Dance of a Lifetime

by Frank Downey

  "Yes, ma'am," Kristin told her.

  When she came out of the shower, wrapped in a towel, Jessie had her sit down in a chair, and went after her with a curling iron.

  "Jess?"

  "Kris?"

  "I wanted to ask you something." She took a breath. "I can't ask Warren." She took another breath. "What's up with you and Warren? I know there's something, but..." she trailed off. "You're around all the time. You've been Sophie's best friend for years, but I never got to know you before this summer. And sometimes it seems..." she didn't quite know what to say.

  Jessie laughed gently. "I sleep at Warren and Sophia's apartment. The three of us. In one bed. I'm sure you can draw a picture from that."

  "You and Sophie both make love with my brother?"

  "And with each other," Jessie admitted.

  "You like girls?"

  "Only Sophie," Jess told her. "It's weird, but it's only Sophie. Sophie, on the other hand, has a definite bi streak."

  "So, you don't like girls but you have sex with Sophie?"

  Jess looked at her. "Kris, someday you're going to realize something. And don't think I'm talking down to you, because it's something I've only realized recently. You're going to understand that there's a difference between having sex-and showing someone how much you love them. I don't have sex with Sophie. I show her how much I love her. It's just that I use my body, and hers, to do it."

  "And you have sex with my brother."

  Jessie took a breath. "No, I don't have sex with him, either."

  "You love Warren?"

  "Yes. He loves me too, you know."

  "But he's with Sophie!"

  "Yes he is. That's fine with me, you know."

  "They're getting married! Don't you feel like, well, a fifth wheel?"

  "No," Jess grinned, "because they won't let me. Sophie asked me if the wedding bothered me. Of course it doesn't. Those two were meant to be together. Forever. What I share with them is just temporary."

  "But, if you love them..."

  "You can love more than one person. All three of us are proof of that. And, don't get me wrong, I am second choice, especially for Warren, and I'm fine with that. But I'm confident I will find someone to love and share my life with, sooner or later. And when I do, I'll go with him, and I'll just have to find other ways to show Sophie and Warren how much I love them."

  "That's a very cool attitude," Kristin said in admiration.

  "A better one than I used to have, believe me," Jess grinned. "Hey, look at your hair!"

  Kristin looked at the mirror. "Jess, you're a miracle worker!"

  When Tom came back from practice, he hustled into a shower and got himself ready. He came downstairs. A few minutes later, Kristin came down the stairs.

  "Wow. You look fantastic," he told her.

  "Thanks," she blushed.

  "Ready to go?"

  "Yeah."

  They went out to a local Italian restaurant. Tom immediately was telling silly jokes and making her giggle.

  "God you make me laugh," she said happily.

  "And you've never even seen me skate," he grinned.

  "Yeah, I've seen you skate. I was at Nationals this year."

  "It's gonna be better this year," Tom predicted. "That brother of yours, and Sophia, they can choreograph up a storm."

  "I've watched them choreograph for themselves before. It's fascinating."

  "So, you done with War and Peace yet?" he asked her.

  "No," she sighed. "I love it, but it's endless."

  "Tolstoy does go on, doesn't he?"

  They finished the meal, chatting happily. Towards the end, Kristin said, "How do you do this to me?"

  "What?" Tom asked, confused.

  "Make me feel so at ease. I was so scared. This is my first date, you know."

  "Warren told me," Tom said.

  "I thought I'd be nervous, stuttering, making a complete fool of myself. How did you do this to me?"

  He grinned at her. "The minute I caught you playing the piano, it was all over. You can't be shy around me after that, and you know it."

  Kristin thought about that-and realized that he had a point.

  They decided to just get in Tom's car and drive around for a while-neither of them wanted to stop talking, and they didn't want to talk at the house, where Peg and Jim might be around.

  "You know this is my first date. Do you have a lot of girlfriends?" Kristin asked him.

  He laughed. "I haven't gone to school since eighth grade-I've been tutored since then. The only girls I ever see are the girls at the rink. I've known all of them for years. There's only a few that aren't flighty gossip-mongers. I don't date much at all. I just don't meet girls I'm interested in." He grinned. "Well, until this week."

  "You're the first person that's ever even asked me out."

