“Sorry, honey, can I take this?” She beamed at Ben. “Hearing Quinn’s name called will be a dream come true. The level of sacrifice we’ve dealt with to get her to this point has been extreme, you know? All those early morning practices, the expenses, the travel... it was a lot for me to take on.” She leaned across me to tap my dad’s hand. “Tim helped when he could, but he was busy keeping a roof over our heads and paying for her lessons, so it all fell on me. And Iwelcomedit, because I knew this young lady had a gift from day one. I can spot raw talent, and Quinn had it.”
Finally. Half-hearted acknowledgment ofmycontribution to my sport.
“I’m sure a big part of it was thanks to my dance background,” she continued. “Did I tell you that I was still teaching classes at eight-and-a-half months pregnant? Quinn was born with rhythm!”
My stomach twisted, because the woman couldn’t even get past the first question without claiming some of my spotlight.
Ben nodded like she was making a valid point. “Yes, you did mention how long you danced while pregnant. Very impressive.” He shifted to face my father. “Tim, talk to me about how you’ll feel hearing your daughter’s name called out at the medal ceremony.”
He let out a whistle. “Oh, man. I’d call it a full circle moment. When she was just starting out I asked her what she wanted to be when she grew up, and I remember her answer clear as day. Shesaid, ‘Daddy, I want to be an Olympic gold medalist.’ That was at eight years old! Her passion and determination have been there from the start. Watching her win will be really emotional for me.”
I remembered that conversation. He’d said, “You can do anything,” and I believed him. I knew that his support was there, even if he didn’t manage to show it in obvious ways.
“Exactly,” my mom added. “I really thought it was going to happen for us in Switzerland. How lucky are we that we get a second chance?”
Ben flicked his eyes to me and I gave him a tight-lipped grin in response. I was okay for now.
“I mean, I wishIwas lucky enough to get a second chance, but it didn’t work out for me. So watching Quinn live out her dream will have to do.”
My heartbeat slowed. Tricia always had an angle that I could usually figure out, but it felt like this one was new.
“Well, you said your dance studio is at capacity with a waiting list, right? It sounds like it’s a very successful business,” Ben said cautiously, like he could tell that he was on unsteady ground.
“Yes, the Tricia Albright Academy of Dance is the most successful studio in the entire state of Connecticut.”
An uncertifiable distinction, but who would dare question it?
“But there’s more to the story,” she continued coyly. “I guess you could call it an exclusive, just for you.”
I swallowed hard. Where the hell was this going? I glanced over at my dad, but he was just smiling blandly with a blank stare, physically in the room but mentally on the golf course.
“Okay...” Ben said slowly. “Let’s hear it.”
My mom recrossed her legs and stared off into the distance. “This is a little hard for me to talk about... it was a long time ago but itstill hurts, you know?” She managed to make frowning look pretty. “I’ve always been a gifted dancer. My goal was to pursue dance as a career, on the stage. I’d always wanted to be a Rockette. They’re so poised and beautiful! So I auditioned. I knew I had a decent shot, but the competition wasfierce. I couldn’t quite believe it when I made it through the screening audition, then the next one, and the following, and then the final cut.”
TheRockettes? As she spoke I felt my body starting to tremble. I thought I knew all her stories—I’d always been her captive audience—so what the hell was happening? I slowly moved my hands under my thighs, to try to stop the shaking.
“I couldn’t believe that I made it. I was going to be a Rockette! You can’t even imagine how excited I was.”
She was never a Rockette. My dad reached over to squeeze her hand.
“Wow,” Ben answered. “Quite an honor.”
“Oh my lord, I wasthrilled,” my mom laughed. “A dream realized. But then...”
She trailed off and sniffled again. I could feel her staring at me, like we were in a play and I’d just missed a critical stage direction.
“Then I got an even bigger surprise; I found out that I was pregnant with this one.” She slipped her hand over to cradle the side of my head and forced me close for a quick kiss on my temple. I had no idea what my face was doing in response but it probably wasn’t cute.
“So my dream just,poof, disappeared.” Her voice trembled but she smiled.
I felt clammy, like I was coming down with the flu as I figured out that I was my mother’s dream stealer. My very presence was a reminder of everything she had to give up. In her eyes, I was to blame for her derailed future.
She’d had so many opportunities to let me in on this important part of her backstory but she’d kept it to herself, like sheknewthat she’d eventually have the perfect stage and spotlight for a dramatic reveal.
Her ability to direct my life would never end, it seemed.
“Replaced with a new dream, I assume,” Ben replied. “A much more important one.”
