Rum and Coke

“The House is closed, Ellie,” Kale told his niece. She had decided to participate in the dance concert/ tribute/ homage on two conditions: that she would be the first and last performer (since she was doing two pieces) and that no one would force her to speak. Both of these conditions were non-negotiable.

Ellie nodded her head and took her place onstage. She held her pose as she heard the audience quieten and the distinct sounds of the curtain being brought out. She held her pose when the curtain gave it’s renowned clank. The stage was dark and the audience was silent. It seemed as if everyone was holding their breath. And then the music started and the white lights came up. Ellie was dressed in all black. There were no colors to be had on stage. Ellie moved with the fast beat. She spun, sprang, and twirled her way around the stage, making everyone dizzy just from watching her move. She barely even touched the ground most of the time. She expertly mixed ballet, jazz, modern, street-style, and hip-hop into the same routine without looking at all out of place. Only when the lyrics came into play did the audience recognize Disturbed’s “Enough.” And all too soon, Ellie froze and the music ended. Black consumed the stage once more as Ellie moved for curtain call. She made her bows and ran off the stage.

“You did great, My Angel,” Adam said as he wrapped his arms around her.

Ellie just wiggled out of his embrace and headed to the green room. She walked straight through so that she was on the outside staircase. With shaky hands, she pulled out her pack of cigarettes from her bag by the door. After managing to finally light it, she took a deep, shaky breath before exhaling slowly. Her cigarette was finished with much faster than she had planned on. Frowning when she saw that her carton was empty, she tossed it aside and picked up her phone.

“This is Danielle Patterson. My phone is either not on me, or I’m glaring at it right now. I hate phones. Leave a message and I’ll try to get back to you…it might be in e-mail format though. Okay, I’m done…what do I do now?”

“You have to press the red button now.”

“Oh, right.”

“That won’t bring her back, you know,” Ryan said beside her as he offered her his pack.

“One can only hope,” she responded with a sigh as she pulled a cigarette out of the carton.
“So, how was your game?” She asked, taking in her twin’s dirty baseball uniform.

“14-0. Us. Those stupid birds didn’t have a chance,” Ryan replied with a smug look. His smile dropped as he took in his twin’s ragged appearance “I know it sucks, but you’ll get through this.”

“How did you do it?” she asked after taking a long drag.

Ryan shrugged. “I had you guys.”

Ellie took another long drag and let it out slowly. “I-I feel…I don’t know.”

Ryan wrapped his arm around her and slowly pulled her into his lap. “It’ll get better. It just takes some time. I mean, it’s been almost two years, and I’m not fully over it.”

~*~

Ellie jumped in place behind a lighting tree in one of the stage right wings. It was almost time for the final performance of the night.

“Nervous?” Uncle Kale asked from behind me.

“No, I'm not. I never am,” Ellie replied as the lights went to house glow. The sounds of a city filled the auditorium as she and the twenty other dancers walked back and forth across the stage. Little by little, the dancers would stay offstage until eventually Ellie was alone and the sounds ceased. Ellie walked over to the park bench that was set upstage center. Sighing loudly, she looked around the stage before looking around the stage. She looked at her watch before looking around one more time. Light chuckles could be heard from the seats. Sighing loudly again, she stretched her arms way above her head and casually looked into the wings. After giving a loud huff, she dropped her hands and put her head in her hands and her elbows on her knees. The opening notes of The Used’s “On My Own” floated through the theatre hall. Ellie got up and danced to the somber tune. She was slow and flowed effortlessly. Before the lyrics could start, though, she stopped and shook her head.

“No, this isn’t it. You have the wrong song,” she whispered in the focal point of the stage. The music stopped. “Match it with this.” She said loudly as she jumped, ran, dove, and did other crazy movements. The music was replaced with Three Days Grace’s “On My Own” instrumental version. Ellie nodded her head. “Much better,” she said before doing an upbeat number.

~*~

Ellie walked off the stage soaked in her own sweat.

“You were wonderful, Ellie,” Adam said as he pulled her into a tight hug.

“Great job bringing the house down, Little Hellion,” Kale smiled after he locked the main curtain in place. His nickname for her brought tears in her eyes as a memory flashed through her synapses.

A four-year old Ellie curled up into her mother’s lap. “Mommy, why does Uncle Kale call me a Little Hellion? Daddy says I’m a complete angel.”

Danielle sighed and wrapped her arms around her daughter. “Well, Mommy made a lot of bad decisions when she was younger and Uncle Kale thought that it would be funny to name you “Little Hellion.” If it makes you sad, please tell me and I’ll go beat your Uncle Kale up.”

“No, don’t hurt him! I love him! It’s fine.”

Danielle smiled at her little girl before kissing her forehead. “Don’t worry, Ellie, to me you’ll always be my little angel. You were sent from somewhere to save me. I love you so much.”

“I love you, too, Mommy!” Ellie smiled as she threw her tiny arms around her mother’s neck.

Danielle let a single tear fall out of her eye. She had never been so happy and so lonely at the same time.

Tears staining her cheeks, Ellie walked to the house that once belonged to her mother.