  "There must be a lot of stupid guys in Oceanview," Tom said. Kristin beamed at that one.

  They got back to the house around ten, and walked up onto the porch. "Kris?" Tom asked. "Before we go in, well, would it be all right if I kissed you?"

  Kris's heart started thumping like the snare in a marching band. "Yes," she whispered. Tom leaned down to her, and their lips met. Tom didn't want to rush things. It started as a light, fairly innocent kiss. It didn't end up that way. To both their surprise, it just built and built. The sparks between them were almost visible. By the time Tom finally had the presence of mind to pull away-before he completely lost control-they were plastered onto each other, their arms wrapped around the other, and their lips locked.

  "Wow!" Kristin breathed.

  "You can say that again."

  "We'd better go in," she giggled. "Before, you know, something..."

  "I know what you mean. Believe me, I know what you mean."

  Practice for Tom ran a little short on Thursday, so he was home in the early afternoon, much to Kristin's delight. They fooled around on the piano for a couple of hours. At one point, he turned to her, beside him on the piano bench, and spontaneously kissed her. She eagerly returned the kiss.

  After they ate supper with the Kellehers, Tom found a movie they both wanted to see, so they went. Friday, Kristin asked to come to practice and watch. She did that every so often with Warren and Sophia, and enjoyed it. She got to see Tom's new Mozart program in its entirety, and she enjoyed watching her brother and her almost-sister-in-law choreograph for him. She also got to help out with Betsy. She adored her niece. She noticed Tom grinning at her at one point while she fussed over Betsy. He skated over and kissed her nose, then skated away.

  Warren was working with Tom and one point, and Sophia had come off the ice because Betsy was hungry. "So, what's up with you and Tom?" Sophia asked Kristin.

  "I really like him! He really likes me, too!" she said, incredulous.

  "You guys have a lot in common."

  "Yeah, but luckily only one of us is painfully shy. It's a good thing he asked me out!"

  Sophia giggled. "Yup. Reminds me of me with your brother." Kristin laughed out loud at that one.

  Jim and Peg went out that night, so Tom and Kristin stayed in. Tom would be leaving the next day, so they just wanted to spend time together. They didn't go past making out, but they did quite a bit of making out.

  "This sucks," Kristin sighed.

  "What?" Tom asked, puzzled.

  "You're leaving tomorrow."

  "Yeah," he said. "But it's only New York. It's not that far. I'll be able to visit."

  "Will you?"

  "Sure."

  Just then Kristin remembered something. "I was wondering. Do you think you could make one of those visits two weekends from now?"

  "Maybe. I'll have to see. Is there a reason?"

  "Well, yeah," she giggled. "I don't have a date to my own brother's wedding."

  "Oh! Well, then, yes. I'll definitely come. I'll work it out."

  "Great!"

  Tom left the next day, and Kristin and he shared a long good-bye kiss, in full view of Jim, Peg,
and Warren (who had come over to see him off). When they got into the house, they all went into the family room-and Kristin, to everyone's surprise, including hers, started crying.

  "Shit. Shit, shit, shit," she said, trying to stop crying.

  "Kristin, honey? What's wrong?" Peg asked.

  "How the hell can you fall for someone in a week?"

  "What?" Peg gasped. "I know you two went out a few times..."

  "Yeah. But it's more than that."

  "How much more than that?" Peg asked carefully. Kristin just looked at her. "Kristin, you know you can talk to us about anything."

  She looked at them for another minute, confused. Then light dawned. "Oh, no, not that," she said. "We haven't done anything more than kiss. It's just that-oh, man, he's the perfect guy for me! And he's five hours away!" She started sobbing again.

  "Kris," Peg started, "like you said, you've only known him for a week. And you're only sixteen."

  "War?" Kris asked. "When did you know?"

  Warren, knowing exactly what she was talking about, grinned, "It wasn't much longer than a week."

  "And you were only fourteen," Kristin said.

  "True," Warren agreed.

  "I really should know better," Peg grinned. "Look, Kris, how does he feel?"

  "He likes me a lot, I know that."

  "Then it'll all work out, if it's truly meant to be. New York isn't that far away."

