Cassidy stared at herself in the lighted mirror with heart pounding. Her hands were shaking and she could not stop her restless leg while she tried to finish putting on her makeup. Around her a few other girls were chatting in low voices and changing into costumes for their performances. Some were stretching and some were going over their routines for last minute preparation.
One by one they disappeared out of the dressing rooms and into the backstage area, leaving Cassidy alone still fidgeting with her mascara. Her nerves had not really manifested for the performance she was getting ready for until an hour before she showed up at the studio theater where she would perform one of the most important dances of her entertainment career.
She had had the occasional butterfly in her stomach the past few weeks, but the pressure she felt right now was on another level. She felt like she was sweating an ocean and kept wiping her dry forehead. She checked her reflection in the mirror once every half second and took long breaks from all of it by closing her eyes and imagining falling and breaking her leg or being dropped mid-performance. She took it a step further and imagined how disappointed her mother would be that the one dance she had decided to dedicate to her had ended in failure. She imagined the dance company scout spreading word of her as a complete hack and dooming her from ever being able to pursue anything even remotely close to dance as a career.
Just as she was about to begin her routine of coming up with even more dire consequences of the most minute missteps of today’s performance, Hayley and Alicia poked their heads into the empty dressing room.
Hayley rushed up to her and gave her a tight hug from behind. “Oh my god, you look gorgeous! You’re gonna kill it!”
Cassidy smiled, but her eyes revealed that it was a pathetic attempt at simple courtesy. Alicia came in close as well and leaned down to put her arm around Cassidy’s shoulder. She kissed her friend on the cheek and calmly said, “You’re the best one at this show. Don’t worry. I’m sure your mom would be proud of you no matter what.”
Hayley slapped Alicia’s arm. “Idiot! Don’t bring up her mom! You’re just gonna make her nervous!”
“Ouch! Quit it!”
“You deserve it!” Hayley said, half serious.
“No I don’t!” Alicia retorted.
Cassidy stood up and turned around to face them with a beaming smile. “Okay you two, stop it. I don’t need my besties fighting over something so silly.”
Hayley smiled back at her, “Don’t worry. Ali-cat knows I’m only half kidding.”
Alicia raised an eyebrow at her and folded her arms. “Only half?”
Cassidy giggled, and the other two joined in as they shared a lighthearted laugh.
“Well you need to get ready, and you better hurry up because they’re about to start soon!” Alicia hugged her again and pushed her towards the rack that had her costume on it.
“Yeah, and your dad was outside looking for you before the show started,” Hayley added before pulling Alicia back outside. “We’ll see you after, babe!”
Cassidy smiled with half her mouth and quickly put on the white and blue dress that would be her first costume of the evening. She finished up her makeup and quickly went outside to meet her father.
“Hey, princess.” He hugged her tight with both his long arms holding her close. “How are you? It feels like ages since I’ve seen you.” He kissed Cassidy on her forehead twice.
She looked up at her tall father’s face and said, “Dad, I saw you a couple weeks ago.”
“My point exactly. For living in the same town, I should be seeing you every week.”
Cassidy smiled and buried her face in her father’s softly muscled chest. “I wouldn’t call being an hour and a half’s drive away without traffic as being in the same town.”
Joe laughed and Cassidy felt the reverberations through her own body. She always loved the way her dad could make anything feel better - like in the sixth grade when Jessica Mustain had sent her home crying after telling everyone that she had a fat butt and would be better off living in a wheelchair so no one had to see it. Cassidy’s mother had tried to console her daughter, but in the end she had to call Joe to come and calm her down. He came straight from work still in his uniform and picked her up into his arms without a word. By the time they had left the principal’s office, Cassidy was full of smiles.
Wrapped in the familiar hug, her nerves slowly calmed and she gave off a releasing sigh. “Thanks dad. For coming.”
Joe pulled apart from the hug and put his hand on Cassidy’s shoulders. “I wouldn’t miss it for the world.” He took a long breath and brought up the subject they both knew would have to be said. “I know your mother would have wanted to be here too. She was always so happy that you followed her footsteps. I know she’d be proud of you.”
“Yeah.” Her eyes dropped down to the floor. “I know.”
Joe used his index finger to lift Cassidy’s chin. “You’re just like her, you know - when you dance… So beautiful, so graceful. Like a floating angel in a sea of clouds…” Joe’s eyes focused on his memories as his brows turned down at the edges.
