The Ballerina

It was a very short ride getting there. Luckily, no police had stopped her. Acelynn pulled up into her driveway and put the truck in park. She swiftly got out and ran up to the front door.
Since she had moved out, she supposed she should knock like the last time.

Technically, it would be trespassing if she entered without permission. And Thomas might not even be home. So she knocked.

She rasped the green door three times and took a step back. She nervously shifted leaning on her left foot to her right foot. Maybe he wasn’t home. Maybe he was out – or even worse; maybe Dana was the only one in the house. Perhaps Acelynn should have called first.

It was too late – the door was being opened. Slowly, the green door revealed her father smiling. “Acelynn.” He sighed warmly.

“Hey Daddy.” Acelynn softly smiled back. “Can I come in?”

“Of course Baby Girl.” Tom hugged his daughter tightly and pulled her into the house.

The house looked the same but it held a different vibe. It still smelled of fresh, French soap along with a hint of tobacco. But the house felt awkward and too still. The furniture, not surprisingly, was rearranged once again as it had been almost every month of Acelynn’s existence. She wondered briefly what Dana had done to her room.

“You came at an off time; your mother just left for her mid afternoon tea at the clubhouse.” The Adams’ were strictly middle class. Acelynn remembered hard times in their past without a large paycheck. None the less, Dana insisted they keep a high class front. She spent many hours at functions in dressy cocktail dresses and having tea at the clubhouse with real rich woman.

“Oh.” Acelynn replied simply.

“She’ll be back in a few hours, though.” Thomas smiled and sat on the couch next to his daughter.

“That’s okay. I only came for a small visit to catch up.” The ballerina replied, settling into the uncomfortable couch.

“Well that’s better than nothing.” Her father said in a genuinely happy way. “It’s always nice when you visit.”

Acelynn wanted to remind her father that she hadn’t really visited ever. Once she had picked up the rest of her things she had only spoke to her father a few times on the phone. However, he was in such a happy mood she didn’t want to change that. It always warmed her soul to know that Tom was happy.

And now that would all change.

“So how have things been going, Dad? Anything new?” The girl asked, trying to make small talk.

“Well, there’s a new intern in the office. He’s working around Charles and he’s quite the kid. Very smart and quick.” Tom thought while rubbing his chin. “I finally got someone to fix the broken fence.”

“Good. Those rabbits kept destroying the garden.” Acelynn replied and Tom nodded.

“Do you want something to drink? I can get us some coffee.” The older man suggested. Dana Adams had always hated coffee. She said it was bad for you and didn’t allow Thomas or Acelynn to drink it. But occasionally they could sneak it when she was away.

“Uh, sure. I’d love some.” Acelynn said after she realized she hadn’t had any breakfast or coffee this morning. There was a soft pang in her stomach at the thought of food. Maybe there were some muffins in the cupboard too.

“Alright, let’s go to the kitchen then.” Tom smiled and walked towards the kitchen to make coffee. “There are some muffins in the cupboard if you’re hungry, too.” He added, as if reading her mind.

“That’d be great.” She smiled and followed her father. She opened the wooden door to find a Ziplock baggy of blueberry muffins. Acelynn pulled two out; one for her and one for her father. The girl looked over and saw that he was busy setting the coffee maker up and stuffing a filter inside.

“Is anything new with you, Acey?” Tom asked as he shook coffee grounds into the machine.

“Well, Tuck – Luke’s older brother – just moved out. He moved to North Carolina with his mother’s family.” Acelynn replied, sounding as nonchalant as possible.

“Oh, I’m sorry. Were you two friends?”

Acelynn paused and thought about it. “No, not really.” It was true; they weren’t really friends. Friends knew things about each other. Other than background information on Luke and Mr. Spencer, she knew nothing about Tuck. “He was just kind of there.” That was the lie.

“Well give Luke and Mr. Spencer my regards.” Tom replied anyway and listened to the coffee machine gargle.

Yeah, like that was going to happen. Brian Spencer wouldn’t hear anything Acelynn had to say and she wasn’t sure if she was going to address the subject with Luke. “I’ll be sure to do that.”

“So is there anything else going on in your life? Are you back in ballet?”

“Yes, actually. I haven’t been going back to classes but I recently started practicing on the studio in Luke’s basement.” Acelynn smiled.

“Luke has a ballet studio in his basement?” Mr. Adams smiled and scrunched his nose in wonder. He pulled out two mugs from a cupboard and set them on the counter to pour coffee into.

