A Prelude To A Dance

by Kay Edwards

  Chapter Eight

  Logan and Elaina showed up at the Kiser’s on time. Elaina showed up with a warm hug and smile while Logan showed up with his emotions in a bit of tangle.

  “Welcome.” Ester greeted them with a smile. “You must be Logan.” She said as she gave him a hug.

  Logan was a bit surprised by the affection. He was so used to Helen and her reserve that he did not stop to think her mom might be more like his.

  “That would be me. Unless my mom has been hiding all of the other siblings I begged for growing up.”

  Elaina came up and took her son’s arm. “No son you are the only one.”

  Ester enjoyed watching the way Elaina was interacting with her son. She could not help but smile.

  “I’m afraid Helen is running a bit late. She just texted and said she would be here in a couple of minutes. Please, won’t you come in and have a seat.”

  Elaina followed Ester into the kitchen, and Logan sat on the sofa. He was sitting there taking in the room when he heard the door open behind him. The scene that followed next surprised him. He assumed Helen had not seen him when she opened her mouth. He almost laughed at what he saw but was too surprised at what he was hearing.

  “Mom!” Helen bellowed. She was a mess. “You are not going believe this.” She continued at her extremely high volume.

  Ester and Elaina came through the kitchen doorway. Both stopped and tried to cover their laughter. She looked like a drowned rat.

  Helen leveled both of the women with a stern look. “I am so glad that this amuses you but a little help would be nice.” She shut the door and started to take her shirt off.

  Both women came running toward her while her mom was saying a loud “No!”

  Helen about jumped out of her skin. What in the world was wrong with these two? And then, it hit her. If Elaina was there, that meant that Logan was there. She slowly turned to look at the couch. He was watching her with a shocked expression. She was suddenly very uncomfortable.

  Elaina knew she had to say something to ease Helen. Grabbing the throw from a nearby chair, she wrapped it around Helen’s shoulders. “What on earth happened to you?”

  Knowing that Logan was there changed Helen’s volume for sure. In a more level voice, she explained “I was walking home when an elderly man almost hit me with his car. I jumped in the drainage ditch. Well,” she said as she lifted her arms and turned in a circle “it rained last night, so it was full of water and mud. I’m glad my backpack landed on the other side of the ditch, or I would not have been able to text. I’m cold and wet but fine.”

  Hit by a car! Logan stood and walked over to her alarmed. “Are you ok?” he asked with real concern.

  Helen was a bit overwhelmed to have Logan in her bubble again. The concern she saw in his eyes though put her at ease. She answered honestly. “I am just wet and muddy. I don’t hurt anywhere. If anything, the little old man was in worse shape than me. I called his son and daughter-in-law to come and get him.”

  “Does this hurt?” Logan did not seem to believe her. He was raising her arms above her head and then pushing at her ribs.

  “Honestly, Logan, I’m fine. I just need to get out of these cold, wet clothes. Now that I have a better picture of who is here, I will not do that here in the living room.” she added with a blushed.

  Ester took charge. “Elaina do you mind getting the food on the table while I help Helen.”

  “No problem. You two go ahead. I think I can convince my boy here to help me.”

  Logan and Elaina gave each other a questioning look when they overheard Helen and Ester going up the stairs.

  “I needed a shower anyways.” Helen had said to which Ester went into a fit of giggles.

  Logan raised an eyebrow “Must be a private joke.”

  Elaina smiled and said “Not for long. I’ll have it out of them before the end of the meal.” She winked at him and then went to get the baked mac-n-cheese.

  Logan followed his mom. He thought of her being behind the wheel of a car and hurting someone bothered him. “Promise me when it is time for you to make that choice you will hang up the keys.”

  “I have thought about it. I would never want you to hear on the news that I injured someone. I have a stopping point already in place.”

  “What is it if you don’t mind me asking?”

  “When I notice my reaction time is getting slower, I will stop getting behind the wheel. I want to catch it before I’m a public hazard. Once I notice it is getting there, I will be done.” she said with a firm nod of her head.

  Logan went over and gave his mom a kiss on the top of the head. “Have I ever told you how great you are?”

  Elaina smiled and kissed his cheek. “You have, but I never get tired of hearing it.”

