Dance of a Lifetime

by Frank Downey

  "You can’t interfere in my personal life!"

  "When your personal life affects our skating, yes I can!"

  "It isn’t. The only thing that’s affecting our skating, is you. How you treat me."

  "I treat you like I’ve always treated you, why is it a problem now? I’ll tell you why—because of her. I’m not going to argue about this. We start working up our programs in, what, three weeks or so? By that time, I want her gone." With that, she stormed out of the room.

  Two weeks later, Ryan and Jessie were in bed, after having made love.

  "Honey, we have to talk," Jessie told him.

  "What’s up, Jess?"

  "It’s the middle of April. As of May 15th, I don’t have a place to live. Warren and Sophie are going back to Massachusetts."

  "Can’t you just pick up their lease?" Ryan asked.

  "I can’t afford it. Not unless I can find a roommate, and that’s tough to do in May. In September, when school starts again, I could swing it—but I won’t be able to afford the place until then." She took a breath. "Unless you want to move in with me. Or me with you, whichever."

  "Oh, Jess," Ryan sighed.

  "Look, Ryan, I love you. We get along great. We could make it work, I know we could."

  Ryan took a deep breath. "This isn’t a good idea right now."

  "Why not?"

  "Courtney. Look, she threatened me—break up with you, or she’s going to drop me from the team. Now, I have no intention of breaking up with you, but I’m trying to finesse this."

  Jessie sighed. "You’re not going to be able to, you should know that. Either way, you stay with me, she’s going to carry out her threat. But why should you care? You can find another partner."

  "One as good as Courtney? As a skater, I mean."

  "Courtney’s not that good, Ryan! You’re the strength of that team! Ask Warren and Sophie, if you don’t believe me, they see it!"

  "We’ve been skating together for a long time. We’re used to each other. I’m 22, it’s too late to try to start with another partner."

  Jess looked at him for a good long minute, then got out of bed and started gathering her clothes. She started pulling them on.

  "Jess. Where are you going?"

  "Ryan, Courtney gave you a choice. She wasn’t kidding. And you’ve made it."

  "Jess! What are you saying?"

  "I’m not going to live like this. I’m not going to live with this hanging over my head. The minute you didn’t dump her as a partner when she gave you that ultimatum, you made your choice." She looked at him. "Ryan, I love you—but I can’t do this anymore. I’m leaving. I’m going back to Massachusetts."

  "You can’t!"

  "Then you pick up that phone, call Courtney, and tell her you’re not breaking up with me under any circumstances. No sneaking around. Put the ball back in her court." Ryan just gave her a look of despair. "You can’t do it."

  "Jess, this is my career!"

  "No, it’s not. It’s just one partner. Female ice dancers looking for male partners are a dime a dozen, and you know it. This isn’t about your career, this is about Courtney. You’re still loyal to her, for reasons I’ll never figure out, and I can’t deal with it any more." She gathered her stuff up and headed for the door. "Goodbye, Ryan." And she left.

  "Jess! Come back!" Ryan yelled—but she was already gone.

  The next day, Warren and Sophie came back from class to find Jess crying.

  "Jess? What happened?" Sophie asked. In between her sobs, the whole story spilled out.

  "I think you should give him time," Warren told her when she had finished.

  "He had plenty of time," Jess sniffled. "He’s had months. He knew this was coming. He must have—I certainly saw it."

  Warren didn’t know what to say to that.

  They had a solemn supper—enlivened only by Betsy’s antics, which at least made Jess laugh a little bit. Afterwards, Warren and Sophie studied, while Jess played with Betsy to cheer herself up a bit.

  Warren and Sophie were getting ready for bed, when Jess came into the room. "Do you guys mind if I sleep with you tonight? I don’t feel like being alone."

  "Of course," Sophie smiled at her.

  None of them intended on making love. Jess just didn’t want to be alone, and Sophie and Warren just wanted to comfort her. However, once they got in bed, things started to happen—and they did end up making love.

  Warren and Sophie woke up the next morning, to find no Jess in the bed. They went out into the apartment, and found her in Betsy’s room—packing a suitcase.

