Part 39 (2/2)
”Broadway?” His eyebrows rise. He seems impressed.
I nod. ”It was a summer gig.”
”Wow.”
”I was three weeks away from the opening show.”
”Oh, Rose. I'm sorry.”
”Wasn't meant to be, I guess.” I plaster a smile on my face. As much as I'm learning to trust in Ben, I'm still not ready to reveal how much it hurts to know my dreams have been crushed forever.
He brings his thumb to the corner of my lip. ”Don't hide your feelings on my account, Rose.”
My smile drops. I shake my head. ”I'm not.”
”You've never talked about this, have you?”
Again, I shake my head.
”You haven't really accepted it yet.”
”No.”
”I think I understand.”
I look at Ben. Again I'm being selfish. ”I'm sorry. We're talking about me, and you have this huge decision to make. Plus, you're facing chemo and all. I'm so sorry.”
”No, Rose, don't be. I want to learn all about you. What scares you is part of that. You're my girlfriend now,” he winks. ”That means you have to tell me how you feel. Always.”
”Well then the same goes for you, boyfriend.”
He squeezes me again then cups his hand around my left knee. ”I'm happy, Rose. Now that I have you, I can face this.”
”You're not gonna give up the Majors, are you?”
”I don't know. It's gonna be even harder now. I mean, they're not easy to make to begin with.”
”You never talked like that before. You were so sure of yourself.”
”How can I be now?”
”It's not your pitching arm you're losing.”
”No. But...”
”I've seen people run marathons with artificial legs. It's all over the Internet. Certainly you can run bases with one.”
”But you can't dance?”
”Not gracefully.”
”I guess that's a bit trickier.”
”Do you want to know what I needed to get from here today?”
”Yeah.”
I not-so-delicately get off Ben's lap and go back to my closet. Pulling out my box, I sit back down on the bed and open it. ”My dancing leg.”
He picks it up and turns it over in his hand. ”It's sleeker. Robotic looking, though.”
”Yeah, but the ankle rotates more effectively.”
”Does this mean you're gonna start dancing again?”
I take the leg from Ben and place it in its box. ”I don't know.” I set the box beside me and stand up. ”I need to get something else. Come.”
”Yes, ma'am,” he jokes.
Ben follows me to the bas.e.m.e.nt.
”Wow,” he says when we get there.
”My dad had this built for me.”
”Your own dance studio? Wow. It's amazing.”
”Thank you.” I go to my shoe box and pull out my pointe shoes, my ballet shoes, my tap shoes, and my jazz shoes...just in case. I'm not sure I want to take up Professor Sherman on her offer, but I may as well be prepared.
”Are you gonna dance, Rose?”
Grabbing a dance bag from a hook on the wall, I answer Ben honestly. ”I'm not sure. Professor Sherman told me I can use the fitness room if I wanted to practice.”
”Professor Sherman? Musicology Professor Sherman?”
I laugh. ”Yeah. Turns out she's a dancer too. She asked me to...to dance with her.”
”Really?” He looks surprised. ”You gonna take her up on that?”
I shrug. ”I guess. I've been thinking about it.”
”Well...one step at a time, half-pint. You got your shoes. Worry about the next step next time.”
”Half-pint? Again?”
”We're at your farm, I couldn't resist.”
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