Cassidy whispered, “Yeah she was something.”
Joe cleared his throat as he woke himself from his daydream. “That she was, but it’s not about her today. It’s about you. You’re gonna go out there and you’re gonna dance like no one’s watching and when you’re done, you’re going to be surprised to hear the deafening applause from the invisible crowd.”
Cassidy smiled and quickly hugged her father again before heading backstage to line up for her performances. Joe watched her walk away with pride beaming out of his eyes. He waited until the door’s actuator slowly shut it completely and then returned to the stands to join the girls.
Hayley and Alicia had joined up with Andre, Wesley, and Eli in the crowd when Joe reached them.
“Hey Mr. L! Saved you a seat!” Hayley waved him over to the empty chair next to her, and he took the time to read through the program guide once seated.
Wesley and Andre were discussing the use of specific diction in legal documents when the conversation shifted to Wesley’s love life.
“Whatever happened with you and that secretary chick?”
“Oh, that… That kind of just withered away. I don’t know.” Wesley shrugged.
“What? Why? She was cute!” Andre smacked him lightly on the chest.
“Yeah, I don’t know. It just didn’t work out.”
Andre leaned forward to include Elliot in the conversation. “Can you believe this guy? You’ve seen the secretary right?”
Elliot smirked. “The one at his school? Yeah, she’s a looker.” He turned to address Wesley. “You never told me you had a fling with her!”
Wesley scratched the back of his head. “It wasn’t really a fling, and it never went anywhere.”
Elliot turned his gaze back on Andre. “Can you believe this guy. His game’s so bad he struck out before he even had a chance.”
Andre laughed but offered up a defense for Wesley. “No way. This guy? He’s too good looking to have struck out. He probably just got bored before anything happened.”
They laughed and Wesley just sat there slightly mortified that they were having so much fun with his lack of a love life. He was about to retort when the host of the evening’s program announced that everyone should turn off their phones and stop talking because the show was about to start.
The lights quickly dimmed and not a minute later soft piano music wafted through the room. A spotlight emerged at the edge of the stage and followed a line of young girls twisting their way across the stage. They continued to weave across the floor and tumble back until the music suddenly sprang into life with trumpets and saxophones. The routine turned into a jazz homage compete with bowler hats and small canes. A group of boys joined the girls on stage and the dance morphed into a swing routine.
The crowd held their breaths and kept their applause to themselves until the stunning opening routine was over. The music never stopped, though. It only waned and evolved as the dances switched from era to era, from dancer to dancer, and from genre to genre. A modern hip hop performance travelled back in time and became a classic breakdance routine before settling on a culmination of amazing feats of human poetry. A tango and flamenco mashup grew into a riveting rumba.
The acts continued to change, and on the fourth one Cassidy made her first appearance. She was dressed in a beautiful full length dress of white and blue when she tiptoed onto the stage. A man in a tuxedo and white mask followed her, and the two skilled artists reenacted a extremely abridged and stylized adaptation of the Phantom of the Opera in waltz form.
When they had finished, the crowd stood up and gave them a standing ovation and the music stopped for the first time since it began. Once the crowd had quieted down again, the dim lights faded slowly to bring complete darkness to the room. A faint note played amidst the silence. Then another. Then the silence returned. The slow buildup created such an air of anticipation that the occasional coughing from earlier performances had altogether ceased.
Three more notes played and were followed by a small increase in brightness. The music and lights grew steadily but unhurriedly. By the time the stage was visible again, the entire cast of the show had taken their place on the stage and had struck a pose.
The silhouettes faded into visible people, and Cassidy was right in the front and center of them all. A few more seconds of quiet growth later, the lights blared to full strength and cymbals shattered to commence the most complicated routine of the night.
There was so much going on that it was hard to decide who to watch, but Cassidy’s personal audience members had eyes only for her. She twisted and turned and flipped across the stage in unison with all the others. She was lifted, thrown, and carried by a slew of toned male dancers. She was surrounded and directed and followed, but nothing compared to the end of the dance where the cast had formed a three tiered tower with their bodies so that Cassidy could be lifted to the top with one leg stretched up to her head.
It was the perfect ending to a fantastic performance, and the curtains were quickly drawn to end the show. When they were parted again to let the dancers take their bows, more than a few people in the audience had thrown roses onto the stage for them.
