Elastic hearts
Around a week after being admitted to hospital the doctors allow Jen’s mom to continue treatment and recovery at home. Fred picks Samantha up from the hospital with Jen in the back seat promising her an ‘in and out’ burger for dinner. She’s grabbed most of her things from Grandma Lynns and they lay next to her in the boot and the backseat, her dance bag squishing her against the car door. Samantha’s treatment went well and they’re happy to let her go home, ordering her on bed rest for the next few weeks and minimal contact. The house is clean from top to bottom according to her dad, who never cleans so it made Jen widen her eyes, it’s probably fear cleaning but it’s better than nothing. Her hands are already sanitised and she promises to wash them as soon as she gets inside.
It’s Saturday so she didn’t have dance today and she had zero plans for when she gets home. She could work on her solo more but her legs and feet are aching from the workout she did at Lynn’s house this morning so maybe she’ll pass. Her showcase is next week anyways and she can’t be achy for that. She closed her eyes and rests her forehead on the car window while her dad fetches her mom, opening them just in time to see Samantha walking out with her arm hooked through threads as he steadies her shaking legs. She looks weak, weaker than even after chemo but Jen straightens in the back of the car and puts a smile on as the door opens.
“Hi honey,” Samantha breathes out, easing herself down into the seat with a puff.
“Hi.” Jen smiles at her through the front mirror where their eyes meet. “Dad’s cleaned the house, believe it.”
Her mom laughs and pulls her seat belt slowly over her, Fred hasn’t yet gotten into the car so she scoffs and mutters “first time for everything.”
Jen nods, leaning back into her seat a little. She was worried her mom would be too weak to come home, that she’d catch something again and be straight back in the hospital or that she’d close herself off from herself and her dad. She’s surprised to see her signature smile still as wide as ever on her face. Perhaps there’s hope after all.
Jen helps her mom inside when they arrive home, taking over from her dad who goes to open the front door and get a chair ready for her to sit in. Luckily her parents bedroom is on the first floor at the back of the house, it had been a strange layout when they’d first moved here from their old house in Brooklyn but now they were thankful for it because it meant Samantha didn’t have to struggle up the stairs. Their en-suite made trips to the bathroom a lot easier to handle too.
They have chicken casserole for dinner prepared by Fred and Samantha actually manages to stomach some down. Rosie brushes Jen’s leg as they eat at the table, and Jen sneaks her some chicken from her bowl of food.
“Jennifer…”
Jen looks up and wipes her hands of the gravy on the napkin. “She was hungry.”
Samantha shakes her head. “She’s had one and a half bowls of turkey flavoured dog biscuits so I doubt that.”
Jen shakes her head, Rosie peers up at her with wide beady eyes. “Judy would love to draw you Rose…” Jen says randomly, bending down to kiss the labs nose and bump foreheads. Yes the dog is basically her best friend, so what.
“Who?” Her mom asks, narrowing her eyes.
Jen shrugs. “Just my friend. She likes to draw, she’s really good.”
Samantha wipes her mouth with a napkin before speaking, “I’ve never heard you mention her before. Is she new at the studio?”
Jen shakes her head ‘no’, “I get the subway with her.”
“Oh!” Samantha’s…surprised, because Jen isn’t good at making friends, certainly with people she isn’t forced to be friends with eventually. She’s not shy, she just has a preference not to voluntarily involve herself with anyone. Samantha knew she was fairly popular in school, but that wasn’t in ‘friends’ per se, it was more about who she was, a dancer with a sarcastic attitude and a pretty figure. “That’s nice.”
“Yeah.” Jen scrapes her plate clean and finishes the last of her glass of orange juice. “That reminds me, I asked her to come to my dance recital next week.”
“You did?” Her dad chimes in.
“Yep, I haven’t given her a ticket yet but I put her name down on the seating plan next to you both.” Jen didn’t want Judy to be sat alone, she hadn’t thought of asking if Judy wanted to bring her parents or a friend along with her, so she’d stuck her name next to her moms and reserved her a seat in the second row.
“That’s lovely!” Samantha smiles at her.
Jen just nods back, her cheeks reddening a little.
That night she fetches the drawing Judy did from her dance bag, she hasn’t gotten around to putting it up properly yet so it’s a little creased from being folded but she thumb tacks it into her display board that holds a few baby and recent photos of Jen and certificates, Judy’s drawing standing proudly in the centre.
