I introduce him to Gemma and then lead him into the main room, telling him all about my vision for the school.
“It isn’t super strict like the academy I went to. However, I’ll teach the classical style, but there will also be modern and formal dance options, games, parties, and pizza nights...this program may not be for dancers who desire to join the national tours, but for those who dance for the love of it. Then again, I could train someone to become a professional if they desire to do so.”
“I’m so proud of you,” Connor says.
I beam. For years, I’d yearned to hear those words. They never came, not even when I’d made it to the premier stages in France, did my parents tell me that I was good enough.
“I want my dancers to feel the joy, day after day, even when it’s hard sometimes, rather than end up walking away as I did.”
“But you found your way back.”
“It’s all because I followed my heart.”
Connor kisses me on the forehead and together—with him in the hilarious tutu—chat, with the remaining visitors. He is sureto let everyone know that ballet even benefits football players like him.
We’re at the studio until well after nightfall. After locking up, Connor leads me in the opposite direction of the village.
“Where are we going?” I ask because it seems like Connor knows his way. “Are you hungry?”
“Not especially. I had quite a few of those cookies Hildie made. They were delicious.”
“Me too.”
“But I would like to take you to dinner if you’d care to join me, Mrs. Wolfe.”
“It would be my pleasure, though we should probably change.” I giggle and tug on the tulle of his tutu.
“First, there’s something I’d like you to see.” Connor’s voice is as velvety soft as the night sky.
The glowing lights from the village fade at our backs as we reach a clearing atop the bluff. The sky is clear and the stars start to blink on like little individual lights.
“Funny, I never came up this way past the dance studio. It’s beautiful.”
Connor wraps his arm around me, pulling me close even though the summer night is warm. “When we were camping, I’d gaze at the stars after you fell asleep. It was then that I realized how truly, deeply I loved you. How I’d do anything for you.”
In the distance, little pinpricks of light dance along the horizon. They’re brighter than stars and seem to be moving closer.
Reminding me of the fireflies we saw in the field, I watch with curiosity.
In a matter of moments, hundreds of illuminated bamboo lanterns light the night sky and float toward where we stand on the bluff.
“What is it?” I ask.
“It’s for you. I can’t move mountains, but I can cross them and oceans. I can’t grant you wishes, but I can bring down the stars.” Connor’s voice is rough yet poetic, and mine. All mine.
The lanterns float closer as though pulled by invisible threads.
“You did this for me? For us?”
Connor nods. “I did this because, for the next year, we’ll be like these lanterns, lighting up and drifting in and out of each other’s lives.”
My shoulders drop a notch. Because of my new business and his career, we decided we’re going to win at being in a long-distance relationship. Still, it’s hard.
He smooths a piece of my hair between his fingers. “But after the season is over, I’m retiring.”
I gasp. “What? You can’t do that.”
“I seem to remember a certain headmistress asking me about longevity and my long-term career goals.”
