Someone Else’s Life(16)

She’d met them twenty years ago, when she was freshly graduated from SUNY Purchase with a BA in dance, on the first day of a professional training program at a ballet company. She’d wanted to dance professionally, and her parents had been horrified. They’d thought she should get a “real” job, but she’d held her ground.

They had gravitated toward each other, the only people of color in the otherwise all-white program. Julia, tall at five eight for an Asian, with a strong, solid build more suited for modern dance than ballet, and skinny, scrawny Izzy from Barbados, who hadn’t filled out yet back then and was always partnered with Annie, the only woman smaller than him.

The three of them had stayed fast friends as their dance careers advanced. Izzy was now a dancer in The Lion King on Broadway, and Julia was with an Asian American modern dance company. They were both single and still dancing professionally in New York City, while Annie’s career had stalled when she’d lost her company and studio.

“Everything okay?”

Serena’s question snapped Annie’s attention back to her new friend.

“Sorry. I was just thinking about my friends from back home.” Marley came up next to her, and she scratched him behind his ears. “I miss them. It’s nice having someone who’s not my family to talk to again. And not have to chase after a little boy for an afternoon.” Annie made a face. “Does that make me sound like a bad mother?”

“No, of course not.” Serena leaned her elbows on the breakfast bar, her face open. “I saw you two together. You’re great with him.”

Annie paused in her scratching of Marley. “When did you see me with him?” A prickle of uncertainty started at the back of her neck. What was Serena talking about?

“I just realized I’ve seen you before.” The younger woman’s expression was all innocence, but that prickle on Annie’s neck turned into a spark as uneasiness traveled down her back.

“You said we’ve never met.” Annie gazed at Serena in challenge.

“We’ve never met formally. But I just realized we saw each other yesterday at the beach at Lydgate. Your son kicked sand on me, and I kind of freaked out.” Serena ducked her head, so that her curls swung in front of her face.

“Oh.” Annie paused for a moment, and then her mouth fell open. That was why Serena looked so familiar. She was the woman on the beach with the giant floppy hat who had yelled at Finn and then stormed off.

Serena’s glance skated away when she saw Annie making the connection. “I know I wasn’t very nice. I’m sorry I yelled at him. I was having a bad day and took it out on him.” She gave a rueful look. “Maybe I shouldn’t have admitted I was that woman. Doesn’t make me look very good, does it?”

“Yeah.” Annie agreed that it wasn’t nice of Serena, but she wasn’t going to push the point. She herself hadn’t exactly been a ray of sunshine for a while, and she’d definitely yelled at Finn for much less. “I knew I’d seen you before when I answered the door. It’s been bothering me.” Annie blew out a breath and dropped her shoulders. “Whew. Glad it wasn’t something creepy, like you’d been following me or something.” She gave a laugh. “It was just that we’ve run into each other before.”

Serena opened her mouth and then snapped it shut, two bright spots appearing on her cheeks. Annie peered at her closely. She’d only met the woman, but she was already learning her body language. Right now, Serena was very uncomfortable. Should Annie not have said that about being creepy? Had she offended her?

Serena forced a laugh, and an awkward moment of silence hung between them before she broke it. “You said your marriage is strained right now? It’s funny how we never really know what goes on in someone else’s life. From my point of view, you have the best marriage to a reliable man.”

Annie made a noise with her mouth. “The last four years have been pretty bad. I know it’s mostly my doing, but I don’t know what to do to change things.” She paused, unsure why she was telling Serena this. But there was something in Serena’s expression that made Annie feel that she understood. She took a breath and continued.

“Every morning I wake up and say, ‘This is the day I’m going to be nice again. I won’t yell at Brody. I will be patient and not be so grumpy and grouchy.’ And every day, before we’re even done with breakfast, I’m already snipping at him.” She shook her head. “One of my best friends, Izzy, tells me I’m depressed and I need therapy, but I think it’s just circumstances, you know? I don’t need a therapist. How is a therapist going to make things better?”

Serena’s face brightened. “I know exactly what you’re talking about. People said the same thing to me when . . . well, when something bad happened. Said I needed a therapist. I told them I was fine. I’ve done therapy before, and it didn’t really do anything. I’m fine. I mean, look at me. I’m dealing. Right?”

Annie nodded and Serena beamed back at her. A look of understanding passed between them, and Annie felt a bond with this woman that she hadn’t felt since she met Julia and Izzy. There’d been this same instant connection with her two best friends, a feeling that they got her, no matter how different they were from each other.

“My friends are protective of me.” Annie wrinkled her nose. “Izzy loves his therapist and keeps trying to get me to go. The last time we FaceTimed, he was on my case again.”