Chapter 24
Twenty-Four
Sam texts me again before too much time passes.
Sam
We’re coming up to your flat now. I won’t knock or ring the bell since it’s late.
Min
The door is unlocked.
“Shh, Celine we need to keep it down. It’s nearly one. People are sleeping,” Sam whispers as the door opens.
I glance up from my tablet and set it on the table.
Sam and Celine enter. I take a moment to soak in the sight of him.
This is the longest we’ve gone without seeing one another.
He’s dressed in a tight white T-shirt, joggers, and runners.
Our eyes lock and we hold one another’s gaze for several seconds.
I’ve nearly forgotten how handsome he is in person.
The familiar electric current that is pulling us together has returned. There are many emotions swirling behind those warm brown orbs. He’s the first to break eye contact and dips his chin. I’m sorry, he mouths.
My gaze travels to the young blonde girl who only reaches his elbow.
I recognize her from her video. Sam helps her with removing an oversized camo coat.
Celine is still in her school uniform of a white blouse, red tie, and navy-blue skirt.
Long socks and Mary Janes complete the ensemble.
She is staring at her hands, which are resting in front of her, but has somehow still managed to maintain a dancer’s posture. Her limbs are long and willow-like.
I plaster a smile onto my face. “Hi, you two. I’ve been waiting for you.” I mouth to him, Play along.
Sam sniffs the air. “Mmm, your signature pancakes. I’d forgotten how delicious those are.” He gently elbows Celine. “What do you say?”
“Thank you for inviting us over, Minerva.”
“You talked my ear off the entire cab ride over and now, you’ve gone shy?” He shakes his head. “She asked about a million and one questions about you.” His own ears begin to turn red. “A lot of the answers I knew, but there were also a lot I didn’t know the answer to.”
“Like what?” I joke, trying to lighten the mood.
“Apparently, I should know your favorite color.”
“That’s an easy one, ballet pink.”
Sam cocks his head to the side. “Ballet pink? What shade of pink is that?”
“The color of ballet shoes.”
“That doesn’t help me.”
We both watch Celine for a second. She’s lifted her chin an inch and is studying me from underneath her eyelashes.
“Hmm, maybe you need a visual.” I walk over to my dance bag and feel around for a pair of pointe shoes.
I haven’t been able to get to class for the past two weeks.
I’ll need to try and do two to make up for it once all the craziness of getting Clarissa’s dress ready is behind me. “See, this is ballet pink.”
“Oh, the pointed shoes.”
“No Sam, those are pointe shoes. Not pointed shoes.” Celine huffs and her hands go to her hips.
“Oh. I’ll try and remember that.”
“No, you won’t. You never do.” She looks at me. “He remembers the names of Sarah’s gymnastics moves like an upstart on the asymmetric bars, or Yurchenko on vault, but he can’t recall any ballet vocabulary.”
Sam rubs the back of his neck. “I should make a better effort.”
“Maybe coming to ballet class with me would help.” I wink. “Or we could even do a home class.” I gesture to one of my more recent purchases tucked away against the living room wall. I bet his legs are highly developed from riding and working around horses all day.
“Are those the brand-new Leeds of London pointe shoes?” Celine glances longingly at my shoes. “I’ve read all about them, but I haven’t seen them in person.”
“They are. I just got fitted in them.”
“What do you think about them? Are they as weird as people say they are with the interchangeable shank?”
I’m impressed—Celine knows her shoes. Ninety-nine percent of pointe shoes have a stiff cardboard backing that supports the back of the foot. Leeds of London shoes break with tradition. The company recently started offering pointe shoes with flexible plastic shanks that you can change within shoes.
I wish something like that had been around when I was younger.
Back then, I needed shoes that had different levels of hardness for class, rehearsals, and performances.
When you have to pay about a hundred and twenty Canadian dollars for each pair, it gets expensive quickly.
Shoes like these would’ve meant being able to use a single pair for everything.
“I’m still adjusting to them, but so far, so good.” I glance at her feet. “What size, width, and model do you wear for your current shoes?”
“Four, double X, and Bloch Aspirations. I have big feet.”
“That’s my size.” I grin. “Maybe tomorrow you can play around in them. If you like them, you can keep them.”
Her eyes widen. “Really?”
“Really.” I nod. Sam’s watching our exchange with interest. His eyes are soft. This is the most relaxed I’ve seen him. “Let’s move into the kitchen and get some pancakes into you.”
