Chapter Twenty-Seven
Jillian
Iwoke up earlier thanI should for someone who drank too much champagne at her sister’s wedding the night before, but I was lucky if I was able to get a couple of hours of sleep once my head hit the pillow. I kept thinking about Hutch, the words he said to me, and the fact that he told me we could never be friends. How could I ignore him for the rest of my life? Tears stung my eyes, but I blinked them away.
I sat up, pulled the blanket back, and swung my legs over the side of the bed. No, I had a big day ahead of me today. I was going to get the keys to the studio, see what kind of work I really had cut out for me, and then maybe start putting some ideas together. I wasn’t going to sit there and feel sorry for myself because Hutch Kelly decided he didn’t even want to say hello to me.
I stood up, making my way to the bathroom, noticing how quiet the house was. Jo hadn’t lived here in a couple of years, but had stayed the few days, leading up to the wedding. She and Pat were supposed to be leaving today for their honeymoon to Alaska. Mom was a notorious morning person, but after the way she was kicking up her heels on the dance floor last night, I wasn’t surprised to find her still sleeping.
I stripped out of my tank top, sleep shorts, and panties, making sure to dump them in the hamper before I turned on the water and stepped into the bathtub. The water felt good rolling off my skin as I let myself wash off everything that happened last night. I scrubbed my skin until it felt clean, washed and conditioned my hair, and then finally turned off the water, afraid that I would use up all the hot before my mother had a chance to shower. I toweled off and wrapped my hair up on my head, trying not to stare at myself in the mirror.
Once I was done in the bathroom, I cleaned up after myself before I went to dig something out of my suitcase to wear. I stopped in the doorway of my childhood bedroom, realizing I needed to find my own place. Mom wouldn’t care if I stayed—actually she would most likely love it—but I would do so much better if I was able to find a cute little apartment of my own. I made a mental note as I was yanking on a clean pair of underwear to look around town today and see if anything was available.
My mother was siting when I made my way downstairs, her hands wrapped around a cup of tea. “Good morning, sweetheart.” She flashed me a smile. “Where are you off to this morning?” She brought the mug up to her lips to blow on the hot liquid.
“Going to check out the ballet studio. I need to see how much work actually has to be done.” I opened the cabinet, grabbed a K-cup, and popped it into the Keurig. I yanked the top off a travel mug to take that with me. My mother wasn’t a coffee drinker, but made sure she kept the stuff around for drinkers like myself. I leaned casually against the counter. “I thought I would look for an apartment while I was out,” I added.
“You don’t need to do that,” she insisted.
I twisted my lips. “Mom, I’m twenty-two. I shouldn’t be living here, mooching off you, and drinking your coffee.” I smiled.
“I like having you here.” Which was really her way of telling me she didn’t want to be alone in this big house.
I took my now-full coffee cup over to where the sugar was. “You could get a dog,” I suggested. “Or travel like you always talked about doing.” I wasn’t sure what she wanted me to tell her. After Dad passed away, Mom knew that this day was going to come. Jo and I weren’t going to stay kids forever. When she didn’t say anything, I turned around to find her just staring at me with a look in her eyes I didn’t recognize. “Mom, are you okay?”
She nodded. “Your father and I always talked about traveling when you girls moved out and started your own family.” She sighed softly. “It’s just too bad he won’t be here to enjoy this with me.”
I moved closer so that I could hug her. “I miss Dad, too,” I whispered, my voice clogged.
“Now, now, don’t go getting me started again.” Mom scoffed. “I cried enough last night. Go on.” She pretended to push me away. “Send me some pictures of the studio,” she added as I headed toward the door.
I assured her I would as I made my way down the front steps. I couldn’t help but look in the direction of Hutch’s apartment, even though I knew he wasn’t there. The memories of everything we had hit me, and I quickly rushed down the sidewalk before I started crying. The tourists were up and out early as I made my way past the Angry Egg and the Ocean View Hotel, before I finally found myself in front of the ballet studio.
My ballet studio. When I had spoken to the realtor and explained to him I wanted to purchase the studio, he seemed surprised. After Madam had retired, no one had wanted to buy the building, so it had been sitting here empty for nearly three years. We had a quick meeting inside, where I got a quick glimpse inside, and I told him I would take it. I signed the contract, he gave me the keys, and that was it. Today was really the first day that I would have all the time in the world I would need to look around.
As I pulled my keys from my pocket, I thought I heard my name being called out, and when I turned around, I saw Brooklyn, the photographer, from the wedding, waving before she headed toward me.
“Hi.” I smiled at her.
“Are you an early riser too?” She grinned happily with her covered coffee in her hand.
I nodded. “I’m pretty sure it’s from the years of dance drilled into my head.” I giggled. “What about you?”
“Rand.” She hooked a thumb over her shoulder just as a giant man—covered in tattoos—came walking up behind her. “NASCAR is hard work. He’s up early for practice, races, meetings, you name it.”