  That was the scene that Helen and Ester walked in on.

  Helen was drawn to the gentle way Logan interacted with his mother. He was so much taller and bigger than Elaina, but the gentleness he demonstrated was hard to ignore. It drew her to him in a way she did not understand. She wondered if that was how he looked with her when he was teaching her to dance. Something inside her softened at the sight of this man interacting with his mother.

  Logan looked up at Helen. Their eyes met, and for a second he thought he saw something different. She still seemed to have a hard time with keeping the eye contact though because she suddenly looked away.

  Ester entered the kitchen behind Helen. “Shall we eat?” she said as she as she gestured toward the table. They sat and prayed before enjoying the meal.

  “So, Logan how is my daughter doing with dance class?” Ester asked smiling.

  “I think she is doing well. I guess you can see for yourself though in about forty-five minutes.” Logan then turned his head toward Helen and asked. “Are you nervous about seeing yourself on TV?”

  Helen laughed and answered, “I had no intention of watching until mom texted.”

  “Seriously?” Logan couldn’t hide his surprise.

  Helen shrugged before she answered “I figured that I was living it. I was not sure that it would make me look at it differently. I never bothered to watch the interviews after the rescue.”

  “Actually, it may have some benefit with learning if you watch it. It will be kind of like the mirror we use.” Logan said.

  “Hmm, I guess I did not think of it that way.” Helen cocked her head to the side as she spoke. Logan loved it when she did that. He could not help but find it endearing.

  Elaina cleared her throat and then talked “I could not help but overhear you and Helen talking as you were going up the stairs, Ester. I actually should say Helen spoke and you laughed. Care to share a secret with an old friend?” she was teasing now.

  Ester smiled, but poor Helen turned red. It was Helen who answered first “Now really Mrs. Day do you think we have any secrets from you?” Helen tried to keep her mom from answering.

  Ester busted out in a full belly laugh. Helen gave her mom a stern look before she went back to speaking with Elaina. “She just has fits of laughter is the thing. Now that I think about it, she was probably still laughing at the mud thing.”

  Now Ester was hiccupping with laughter Helen gave up trying to convince the Days it was nothing. “Ok, Mom you can tell her.” She was not mad at all. Her mom was acting so darn funny at that moment that she had to smile.

  “Helen plans on working in a lab but the idea if germs, viruses, and bacteria make her want a shower. If they talk at all about them, she comes home and takes a bath. One time I came home and she was having a mass Lysol spraying spree.” Gasping for air, she continued in her fit of laughter, “She had all of the pillows lined up and was spraying the heck out of them.”

  Helen rolled her eyes as she defended herself “Now mom that was one time.” she looked at Elaina and Logan “We had just gone over flesh eating bacteria. I mean who would not want to spray everything
after that?”

  They all laughed and continued eating. It was nearing the time to go and watch the TV. Helen got up and told her mom she would do the dishes. She and Logan cleared the table. He did not ask or tell her he was going to help, he just did. They stood side by side at the sink. She would wash and hand him the dish. He would rinse and dry. Their hands touched a couple of times always bringing her eyes to his and his to hers.

  “I wanted to give you a heads up on something.” Logan began one of the times they had eye contact. “Tomorrow I will be dancing with you more than telling you the moves.”

  Helen looked away from his gaze “Oh.” was all she could say.

  “I would die before I forced you to do anything Helen, you know that right?”

  Helen looked up into his face. “I know. I think I am ready for it. I’m glad you told me though because it gives me a chance to prepare. Praying about it helps too.” she smiled as she finished her thoughts on the subject.

  Logan reached into the water and took her hand. The dishes were almost done. He did not want to leave her side. They stood there touching their fingers to each other’s palms. His thumb caressed her palm. She did not fight it. If she had, to be honest, she liked the feelings his touch was bringing. She didn’t know that she leaned into his side. He did. He looked down just as she was looking up. Slowly they pulled their hands away, each was silent in their thoughts. Both of these hearts were curious about what that special moment meant.

  Dishes finished Helen followed Logan into the living room where the TV was on and both of their mothers were comfortable in the chairs. Logan waited until Helen sat down on the sofa and then sat beside her.