It’s the last thing she sees before she gets into bed that night, turning the lamp out before falling asleep.
*
“She’s beautiful!” Judy says, squinting her eyes to see a fairly poor quality photo (no shit she’s not a photographer or something) on Jen’s little Nokia brick of Rosie, laying in the tall grass with a large stick hanging from her mouth.
“I wish I had a dog, or any pet!” Judy hands the phone back to Jen with a small pout.
“You can meet Rosie if you’d like?” Jen offers. She probably should have asked her parents first, she hasn’t had anyone over since third grade when Sally Jackson from math class came over and asked why her mom had a bold head (after the first cancer treatment Samantha barely left the house and so she wouldn’t be seen at the school gate, hence perhaps Sally’s confusion and probably fear) and then ended the evening by breaking one of her favourite barbie doll houses. Since then Jen had preferred going out whenever she met one of her friends, like to the mall or the movies. At least then they had something else to do instead of having to be the entertainer herself.
“Seriously?” Judy’s eyes widen.
“Why not?” Jen says with a laugh. “There’s a park and forest near by named Oak Tree, we’ll have to take her a walk there soon, do you know it?”
Judy shakes her head.
That one stumps her for a bit, until she offers to meet Judy and take her back to her house one afternoon when Judy’s shift doesn’t finish so late and she isn’t staying for the evening dance class.
“Are you sure it’s okay?” Judy asks, hesitance lacing her tone. She’s never been to a friends house before, she can only imagine what Jen’s house is like. For some reason she can imagine there’s a lot of white, a lot of greyish tones with maybe a splash of one colour to brighten the interior. And she bets there’s a huge garden that Rosie can run around on with flowers and maybe a trampoline, Jen strikes her as a trampoline type of girl, doing tricks and flips on it in the backyard in summer.
“Course, we’re friends aren’t we?” Jen says with a small smile.
Judy nods, “friends.” She says with ounces of certainty and glee.
Her first friend.
*
“Ketchup or barbecue or Mayo?”
“Ketchup.”
Judy squeezes a dollop of sauce on the large tray of fries and then sprinkles some salt over them quickly. She takes them back to Jen where she’s sat on a nearby bench, sitting down beside her once Jen moves her bag to the floor. Judy balances the tray between them both on the bench, it feels a little damp but it could just be the cold. The two pick at the fries and try to warm up their shivering bodies, the fries are steaming hot which helps.
Jen suggested getting something from the food van parked up near the station before heading home and Judy quickly agreed, she’d not eaten anything since breakfast so her stomach was crying out in hunger by the end of her shift. She’d found Jen waiting outside the restaurant for her clutching a few notes and despite Judy saying they should split the cost, Jen insisted.
Jen’s telling her about the new dance teacher at her studio, Jordan, apparently he’s choreographed internationally in Ireland, Germany and all over America in massive ballet shows.
“He’s so talented, his turns are flawless and his foot is like never sickled, it’s like he has a pole holding it in a perfect position all the time.” Jen’s says around a mouthful of fries, they taste better a few at a time. “But he’s so strict, he won’t even let us talk during break times, he makes us sit in a middle split on the floor and go over routines in our head.”
Judy widens her eyes, “wow, he sounds serious.”
“He is, seriously there’s no laughing or joking when he’s in the room.”
Judy nods in response.
“I don’t mind though, at least he actually cares about what he’s doing instead of just being in it for the money like some of the other teachers.” Jen shrugs. “Anyways, tell me about you.”
Judy visibly freezes but she tries to pass it off as thinking, her brows furrowing at the middle as she looks to the floor. Her hands leave the fries, she rubs them together to get the salt off and then squeezes them between her knees. Jen bends her head to get her to look her in the eye in waiting.
“Um, what do you wanna know?” She asks quietly.
“I dunno, I feel like you know a lot about me but I don’t really know anything about you, except from the fact that you like art.” Jen says with a smile she hopes is encouraging. She’s not used to being the one to try and coerce people into talking about themselves, it’s usually her that’s the closed off one.
Then again Judy isn’t closed off, she’s just quiet and unrevealing in an endearing way that makes Jen want to know everything about her.
Judy pulls her lip between the top one, “well…” she sighs. “There’s not much to tell.”
“Tell me about, I dunno, you’re family, you’re school, where do you go to school by the way?”
“Evergreen High.”
