POLLY
To be yourself in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment.
Jessica Park,Flat-Out Celeste
“Mom, do I have to go?”
“Max, we just pulled into the parking lot. We’re already here. We talked about this last night after you and Jace did some magic tricks for me, remember? I’m on call tonight, so I have to bring you to Young Wills practice along with Ryla, in case I get called in. Ryla sits and waits through your counseling sessions, something she doesn’t like to do, so it’s all fair. You can sit next to me the whole time. Besides coming inside and sitting with me, you don’t have to do anything you don’t want to do.”
I could see his eyes were getting wet, which usually tugged on my heartstrings so much I would give in, taking him home, not making him go anywhere. But he needed to practice doing new things. He wasn’t going to get anywhere staying in our house. Frank, his therapist, confirmed the same thing today.
Ryla, who’d been chattering away in the backseat the entire way here, had been silent during our exchange. I braced for a blow up, but then, she took my breath away as she reached over and held Max’s hand.
Max looked up at her with a feeble smile, then rolled his shoulders back, dropped her hand, and got out of the car.
I glanced at Ryla, but she was already getting out of the car, completely unphased, like her actions didn’t just mean the world to me. She wasn’t aware of this, but if Ryla were to ask me for anything right now, I’d give it to her. A new Barbie. Ten flushable mini-toilets. Hell, even a dog named Kevin.
Ryla took a hold of my hand and Max grabbed the other one as we made our way to the auditorium. Max’s hand tightened around mine and I squeezed it twice as we entered the large space. On the stage, a group of kids were congregating around two women with long, dark hair. Ryla wriggled her hand out of my grip as soon as she saw Jace on the stage and shouted his name. I saw him squint, searching for us, then light up when he spotted us.
Jace backed up a few paces, then made a running start and leapt off the stage like Johnny Castle on his way to save Baby from the corner. He tucked his legs into a tight cannonball, then straightened them out and landed in a crouch, practically giving me heart palpitations as he unwittingly made a teenage fantasy of mine come to life. Because if any girl tells you that she didn’t want to be Baby at the end of the movie, when Johnny jumped off that stage, then looked back at her all sexy and adorable, they’re a dirty liar.
Whoops and claps erupted from the kids when Jace landed. He did a half turn and bow complete with a flourish, shouting, “Don’t try that at home, kids!”
Ryla had picked up speed and was running full throttle down the aisle toward Jace. I don’t think she’d ever seenDirty Dancing, nor would I allow her to at her age, but she did what I could only describe as a trust leap when she was within a few feet of Jace. I opened my mouth to shout a warning just as Jace turned and caught her swiftly, lifting her straight up into the air and spun her around—thankfully not inDirty Dancingstyle but still, Ryla’s face beamed.
Grabbing her hand, Jace walked up the aisle toward Max and me. “Welcome!” His face was full of elation, free and happy.
“Thanks!” I ignored the butterflies in my stomach and gestured to the seats on either side of us. “Where should we sit?”
“Anywhere you’d like.” He looked down at Ryla. “What do you say, Ryla. Ready to go?”
Anyone could see Ryla was ready to go. She was practically bursting out of her skin with excitement, like the Energizer Bunny on methamphetamines.
“Sounds good.” I took a step forward only to be met with resistance as Max pulled at my hand, silently letting me know he didn’t want to sit any closer.
“We’ll hang out right here. I’ll be watching, Ryla. Have fun!”
Jace glanced between Max and I, an understanding passing over his face. He crouched down in front of Max. “I’ll be right up there, Max. If you ever want to join in, come straight up and find me. If you want to hang out back here, that’s ok, too. Thanks for coming.”
And Max, my brave boy, whispered, “You’re welcome.”
Five months ago, we’d have still been in the car as tears streamed down his face, trying to work through breathing exercises to help him calm down. I squeezed Max’s hand, silently communicating how proud I was of him, as we took a seat.
“Jace, watch me!” I heard a kid yell before he did a running jump and summersault off the stage.
“Benjamin Winston! I better not see you do that again!” the taller of the two women onstage yelled down to the little acrobat.
“Sorry, Momma!” the little cutie drawled as he scampered up the stage’s side stairs.
Jace and Ryla were now onstage and approaching the two women, both of whom had noticed them. I was a good twenty rows up from where they were standing, but I could tell both women were incredibly pretty. After Jace gestured to Ryla a few times, Ryla turned, her little face squinting out to the audience. Finally spotting me, she waved enthusiastically, which had both of the women’s heads snapping in my direction. The taller woman, who had hourglass curves, shaded her eyes like she was trying to see me better.
I gave a sly wave back to Ryla, watching as the voluptuous, dark-haired beauty got down on one knee in front of her. After talking for a minute, she gave Ryla a high five, who then took off like a shot to join the group of kids onstage. Jace and the woman continued a conversation. At one point, he must have said something funny because she tipped her head back and laughed, her long pretty hair cascading down her back, her olive skin beautiful and luminous even from where I sat.
I narrowed my eyes. What did I expect? He’d said he liked variety, right? I was so focused on their interaction I didn’t realize that someone had come up beside Max and I, until I heard them speak.
“You must be Polly and Max?”
Giving a tiny start, which also caused Max to jump, I whipped my head to my left. The shorter of the two dark-haired women was now standing next to us. She was one of the most breathtaking women I’d ever seen up close.
