The music thrums, beating a cadence as she moves her body. Perfectly timed, she twists and her arms move out, coming back in quickly. Sweat is beaded on her forehead and her shirt is clinging to her skin, but still she moves, beckoned by the driving beat. A smile forms on her face as she spins and ducks down, shifting her shoulders before popping back up. She continues on, moving instinctively and by the time the music fades, she is breathing hard and covered by a thin sheen of sweat. She takes a few deep breaths and walks over to the cd player, her arms stretching out above her head. She presses a couple of buttons and pops the cd back into it's case. She walks back over to the middle of the floor and, watching herself in the mirror, she begins her cool down stretches. She's been dancing for years and she prides herself on the fact that she now owns her own studio. She has two wonderful assistants that are amazing dancers and absolutely wonderful with the students. She's worked hard to get where she's at and as she looks in the mirror, she smiles.
"Hey mom, are you ready yet?"
She watched as her son Chaz strolled in and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. She still can't get over how big he is. He's only 13, but he already stands almost a foot taller than her and even though his face still has it's boyish look, she often gets a glimpse of the man he'll become. Ash shook her head, grinning at him.
"Just hold your horses, I'll be through in a sec."
Chaz just rolled his eyes and sat on the bench against the far wall, waiting. Ash ran through the rest of her stretches and stood up, walking over and grabbing a towel and her keys from beside the cd player. She wiped her forehead and the back of her neck, letting the towel drape over it before walking over to her son.
"How was class?"
Chaz just shrugged his shoulders and grunted. He was taking one of the dance classes there and although he acted like he hated it, Ash knew that he secretly loved dancing. It wasn't cool for a guy his age to like it, so he acted indifferent. Ash ruffled his hair and smiled as he half-heartedly brushed her hand away. He rose slowly from the bench and followed her out the door. Ash turned back to lock the door and put the key back in her pocket. They got in the car and Chaz flipped the knob on the radio, turning it on. Music blared from the speakers and Ash just shook her head. They were quiet on the ride home, Chaz staring out the window, tapping his foot to the music and Ash thinking about all that she'd accomplished in the 3 years since his father had died. Eric had been a good husband and a wonderfully attentive father. She'd almost died herself when she'd gotten the call from the hospital, but she'd pulled herself back together for Chaz's sake and began a life without Eric there to be her steadying force. As she pulled into the driveway and watched Chaz jump out and run up the steps to the door, Ash thought again about how much she still missed Eric. She sighed and turned off the car. Opening the door, she called to Chaz.
"How about we order some pizza tonight?"
"Really?" His eyes lit up immediately.
"Sure, just as long as we keep the hot peppers to my side right?" Chaz grinned and nodded enthusiastically. Ash unlocked the door and they walked inside, Chaz immediately heading for the tv. Ash picked up the phone and ordered their pizza, making sure to have them put hot peppers on only half of it. She went to her bedroom and got the money for it, taking it back in to Chaz. She let him know she was going to take a shower, getting a distracted nod and went back to the bedroom. Quickly stripping down, she turned on the water, making sure it was the right tempurature stepped under the steady spray. She washed, taking a little longer than necessary, letting the hot water soothe her tightened muscles. When she finally rejoined Chaz, he was already shoving a slice of the gooey pizza in his mouth, the cheese dripping down onto his chin. Ash was tempted to take a napkin and wipe it off, but she knew he'd roll his eyes and glare at her. He was growing up so fast and sometimes Ash didn't know if she could handle all that being a single mother entailed.
She walked over to the pizza and picked up a slice form her side, taking a huge bite. Ash wiped her mouth with a napkin and quickly finished off that piece and started on another. That was the problem with being a dancer. You were always hungry. Ash sat down in the overstuffed recliner that faced the tv and tried to figure out what Chaz was watching. It looked like some new science fiction movie and before long, she was engrossed in the plot. An hour and a half later, she was curled up in the chair, sound asleep. Chaz turned the tv off and glanced over at his mom.
Quietly, he pulled a quilt from the shelf in the hall closet and brought it back in, covering her up. He stood there watching his mom sleep. She worked so hard. He knew she did it for him and because she loved dancing, but he wondered if she would be working this hard if his dad was still alive. Sighing, he grabbed the pizza box and put the rest of it in the refrigerator, throwing out the box. He walked back through, heading towards his room and leaned against the door as he shut it behind him. He rubbed his eyes vigorously, trying to grind out the tears. Even after three years, Chaz still missed his dad and wished he had someone around that he could talk to and who could take care of his mom. He blew out a pent up breath and stripped down to his boxers. He climbed into bed and snapped off the small light. Laying on his back, he clasped his hands behind his head and stared up into the darkness.
~*A Week Later*~
"Calm down Aprille, I can't understand you. Now, take a deep breath and s..l..o..w..l..y start again."
Ash was holding her friend and head assistant by the shoulders. Aprille had come rushing in the studio not ten seconds ago, shrieking and babbling like a mad woman. Ash was used to her friend being a bit flighty, but something had really excited her this time and she wasn't making any sense. She watched as Aprille took a deep, shuddering breath and in a calmer voice, told her what had gotten her into such a frenzy.
"My big brother is coming to visit. He's looking for dancers for some big thing he's doing and wants to come check out the studio."
"What do you mean?"
Aprille rolled her eyes and grabbed onto Ash's shoulders, shaking them a little.
"Mark is coming to see the studio. He wants to recruit dancers for a new studio he's putting together out in L.A. and he's coming to see us."
"What are you talking about? What kind of studio?" Aprille looked perplexed at that question.
"All I know is it's a dance studio that will put together choreography for different performers and stuff like that. Ash....this is what we've always wanted."
"No, this is what you've always wanted. I'm perfectly happy right where I am."
"Oh, you can't expect me to believe that." Aprille rolled her eyes again and pulled her friend over to the bench that Chaz had sat on the day before.
"Look, I know you've had it hard ever since Eric died, but you've got to live a little Ash. You can't let yourself just wither away here. You're too talented for that."
Ash looked down at her hands while Aprille rambled on. Sure, she'd thought about doing something more from time to time, but it just wasn't possible. She had Chaz to think about. She couldn't take any chances when it came to him.She'd promised herself that she'd always put him first and she was going to keep to that. Ash's head popped back up when Aprille mentioned exactly who she was thinking about.
".....and besides, what would Chaz think, knowing his mom had a chance at the big time and didn't take it? If you say you're doing it for him I swear I'm gonna smack you. You'd be doing him a favor by not ignoring this Ash. Think of all the opportunities he'll have if you did work for a major company like that."
Ash did think about it. She sat on that bench until her next class, thinking about it. Ash weighed her options, llisting the pros and cons over and over in her head. By the time her adult class started filing in, joking and laughing with each other, she still hadn't figured out whether she wanted to stick her neck out and go for what she secretly dreamed or stay here, where it was safe and Chaz would lead a normal, but uneventful life. Pushing the battling thoughts to the back of her mind, Ash plastered a smile to her face and hopped up off the bench, greeting her class.