Jen nods, she doesn’t know it but she nods her head anyway. “You?” Judy adds.
“Alison‘s All Girl School, it sucks because most girls are bitchy.”
“I’m a girl.”
“Most girls. Not you. Anyways you’re deflecting.”
She is. Usually whenever people ask they’re not as persistent or maybe even as caring as Jen is and the subject of who Judy actually is is left alone and buried so everyone she meets or gets somewhat close to only knows half of Judy Hale.
“You’re right, sorry.”
Jen shakes her head as if to say, ‘don’t be’.
The fries are finished and Jen pushes it through the trash bin placed a few inches from the bench they’re on. Efficient yet smelly. She moves further towards Judy.
“I live with my mom, her names Eleanor…” Judy pauses, “I don’t know who my dad is.”
Jen frowns, “how come?”
Judy shrugs. “My mom said he left when he found out she was pregnant, probably didn’t want to be saddled with me.” Like her mom is now.
Jen can’t imagine what it’d be like not to have a father figure, parenting her had always been a team effort between both her mom and dad. “Sorry.”
Judy shakes her head. “It isn’t your fault.”
“Yeah but still, must be hard for you and you’re mom.” Jen says.
“Yeah.” Judy replies and her eyes begin tearing up, she bits the inside of her cheek to try and stop them from welling up even further. Jen must notice the glazing over in her eyes because she feels a hand over her elbow cupping it gently as her thumb runs over the top of her coat in soothing circles.
“Do you have to be back home for a certain time?” Jen asks suddenly, an idea popping into her head.
“No.” Judy dries her eyes before any tears spill and shakes her head as if to clear it. “Why?”
Jen’s got a glint in her eye that makes Judy intrigued, and instead of telling her what ever she’s planning she stands up, collects her bag and then starts walking away beckoning Judy to follow her. Judy quickly scrambles up with an amused smile and an unanswered remark of “where are we going?”
Jen just turns around and puts a finger over her lip before taking Judy’s hand to pull her through the dark streets as they exit the main square.
…
“Jen seriously where are we going?”
They’ve been walking for a while and it’s getting darker by the minute. They’re further away from the main town square and the streets are only lit by a few street lights, Judy would be anxious if it wasn’t for the feeling of Jen’s warm hand in hers despite the chilly air. It’s fairly quite where they are, there are few cars driving past them and it’s mainly fields and a few small cottage type homes, Judy’s never been this far out of town so she takes everything in as they walk. Jen pulls her through a wooden gate, letting Judy go first and then shutting it behind her.
“Here we are…”
Jen presents the view with her hand out, bowing dramatically and then leading Judy further down the grassy bank. There’s a huge lake and the water glistens in the starry night sky. Only the sound of the water washing up against the rocks and the occasional twitter of an owl fills the vast space.
“You brought me here to kill me?” Judy teases, feigning a fearful look as Jen walks further to the water.
“Yes my plan all along was to befriend you and then murder you with my bare hands in the dead of night…” Jen says, finishing the sentence with a deeper tone that’s supposed to mimic the villains on the films she watches at Halloween, the clown from IT maybe or Freddy Krueger. Her hands come up to Judy’s neck at the same time and her fingers wrap around her cold skin, it makes Judy laugh and then she steps away from her, grabbing her reaching hands between her own. “Joking obviously.” Jen rolls her eyes sarcastically and then pulls Judy down to sit with her. The grass is cold but not wet, they’ll probably have grass stains on them, and Judy will have to put her uniform in the wash before her next shift but it’s peaceful, sitting in front of a shimmering lake below a half moon and a gazillion stars. Judy crosses her legs on the grass, glad she’s wore black tights underneath her skirt today. The two sit in silence for a while, Judy spies a fox running across the grass close to them and she quickly points Jen in the direction of it, catching the last of its bushy tale as it runs inside a nearby bush.
“How’s your mom?” Judy asks then, her quiet voice sounding almost like a thunder strike, breaking the silence between them.
“She’s home now, she’s doing better, arguing with me over what we watch on television so id say she’s back to normal.” Jen says still looking out at the water, mirroring Judy’s gaze.
“Is she still having chemotherapy?”
Jen nods in response. “It’s like her fifth round, two more to go and then they’ll check to see whether it’s actually made a difference, the first time it didn’t and they’d found her cancer had spread further, this time she’s thinking of having the...ya know.”
Judy frowns.
