When the Music Stops (24 page)

“Have you set the date?” Marta asked.

Her mom blushed. “We set it this afternoon. I guess he knew I’d be too distracted to argue. You’re all invited to join us on July twelfth. It’s the second anniversary of when we first met.”

Marta leaped up and hugged her mom. “This is great news! I’m happy for you, Mom.”

The rest of the group shared their congratulations as well.

Adam moved to take Lindsay’s arm. “We need to get you home, hon. When I saw the doctor here tonight, he reminded me that you needed to get home, put up your feet, and give you and that baby a rest.”

While Marta and her mom stayed in the office to talk, Robert excused himself to do a quick double check of the clean up and to take out the trash.

“Robert is a great guy,” Marta said. “I’m glad you’ve set a date.”

“Me too. We’ll keep it simple. July in his yard will be the perfect setting. He’ll have flowers in bloom that are better than any florist’s.”

“What will you do with our house, Mom?”

“I’d like you to have it, if you want. It takes a lot of work with the garden and lawns and fruit trees, but if you want to move back after the wedding, I’d be happy to arrange it.” Her mom picked up her purse. “Think about it. My loan is almost paid off, so you’d pay about the same as the Corbett house each month, plus utilities and taxes. If you don’t want it, we’ll probably rent it out rather than sell it. I’m sentimental about keeping it as long as I can.”

Marta knew she needed a plan. What did she want if she planned to stay in Bremerton? What about Steve and his plans? Marta rotated her shoulders to loosen their tightness and yawned. “I’m tired. Let’s head out. We’re about to become so busy we may never sit down again.”

Marta and her mom closed the classrooms and headed home. Minutes later, Marta sat in her rocking chair reliving the event. Working with the amazing families and dancers might change her mind about her goal. Teaching others allowed her to share her love of music, encouraging her to seek additional ways to enhance the studio. She’d stay, for now, until both her future as a dancer and her decision about where her heart belonged settled into place. Good thing no one asked her where that place might take root. She had no idea.

h

Marta called Lindsay two days later to begin planning their spring schedule. Her mom listened in on the extension.

“How are you feeling today?” Marta asked.

Lindsay sighed. “Ready for this baby to be born before my due date. So distract me. Let’s nail down the details for our scheduled performances. Just in case you need to be reminded, I’ll be at the recital even if I have to arrive in a wheelchair.”

They started their discussion with the most immediate performances and the Armed Forces Day parade. Providing year-long opportunities for the students to dance served two purposes: entertaining at social events and the local hospitals, but also practicing their dances and routines before recital season.

“I have most events handled,” Lindsay said with a sigh. “All you need to do is rehearse the students and arrange transportation from our parent helpers.” She paused. “The recital is another matter. Brace yourselves.”

For the next hour they discussed the details for the recital, scheduled for May 22. The list went on and on: programs, sponsors, tickets, posters, lighting, sets, sound system, taping the music, ticket takers, hostesses, clean up, scheduling parent meetings about the recital, and costumes and organizing the order of dances during the program.

Lindsay yawned. “I think I’ll need a nap after this. I’m so glad you two work together so well. I can’t imagine having a recital if I’d had to hire a new ballet instructor before next fall.”

“I expect the costumes to arrive April tenth so we’ll avoid last year’s fiasco,” Marta’s mom said. “Now it’s just a matter of keeping the classes running smoothly, right, Marta?” She turned to look at Marta.

Marta momentarily let herself drift back to last May when she returned home. The months disappeared at lightning speed since starting her work at the studio. Her days leading dance classes and practicing were just what she needed to move her recovery forward. But, by the time they completed the recital, she’d need to decide how she wanted to spend the next years: dancing or teaching dancing, or maybe some yet-to-be-determined possibility she had not uncovered.

“Marta?” Lindsay said. “You’ll keep the classes running, right?”

“Of course.”

“Good. Now, I’ll keep Elle on the line to discuss the new
Capezio
catalogs and ordering for fall. We’ll get a special discount if we order before May twelfth.”

Marta took her list and returned upstairs to sit at her desk while she wrote notes about the classes. Her brain spun from all the details to be handled over the next two months. Whoever held her position next year would have a time consuming job, especially if they ran a full spectrum of classes expanded to include tap, baton, and gymnastics classes.

These past few weeks Marta avoided taking diet pills. When she felt herself reaching for them and remembered she didn’t have any left, she put on music and danced or helped her mom downstairs in the office. At home she took herself for a walk, baked cookies to give away to parents waiting for their children to finish their classes, or she’d clean another drawer in her little house. Slowly the cravings for diet pills diminished, but the urge to reach for them remained strong.

When the mail arrived today, Marta received a personal letter from Betty and her father:

Miss Marta,

Pleze cum to my spring progam. My Dad will pik you up. He says we can git ice cream after. Pleze cum. It’s March 26th.

Betty and Sam

Such a sweet invitation. She encouraged all her students to invite her to their programs; Betty was the first to actually do so. Should she go? Of course. Things at the studio continued to be busy and she went home exhausted, but that was no reason to turn down the invitation. She wanted to support Betty and repay Sam Faris for arranging early release times for Paige and Rosalia. Both deserved a favor in repayment. Somewhere she’d find the energy and attend the program.

At the next kinder class, Marta spoke with Betty. “I’d love to come to your program. What is your class singing?”

Betty looked at her feet. “A song about a bear with tennis shoes.” She looked up. “It’s a silly song.”

“Will your mother be there?”

Betty looked down to her feet again. “No. She’s in heaven.”

Marta didn’t know what to say. If only the floor could open and swallow her. She wished she could take back all the nasty things she’d thought about Sam’s wife being self-absorbed. Why didn’t anyone tell her that his wife had died? She glanced at Betty’s grandmother, who smiled briefly then whisked Betty down the stairs.

