"I'm tellin' you, this one's gonna work," Mark rolled his eyes and sighed. He had called Chris to let him know that he finally had their choreographer. All he had to do was seal the deal. Chris was arguing with him now that he'd promised that before and hadn't come through. Mark looked up and saw that Aprille and Ash had arrived and were heading toward the table.
"Look, I gotta go, but I'll tell you what. Why don't you just come out here for a day or two and take a look yourself?" He paused and nodded to Aprille as she neared the table. Ash trailed behind her, looking extremely uncomfortable.
"Good, you get the information and leave it on my voice mail. I'll pick you up at the airport. Yeah, see ya then."
Mark clicked the phone off and set it down on the table. He got up and pulled out Ash's chair first, then Aprille's, seating them before returning to his own chair. Immediately, a waiter appeared and got the order for their drinks. They perused the menus, deciding quickly on what they wanted. By the time the waiter returned, they had made up their minds and gave him their orders. The young man hurried off to the kitchen and Mark turned to Ash.
"Well, I suppose we should go ahead and get the business part of this dinner overwith so we can enjoy ourselves the rest of the evening." Ash folded her hands beneath her chin and looked at him.
"Alright, shoot."
"First of all, I do want to say that from what I saw yesterday, you are extremely talented. In fact, I hope you don't mind, but I've invited someone I'm working with to come and see you and your studio."
"No, I don't mind, but why do you need them to come?"
"Well, to be honest, he's one of the performers you'll be working with, should you decide to go that is, and they are very particular about who they work with."
Ash thought about this and cocked her head to the side.
"Is it really that difficult to find someone who can do this?"
"You'd be surprised," Mark snorted, "There are plenty of talented people out there, it's just finding someone who can handle the status of the people they will be working with." Ash raised her eyebrows and he continued.
"We work very closely with celebrities. We help choreograph for tours, videos, awards appearances, pretty much anything they do. There's one group in particular that we are affiliated with, but we also work with a variety of artists." Mark was trying to play it cool and give her information without letting on who their biggest artist was. Besides, she'd figure it out as soon as she saw who he was bringing to the studio tomorrow. He watched her closely, looking for any sign of the flakiness that most of the choreographers he'd interviewed had shown. So far, he hadn't seen it, but you couldn't be too careful.
"Look, let Chris come to the studio in a couple of days and have a look. What can it hurt?"
Ash nodded. She had no problem with him visiting.
"You do know, of course, that this is a big decision for me to make. I would have to leave here. Leave Steppin' Out. I would have to pull my son away from the only life he's known and throw him into something that could possibly be an unhealthy atmosphere. That isn't something I take lightly." Aprille had sat quietly through everything thus far, but she couldn't keep control of herself any longer.
"Ash, you and I both know that Chaz would be excited about it. We also know that this is something you've always dreamed about."
"That may be, but dreams are just that. They aren't reality. Sometimes the price is just too high to pay."
"I totally understand where you're coming from," Mark interjected, "It's not an easy life. I will be brutally honest with you. Most people cannot deal with the noteriety. There will be times when your life is examined and that can be very taxing."
"I understand that. That's one of the things I'm talking about."
"We do, however, try to assure you as much privacy as possible."
Ash looked down at her hands, picking at the fabric of the linen tablecloth. Mark was gearing up to speak again when the waiter returned with their meal. Everything looked and smelled wonderful. They thanked the young man and assured him they didn't need anything else. By unspoken agreement, they ceased with the business discussion and moved on to more trivial things. Mark and Aprille recalled hilarious stories from their youth and by the time dessert came, Ash was wiping tears away from laughing so much.
The three of them lingered over their dessert. Mark watched Ash and her interaction with Aprille. Not a whole lot of people got his highly expressive sister. In fact, most people were turned off by how enthusiastic she always was and how affectionate, but Ash seemed comfortable with it. Mark couldn't help but like her more the longer he knew her. She was perfect for this job. He just had to convince her of that. As they were getting ready to leave, Mark handed her a thick manila envelope.
"Here is all of the information about what you'd be doing and what the agreement would entail, including your pay and benefits. Read it over and when Chris gets here in a couple of days, I'll bring him to meet you. Think long and hard about this Ash. It may be an actual dream come true."
With that, Mark gave her a quick hug and got in his car. Aprille leaned in and hugged him, talking to him for a few minutes. Ash walked back to her car, turning the envelope over and over in her hands. She sighed and opened the door, getting in. She saw Aprille walking towards the car and stuffed the envelope beside her quickly, starting the engine. Aprille, smiling from ear to ear, hopped in the passenger side and cocked her head sideways at Ash.
"Ya know, I'm only gonna say this once more." Oh God, here it comes, "This is perfect for you. You have way too much talent to be stuck here in the middle of Nowhere'sville. You should be out there, showing your stuff and making it big."
"What about Steppin' Out?"
"What about it?"
"I can't just close it up and leave. I've worked too hard for that, plus what about all my students? I can't just walk out on them."
Ash pulled out of the parking lot and drove, letting out all the frustration and anxiety she had. She was completely torn. Mark's offer intrigued her, but she just didn't see how it was something she could do. Aprille glanced at her and smiled.
"Honey, don't you realize that Steppin' Out will be fine? Look, I have enough experience to become a head instructor and so does James. He and I can look after things while you're gone. It's not like you're going away forever. You'll still come back once in awhile to see us little people."
Ash snorted and stopped at the light, turning to look at her friend.
"Look, I don't even know if I want to do this. It sounds great, but that's what bothers me. Most things aren't as great as they seem."
"Oh would you quit being such a fucking drag and just lighten up."
Aprille's tone caused Ash to look at her in surprise. Aprille had never, ever sworn at her like that. The light turned green and Ash started out again. Aprille wasn't done yet though, not by a long shot.
"First of all, I'm kinda pissed that you think my brother would try to screw you over. He's my brother. I know him better than anyone and he thinks you're the shit. He was impressed. Why can't you see that? Second of all, don't ever underestimate my intelligence. I may not have gone to college, but I know the business aspects of that studio just as well as you do."
Ash pulled into her driveway and shut the car off. Aprille was really pissed at her. Wow. She didn't think anything ruffled her.
"Finally, why not take a chance. What have you got to stay here for," Aprille's voice softened and she took Ash's hand in hers, "He dead honey. Gone. You're not. You have to go on. You have to quit living your life as if you were right along side Eric. He would want you to do this and you know it. Please, just look at the papers that Mark gave you and meet Chris when he comes. Give it a chance."
"Alright," Ash's voice was so low that she was unsure if she'd answered aloud. Aprille just hugged her and opened her door.
"Trust me, you won't regret it."
Ash watched her friend close the door and then get into her own car. She looked down at the envelope again and closed her eyes tightly. This was moving way too fast. She needed to slow down and think about things. Slowly, she opened her eyes, grabbed the envelope and got out of the car. This was so much harder than she thought it would be. The part that worried her the most was that she really did want to do this. Aprille had been right on target with that one. Ash opened the front door and threw her keys on the table. She walked to the kitchen and laid the envelope on the table. Staring at the brown paper, she turned and started a pot of coffee. Ash walked back through the kitchen and living room, moving down the hall until she reached Chaz's room. She opened the door slowly and peeked inside. He and Nick were sprawled out on the bunk beds, sound asleep. Smiling, Ash closed the door again and returned to the kitchen. By the time she got back the coffee was done and she poured a cup, savoring it's rich taste. She walked over to the table and sat down, placing her mug in front of her. Taking a deep breath, she picked up the envelope and undid the clasp. This was going to be a long night.