Jen gestures to her own chest area, “they can take them away and hopefully it’ll help.” Her mom had talked to her once she’d reached 16 about a mastectomy and the chances of Jen having the gene, they’re fairly high. Jen’s not worried yet, she doesn’t think about it much but sometimes she catches herself slipping into the future and picturing a version of herself laying in a hospital bed or being told that she too has breast cancer. She doesn’t know whether she’ll have it, how’s a teenager that’s barely mature enough to cook dinner supposed to know whether she’ll get rid of her tilts in a few years time.
“Oh right.” Judy says, a little embarrassed that she didn’t know what Jen meant at first. It’s not like her mom had told her about anything like that, obviously she knows about cancer and illnesses from biology at school but she doesn’t even know how to check, she wonders if Jen does. If it’s something you even do at this age. “I hope it works for her.”
“Me too.”
Jen starts fiddling with a nearby rock, rolling it in the grass underneath her finger tips as the silence comes upon them once again. It’s not uncomfortable though, it’s easy and safe and neither of them mind that the only sound between them is their breathing that’s almost in sync. And the plop of the stone in the water as Jen throws it. Judy copies her and then they’re seeing who can throw it the furthest. Jen wins, she has longer arms Judy tells her.
The two end up laying with their heads side by side on the grass, hairs sprawled out underneath them. It’s a lot darker and Jen feels her phone vibrating with texts from her dad asking where she is. On the third text she takes her phone out to type back a message quickly,
‘I’m okay dad, don’t worry, coming home soon’
before slotting the phone back inside her pocket.
“We should head back.” Judy says then. Eleanor won’t care that she’s out this late, she’s probably not even home but she knows Jen’s parents do with the amount of pings she’s heard for the last five minutes. She wishes she had someone to worry about her.
“Yeah we should.” Jen says with a sigh.
Neither of them move and they stay there sprawled out on the grass for a while longer before the cold and the darkness gets the better of them and they’re jogging up to the gate to warm up. Jen takes Judy’s hand again and guides her through the crowds on the way back through the square, filled to the brim with people. There’s music coming from one of the buildings so Jen figured there’s a concert or show happening inside. She feels protective of Judy, something itching inside of her that tells her to keep her close and she does with a hand on her back while her other hand holds Judy’s until they reach the subway doors and they can sit inside a desolate carriage side by side.
Neither of their hands let go until Jen has to get off at her stop, and Judy walks her right up to the doors and then waves until the train pulls her away.
*
Days of friendship turn into more days and Judy’s never been happier. Currently she’s excited because Jen’s recital is later on in the day, it starts at 6, and she’s trying to choose an outfit from her limited wardrobe. She pulls out a long length skirt that’s brown with white flowers and then a short t shirt that cuts off at the waist. There are a few other outfits lined up on her bed as she checks over them all. Judy wants to impress, she’s meeting Jen’s parents and she doesn’t want them to think she’s just some scrappy kid that lives in a dirty old trailer in the worst part of town.
“Hmm..”
Judy tries on a pair of dark purple, velvet dungaree shorts and pairs it with a plain black jumper and doc martens. When she looks in the mirror she doesn’t hate what she sees, she combs her hair through with her fingers and sorts her bangs out so they fall right, they’re looking a little long so maybe she’ll cut them later. She’s worked out how to do it so it looks presentable enough. It’s not her usual colourfulness but it’ll do, besides she doesn’t want to stand out and wearing her favourite rainbow striped jumper and ripped jeans would probably do just that. Fitting in with Jen’s ‘scene’ is important.
There’s a few hours before she has to set off to get the subway, Jen had offered to let her parents pick her up but she’d politely declined. Jen was already at the studio practising for tonight so she’ll be getting the subway alone. It shouldn’t be too bad at this time, but Jen had warned her anyway about “dirty old men tryna look down girls tops” as if it was Judy’s first time riding the subway, she doesn’t mind in fact her heart warms at the protection. If that’s even what it is.