March 26, Thursday. Marta rushed around deciding what to wear. Nothing matched the current fashion or fit well. How had she let this happen even as she’d cleaned out her closet so many times lately? She selected a floral print skirt and a rose-colored sweater thinking that when Lynne came for a visit this summer, they’d make a day of it and shop in downtown Seattle.

Marta stood on her porch waiting for Sam and Betty to arrive. With early spring flowers popping up and daylight hours lengthening, Marta enjoyed the funny-faced primroses she’d planted in pots on her steps, reminiscent of Mr. Dunbar’s plantings. Oh, no. She should have invited him to the studio celebration. Her slip up troubled her. Was her forgetfulness from a lack of focus since she’d stopped taking diet pills? Had she taken on too many tasks? Or maybe she wasn’t organized enough to handle things for the studio. Too late to do anything about it now.

Soon she’d have been home an entire year. Instructing wasn’t anything like dancing, but the planning and helping Paige and Rosalia prepare for upcoming auditions stirred a different happiness inside her. With the recital close at hand, then summer, maybe she’d find her stride by then.

Sam drove up and waved as Marta hurried to his car. “Hello, Betty, Sam. Thank you for inviting me to the program.” She slipped in next to Betty in the front seat.

Betty smiled. Sam grinned and nodded as they headed out Kitsap Way to the program.

“I see you’re all dressed up, Betty,” Marta said. “The flowers on your dress are beautiful. Your hair looks special too.”

Betty twisted her finger in one of the curls that hung down beside her face. “I know.”

Sam pulled into the Chico School driveway and followed the line of cars that parked in the field behind the building. As soon as they entered the hallway, Betty broke free of Sam’s hand and raced to her classroom. At the auditorium entry, they followed the crush of parents and relatives to the bleachers, choosing to sit up high to catch a view of the entire space.

Most of the parents knew Sam, stopping to shake his hand and wait for him to introduce Marta. She smiled and nodded but remained quiet while he spoke with one, then another.

Seated in the bleachers, Marta laughed. “You know everyone!”

“I do. My wife worked here. They’ve been helpful since Ginger died.”

“It must have been encouraging having their support. How long has she been gone?”

“Three years. She had a massive stroke at the age of twenty-five.” Sam looked away before he spoke. “It’s been hard, but I’ve got Betty. She’s just like her mother.”

“Betty is a wonderful little girl. She acts shy, but she loves to dance.”

“It’s fun to watch her twirl around in the living room. We’ve had to move the coffee table to make space for her. Her grandmother says she’s always off in her own world.”

“Sounds like me when I was her age,” Marta said.

h

After the program, Sam drove them to the Silverdale ice cream shop, now crowded with families from school who had the same idea. Marta felt uncomfortable being with Sam and Betty in such a personal way. She noticed stares that averted quickly when she made eye contact. As they left, she felt people watching her back.

Eating ice cream after a musical performance triggered the memory of her evenings after dancing. She and Steve crowded into the Billings ice cream shop with dance patrons looking for a way to extend their evening. Would images of her time with Steve ever fade?

Sam finished his sundae and turned to his daughter. “Betty, tell Marta about the book you made in school last week.”

“My book was about a ballerina,” Betty said. “She had a magic wand, and she made the trees and flowers dance. She turned the stones into raindrops, too.”

“That’s quite a story,” Marta said. “Did you create a dance to go with that story?”

Betty took a bite of ice cream, and nodded. “I just did.”

h

Sam drove to his home near the school, tucked Betty in bed, and said good night to his mother who lived with them. Marta sat in the living room, watching all the hugs, kisses, drinks of water, and more hugs until Betty disappeared into her bedroom. It was her first time watching a family outside her own. It stirred a new sensation inside her that she couldn’t name but that she enjoyed.

When Sam drove into Marta’s driveway, he turned off the engine and turned to face her. “Thanks for coming,” he said. “Betty was so excited to think you’d come.”

“I enjoyed it very much. Betty is so sweet.”

“She thinks the world of you, Marta. She’s always saying, ‘Marta would do this,’ or ‘Marta says we should do that.’”

Sam patted Marta’s hand as he got out of the car and walked her to her door. He cleared his throat. “Ah, I was wondering…Do you think you’d like to go out for dinner or to a movie some time?”

Marta pressed her lips together as a rush of heat reached her face. “Maybe.”

“Good.” Sam backed away. “I’ll see you soon or call you about that dinner. Thanks for coming tonight.”

Marta stood on her porch and waved as Sam backed out. When he was gone, she walked across the road to sit by the bay. Tonight the light from the waning full moon vibrated on the water’s surface, marking a path straight toward her. Maybe that was why she felt such a tugging from deep inside. Or was it from being with Sam and Betty? Sam had a calming effect on her. His patience as well as his loving ways with Betty reminded her of her father and how he handled day-to-day situations. She looked forward to talking with Sam again, to learn about his hopes, dreams and interests.

When Marta climbed into bed and closed her eyes, she imagined warm lips pressed against hers. The kisses continued on and on until she woke with a start. Was she kissing Steve or Sam?

13

W
hile Paige and Rosalia packed up and prepared to leave for the evening, Marta scanned the audition information chart she made for them. She'd covered everything she could think of based on her personal auditions. She’d taught them short bits of choreography like they’d be expected to commit to memory during their real auditions and shared her suggestions for improving their performances.

"Tomorrow when you return for the mock audition, please wait downstairs until I call you. I want you to experience the tension you'd feel at a real audition. It's important to be confident regardless of any mistakes you make and to keep a soft smile on your face to show your confidence."