Cassidy looked out at the couple hundred people watching her and could not believe the response. The cheering and whistling seemed almost too loud, and she wondered if she had just overdone it a bit. When the curtains closed for the last time, she returned to the dressing rooms and sat down in her chair with no intention of moving for at least another hour.
Hayley and Alicia barged into the noisy room and excitedly ran up to Cassidy exclaiming just how amazing they thought the whole thing had been. Cassidy tried to tell them to let her just sit there, but they made her clean up and come meet everyone outside.
Cassidy came out in a large sweater and jeans with her dance bag slung across her back. Her father was waiting for her just outside and gave her a big hug. “I’m so proud of you, honey.”
Cassidy thanked him and dragged him to where her friends were waiting to introduce him to the guys.
“So this is Eli…” He had a smile on his face, but his eyes studied the surprised expression on Elliot’s face.
“Um.. yeah. I’m Eli. It’s nice to meet you.” He stuck out his hand to shake the officer’s hand, and Joe gripped it tightly.
“You came here with Cas?”
Elliot fumbled for words and tried to look for help from someone else, but they were all too busy excitedly talking about Cassidy’s performances. “No, I came here with Wes.”
Joe nodded.
“She’s really talented, you know.”
“Yeah I do. I’ve been watching her dance since she was a child.”
“Oh, right. Of course.” Elliot tried to force a quick laugh, but Joe only smiled his unamused smile.
“You’re working for the Bryce Jenner Foundation on a new project aren’t you?”
Elliot did not expect Cassidy’s father to know about his newest client, so he was slightly taken aback. “Yeah, I am. How’d you know?”
“I’m a detective, boy. I wouldn’t be any good if I couldn’t figure something so simple out.” He paused to let the information sink into Elliot’s mind. “Imagine what I could find out if I really tried.”
Elliot again tried to force a laugh, and Joe continued his steady smile. Elliot was beginning to worry that he had been left to the wolves when Cassidy turned back to her father.
“What are you two talking about so quietly?” she teased.
Elliot tossed her a look that pleaded for her to help, so she chuckled a bit before putting her arm through her father’s.
“Nothing, really. I was just asking Eli here about his love life.” Joe kept his gaze locked on Elliot, making him more uncomfortable than he had felt in a long time.
“Oh, I-” It took a couple seconds for Elliot to realize what Cassidy’s father had implied. “It’s not like that. We’re just friends. Just friends.”
Joe’s smile became a bit more jovial. “My mistake.” He turned to his daughter and kissed her forehead. “Anyways, I need to get back. I have an early morning.”
Cassidy and Elliot watched him walk out of sight, both keeping their gaze for very different reasons: one out of love and the other out of uneasiness.
“So two minutes with my dad and you’re suddenly not interested in me anymore.” Cassidy teased and stuck out her tongue.
Elliot laughed, much more at ease now that he was not being interrogated. “Your dad’s a scary guy.”
It was Cassidy’s turn to laugh. “He’s such a teddy bear. Don’t let his tough guy act fool you.”
“That’s no act,” Elliot said still wary.
Cassidy smiled and pushed further, “Well it’s good to know my dad can still deal with stalkers.”
“Stalkers?” It took Elliot a moment to realize that she was talking about him. “Wait, I’m not a stalker!”
Cassidy shook her head. “I’m just messing with you, geez. Relax already.”
Elliot smiled sincerely. “I should still apologize for the other day. I didn’t mean to do anything that would offend you.” Cassidy’s expression changed to a more serious demeanor, and Elliot continued, “I didn’t realize I might have touched a nerve with your mom recently passing and all, and I wasn’t lying about the friend thing right now. I respect that you need your space, so I’m just happy to be a friend.”
Cassidy was at a loss for words. She had not expected Elliot to be so mature about the whole event. Everything she had seen from him so far had been fueled by flirtations and a single goal of getting the girl. This side of Elliot was completely new to her, and she could tell that it was a part Elliot liked to keep bottled up and hidden away. She unknowingly gave him a quizzical gaze and began to wonder how he could be so sensitive and such a playboy at the same time.
Elliot took her look to mean that she was not sure of where he was going with this, so he elaborated, “Besides, I’m pretty sure that even if we did try something, it would just end in disaster. We’re way too different to really have a future together.”
Cassidy burst out laughing even though the statement hadn’t been that funny and gave him a quick hug. “Thanks for understanding.”