Judy sometimes thinks she’s too invested in their friendship and that she’ll seem desperate for Jen’s attention and affection. Needy, her mother calls her. She hopes she isn’t with Jen because the love she feels for the blonde is like the buzz of a bee, fluttering around and reminding her of it every five seconds when she stares at Jen for too long or when she holds her hand for longer than necessary. Judy recognises that Jen never pulls away from her, but sometimes when their eyes meet like Jen’s already been looking her way she averts her eyes away from Judy’s gaze and her cheeks colour. Almost as if there’s a magnetic pull between them that’s a little off kilter. Judy hopes she’s not too overbearing and hopes Jen would tell her if she was, she figures it’s a good sign Jen’s stuck around though. She’s not been forced to invite her to the recital or get lunch with her on random afternoons when their schedules fit, so a flutter of hope grows in Judy’s stomach.
Once the clothes are packed away back inside her wardrobe her stomach growls, reminding her that she hasn’t yet had lunch so she goes to rummage through the fridge to find something. There’s left over tomato and cheese pasta so she heats that up quickly and takes it to eat in her room. A door slamming makes her jump and nearly spill her forkful of pasta on her bed sheets. She assumes it’s her mom but walks out of her room cautiously just in case.
“Hey baby I’m starving whatcha got cookin’?”
“Um…” Judy walks closer to her. Eleanor’s back is turned and she’s leaning against the door while she slurs her words. “Pasta if you’d like?” Judy offers, there’s a decent portion left.
Her mom nods and then stumbles past her to collapse onto the couch, legs kicked up on the small wooden table. “Sure thang, ha..” She scoffs, “the room is spinning.”
Judy keeps quiet. She hates when her mom gets like this, now a days she’s almost never not like this though so she’s used to it by now.
“Don’t just stand there baby, bring mamma some food or I’ll waste away!” Eleanor says in a fake Texas accent that she seems to find hilarious while Judy gulps and pours out her pasta into a dish. Quickly grabbing a fork, she pops it inside the dish, sticking it into a few pasta curls so it doesn’t fall out, and then she hands it to her mom.
“Mmm…” Eleanor shovels three forkfuls in her mouth and moans at the taste, her eyes bulging and she chews. Judy’s surprised she hasn’t choked on the amount of pasta she’s chewing on. “God I’m so hungry.”
Judy runs the tap for a glass of water for herself, sipping a bit before asking “where did you go?” Quietly and then holding her breath, fearful for what the answer will be, or what her response will be rather.
“What’re you my mother?” Eleanor scoffs and a chunk of bitten pasta flies across the room making Judy squirm a little and grip the glass she’s holding until her finger tips are a pale white. “Ha! She was a piece of work…”
Judy nods, pouring the last of the water back into the sink before drying her mouth with the back of her hand. She checks the time on the small clock in the corner, half 4. If she sets off now she can walk extra slow to get to the subway, and get out of her moms hair.
“I’m heading out in a sec mom.” Judy tells her, but she thinks it sounds a little blunt so she quickly adds “if you don’t need me here…”
Eleanor shakes her head stirring her bowl of pasta. “Where ya going? Work? I swear to god Judy they overwork you and pay you what? Shit that’s what.”
“No not work.” Judy says. “I’m going to see my friend in a dance recital.”
“A what now?” Her mom scoffs.
Judy frowns and starts to play with he tips of her hair, a habit of hers for when she’s nervous.
“I’ll be back at 9, that’s when it finishes.” Judy says, ignoring her previous remark and grabbing her coat from her room. The ticket Jen had given her the last time they saw each other is stuffed in her pocket and she clutches it between her fingers.
“Look at you dirty stop out…” Her mom taunts, bursting out into a fit of laughter, leaning backwards and banging her head on the wall in the process.
Judy moves towards the door quickly, she’d rather not witness her mom knock herself out before leaving for Jen’s show. She wants nothing to ruin tonight so she doesn’t give her mom a chance, she says goodbye and she’s out of the door before anything else can be said.
*
Judy arrives in the city square no later than when she agreed to meet Jen, she can’t see the other girl yet so she goes to sit on a bench to wait. Her tights aren’t providing as much warmth as she’d like out in the cool breeze and when she breathes out her breath clouds in front of her in the air like smoke. She puffs out a few more times and watches the grey fog appear and disappear, her nose is icy cold and she pulls her fluffy hold up and around her head, she hopes Jen will still be able to see her.
A few minutes later she feels a tap on her shoulder and Judy turns her head to the left, frowning when she sees no one and then smiling when she hears giggling from behind her. A blonde head pops up to the right of her then with a quick “hey.”
Judy smiles and rolls her eyes fondly, “hey.”
“We better get going I’m late meeting you as it is, sorry if you were waiting long.”
