Page 221 of Pucking Strong

After two years in Henrik’s old apartment, we finally moved into a bigger place closer to the beach. We’re now only a five-minutewalk from the Langleys. Ever since someone thought it would be a good idea to get Karolina a dog, it’s a walk we make pretty much daily. “Sparkles bought you some good will,” I assure him. “If she asks for a drum set, we’ll just say he’s allergic.”

He snorts, carefully shifting the bouquet of flowers to under his chair.

Tess leans in over Ryan, squeezing my arm. “Is she excited? Did you see her all dressed and ready?”

I nod, grinning. “I took, like, a thousand pictures on my phone. I got some good ones of Emma too. I’ll send them to you.”

She gives me a thumbs-up as the lights go down.

Ryan leans around me to look at Henrik. “Hey, we’re going out for pizza tonight to celebrate. You three wanna join?”

“Can’t,” Henrik replies, clapping along with the rest of the crowd as the lights flash on stage, illuminating the curtains.

“We can’t?” I say, one brow raised. “Why not?”

“We’ve got plans,” he replies, loud enough for Ryan to hear.

This is the first I’m hearing of post-ballet dinner plans. My Spidey senses start to tingle as I glance over at my husband. “What plans?”

He just places a hand on my knee, giving it a pat.

“I won’t let up until you tell me.”

“It’s a surprise.”

The overture starts, and I’m left dangling for the whole of Act One, wondering what plans he made without telling me. From the moment the “Waltz of the Flowers” begins in Act Two, Henrik and I are on the edge of our seats. I gasp as Karolina comes prancing onto the stage in her pale green tutu. I grip Henrik’s arm. “Babe—”

“I see her.” He takes my hand, weaving our fingers together.

“Wow, she looks good,” Ryan says next to me.

Next to him, Tess is on the edge of her seat too, her mountain of red curls piled atop her head. A few strands frame her freckled face as she clutches to her phone, recording Emma, who is dancing two girls behind Karolina. My god, how could I forget?

“Babe, your phone,” I hiss.

Henrik scrambles to get his phone, setting it to record, as we watch Karolina leap and twirl, her arms fanning. At ten, she’s tallfor her age. She’s one of the tallest girls on the stage. Her icy-blonde hair has grown to her butt. She won’t let us cut it. HerTangledphase left too great an imprint on her psyche.

I was a proud papa bear watching Henrik help her braid it tonight. We got it pinned up in a crown and hair-sprayed it until it was practically a helmet. If that hair falls, it won’t be our fault. She weaves between the other girls, prancing from stage left to stage right, hitting each mark.

Next to me, Ryan is muttering under his breath. “Tendu … pirouette into fouetté—yes!”

Emma and Karolina both nail landing in a lunge, back legs extended, chests open, arms extended.

Henrik’s eyes are on Karolina rather than the screen of his phone. “She looks so beautiful.”

Tears sting my eyes as I watch our girl go, owning the stage like she was born to dance. I don’t often let myself dwell on the darkness of how we met, but in this moment, watching the power in her leaps, I can’t help but think back to that little girl I met in Sweden, bruises on her eye, a fluffy pink sock on the foot of her broken leg.

She’s come so far. She still loves drawing and watching movies. Math is her favorite subject in school. And she’s pulled Henrik back into his love of photography. They want to set up a darkroom upstairs so he can teach her how to develop film. We all took surfing lessons together until Karro and I admitted we were too afraid of sharks to continue. This summer, we’ve planned a family trip to Peru to hike part of the Inca Trail.

“Doesn’t she look beautiful?” His eyes glow as he watches her do her spins at center stage.

“She does,” I murmur, a tear slipping down my cheek. “She’s so beautiful.”

The lights are up, and Christmas carols play over the speakers in the auditorium. All the families mill around, waiting for the dancers to be released from backstage.

“Did you like it?” I say at Bennett.

He just shrugs. “It was long. The rat dancers were kinda cool. Reminded me ofNinja Turtles.”

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