Rusty was sick. The boy had an ear infection. That was the reason his wife didn't show up to her daughter's performance. That had to be the reason. There was no other plausible idea that could prevent Sharon from coming.
Andy Flynn was surprised to have his phone ring at work. He was in an interview with a suspect when the number of the school came up. It was common knowledge among his colleagues that when his phone rang, if it had anything to do with the kids, he was gone. Which was what he did. Flynn stood up from the interview, excused himself, and walked out the door.
The principal of the school was worried about Emily. The girl had realized her mother had not yet arrived and that she probably wasn't going to show. So the drama queen that the little girl was, she informed her principal that she was not going to be dancing. Period. At all. Emily was the only dancer they had. A number was specifically done for the girl.
Flynn parked his car in the red zone – he was a cop. He could park anywhere and he knew it pissed him off. It was something that peeved his wife. Like a civilian, Sharon wanted him to park in a spot and not to hang his job over people's heads. No one cared that he was a cop. No one cared that he could park wherever he wanted. It drove her insane. But this was an emergency; his stepdaughter needed him.
Andy talked to Emily, assured her that he was going to be there before the show started. He promised her that. He swore and as she ever so reminded him, he never swore on anything. It just meant he was serious and she agreed to it.
"Excuse me," Flynn said, going to the vacant three seats that Sharon had reserved for them a few weeks ago.
The curtains went down and his wife was nowhere to be seen. Neither was Rusty or Ricky. Both of the boys would be with their mother. It bothered him, but he couldn't let it because he wasn't there for them. He was there for Emily. That's what he had to focus on.
The show only lasted half an hour. It was a showcase of all the things the various grades did over the year – Emily had two more weeks left of school before she transferred grades. Parents were crowded around the stage, waiting for their child to make their appearance. Flynn watched as Emily came out from the wings. She looked disappointed. The girl hadn't seen Flynn in the audience; she was looking for him, for someone she recognized – he saw it in her eyes as she performed.
Politely, Flynn shoved his way to the edge of the stage and knocked on the wood twice. It garnered the girl's attention. She looked up and met his eyes and the look of disappointment blossomed into pure joy. The sparkle in her eye reminded him of her mother when Sharon was over joyed. Flynn took Emily, lifting her above his head and brought her down to his hip. She was too old for it, but he didn't mind. Not at the moment anyway.
"Did you see me?" Emily asked immediately.
"I did," he said, reaching into his coat, pulling out a rose that he had tucked in there. "For you madam."
She took it and grinned, giggling as she buried her nose into it. It was her first rose. Flynn anticipated there would be more in the future.
"What do you say we go home?" Andy asked, offering her his hand.
Emily nodded and went into a descriptive analysis of the evening. She was like Sharon, over analyzing everything down to the last detail. She was a perfectionist like her mother. Everything had to be in the exact spot or else all hell would break loose. The girl practiced her routine day in and day out on the weekends, after homework and after dinner, she'd call attention to herself to show them what she had finalized.
In the future, Flynn could just imagine the prima ballerina that this girl would become. Opening night, his wife would be on one side, holding his hand. The boys would be on the other, their attention on anything and everything but the stage. If they were anything like they were now, Flynn figured it would take some bribing to get them to go in the first place. His wife would have tears in her eyes, telling him to shut it while she tried to brush away the one that had yet to fall.
She sat in the back seat, on her side, right behind the driver. He could see her in the rear-view but it was difficult to turn to look at her. Emily had become quiet on the ride home, her attention out the window watching as the city passed by. His phone chimed and he looked in the rearview to gauge her reaction. She did nothing. She simply sighed and propped her head up on her hand, the elbow resting on the sill of the window.
His wife and the kids were not home. It bothered him but he wasn't going to let her see it. He fixed her dinner, made her do her homework and by the time she was all done it was a quarter to ten. Sharon would kill him if she found out Emily was up that late. But if she wasn't there, neither were the boys, it meant the boys would be up too.
"Is Mommy mad at me?" Emily asked from beneath her covers. Andy usually put her to bed on nights when Sharon was out.
They took turns when it came to staying late at work. There would be nights where he had to stay late, there was no alternative and Sharon had to leave work without a notice to go and pick up the kids from one of the parents who they called last minute.
"Rusty wasn't feeling good," he said, smoothing her hair back. "She might have had to get him some medicine."
Emily nodded and curled further down into her bed. Andy tilted his head and took a seat on the edge of the bed.
"Why didn't Mom come?" Emily asked, her voice breaking a little. "I really wanted her to come."
"I know you did," Andy tried. "I know you did, but guess what, she'll never miss another one, I can promise you that."
It was a risk he was willing to take. Making promises for Sharon is what got him into trouble in the beginning. He had promised Ricky something for Sharon and she couldn't come through. The boy had been devastated and she was furious. It made her look like a bad parent, and while that may be, he would do it again and did. Now. For Emily.