Judy doesn’t mind, it’s not as if she’d be anywhere else. “It’s fine I wasn’t.”
“Oh good, come on, I have my leotard on under these jeans and it’s rubbing.” Jen sad making a pained expression and pulling at her trousers with an annoyed face, Judy giggles and stands, following Jen as they walk through the square and out past ‘Bella’s’.
When they arrive at the studio, a white and red coloured building with a red rose painted on the front, the same one that was on Jen’s bag pack so Judy figured it’s their logo, Jen leads Judy inside waves to a couple of people she sees on the way in somewhat reluctantly. The walls are a pristine white and the studio looks huge. Inside the foyer there’s at least ten trophies lined up on a shelf behind a glass display and while Jen goes to find her parents, leaving Judy to wait for her, she looks closer at the trophies and sees ‘Jennifer Harding’ etched into one of the biggest trophies there. There are other people in the foyer area chatting, in fact Judy thinks she sees one of Jen’s friends, Alice? Maybe, she’s basing it off the quick glance she’d got at work but she never forgets a face. She smiles quickly when the girl turns around and meets her eyes accidentally. Some other audience members come inside, a large family of four, the mom of the bunch pushing a stroller and trying to soothe the crying baby. They park it right next to Judy and the baby looks at her with a strangely intense stare so she waves and pulls a silly face, the baby laughs so she carries on making little faces and gestures with her hands until the taller woman side eyes her and moves the stroller to the opposite side. Judy clears her throat and whispers a quick, “sorry,” and then she see’s Jen and her parents approaching so she walks to meet them halfway.
She slows her stride as she gets closer, a little nervous. Jen’s parents are stood dressed all formally behind her. Jen’s dad wears a suit and tie and Jen’s mom has a gorgeous long yellow dress on with a black and whit headscarf. She doesn’t look the slightest bit ill, maybe it’s the colour in her cheeks or the lipstick she wears. Judy thinks she’s beautiful.
Jen steps up to Judy and takes her wrist, pulling her closer. “Come here,” she whispers to Judy with a small smile.
“This is my mom and dad, Samantha and Fred.” Jen gestures to them and then back to Judy, “this is Judy.”
Judy stretches her hand out, “hello,” and her dad takes it first not wanting to leave her hanging.
“Evening.” He says with a kind smile and a warm hand that shakes Judy’s before stepping aside to let Samantha do the same. She picks up her dress to step forward in one hand and holds Judy’s with the other. It reminds Judy of a princess the way her dress trails and the softness of her hands. “Hi Judy, it’s lovely to meet you honey.”
Judy let’s her hand fall back at her side where she pulls the sleeve of her arm nervously. “You too!”
“Should I take you to your seats?”
Jen leads them through a hallway with another set of trophies and pictures displayed on the wall of the various dancers past and present to the audience gallery that’s already occupied by a few people. There’s about half an hour until the show starts so Jen sits beside Judy until she has to go back to the dressing room. The room gets fuller by the minute and Judy’s excitement builds. She’s not been to anything like this before, unless she counts her nativity, and she can’t wait to see Jen and her team dance. As Samantha and Fred chat between them Judy can’t help but imagine what it was like growing up for Jen with two parents who actually want to be involved in their daughters life. Who pay for dance lessons and attend competitions and recitals. The way they talk with each other Judy’s never been witness of, the way Fred’s hand rests gently on Samantha’s back is so different to the way Andy (or whatever random guy her mom brings home) clutches at her moms hair when they’re kissing outside, they way he shoves her against the wall and gropes her body. Judy turns away then, but she finds herself starring at Jen’s mom and the gentleness of the two of them.
She goes quiet when Jen runs back into the dressing room area and shuffles in her seat nervously. It’s strange being alone with Jen’s parents only moments after meeting them and Judy doesn’t know whether to speak or stay quiet.
“So Judy, are you interested in dance or just here for the free refreshments?” Fred asks, the latter part meaning to be a joke she guesses, because he laughs at his own words. As if proving his point a lady dressed in all white comes with a platter of chocolate covered strawberries and offers the plate out to their row, Fred delights in taking one and Samantha declines. Judy politely does too.
“I like dance I guess, I’ve never seen Jen dance so I’m excited to.” She says with a small smile. “The food is good organisation though.” She adds with a head tilt aimed at Fred who says “certainly is…” around a mouthful of strawberry.
“Oh, figures! Jen said you work in a restaurant?”