  "Jess? What’s up?" Sophie asked.

  She smiled at them sadly. "I’m going home. To Oceanview. I’ve already called work and quit—told them I had an emergency at home and had to move back there. I’ve got a flight late this afternoon. Can you guys get me to the airport?"

  "Sure," Warren told her, "but, Jess, you don’t have to leave."

  "Yeah, I do. I can’t stick around here with Ryan around all the time. And I have to stop jumping into bed with the two of you every time my heart gets broken. I love you, and I’m grateful, but it has to stop. It’s not fair to anyone. And, if I stay here, I’ll just be too tempted. You two need to live your life—and I need to find one."

  "Jess, you’re always welcome with us," Sophie told her.

  "I know that," she smiled. "You two make it too easy. But this is the second time I’ve come running to you two when I get dumped. It’s turning into a crutch. That has to stop." She looked at them. "You guys know how I feel about you. But I don’t think we could ever go back to being the Happy Threesome, not after Ryan. Not now that I know what I want. " She sighed. "Even if I can’t have it with the person I want it with."

  "I wouldn’t count Ryan out," Warren said.

  "I already have." Jessie said sadly. "He made his choice."

  "We can’t talk you out of this?" Sophie said.

  "No, my mind is made up. Hey, I’ll see you guys in a month when you get back there. Don’t worry about that."

  "We worry about you," Warren said.

  "I’ll be fine."

  They took her to the airport and said goodbye. The next day, at the rink, they ran into Ryan.

  "Is Jessie in your apartment?" he asked Warren.

  "Jessie is in Boston," Warren told him.

  "WHAT?"

  "She went home. Yesterday afternoon. Nice going, hotshot—you blew it," Warren spat at him, then walked away. Ryan just looked at him watching in disbelief.

  Chapter 150 - College End

  In late April, Warren took the MCAT. He was advised to take it now, even though he wouldn’t be going to med school for more than a year—so he could take it again in August if he didn’t get a good enough score. He didn’t think that’d be a problem, but was glad to get it out of the way. He thought he did well.

  They had called home in early April, and Sophie had asked her mother to keep on the lookout for a house. With all their endorsement money, they could afford one, and didn’t want to move back into the basement. Ellen had called back with a good prospect. She had gone to see it, and described it fully to them. It was in Oceanview, and was everything they wanted—four bedrooms, a newer kitchen, a decent-sized yard, and within their price range. Even though they hadn’t seen it, they authorized Ellen to put in an offer. She had signature rights on their bank account—something they had arranged just for an occurrence like this—and they trusted her. She put in the offer, it was accepted, and Sophie and Warren would be moving back to Oceanview into their own home. There was no need for a mortgage—they bought the place outright.

  "After that hit to the ol’ bank account, we’re going to have to keep making money," Warren laughed.

  "Are you kidding? After that whole ‘incredible comeback’ thing at Worlds? We’ve got plenty of offers to keep us busy," Sophie told him. And it was true. They were doing a number of commercials over the next few months. Sophie had just started a very lucrative gig with Maybelline cosmetics�
�something she used anyway, so getting paid to advertise for them was a bonus.

  "True. We’ve got more than enough money for now."

  "And all those things we’re planning on doing in the fall, that’ll help," Sophie reminded him. As the upcoming year was the last year they’d be skating, they were taking everything that was offered. They were doing two pro-ams and two shows, at least, before the Grand Prix season started. This was going to be their Year For Skating. They were looking forward to it.

  "Talked to Jess today," Sophie told him. It had been a couple weeks since she had gone home.

  "How is she?" Warren asked.

  "Doesn’t sound good at all," Sophie sighed. "I know she went out with Jay for longer—but I think this one’s a lot worse."

  "I don’t doubt it," Warren agreed. "She and Jay broke up because they gradually became incompatible. She and Ryan are perfectly compatible. The problem is external."

  "Well, that, and the fact that Ryan needs to go out and buy a fucking spine," Sophie snapped. Warren let out a guffaw at that. "Jesus. He could find another partner in a heartbeat! What is wrong with him?"

