Page 106 of Dance with Me on New Year's Eve
My eyes flew back to his in question. He was biting his lip to suppress a smile.
“What—Jeff, did you see her? Is that Julia?”
Before I knew it, my best friend was by our side, enveloping me in a tight hug as I still held Jeff’s hand. “Julia, it’s been so long. It is so, so good to see you.”
Julia laughed and released me. She smiled and nodded at Jeff, who returned the smile.
I glanced up at him in awe. His eyes were sparkling in the dim party lighting, and I gasped. “You invited her … you arranged for her to be here?”
“I did,” he said, his voice low. “A few others too.”
I scanned the perimeter of the dance floor, seeing my other friends, Hazel, Peter, Mariana, and Terry, whose arm was supporting his grandmother, Nora. I knew Nora’s partner was currently in the hospital, so I hadn’t expected her—or Terry for that matter—to show up to the New Year’s Eve party tonight. I was startled to see his sister Abby too, with a friend I hadn’t met.
My widened eyes softened as they landed on the striking blonde woman on the end.
Jenna.
I swallowed with some difficulty as I bit my lip and looked back at Jeff nervously.
“Julia,” I said as my gaze swung to her. “We have so much to catch up on. But can you excuse me for just a moment?”
My best friend nodded, her face shining as she gave Jeff aconspiratorial glance.
I let go of Jeff’s hand and turned to him briefly. “Give me a moment, Jeff. I need to do this alone.”
Inhaling deeply, I took careful steps toward my former neighbor. We hadn’t spoken since summer. I’d attempted to make amends in the spring, but she had brushed me off—and rightly so.I’d been rude and dismissive to her every time we’d spoken prior to that.
“Jenna, hello,” I said with a tentative smile.
She wasn’t smiling. “Hi.”
I swallowed again, my throat scratchy as I said, “Thank you for—for coming. I … I don’t know how Jeff convinced you. But I’m grateful.”
She put a well-manicured hand on her hip. “He didn’t.”
I raised my eyebrows. “Oh. Well, thank you—”
Jenna sighed. “I’m not really into grudges. Such a waste of energy.”
I inhaled and exhaled slowly. “Thank you. I need to apologize—”
“Roxy, it’s fine.”
“I was a jerk to you. You were just trying to be nice and befriend a lonely, anxious woman, and I was totally ungrateful—”
“You don’t need to be grateful if someone pays attention to you, Roxy.” Her mask of indifference was softening now. “But, yes, you gave me the brush-off a lot. And I didn’t understand why, back then.”
My mouth opened and then closed.
“When you moved out of our building in the summer, I figured I’d never hear from you again.” She paused. “But you kept trying. I got texts, calls, apology notes on my door. That long email telling me about your anxiety. You didn’t give up. The thing is …I’dgiven up. I went through some personal stuff with my parents deciding to move into assisted living but then deciding not to, and back and forth. Plus the usual dating drama, which I thought I’d be long done with by the time I hit 45.” Sheshook her head with a rueful smile.
“Oh, I had no idea. I’m so sorry.”
“Well, you couldn’t have known because I didn’t tell you.” She offered a half-smile. “Because I was being stubborn and hormonal and, well … stubborn, mostly.”
I nodded, still shocked. “I understand family drama.” I took a deep breath, realizing it would probably be a good time to actually open up to show her I’d changed. “My parents and I … well, it hasn’t been smooth sailing for a long time. Maybe ever. But I’ve been doing therapy to help manage my feelings and reactions. Realizing I didn’t need their approval but still trying to find better ways to communicate with them has actually helped, even if we’ll never really see eye to eye.” I shook my head. “Sorry to go on and on—just trying to say that I can emphathize. Just like friendship, family is important but not always easy. I’m sure your parents are lucky to have you as a daughter helping them out.” I offered a shy smile. “And I’d be lucky if you wanted to give this friendship thing another try.”
Jenna pursed her lips. “Even though you won’t have to see me anymore, since you’re living in some cozy little cottage on the lake now and I’m still stuck downtown?”