  "That's what he said," she said, then brightened visibly. "He is coming up in two weeks." She grinned at Warren. "I have a date for your wedding."

  "Great! One more figure skater at the wedding can't hurt anything," he laughed.

  Over the next two weeks, Kristin counted the days until the wedding. She had been looking forward to it anyway-she loved Sophia, she knew Warren and Sophia were meant to be together and was thrilled it was finally happening, and she got to be a bridesmaid. So, she'd been looking forward to it, anyway. Now she was really looking forward to it.

  She was diverted a bit by the arrival of Liz Cushman the day after Tom had left. Liz was happy to see her. This year, she was determined not to be shy around Liz. Liz was practically part of the family-and she was engaging, gregarious, and fun to be with. Kristin even let Liz hear her playing piano. Tom was the first person not in her family to ever hear her-and now she played for Liz. Liz was impressed.

  Liz had come in for a week of choreography-Warren and Sophia had picked Beethoven's Fifth Piano Concerto, the Emperor, for her music. The week after that, she was just going to hang and help with the wedding plans.

  Kristin told her all about Tom, and Liz was thrilled. "I like Tom," she told Kristin. "Wish I had a love life to discuss with you," she said ruefully.

  That was right after she had gotten into town. Suddenly, by the Friday of the first week, she had told Kristin she had a date. Then another on Saturday. Then another on Tuesday of the following week. She hadn't told Kristin who the dates were with, and Kristin hadn't asked. Until, that Tuesday night, Kristin happened to be sitting in the living room, reading, when Liz came home. Liz had opened the door, and Kris could see her kissing some guy. When she pulled away, Kris got a look at the guy as he said goodbye to her.

  Kris didn't say anything to Liz about it, just wished her goodnight, but she was a little stunned.

  Liz Cushman was going out with Crash?

  Chapter 125 - The Big Payoff

  Author's note:

  First, the song quoted below is copyright 1980 Lenono Music. Used without permission, but I hope Yoko understands .

  This chapter is entitled "The Big Payoff" because it is-to my readers. The Big Big payoff, is, of course, the end of the story-but this is the other Big Payoff. This is especially dedicated to my readers that have been around from the beginning, that have stayed with me through the ups and downs of the story, that have put up with my lengthy hiatuses, that have written me nasty emails demanding more chapters . This one is for you, folks, from the bottom of my heart. This is the one we've all-including me-been waiting for.

  So please join me. Please join us, me and all these folks that have become, over the three years of writing DoaL, my friends-and, I hope, yours as well. Join us, in a lovely seaside resort on beautiful Cape Cod. Because you are all invited. You're all invited to help us celebrate the wedding of:

  Sophia Madeline Daniels

  And

  Warren Patrick Kelleher

  * * *

  "Nice choice, pal," Crash said to Warren.

  "It's beautiful, isn't it?" Warren agreed.

  "So, the wedding's outside?"

  "Yeah, right behind the building. Sophie will come out of the back door, and then right down the aisle. Then, over to the side, the reception's going to be under a tent."

  It was Friday, August 8th, about noontime. Warren and Crash had just arrived at the Cape Cod resort where the wedding was to be held. The rehearsal would be held that evening. Lots of people were still coming in, and various friends and family members had been pressed into chauffeur duty, shuttling folks from the airports in Boston and Providence to the Cape.

  Warren and Crash walked around the resort, checking it out. They got back into the lobby, to be greeted by Warren's parents and Liz.

  "Hi, Liz," Crash grinned at her.

  "Hi, Jason," she said happily. Hmm, Warren thought to himself. What was going on there?

  Well, it was a wedding, right? "Love is all around," as The Troggs once sang. Warren turned his thoughts away from that as he saw his beautiful bride-to-be saunter into the lobby.

  Ellen took Betsy for the afternoon, so Warren and Sophie could drive to Providence to pick up some friends. Luckily, Warren had his minivan, as Papa Bear, Caitlin, Alexa, and Mike all piled into the back of it.

  "So, you're finally going to take the plunge," Papa Bear said.

  "It's been a long time coming," Sophia giggled.

  "Yup," Caitlin grinned. "For us, it'll be another two years," she grinned-and then shoved her left hand over into the front seat, showing Warren and Sophie her engagement ring.