  “Thank you for cleaning up Helen. You as well Logan” Ester said from her chair.

  “It was no problem, Mom. You did all of the cooking. It was the least I could do. Speaking of cooking, the mac-n-cheese was awesome as always.” Helen said with a smile.

  Logan smiled. “That was the best baked mac-n-cheese I have ever had.” Logan agreed with Helen then added, “As for cleaning up, we had fun doing it, so it was no problem at all Mrs. Kiser.”

  Helen blushed at his words. Interesting would be a better term for it in her eyes, but it was fun too.

  The show was starting. Helen leaned back against the couch. Logan stayed forward his elbows on his knees. All eyes were on the TV and the drama as it unfolded in front of their eyes. It showed their first meeting. The camera captured the gentle way Logan handled the very shy Helen. Not once did it show the very personal struggle in an unflattering light. Helen was surprised when Logan explained to the camera that she had left the room because she struggled with anxiety. She watched as he asked for a moment on her behalf to become accustomed to the cameras. She knew what had happened next, but there was not even a clue. Everything was put together in a very respectful way. When Logan leaned back to watch the rest, she did not even know she leaned into him. She smiled at some of the parts. Observing almost as a third party to the lessons, Helen could see that Logan was very gentle. She had her back to him most of the time she had been learning. Seeing his face and the thought he put into her touched a part of her Helen did not know existed. She felt his arm go around her and leaned more deeply into his side.

  “I think I am ready for tomorrow.” She said when he leaned down to her.

  “I think you are too” he smiled down into her face.

  They finished watching the segment. It was going to be a ten-minute spot, but the producers turned it into fifteen minutes. The people watching were able to tweet their thoughts. The bottom of the screen scrolled them across. The best of wishes were there for all to see. Now and then Helen would let her eyes wander to the bottom of the screen.

  Ester and Elaina looked at their children interacting. They looked at each other and smiled. For Ester, she had never seen Helen so comfortable with a person of the opposite sex. For Elaina, it was watching what she thought was young love blossoming.

  After the program, Ester turned off the TV. The four sat in the living room chatting for another hour. Ester looked at Logan at one point and asked outright if he was a Christian. Logan put a lot of thought into the answer.

  “I’m not going to lie to you. When my mom asked me to do this, I was not happy. I accepted for one reason I knew it was the right thing to do.” Logan paused to collect his thoughts before he continued. “The day that Helen went into the river I was on the phone with my mom. She was getting excited, and I was getting worried. In short, I was angry with Helen by the end of the conversation. My mom had told me that she was a Christian and for nothing but that I was angry. I could not answer the question would I have jumped into that river and saved Lidia with a ‘yes.'” Logan looked down at Helen. He had felt her tense when he had expressed his anger. “When I had to be honest, I came to the realization that I would not have. I was afraid of dying because I knew deep down inside I was not ready to die. I resented the peace that I knew she must have had that I could have but did not have.”

  Logan looked at his mother. He smiled at her with love. “Mom always asked me about my walk with Christ. She always expressed her concern with my afterlife. I saw the clips of Helen going into that water, and it made me more aware of my spiritual welfare. I had been living a very selfish lifestyle. I was angry because God was asking me to give it up.”

  Logan felt Helen relax again, so he continued. “The day I met Helen I saw a woman that did not want to do what she was doing. I saw a woman that was willing to trust God even when she did not want to. It spoke to me. I watched her leave the room. I knew God was asking me to go to her. I knew at that moment if I obeyed God I had to do it as a Christian. I gave it all to Him that first day we practiced. I don’t want anyone to get the idea that I did it for Helen. I was ready to do it. She just helped me see that I was ready. My decision to follow Christ is for real, and I am truly at peace.”

  Helen looked at Logan with tears in her eyes “I did not know.” she whispered.

  Logan put his arm back around Helen and gave her an affectionate squeeze. She leaned into him and relaxed fully. The rest of the night went by in a blur as Helen realized one thing, she trusted Logan. If he were to walk into a room, she would not have any fear of his intentions toward her. Helen may not be as comfortable with his touch, but she knew deep down inside her being that he would never hurt her.