Don’t Let Me Go(79)

“That would be understating the case,” Billy replied.

“Go back to bed.”

“I will.”

“Thank you. More than I can say. You’re a very nice young man.”

She waddled toward the stairway.

“Want help getting up the stairs?” he asked.

“Not yet. But thanks for asking. That time will come soon enough.”

Billy closed the door, set down the cat, and put himself back to bed.

? ? ?

Grace came bounding in at the usual three thirty.

“Oh, you’re in your pajamas,” she said. “I’m used to seeing you dressed now. Are you OK? I’m going to put my tap shoes on right away and work on my dancing. I really need more practice on those triple turns. What do you call them?”

“Buffalo turns,” Billy said.

“Do you think they named them after the animal or the city?”

“I don’t know for a fact,” Billy said, feeling more bowled over than usual by her energy. “But it seems like a tricky move for a bison. So I’ll go with the city.”

“It’s tricky for me, too,” she said, already lacing up her tap shoes. “I keep ending up on the rug. If I could just get that down I’d have the whole routine pretty good.”

“Two more things I want you to work on.”

“Oh,” she said. “There’s always more, huh?”

“Only if you want to be good. Only if you want to shine.”

“OK. What?”

“I want you to relax your upper body more. So it doesn’t seem like you’re holding yourself so stiffly. And you need to smile.”

“I do?”

“Absolutely. It’s de rigueur.”

“In English, Billy.”

“It’s indispensable.”

“English!”

“You have to do it! But work on the turns first. I’m just going to make myself a nice bed here on the couch and watch you.”

Grace skated carefully across the rug into his bedroom and fetched the afghan off the end of his bed. She covered him up with it, and gave him a kiss on the forehead.

“Tell me if I look like I’m smiling,” she said.

Then the deeply satisfying sound of the tapping put Billy right to sleep.

? ? ?

“Rayleen is late,” Grace said, startling him awake.

“Maybe one of her clients was running behind,” he mumbled, trying to sound as if he’d never been asleep.

“I don’t think so,” she said, sitting on the couch against his hip. “I’m pretty sure I heard her come in at the usual time. But that was like twenty minutes ago.”

“Oh. Maybe she’s talking to Jesse.”

“Why would she go talk to Jesse? She hates Jesse.”

“Hmm,” Billy said. “Not sure. Everything changes.”

Grace raised her eyebrows and stared at him. “Something happen that I don’t know about?”

“I might’ve had a conversation with Rayleen about it.”

“You fixed it!” she shouted, excitedly. “You’re magic, Billy! You fixed it!”

“I didn’t do a damn thing,” he said. “She just needed to talk it out.”

“Oh, now I can’t wait. Now I’m all excited, and I can’t wait to see how it turns out. I have to dance now. I have to dance when I’m excited. Watch me. I’m going to do those Buffalo turns now. Watch me and see if I end up in the right place, and if I smile. Don’t fall asleep this time.”

Billy sat up as a way of behaving more like a proper audience.

Grace shuffle-skated across the rug and took her position. But before she could even lift a tap shoe, someone knocked on the door.

“Rayleen’s here!” she shouted, and ran for the door, skidding perilously.

She threw the door open wide, blocking Billy’s view.

“Oh, it’s not Rayleen!” he heard her shout. “It’s Jesse! Hi, Jesse!” Then, after a slight pause, “Billy, he wants to talk to you!”

“I’m in my pajamas,” Billy said, but it didn’t help.

Grace had already grabbed him by the elbow and begun dragging him to the door. He finger-combed his hair as best he could with his one free hand. This was not the way he wanted to be seen. But it was too late. He found himself standing in front of the open door, looking into Jesse’s face, which was even more open and soft than usual.

Billy waited for Jesse to say something.

Instead Jesse threw his arms around Billy and held on tightly. Squeezed him. Billy felt tears at the backs of his eyes, as if tears were being squeezed out of him. Then Jesse let go just as suddenly.

“Gotta go,” he said. “Gotta get ready. Thank you.”

Then he bounded up the stairs two at a time and disappeared.

“So what was that all about?” Grace asked, tugging on his pajama pants.

“Not sure.”

“He seemed happy.”

“He did.”

“You think it means he has a date with Rayleen?”

“It might.”

“I sure hope so. But you still have to watch my turns.”

Billy closed the door and sat on the couch, once again prepared to serve as an appreciative audience. Grace raised one foot and tapped it back down again. And someone knocked on the door.