile tugged at his lips as I turned myself under his hand in a twirl.
The tempo picked up for the last round, and I moved next to Adam. I smiled over at him as he watched my dad’s feet move effortlessly. Dad had done each dance so many times by now he didn’t even have to think about it. It was pure muscle memory. I would be willing to bet money he even practiced the first couple of months at his house, making sure he knew it all perfectly before the next class.
As the song ended, everyone clapped, and we all attempted to catch our breath. It always managed to shock me how much work it took to keep up. No wonder some of the ladies were taking breaks. Between that and the way Adam’s pants clung to his behind, I could understand.
I sighed, taking a seat next to Adam, grateful when he handed me a new water bottle.
“Phew. It really tires you out, huh?”
Dad blew out a breath and stood in front of us, wiping the sweat off with his shirt.
Nodding, I took a sip of my drink and leaned back in my chair. Another song started up, but the three of us decided to sit it out. Not that Adam needed much convincing.
Dad chuckled at some of the other couples, one in particular being extra in their matching orange sweat suits.
“It’s more fun with a partner.” He smiled. “Your mom always loved to dance.”
Cold sweat broke out at my neck, my fingers becoming clammy against my water bottle. It wasn’t the first time he had asked, and it certainly wasn’t going to be the last. But still, the mention of her was always enough to cause my anxiety to rise. Most of his flare-ups were caused by my mother being brought into conversation. I had to handle it with grace each time, or it could ruin his entire week.
“She sure does.” I forced a smile, holding back any disparity. Adam’s gaze felt like a warm, comforting caress over my jawline to my cheekbone, but it wasn’t enough to calm my racing heart.
“Where is she tonight? Couldn’t make it?” Dad asked with this innocent look that tore me in two. He had no idea. His heart was so pure. He had completely lost a piece of his life that was dark and cold, and it was up to me to keep it that way.
I had found it was best to just…play along. But the best thing was never the easiest. It felt like I was lying to the one person who meant the most to me. Like I was casually letting him believe his whole life was only what he’d made it up to be, keeping the dirty secrets all mine to hold. They got heavier each day.
I cleared my throat and straightened my back, attempting an easy tone. “Nope, she couldn’t today. Just me for now.”
Dad laughed, and relief flooded me. If there were no more questions tonight, then I could slip out of here. He sat down next to Adam and elbowed him jokingly. “Suppose that’s good enough.”
On that note, we needed to leave.
I said quick goodbyes to the familiar faces around me, being sure to give extra-long hugs to the ones I knew didn’t receive visitors. Then I made my way back to Dad. I wrapped my arms around his neck and squeezed tight. “Had fun tonight.”
“Ah, me too, kiddo. Always a blast with you.” He looked over at Adam, who was holding both his water bottle and mine, with my light jacket slung over his arm. Dad pulled me in once more and whispered in my ear. “Bring him back again, yeah?”
I nodded with a smile. I think I would.