Page 135 of Damaged Protector

Gabrielle preened. “I made your lucky pancakes. You were right; they were delicious.”

“You’re such a good mom, Gabrielle,” I told her, patting her arm, and she beamed at me. “Now, I need you to do a couple things for me.” She nodded eagerly, ready for duty. Really, I just needed her out of the way so her daughter could relax.

“Anything.”

“First of all, grab Lyric a bottle of water and one of those protein bars she likes. This routine really takes a lot out of her, and I want her to stay hydrated and fed afterward. Then scope out our seats in the auditorium. At least ten rows back from the judges and slightly to the left. She does a lot of floor work on that side, and we want to have the best view.”

“Yes, yes.” Her head looked like one of those bobble head figures. “Good idea. I’ll get on it.”

“Awesome. I really appreciate you. Now go ahead and get your hugs because this will probably be the last time you’ll see Lyric until she rocks the hell out of that stage.”

Her face fell. “Oh. Wow, the last time?”

“We have to meditate,” I said sagely. “Very, very important to have her in the right frame of mind.”

“Very, very important,” she repeated, her head nodding again. “You’re right.” She turned to her daughter, her voice stern. “You need to meditate, Lyric. It’s very, very important.”

“Yes, ma’am,” she said solemnly, though I could tell she was fighting a smile.

“And don’t lose your smile in that one part. You know where I’m talking about.”

“I do, and I won’t,” Lyric said, leaning in for a hug. “Thank you, Mama. I love you.”

Gabrielle’s eyes filled with tears, and she stopped her advising while they held each other. “I’m proud of you, baby,” she said, patting her daughter’s face. “And remember…”

“Okay, Mallori’s Meditation class starts in three minutes,” I interrupted, clapping my hands once. “Let's do this. Gabrielle, you’re officially on dance mom duty.” I gave her a high five, and she grinned before scurrying toward the concession stand.

“Wow, you’re good at handling her,” Lyric said with a giggle. “Thank you.”

“No problemo,” I assured her, gesturing to the auditorium. As we walked, Lyric reached over and took my hand, and I gave her a reassuring squeeze. “You’ve got this.”

And she did. I was well aware that Lyric was a phenomenal dancer, but when she had an audience, she came alive. Or maybe it was her competitive spirit that came out to play when she was in front of judges.

Whatever it was, she freaking killed it, and as we waited for the next few hours, I watched every other dancer with a keen eye. By the time everyone was done, I had no doubt Lyric would be awarded the lead role in the show. No one else had even come close.

She sat onstage with the other dancers as names were called, her eyes flicking to where I sat with her mother in the audience as various smaller roles were announced.

“Please, please, please,” I heard Gabrielle whisper as she reached for my hand when they got to the final announcement. When Lyric’s name was called, we both leaped to our feet and made total asses of ourselves, crying and waving and jumping around.

Lyric didn’t seem to mind. She was too damn happy and waved back at us as she took her place at the front of the stage, bouncing on her tiptoes.

Gabrielle and I walked to the side of the auditorium to wait for Lyric. Tugging at my elbow until I tilted my face to look at her, the woman said, “I wasn’t so sure about some of your rules, but it’s obvious you know your stuff. From now on, you just tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“I’m here to help in any way I can. I know we’ve only worked together for a few weeks, but Lyric is truly gifted, and beyond that, she is a hard worker. She takes notes well, and I never have to tell her the same thing twice.”

She looked at the stage where Lyric was now chatting with other members of the cast. “She’s my entire world,” she said softly, and that stirred something inside me, reminding me of my own mother.

Maybe I was overstepping, but the words came out before I could consider shutting my trap. “That’s wonderful, Gabrielle, but make sure to let her be a kid sometimes. And you take time to be an adult. I know dance is important to you both, but it’s not everything.”

Her brow crinkled like she couldn’t fathom such a statement. “What do you mean?”

“My mom and I were much the same as you and Lyric. We were together so much, we drifted apart. I know that sounds weird, but when you don’t have a life outside of dance… I don’t know. Just don’t let dance be the only thing. Take her out for ice cream sometimes and talk about something other than dancing. Let her have a slumber party with her friends. You and your husband go out on dates, just the two of you.”

Gabrielle’s eyes dropped to the floor. “Jake and I have been having trouble. He says we never do anything together anymore, but I’m just so busy with Lyric.”

“Take the time,” I said gently. “That will give your daughter a chance to do the things normal kids her age do. Like talk on the phone way too late. Make crazy TikToks with her friends. Discuss which boys are cute and which ones are gross.”

That made her laugh. “So you’re saying I need to back off.”

---