  "Fear of the unknown, I think," Warren guessed.

  "Ah. Well, I can relate to that. Scott and all. I didn’t get over that fear until you were yanking me out of it. Of course, Jess was yanking Ryan out of it!"

  "But Jess couldn’t do anything about the skating part. And I think that’s where the big fear is."

  "Good point."

  Their last couple of weeks in Wisconsin were frantic. They had the end of their classes, and finals. They had to pack up everything in the apartment—they were renting a truck for the drive back. Ellen was overnighting papers and stuff relating to the purchase of the house. They were helping arrange hotel rooms for all the people flying out for graduation.

  They caught a quiet night, the Saturday before finals, to spend time with their two best Wisconsin friends.

  "Damn, we’re going to miss you," Papa Bear told them.

  "We’re going to miss you, too," Sophie smiled.

  "You’d better keep in touch!" Caitlin warned.

  "We plan on it," Warren said. "You’ve got our IM screen names and our email addresses and the address at the new house—as soon as we have a phone put in, we’ll call."

  "And you have our cel numbers anyway," Sophie laughed, "and we have all your stuff."

  "And we’ll see you at the wedding this summer in any case," Warren reminded them. "By the way, how are things going with that?"

  "It’s a bit of a struggle, having to plan it from so far away," Cait told them. They’d be getting married in Rochester, NY, Cait’s home town. "But my mom’s been a real trooper."

  "Well, I hope she is," Papa Bear laughed, "considering she’s the one that insisted we get married in Rochester!"

  "Well, it’s easier for everyone. Even Paul’s relatives—Rochester’s closer to Cleveland than Madison is."

  "Easier for everyone except the bride and groom!" Sophie laughed.

  "True. But now that it’s summer, it’ll be easier. Paul’s out of school, and I will be soon." Cait was a guidance counselor at a high school. "We’ll be spending more time in Rochester."

  As they waited to parade into the football stadium, where graduation would be held, Sophie got a little misty-eyed.

  "What’s up, Pookie?" Warren asked.

  "Just thinking. Remembering the day I met you. I’ll tell you, the way I was then, graduating from college someday was the furthest thing from my mind. It still kind of amazes me that I’m actually going to have a college degree in an hour or so."

  "And with a 3.46 GPA, no less," Warren laughed. "You always had it in you."

  "Yeah, but I needed you to find it," she smiled.

  "You would’ve found it eventually. I just sped up the process a bit. You did this all by yourself. Don’t forget that for a minute."

  "You supported me. You’ve always supported me. It’s made all the difference."

  "That goes both ways, love," he reminded her. He got a blinding smile for his trouble.

  "Ah, you’re a genius, remember?" she laughed. "You didn’t need me to do well. In fact, without me and skating and Betsy and all, you might’ve done better."

  "I’m graduating with a 3.78, how much better could I have done?" he chuckled. "Besides which, that’s not the point. If I didn’t have you, I wouldn’t be half the person I am today. Don’t you ever forget that."

  "I won’t," she sniffled. "Thank you for saying that."

  "You’re welcome. I love you."

  "Love you, too."

  "Ready to go become a college graduate?"

  "You betcha!"

  Both sets of parents pitched in to throw Warren and Sophie a graduation party in the ballroom of the hotel where the parents were staying. All of the family was there, plus various friends.

  "Damn, I was hoping Jess would be here. I wanted to say hi," Crash told Warren—he and Liz had flown out to see the graduation.

  "I wish she was here, too," Warren told him. "We’re kind of disappointed that she didn’t come, but I understand her reasons."

  "Something happened," Crash said.

  "Yeah." Warren filled him in on all the details.

  "Damn. Damn, damn, damn," Crash hissed. "That sucks. When I get back to LA, I’ll give her a call, to say hi and stuff."

  "Liz won’t mind?"

  "Liz? Miss Unpossessive?" Crash laughed. "Besides which, she knows how I feel about Jessie. I’ll always love her, except now I love her as a dear friend. Liz knows that. Liz likes her, too—when I tell her about this, she’ll want me to call Jess."