“I do.” She nods her head. “Bella’s, I’m not sure whether you’ve heard of it…”
Samantha seems to think for a minute and then her eyebrows raise “yes!” She turns and elbows Fred, “was it Valentine’s Day or our anniversary when you took me there…it’s Italian right?”
Judy nods. “All the same to me.” Fred responds with a sarcastic shrug that earns him a slap from Samantha.
Soon all the lights go off and a female voice sounds out over a microphone, echoing around the room. A spotlight is turned on the stage and it feels like everyone around Judy goes still. She daren’t move for fear of making the slightest noise, anyone would hear a pin drop.
“Good evening and welcome to our annual recital at the Rosary Dance Studio.
Throughout the show you’ll be the first to see potential award winning solo’s, group dances, duets and trios, and we’ll finish on an improvised number from our elder members of the company. With numbers choreographed by New York’s finest, Jessica Roberts, David Henderson and a few of our very own members.
So sit back, relax and enjoy the show. During the intermission there will be a raffle and the proceeds will go towards funding a new dance studio over in California so obviously you’re all encouraged to buy a ticket, especially since there are excellent prizes up for grabs.
Feel free to purchase programmes and professional photographs from our in house photographer at the end of the show but please refrain from taking photographs during the performance.
Please enjoy the show and thank you for coming along.”
A pair of huge red velvety curtains are pulled outwards to reveal a dark stage with a group of silhouettes stood frozen still. The lights come up slowly and encapsulate the three girls stood at the front in a crouched position, two brunettes and a blonde in the middle. Judy can only see the bun on top of her head but she’s sure it’s Jen. As her eyes fix on the middle dancer the music starts, a slow rendition of ‘Chasing Stars’ by Extreme Music fades in and the dance begins. A beautiful contemporary evoking emotion and atmosphere, the girls wear a black shirt dress, their hairs all in buns with a black glittery band wrapped around instead of a hair tie and the spotlight turns into a stage light, highlighting the seven dancers on stage. The movement is fluid and everything is elongated, Judy’s never seen anything as graceful and angelic, she’s mostly watching Jen, smiling when her leap seems higher than everyone else or when she’s featured in the middle. It’s basically another form of art to Judy and she appreciates every second of it.
One dance turns into another and soon Judy hears the first few chords of ‘Amazing Grace’, a song she knows every inch of after listening to it on Jen’s iPod that many times. She sits up straighter and watches in awe as Jen steps onto the stage and begins moving in a way that seems so easy to her, as if she lives and breathes the music and the steps. Her hair is in curls, half up half down, and her purple costume flows gorgeously on her turns. Jen’s eyes meet hers only for a second, but her smile grows wider and it feels like the dance is just for her. Jen’s body moves like the ocean, free and beautifully large, her arms extend right to the tips of her fingers and she can contort herself like elastic.
Judy claps loudly once Jen finishes and the music fades, and as much as Jen tries to remain in character and humble she manages a quick smile at her parents and at Judy, lingering on the latter as she walks off stage with her feet still perfectly pointed.
The first person Jen sees after her recital is Judy and she runs up to her and envelopes her in a bone crushing hug, all the while telling her how good she was. Jen appreciates it and hugs her back with one arm, the other trapped between them. Her parents trail behind and congratulate her on her solo and tell her she was amazing. Some of the other dance parents come and do the same but Jen briskly moves through the crowds with Judy’s arm hooked tightly in hers.
“So you liked it?” Jen asks, dodging a few kids running up to hug Nancy, they’re her little cousins if Jen remembers correctly and are all dancers themselves.
Judy leans further into her side as they make their way to the exit. “Loved it, how do you even do that with you’re body you’re like elastagirl!”
Jen laughs, “years of practice.”
“I bet…”
Jen turns to make sure her parents are still following and they are but at their own pace, Samantha already got two parents, Isabella and Alice’s mom on one side talking to her while Fred waves to one of the dance dads across the room.
“Would you like to get takeout with us? I haven’t eaten yet and I’m starving…”
“Um, are you sure I don’t wanna be a burden, not when you’ve already done so much for me already…”
Jen shakes her head, “a ticket to my dance recital is not much, please come it’d be cool with you there.”
Judy thinks about it, she is kinda hungry, the small amount of pasta she had before setting off hadn’t filled much of her hole. “If you’re sure.”
