Epilogue - Noah
Two weeks later
It was the final dance number in the final section of the last day of the Southern California Dance Championships.
Sky and Jason had drawn the last dance of the evening.
It would be the last year they could dance as juniors since Jason would be fifteen before champs started the following year.
There was no chance they would not be partners.
Not for Latin and Ballroom. But even in ballet and Hip-Hop they had awesome on-stage chemistry.
There was no doubt they were meant to be dance partners.
Sky had opted to drop tap dancing in order to do cheerleading at school. Jason had started coming out of his shell. He joined the tactical training class for juniors that Nick started giving at the farm, along with Aidan and Owen.
Their final dance was a Hip-Hop/Modern dance mix to Michael Jackson’s The Way You Make Me Feel.
The music started and Skylar appeared on stage.
A few moments later, Jason appeared. The dance was engrained in their muscle memory.
Each one knew where the other was at all times.
They were in sync as they moved from each of their solo bits back to being a duo.
I moved with Sky as she danced. I knew the moves so well that if I was any closer to the stage, the kids would be disqualified because I would be showing them the moves.
They moved flawlessly and their facial expressions were just right.
Then there were the costumes. Generally, Sky showed less skin, and that made me more comfortable.
Everly had shown her how to dazzle and Jason wanted matching costumes that didn’t make him look ridiculous. The kid was good for my daughter.
Despite the fact that they were a boy-girl dance duo, there were no lifts since Jason still lacked the muscle tone to lift Sky safely.
We would be working on that, though. The more I learned about the dance school Everly had chosen the more I respected their methods.
The one my mother had enrolled me in was all about being flashy and whose kid could outdo whom.
The song came to an end with their backs together.
The crowd erupted and the kids received a standing ovation.
Of course, most of the noise came from the row behind Everly and me.
Both Sky and Jason’s friends had shown up.
The guys were just as excited as the girls.
In the weeks that had followed the encounter in the hospital waiting room, those three boys were rarely apart.
Aidan and Jason were a year older than Owen who was the same age as Grace and Sky.
The kids had walked off stage and the audience was still applauding them.
Even the night when they did their first round, the duet had received a standing ovation.
Once the crowd simmered and the house lights went back on, the head adjudicator made her way to the stage and announced the winners.
Jason had won best junior solo performance.
Sky had been better in the first round, but Jason had upped his game for the finals.
Then in the order of the evening’s events, they announced the various winners.
Their studio had won junior group dance.
Some other dance school had won best trio and quartet.
Then the announcement came for best junior duet.
The adjudicator smiled. “This was hands down the easiest one to award. The chemistry between the duo was great. You could tell it was more than just rehearsing a dance that made them so spectacular. These two had to have been dancing together for a long time. I would even guess that they are good friends. The best junior duet goes to dance number eight. Jason Wilder and Skylar Moore.”
My world froze for a moment. She took my name.
As the two dancers walked on stage, I looked over at Everly. Her smile lit my world as tears pooled in her eyes. “She wanted to surprise you. Of course, nothing is official yet. You still need to sign the paperwork. But the organizers allowed it for tonight.”
Yeah. A lump formed in my throat. I had never been more proud about anything in my entire life.
And not about the dancing. Or at least, not just about the dancing.
I was proud that my kid wanted my name. She wanted the world to know that I was her dad.
She was the coolest kid on the planet, and she bragged that she was mine.
It was only as we were celebrating with all of our family and friends at Bowzer’s that it occurred to me that I still hadn’t told my parents about Everly and Sky.
My mother would be over the moon that I found a woman who wanted to be in the industry.
But she wouldn’t be directing Everly’s career.
Everly knew her mind and my mother would not have a say.
I picked my phone up off the table and kissed Everly on the cheek.
“I need to make a call.”
She nodded as if she understood. I walked outside and dialed the number I had been avoiding for weeks. My mother picked up on the second ring.
“Noah, sweetheart. It is so nice of you to call.”
To anyone else they would think she was being sarcastic. Chances were she was around people, and she was trying to sound unaffected.
“Hey Mom. I’ve got news.” I took a deep inhale and told her all that had been happening over the last few months.