“Min, you didn’t have to go to so much trouble for us.” Sam scratches his head. “How many toppings did you put out?”
“I wanted to.” Every square inch of the entire kitchen island is covered with bowls. “I wasn’t sure what you’d like, so I have some of everything. There’s some fruit, nuts, chocolate chips, and a few other odds and ends.”
“No Hot Tamales?”
“No. Definitely not.”
“Why would Minerva want to try those?” Celine wrinkles her nose. “Only you like those nasty candies.”
“More for me. You have no idea what you ladies are missing out on,” Sam jokes.
“There are plates and utensils over there. Feel free to eat as much as you guys want,” I offer. “And if there’s not enough, I can make more pancakes.”
“I only need one or two, but my brother eats like all the boys at school. They’re always hungry.” Celine helps herself to the top two pancakes from the stack and eyes the toppings. She decides to have a few strawberries, bananas, and blueberries.
“Well, I am a boy. A boy I am.”
Celine rolls her eyes. “You’re so weird.”
Sam and I laugh.
“He’s quoting Dr. Seuss. One of his nicknames is Sam I Am from the book Green Eggs and Ham.”
“Oh, I like that.” Celine walks over to the folding table I’ve set out for them to eat at. She sets her plate down and looks to her brother. “Maybe Sarah and I should call you that too,” she muses.
“If you’d like.” Sam rustles her hair.
“Ugh. Sam, you’re messing up my hair.” Celine pulls away.
“You’ve never minded that before.” His face falls.
“Well, I do now.” She pouts.
Somebody is on their way to becoming a teenager. I remember being sensitive about my hair too. I’ll have to mention it to him later.
“Don’t wait for me, poppet. Tuck in.” Sam ensures Celine has everything she needs before he helps himself to a pancake. Approaching the far side of the kitchen island, opposite Celine, he says in a soft tone, “Thank you again, Min. Um . . . this is for you.”
From his pocket, he hands me a small teddy bear in a cavalry uniform that is holding a bar of chocolate, and a travel-sized set of oil paints.
There’s a yellow Post-it note on top of it with a scribbled “forgive me” written on it.
I know this brand. It’s a high-quality, expensive one.
He must’ve gone to a specialty store to find these.
“Sam, I’m grateful you recognize you made some mistakes, and I accept your apologies, but I’m not ready to forgive you yet.”
“I understand. If you don’t want anything to do with me after this gets sorted out, I’ll give you as much time and space as you need”—Sam places his plate down—“or leave you alone if that’s what you want.
“I might still be hurting, but I’m not ready to give up on a relationship with you just yet.
” I hear him exhale. “We need time to talk and discuss our problems communicating with one another. If this is going to work, there has to be a middle ground between showering me with gifts and ghosting me. I understand you’ve been busy.
I have been too, but I’ve found time to message you. I expected you to at least try.”
“Brother, Minerva . . . are you two fighting?” Celine asks in a concerned tone. “Is it because I showed up in London?” Her eyes are wide and fearful. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to run away.” I’m struck by how young she appears.
“No, poppet. We’re not fighting. And none of this is about you.
” Sam crosses the room and kneels down next to his sister.
He places a hand on top of hers and makes eye contact with her.
“Min and I are just going through a rough patch. We have a lot of things we need to talk out, like me not being a stupid-head.”
My throat constricts at seeing Sam acting like a young father. He’s so gentle and reassuring with Celine.
She looks at me with eyes as wide as an owl’s. “Minerva, I’m sorry if my brother said something bad. Please don’t be mad at him forever. I don’t want him to be sad anymore. I promise, most of the time he’s a brilliant brother.”
“Thanks for the vote of confidence, Celine, but I’m not always brilliant.
I make mistakes just like everybody else.
” He glances at me, then back to her. “But what I want you to remember is that even if we were fighting, it would never turn into the type of fight that Mum and your dad used to have.” Sam squeezes her hand.
“Don’t forget the promise I made you and Sarah.
There will always be someone here to protect you.
You’ll never have to live with them again. ”
Celine stiffens. “What if the army decides you need to be sent away? Then you have to go.”
“I would, but I’ve made sure that if something like that were to happen, you’d go to Grandad Baker’s home, just like we talked about when I joined up.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yes. I can even show you what my solicitor wrote up if you want. Although I don’t know if you’d be able to understand most of it.”
Her body is still rigid with tension. “If that’s true, why did Mum come by today and tell the headmaster that I needed to be removed from the school?”
“What?” Sam’s voice is tight.