  "Good. How are things with the lovely Miss Cushman, anyhow?"

  "Pretty much perfect," Crash grinned. "It’s funny—we’ve been living together a little less than a year—and it feels like twenty. And I mean that in a good way. It’s so damn comfortable." His face fell a bit. "I thought we were going to have a problem, but I guess I handled it the right way."

  "What do you mean?" Warren asked.

  "Well, I realized something. I went to Nationals, but I couldn’t go to any of the Grand Prix events, or to Worlds. So, she’s been gone some. And she’s been on tour for a month—she took a week off so we could come here and see you guys graduate." He sighed. "And I’ve come to realize that I really miss her when she’s gone. But being a pain in the ass about that is why her old boyfriend, that Rich guy, bugged her. So I’ve tried to be cool about it."

  "Did you slip up?" Warren asked.

  "I guess not," Crash grinned. "She was only home for a week after Worlds before she went on tour. One night that week, we were in bed. It was afterwards, and we were cuddling, and I told her. I told her that I knew this was her career and I loved her for it and I was proud of her and I’d never do anything to jeopardize it—but I missed her when she was gone. I guess that was the right thing to say, judging from her reaction."

  "Good!"

  "I mean it, too, you know. I love that she’s a skater—because I know how much it means to her. I wouldn’t want her to give that up. But I miss her."

  "So," Warren said, "How serious do you think this is?"

  "Can you keep a secret?" Crash grinned. Warren nodded. "Well, after the Olympics. Let her get through that first. But, after that—I’m planning on popping the question."

  "Good for you!"

  They had rented a truck for the drive home, just like the drive out last year. As on the drive out, Sophie drove Warren’s van, and Warren drove the truck. This time, however, they had different partners for the drive, as Jessie wasn’t there and Crash was headed for LA. Sophie’s sister Kate volunteered to go with her. As for Warren, he got his sister Kristin, who was all excited about ‘the adventure’.

  "So, how’s Tom?" Warren asked.

  "A dream," Kristin giggled. "The perfect boyfriend."

  "Good. I thought there might be some problems with Allison living in his apartment and all."

  "Well, I’ll admit, I had a moment or
two," Kristin said. "But it’s fine. They’re really good friends, and that’s good—but that’s it. For one thing, she’s not Tom’s type at all. For another thing, she has a boyfriend, they were made for one another, and they’re nuts about each other. So, no worries."

  "That’s good. You all ready for Harvard?"

  "NO!" she laughed. "God, it’s scary—me going to college in three months."

  "You’ll do fine."

  "I hope so. I’m wondering if I picked right. Ah, well, I can always transfer if it doesn’t work out."

  "You don’t think you should’ve gone to Harvard?"

  "We’ll see," Kristin said. "The education will be great, but we’ll see. Look, I’m a suburban middle-class girl and I spent high school at Snob City. I’m afraid Harvard is going to be more of the same. I was attracted to the education part—I’m just afraid the social part won’t be good." She grinned at him. "Of course, I can always go spend every weekend in Acton, so why do I care?"

  "That’s the spirit," Warren laughed. "So, your graduation’s a week from Saturday. Got your speech written, Miss Valedictorian?"

  "All set," she laughed. "You’ll love it. It’s funny."

  "I like funny," Warren grinned.

  Warren and Sophie got home, took one look at the house, and started grinning from ear to ear. Ellen had done great—it was perfect, and she had described it to a T.

  Everybody helped unpack the truck—then Sophie and Warren went furniture shopping!

  Chapter 151 - Jessie’s Ordeal

  The Kellehers took a few days to fix up their new home. They hadn’t heard from Jess, so Sophie called her. She invited Jess over to see the new place.

  Warren and Sophie were alarmed at how bad she looked. She’d lost weight. Her face was mottled. Her eyes were dull and lifeless.

  And she threw up, twice, while she was there.

  She was putting on a good act, but there was something seriously wrong.

  "My God," Warren said, after she had left, "she looks like death."

  "I know," Sophie said. "She’s so weak and frail. And the throwing up."