On That Midnight Street | Joanne

Chapter Four

The next morning, Dianne woke after a long but fitful sleep. Stretching her arms, she thought back to the night before and everything that had happened.

Her restlessness was down to two main things; her mild hangover and the decision she had made overnight. She had to break up with Anthony.

"Hey" her voice sounded small and shy as she answered the phone. "How are you going?"

"Good. Good." Anthony's answer left the two of them in silence.

Taking a deep breath, Dianne spoke. "OK. I'm going to say this fast. Look. I.... I don't think this is working anymore. I think we're becoming different people and the space and the distance is too much for both of us. You're at work when I'm home, and we just can't maintain this. It's been amazing, and you've been so great and I really loved you".

She paused as she realized she had said 'loved'. Past tense.

"But it's over?" Anthony asked, sounding downtrodden.

"I think so. You must see it too?"

"Yeah. I... I guess I just didn't want to admit what was right in front of me. Do... do you want to give it a week and then see how we feel?"

Dianne pushed her hair back off her face. "I think we'd be wasting our time."

Anthony hung up the call. As the room fell silent, Dianne took a moment to collect her thoughts. A well of emotion began to rise up inside her. Picking up her phone, she called her best friend back home and sobbed her heart out; just like she had done so many times before.

///

"Right. Trainers. Ballroom shoes. Headphones. Charger. Bag. Alright, Bryon. I'll see you later!" Joe shouted as he walked out the door.

It was the first day of training with Dianne and he was incredibly nervous. He had tried his best to dress for the occasion but still look cool. It had taken a lot of energy and time and he had spent most of the night before worrying about whether Dianne would think he was a good enough pupil.

The studio for their initial training session was a short drive from Joe's house. From the outside, he could see the redheaded dancer warming up in the window upstairs.

"Come on, Joe." He whispered to himself as he made his way up the steps and through the front door. "You've got this".

///

"Come in if you're good looking!" Dianne called as Joe knocked on the door. Cameras were filming both of them to capture Joe's reaction to finding out his first dance. Joe didn't think there was a lot of point; he wasn't about to scream and shout. He just wanted to get on with it.

The camera crew left as soon as Dianne had told Joe they would be doing a jive.

"I'll go through the routine with you in a moment. But I think it's a good idea if we warm up first."

As soon as the camera crew had gone, Dianne's demeanor had changed. Joe noticed but put it down to nerves. He was especially quiet, too, because he was focusing so hard on everything the dancer told him to do.

After a few hours of training, Dianne asked if Joe wanted to stop for some lunch. Joe nodded, and flopped down onto the floor. "I'm exhausted already. How do you do this every day?"

Dianne laughed. "You do get used to it. I swear. By the end of this process, you'll be much stronger and fitter."

"Hey. What are you saying? I'm not fit already?"

Joe cringed at his crap joke. Dianne blushed a little and stumbled over her words.

"No... I... I just..." she didn't make eye contact. Joe placed a friendly hand on her shoulder.

"I know. Anyway- food?"

///

"I'm going to grab a sandwich and a coffee from somewhere. Do you need anything or..." Joe hovered in the doorway as Dianne unplugged her phone from the speaker.

"No, you're fine. I'll grab something from my bag."

Joe nodded and left the room.

As soon as the door closed, Dianne took a shaky breath and peered down at her phone. She had been intending to leave with Joe, get some air and maybe a nicer lunch than the banana and granola bar she had stuffed in her bag. But her phone had pinged just as she went to check it.

I have been thinking about you all night. I don't want to let you go like this. Please give me another chance.

Sighing, Dianne scrolled through her contacts and pressed 'call'.

"Hey, sis." Her brother answered cheerfully. "Everything OK?"

"Um. Not exactly. I'm not doing so great. I... I broke up with Anthony and... oh I don't know. It's just hard. I wanted to talk to someone, but I don't want to call mum incase Emelia overhears."

"I understand. I didn't think you guys had been good for a few months? Have you both taken it hard?"

Dianne ran a hand through her hair. "I don't know. I was pretty upset yesterday, but I knew for a long time that things weren't going to work out between us. He never really knew about Emelia. I talked about her- of course I did- but I never explicitly said she was my daughter and he never asked. I... I guess it's just difficult. If I wasn't doing strictly, I'd have nobody here. Nobody."

"But you are. And you do have people who love you. All over the world. You know you can call me any time. Anyway, tell me about how your first dance is going."

By the time Joe arrived back with his coffee and lunch, Dianne appeared much more cheerful.

"I got you a little treat. I hope you're not allergic to anything." Joe handed her a paper bag with a smile. "It's nothing exciting. I.... I just thought you might need it. It must be really hard to work with someone like me. You know, two left feet and not a clue what's going on."

Dianne took the bag, looked at the cupcake inside and smiled. "That's very sweet. Thank you. And..." she took a breath and shook her hand nervously. "I'm sorry if I've been a bit distant today. It's... it's just personal stuff. I didn't mean to be so harsh on you this morning. I shouldn't have taken it out on you".

Joe looked at her. His deep blue eyes twinkled in the overhead lights of the studio.

"Don't be daft. Anyway, we're going to be spending a bloody long time together and I can be a right arse when I'm tired, or hungry. Or just in general. So I think we'll both end up being a bit snappy... Not that you've been snappy today. Or an arse. I just thought you were nervous."

Dianne smiled and swallowed back her emotions. "Not really. Not once the cameras have gone. I... anyway, once you've finished your lunch we'll go through the steps again."

///

That night, just before she fell asleep, Dianne picked up her phone and tapped out a message.

Thank you for working hard today. If you keep at it, you could be an amazing little dancer. See you tomorrow!

Dancing was good for the soul, she had always known that. Hopefully it would be good for her heart as well.