It was not a minute after Mr. Peyton left that the door opened again and my mother ran to me. In fact, it was so quick, I was willing to bet they passed one another in the hall.
“Oh my sweet darling!”
I told the police to call her, I begged them. I knew she would hop on the first flight to come see me. Maybe our relationship was an odd one, but no one wanted to be without their mom during a time like this.
“Mom,” I cried, wanting her to comfort me the way only moms could. She leaned down and hugged me gently before placing a kiss on my head.
I hadn’t seen her in so long. Moving to Atlanta had made it hard and until I saw her face without a screen between us, I didn't realize how much I had missed her.
“God, please tell me everything,” she insisted, pulling away and dabbing her eyes. I wasn't even sure if her tears were real. Galena Metrovik had a flair for theatrics.
However, I knew her concern was real.
“Oh mom. It's a long story, you better sit down.”
She sat and crossed her legs, making sure her perfect pant suit wasn't creased as I began talking. I started from the beginning and told her everything, including agreeing to help a football player to pad the account at Brisé.
I told her about the break ins, hiring a guard, being unsure if Brisé was the right move for me, being worried about the kids, even the part about falling for Ty. I left nothing out and I expected her to chastise me and tell me she told me so, that I belonged on the stage.
After telling her about Ty, I even expected her to be disappointed in me. In my entire life, my mom had never been in love. At least not that I knew of. She had men coming in and out of her life, but love wasn’t something she ever admitted to. Her only true love was dancing, and I guess me.
So I finished and sat back, waiting to hear her dismay in my choices. I watched her eyes get wide, her hand cover her lips, I think I even saw a real tear as she shook her head at my story. She swallowed and looked around the room, looking out of sorts. She was clearly at a loss for words and it was only a matter of time before she found them.
“Sorry if I have disappointed you mom. Brisé was a….”
“No,” she finally spoke up, cutting me off with a stern tone. “You will not apologize to me for, well, anything. I am incredibly proud of you, almost envious.”
My jaw dropped and it was my turn to be at a loss for words.
“Darling, you are one of the world’s best dancers. But that is probably because of genetics and the fact that you were raised by someone that was always dancing. That doesn’t mean it is what you were meant to do.”
“Mom, I love dancing. I love teaching. I want Brisé to be successful, I really do. But there is just no way I can keep it up at this rate. Things were looking better, then the break-ins and now this,” I pointed to my leg. “I cannot teach like this. The kids will lose their recital, I will owe the theater too much money, I will….”
Again, she cut me off. “Stop, right now. We will figure all of that out. You just rest and get better. There is not anything you can do until then.”
I swallowed hard and nodded, so thankful she was there.
“You came quick,” I changed the subject.
“Darling, an officer called to tell me my child had been shot. Yes, I came very quick.” She spoke like I was an idiot, like it was a no brainer. But again, with her, I never knew.
Or maybe I just always assumed. Without the stress of the stage, we were both different people sometimes. Ty could attest to that.
I closed my eyes and decided that from then on out, I would be ok. I could handle whatever came next. Mom was right, I needed to rest and get better.