“I am.” Jen says, tapping Judy’s nose twice with her finger earning a smile.
They’re back in the foyer bit and waiting for Jen’s parents when Judy says she needs the bathroom so Jen points her to the nearest one and Judy hurries off saying she’ll be right back. Jen’s stood waiting a little bit before her parents get to her, her mom looks tired in the way she carries herself over to them, shoulders heavier and legs slower than when they first arrived. Jen smiles as they approach, her mom asking where Judy is.
“Bathroom.”
She nods in response. “You were so amazing tonight, you’re turns were on point in every number, I swear that Natalie fell out of hers in the jazz number towards the end…”
“Thanks mom.” Jen says, widening her eyes and checking to make sure no one heard that. “Oh, I asked Judy to get food with us is that alright?”
Fred and Samantha share a look and then shrug, “I don’t see why not, but-“ Her mom pulls a face, “will she not need to get home?”
“Doubt it, she-“ Doesn’t really say much about her home life or her mom, Jen doesn’t know why but she doesn’t want to admit that to her mom. Not when Judy’s made such a good impression, she feels saying how little she actually knows about Judy’s home may ruin that. “She’ll be fine, we can drop her off after right?”
“Sure.” Fred nods, “I’ll go get the car…” He says, rummaging through his pocket for the keys and then swinging them around his finger as she walks out towards the exit.
“Thanks honey…” Samantha shouts after him. “You know, Judy is a lovely girl…”
Jen rolls her eyes, “…but?” She says expectantly.
Samantha tugs and shifts on her feet. “But, she’s not usually the type of friend you have, I was just surprised that’s all…”
“Why? Because I don’t hang around with girls who think they’re Barbie dolls anymore?”
“No!” She says loudly before shuffling closer to say, “she’s just quiet, and doesn’t seem like one to open up easily so I figured you’d have to even though you’re usually one to do the complete opposite.”
She’s not wrong and Jen knows that, has thought that herself anyway. It’s just Judy, something about her is different to the other girls in her school or at dance. She’s endearing and shy and totally humble in a way that makes Jen wants to try and make her open up, and try until she’s successful. “Judy’s quiet but she’s not boring and she actually listens and cares, she’s not pigheaded or tarty or fake, she’s just…Judy, I dunno…”
Before Jen can say anything else Judy comes strolling over to them apologising for taking too long even though it’s only been a couple of minutes.
*
After eating a burger and portion of chips from Chipotle Jen’s parents ask where to drop Judy off and she pauses halfway through finishing the cookie her and Jen are sharing.
“I can get the subway you don’t have to do that…” Judy says.
“We insist honey, besides it’s late.” Samantha assures from the front seat.
Judy feels Jen’s eyes on her and eventually agrees to let them drive her, telling them the street which Fred puts in the car sat nav. When they pull onto the street beside hers Judy feels her throat clam up because she can’t have Jen or her parents seeing that she lives in a tattered old trailer outside someone else’s house. Her throat feels sore and her eye tear up, she clenched her hands into a fist and wills her brain to come up with any excuse.
“You can drop me here! It’s a dead end and it’s really tricky to turn cars round there, it’s much easier.” Judy says, hoping her voice doesn’t waver.
The car slows but Fred asks if she’s sure, and Judy assures them she is, asking them for their rubbish bags so she can throw them out as she goes. Fred pulls the car up on the side of the road and keeps the engine running while Judy steps out.
“Thank you for tonight, I had a great time.” Judy says while holding the door open and bending down so she can thank them all, most of all Jen for inviting her in the first place.
“Thanks for coming.” Jen says back.
“Hopefully we’ll see you soon Judy?” Samantha shouts form the front seat and Judy nods quickly but doesn’t want to assume, so she quickly thanks them again. “No need. Be careful walking.”
“I will.” Judy steps backwards. “See you soon?” She says looking at Jen.
Jen nods, “bye Judy.”
Judy waves the car and watches as they pull off back onto the main road. On her walk back home she dumps the bags into a trash can on the pavement and shoves them deep inside so she my don’t blow out again. It’s windy and freezing so she quickens her pace so she can get inside and showered.
Eleanor is no where to be seen once she walks through the door and the pasta bowl is left half full on the side from earlier, but Judy can’t get rid of the smile on her face that’s so wide it hurts her cheeks after the night she’s had. It’s probably been the best night she’s had and she’s got Jen to thank for that.