“He built it for me.” She replied softly.

Thomas looked surprised but quickly regained his composure and poured creamer into the cups of coffee. He put a spoon of sugar in each mug and then gave one to Acelynn with the spoon in it. “Well did you thank him?”

“Yeah, Dad.” Acelynn rolled her eyes but smiled.

“Good.” He said and looked at her softly as he sipped his coffee. “I’m proud of you, little girl.”

“Thanks.” She whispered back. She wasn’t exactly why he was proud, but she knew she didn’t want to question him.

“Is one of those for me?” Tom pointed to the muffins that sat on the kitchen table. Acelynn nodded and they moved from the middle of the room to the table.

Acelynn gingerly peeled the paper off the muffin and began to pick at it. Her father tore off the wrapper and stuffed chunks into his mouth in between slurps of his coffee.

“Dad… I have to tell you something.” Acelynn said before she even realized it herself. “And it’s important.”

Thomas looked surprised and was silent. His arm was slightly up because he was in mid motion of putting his mug back on the table. With a small click the mug was resting on the table a few inches from Acelynn’s. He swallowed and never took his eyes off of his daughter.

“You’re not… are you?” Thomas asked and gestured towards his stomach.

“God, no, Dad! I’m not pregnant.” Acelynn rolled her eyes in disgust. “It’s not about me. It’s about you… and Mom.”

The man looked slightly relieved for a second but had a spark of fear in his eyes. “What?”

There was no real easy way to say this. And no matter how she did it, it would be most awkward. How was a daughter supposed to tell her father that her mother was cheating on him? “Dad… Mom’s… she’s… Mom, well she… God! I— Mom is… Mom is… She’s…” The words just wouldn’t seem to come out. It was like there was a padlock on her voice box and only a few syllables could escape.

“Acelynn—“

“Mom’s cheating on you.” She blurted finally. “With Johannes.”

Like an explosion, her words burst in the room and shocked both people. It was a dead, uncomfortable silence. So still. Acelynn was sure that her heart had stopped beating for a few moments just like her breath.

“When… when… when did you find out?” Thomas whispered.

“A few months ago.” Acelynn replied in the same tone. “I’m sorry you had to find out this way but I really thought that you should know…”

“Acelynn… Acelynn I already knew.” The ballerina wasn’t sure if she heard him correctly. But she was almost completely certain that he said that he knew about it.

“W-what?” Acelynn asked, bewildered.

“I’m sorry you had to find out this way.” He mumbled. “Kiddo… I’ve known about this for years. Yeah, your mom is having an affair with your dance instructor.”

“Why?” She asked in a small voice.

“Why?” Thomas repeated.

“Why do you let this go on? I mean, she’s cheating on you, Dad.” Acelynn replied, a little angrier this time.

“… I love your mother. I love Dana with all my heart. And I’m lucky to have her in my life. She gives me something to love in this life – she gave me you.” Tom smiled weakly, knowing that his explanation meant nothing to her.

“She treats us both like dirt. Wouldn’t you want someone to love you back? Someone who treats you with respect?”

“I don’t know what I’d do without her in my life… half of her love is better than none at all.” He whispered.

“And you’re… you’re happy?” Acelynn asked in a puzzled voice.

Thomas paused to think about it. “I am content.”

“I’m sorry Dad, but… I have to go.” Acelynn shook her head and got up. “I’ll call you later. Love you.”

And with that the ballerina walked out of the room and to the front door. She opened the door and walked towards Luke’s truck without another word to her father. How could he possibly put up with her selfish mother? This was awful – a tragedy. Such anger boiled under Acelynn’s skin. It was unbelievable.

“I’m her.” Acelynn whispered to herself. “I’m my mother.”

It was true; maybe she wasn’t cheating on Luke and having an affair, but she was Dana Adams. For weeks she had been dragging Luke around like some sad puppy dog while she loved on his brother. He was the Thomas to her Dana and Tuck was her Johannes.

“I can’t believe myself.” Acelynn cried in the truck. She still hadn’t moved from her spot on the driveway.

How selfish could she be? Acelynn knew how much she had hurt Luke and broke his fragile heart. Luke’s heart. Poor, poor Luke. How could she do this to him? The boy who saved her life. The reason for her existence. The one who gave her meaning. Acelynn traded the most important thing in her life for some boy who ran away at the first sign of trouble. She had to fix this somehow. The ballerina had to make it up to him.

But how?