“You okay?” Reese asked.
Emma nodded, then laughed wetly. “I just love dancing so much. I’ve missed it.”
“I understand,” Reese said softly.
“I wish I could take class every day. Or even a few times a week. But my dad …” Emma stopped, clearly fighting to keepher emotions under control. “Like I said, he won’t pay for classes anymore. That if I want classes then my mom should get a job.”
Reese exchanged a glance with Roan, an idea forming in her mind.
“What if I had a proposition for you?” Reese said.
“What kind of proposition?”
“I’m putting on a Christmas recital in two weeks. All my students are performing. We use the stage at the elementary school. There’s a lot of little ones, so it can feel chaotic. I could use an assistant. Someone to help wrangle the dancers and make sure everyone gets into the right costume at the right time.”
“You want me to help?” Emma asked.
“Yes. And, in exchange, you can take whatever classes you want. Free. As many per week as you can fit in.”
Emma stared at her. “Are you serious?”
“Completely serious. I need a helper. You’d get to dance again. Win-win.”
“Yes,” Emma said immediately. “Whatever you need, I’ll do.”
“Great. Can you come tomorrow morning?” It was Saturday, so the kids didn’t have school. “We’ll figure out a schedule.”
“Yes, I think I can get my mom to bring me into town.” Emma wiped her eyes again, smiling wide. “Thank you. Thank you so much.”
“If your mom doesn’t want to drive you, text me. I’ll come get you on my way in to town,” Reese said.
She encouraged everyone to gather in a circle on the floor, stretching out their hamstrings, hip flexors, calves.
“Same time Monday?” Marcus asked. “At Take Two?”
“That’s right,” Roan said. “And on Tuesday, we dance.”
“I’ll teach you the next thirty seconds or so of this dance,” Reese said. “Before you know it, you’ll have memorized the entire thing.”
“I can’t wait,” Emma said.
“Me either,” Marcus said.
“I guess it wasn’t completely terrible,” Cody said, grinning. “Even though I feel kind of dumb.”
“I do too, but it was fun,” Roan said. “Concentrating like that drowns out all the other noise of life.”
“Like meditation,” Julia said. “Kind of.”
“Totally,” Marcus said.
“Thank you all for letting me share my passion with you,” Reese said.
“We should be thanking you,” Marcus said.
“Yeah, thanks,” Julia said. “We know you didn’t have to do this.”
“Most people wouldn’t,” Cody said.
