The Ballerina and the Rocker

Quinn

School always seemed to go by either really slow or too fast -- there was no inbetween. For this particular year it seemed to be going by by lightspeed. In the blink of an eye Thanksgiving had come and gone (Quinn had opted to stay at school in order to practice) and the city was quickly being adorned with Christmas decorations.

On the last day of the semester before Christmas break, Quinn received a letter from her father who was still overseas. It brought a melancholy smile to her face, to know he was safe but unable to spend yet another Christmas at home with his family. Crystal and Lily had both gone home earlier that week so Quinn was the last one in their apartment; she spent the night re-reading her father’s letter and channel surfing.

The next morning Quinn grabbed her packed suitcase and caught her Connecticut bound train where her mother, sister, and brother were already waiting with her grandparents.

It was Christmas Eve and her grandparents’ house was covered in snow, making it the perfect house to put on a card. After dinner, the entire family sat in the living room with rum-infused eggnog and began their “white elephant” gift exchange, as was their tradition. Quinn ended up with a pair of nauseating knee socks that were neon green with an equally as bright purple and pink checkered pattern, but at least she didn’t end up with the Garfield Chia Pet like her sister.

“We have one more present to give,” her brother Mason said once the white elephant had finished.

“We were going to wait until tomorrow morning to give it,” Stephanie, her sister-in-law, said as she squeezed Mason’s hand. “But we changed our minds.” The couple smiled at each other and Quinn had a very strong feeling she knew what the present was. “I’m pregnant!” Stephanie announced, which was met with cheers and hugs from the family.

“She’s due September 13th,” Mason said. “Which means the little peanut will be around to help celebrate when the Angels win the World Series!”

After more congratulatory remarks and Quinn’s mother asking who the OBGYN was and what pre-natal vitamins Stephanie was taking, the Hartford clan finally called it a night.

“Well,” Audrey said to Quinn as the two made their way to their shared bedroom. “She’s not going to be getting much use out of the martini shaker I got her for Christmas.”

Zacky

It was weird not being at home for Christmas, but Zacky and the guys were having a blast anyway. They were holed up in a motel room in Nashville with mountains of Chinese takeout and enough beer to fill the Great Lakes.

“Merry Christmas!” Jimmy shouted. He grabbed fortune cookies and tossed one to each of the guys.

“This is the best present ever,” Brian joked as he tore his cookie open. Zacky chuckled as he opened his own cookie and read the fortune: Something you lost will soon turn up. Lucky numbers 3, 7, 15, 24, 38. He knew it was just a stupid, silly fortune cookie that really didn’t mean anything… but he couldn’t help but think about Quinn.

“You will enjoy success in entertainment,” Brian said, reading his fortune out loud.

“Ooh, that’s a good sign,” Johnny egged on.

“It only said he would, it didn’t say anything about you enjoying success,” Jimmy joked.

“Hey guys, I’ll be right back,” Zacky said as he made his way out of the room. “I’ve got to go make a phone call.”

He walked to the payphone by the Motel office and, without really thinking what he was doing, he put a quarter in and called Quinn’s house. What was he going to do if she answered? What was he going to say? He hadn’t thought this all through, he just felt like this was something he needed to do…

“Hi, you’ve reached the Hartford’s,” he heard her mother Jo’s voice say on the answering machine. “We’re not home at the moment so please leave a message with your name and phone number and we’ll get back to you as soon as possible!” The answering machine beeped and Zacky hung up the phone immediately.

Stupid, stupid, stupid, he thought. He took a breath, put another quarter in the phone, and dialed. After three rings the other end answered.

“Hello?” the voice of Gena said.

“Hey,” Zacky said. “It’s me.”

“Hi!” she said, her voice lighting up. “Merry Christmas, you.”

Zacky smiled. “Merry Christmas.”

Quinn

“This year is kicking my ass,” Quinn said as she and Mason sat drinking their morning coffee. “I’m literally never not practicing.”

“Hey, I totally know how you feel,” Mason said.

Quinn was lucky to have such a solid relationship with her brother. Even though she normally felt much closer to her sister, Quinn loved the dynamic she had with her brother; they were both athletes, so if anyone was going to understand the stress and scheduling nausea Quinn was currently feeling it was Mason.

“How do you ever find a balance?” She asked. Mason took a sip of coffee as he thought about his answer.

“I’m not sure if there’s a straightforward answer to that,” he offered. “Luckily for me I was able to find a team that was a perfect fit and a wife that is the most supportive and that really makes all the difference.”

Quinn smiled into her coffee cup. Mason had a support system -- in his family, his wife, his team… Maybe, just maybe, being in New York for the long haul wouldn’t be the best fit for her after all.

“What’s going through that head of yours?” Mason asked with a smirk.

“Nothing, you know that,” Quinn joked.

“Morning, cadets,” Audrey said, walking into the living room with her own cup of hot coffee. “What’s the philosophical topic of choice this morning?”

“Oh, you know,” Mason said. “Careers. Life. Happiness.”

“Oh good, things I haven’t figured out yet.”

“You seriously haven’t had any ideas yet?” Quinn asked her sister. Audrey shrugged.

“I mean, I’m seriously thinking about applying to grad school. The problem is that I don’t know what for.”

“The least you can do is move out of mom’s house,” Mason teased.

“Yeah, and with what money? I make good tips but not nearly enough to rent an apartment on my own.” Both Quinn and Mason looked at their sister, unsure of how to respond. Audrey noticed this and smiled uncomfortably. “Guys stop, it’s going to be fine. I’m going to figure something out soon, I swear.”

Eagerly, Quinn changed the subject to something less serious.

“So,” she said. “Do you and Stephanie have any names picked out yet?”

“Well, if it’s a girl we’re leaning towards either Emily or Julia,” Mason said. “And if it’s a boy we’re thinking David or Peter.”

“Please don’t name it Emily,” Audrey said. “I hooked up with a girl named Emily once and she was a bitch.”

***

A week into the New Year, Quinn found herself back in the Juilliard rehearsal rooms as she prepared for classes to start back up the following week. She had taken on the absurd task of dancing in a senior’s original dance in addition to her own dance workshops. It was exhausting and once again Quinn felt the strain of spreading herself too thin. But this is what I want to do, she kept on reminding herself. I want to dance.

In the midst of what seemed like endless practices, it was a rare night that Quinn locked herself in her room to work on a paper for her history of ballet class. It was refreshing to write about it instead of actually doing it. As she rewrote her conclusion for what seemed like the hundredth time the phone rang. She quickly saved her document before closing her laptop and answered the phone.

“Hello?” she said.

“Q-quinn,” Audrey said. Quinn could tell her sister was crying and immediately became more attentive.

“Audrey,” she said, seriously. “What’s wrong?”

Quinn could hear her sister sniffling, and there was a long pause before Audrey finally answered.

“Dad’s dead.”