  "Congratulations!" Sophia enthused. "When did you guys do this?"

  "Last week," Papa Bear told them. "We wanted to show you in person."

  They got back to the resort, and their guests found their rooms. People were streaming in all the time, and Sophie and Warren were trying to greet all of them.

  Suddenly, someone that Sophie didn't recognize came into the lobby, and Sophie heard her mother gasp. "Greg? GREG?"

  "Hi, Ellen," the man smiled.

  "GREG! I can't believe you came!" she cried, hurling herself into the man's arms.

  "Who's that?" Warren asked Sophie.

  "I have no idea-wait a minute! Did she call him Greg? I think that might be my uncle that I've never met."

  "Really?" he asked. They walked over.

  "Oh, God," Ellen was saying, "I can't believe it! I invited you on a whim-I never thought you'd come."

  He looked serious. "Ellen, it's gone on too long. I listened to Mom and Dad too much. They've been gone for ten years now-I should've done this years ago, but I was too nervous. When I got the invitation-well, my wife and I talked about it, and I decided that the time had come to make amends."

  "Mom? Is this your long-lost brother?" Sophia asked.

  "Yes," Ellen smiled happily. "Greg, this is Sophie. And that's her fiancé Warren. Soph, this is your Uncle Greg."

  "My God, you're beautiful," Greg said to her. "Nice to meet you. And congratulations."

  "Thanks," she smiled. "Nice to meet you, too."

  "Now, where's my better half? Oh, and Ellen, we brought an extra, I hope that's all right. We have a daughter."

  "That's fine," Ellen smiled. A woman walked up to Greg. "Liv, this is my sister Ellen. Ellen, this is Olivia, my wife." They greeted one another. "And this is her daughter Sophia and the groom-to-be, Warren." Greg looked around. "And here comes Siobhan." Greg introduced Siobhan, a cute redhead who looked to be about 16, to Ellen. "And this is the br
ide-to-be, your cousin Sophia, and her fiancé Warren."

  Siobhan's jaw dropped, and she covered her mouth. "OHMYGOD! You are my cousin? OHMYGOD!!!"

  "I think we just got recognized, Pookie," Warren chuckled to Sophia.

  "Recognized?" Greg asked.

  "They're the World Champions!!!" Siobhan said excitedly. "In ice dancing!"

  "I knew I recognized you!" Olivia said. "You were the ones that skated nude, right?"

  Sophie cracked up laughing. "You know, we could win four World Championships and an Olympic Gold Medal but we're always going to be 'the ones that skated nude.'"

  "I can't believe that Sophia Daniels is my cousin!" Siobhan was still beside herself.

  "You're a big skating fan, I take it?" Sophia asked.

  "Uh huh!" Siobhan said.

  "Well, Siobhan, let me warn you," Warren said, putting his arm around his new cousin-in-law-giving her a little thrill in the process-"you're in for a big weekend."

  "Hey! Uncle Greg needs to meet his grandniece!" Sophia said.

  "Grandniece?" Greg asked.

  "Yes," Sophia giggled. "We kind of put the cart before the horse. We have a daughter. She'll be one in a couple weeks. Where is she?"

  "Liz has her," Warren said. He looked across the lobby. "Hey, LIZ! Where's my KID?"

  They heard laughter, followed by Liz crossing the lobby, Betsy in tow. "Here you go, Daddy," she said, handing Betsy over.

  "Dada," Betsy gurgled.

  "Oh, she's adorable!" Olivia said. "She talks?"

  "Dada and Mama," Sophia grinned, "and occasionally hi."

  "Hi!" Betsy echoed.

  "What's her name?" Greg asked.

  "Betsy. Well, Elizabeth, but we call her Betsy. She's named after this one, here," Warren said, pointing to Liz.

  Warren noticed that there was one person there not paying much attention to the baby-Siobhan, of course. She was staring at Liz. "Th-that's Elizabeth Cushman!!!!!" she gasped.

  "Hi," Liz said, grinning.

  "That's Siobhan," Warren told her, "Sophie's cousin that she didn't know she had until five minutes ago. And the poor kid's a skating nut and nobody told her she was coming to a couple of skaters' wedding."