He stayed until Emily fell asleep. He backed out of the room slowly, closing the door quietly, and stepped out into the hallway. He debated on going to bed, but he wanted to wait for Sharon. He knew that since she had both boys she would need help. Having three kids was difficult, but they managed.
Changing into his sweats, he heard the door open and close. Sharon's muted whispers traveled through the hall, the front door a straight shot from where he was. If she got lucky, Sharon would have the boys come down the hallway and he'd see them.
"Hey," Andy whispered to a lost looking Ricky.
The boy turned at the call and smiled. He ran down the hallway and lunged at Andy, his arms coming around the man's neck easily. He buried his face into the neck and kneed him in the chest.
"Where'd you go?" Andy questioned. He tickled the boy lightly. "Huh, buddy?"
"Rusty is sick," Ricky sighed. "I'm tired."
"Yeah?" Andy inquired. "Let's get you to bed huh?"
Sharon had slipped into the boys room while Andy was finishing up changing Ricky. The boy wanted the dark blue pajamas, instead of the red ones he normally wore. Andy knew the blue ones were clean, but Sharon – he really didn't care. He was pulling on the boy's shirt when she came in.
Andy tossed a look over his shoulder to Sharon holding the baby. The kid's face looked pale, his eye's bright red. He looked miserable. Sharon looked exhausted. She looked defeated.
"Mama," Rusty mumbled pathetically.
"I know," she said before pressing her lips to his forehead. His temperature was down, non-existent practically, which was good.
Sharon laid the boy down in his bed and took a knee next to it. His hair was matted to his forehead, drenched in sweat that was drying, no doubt from his fever breaking.
Andy kissed Rusty's forehead, wished the boy a goodnight and left Sharon to her sons. He was waiting for her when she came out. He was leaning against the kitchen counter, arms crossed against his chest, legs crossed at the ankle; he was debating on what to tell her. He was pissed he got pulled out, he wasn't pissed that he got to see Emily dance, even though he told her there was a good chance he wouldn't be able to. Sharon had told her she would be there and would tell Andy all about it. Emily was okay with that. Everything else wasn't accounted for.
"Rusty has an ear infection," Sharon said, pulling a glass down from above the sink. "Double ear infection. Had a 100-degree fever and was vomiting. The front of my dress is ruined."
It would explain why she was in jeans and a t-shirt. It would explain why she looked so plain.
"Ricky was so good," Sharon beamed. "He sat with the nurses while they checked on Rusty. The doctor even gave him some cookies. He even held Rusty's hand when they poked him with a needle."
Andy simply nodded. He was glad that Rusty was okay. He was happy that Rusty behaved himself but he was going to bite his tongue on the Emily situation. The more Sharon talked about the boys the more aggravated he got. It was like she forgot about Emily. Like she forgot her oldest child had something important in her life today and she wasn't even mentioning it.
He huffed, garnering a look from her. He shook his head and pushed off. Emily's dish was still in the sink and he needed to occupy himself. If the anger were bad, he would take Sharon's glass and shatter it against the nearest wall. He was better than that. He's done that. She bared witness. So he made use of his hands.
"Emily got a standing ovation tonight," he said over the sound of the spray of water. "Your daughter did a perfect pirouette and got a standing ovation."
Sharon said nothing. She simply stared at her husband in disbelief.
"She did so good tonight Sharon and you know what she asked me?" He questioned and was met with silence. "She wants to know why you're mad at her."
"I'm not."
"She doesn't know that." Andy growled at her. "Emily wanted you there and you weren't. Bottom line. If Rusty was sick? Fine. That's fine. Kids get sick. But you should have called. Called me, called worked, called the school – someone should have told her something definitive instead of me trying to cover your ass."
Time and time again did he hear the horror stories of young kids not knowing where there parents were to have him tell them that they weren't coming home. Ever. He didn't want to do that to his kids.
"My phone died," she said. "I left my charger here. I thought – I couldn't – my attention was on Rusty and he just-"
Andy took a step forward. The anger that had melted into disappointment was gone. His wife was exhausted and starting to break down in front of him. The realization that she was putting the child that wasn't biologically hers ahead of her own – how would that look to Emily and Ricky? The boy was their brother, sure, but that was only on paper.
He cupped his wife's face, the tears staining her cheeks. She wasn't a bad mother. It hit him that she simply forgot. No she didn't forget, she was distracted and she let distraction win.
"She's asleep right now," he said. "She'll understand if you just tell her that Rusty was sick, Sharon. Tell her the truth."
"She sounds like a victim's family member," Sharon murmured into her husband's chest.
"Isn't she?" Andy questioned, pulling back. "It can wait until tomorrow."
He hit the lights and let the stand in absolute darkness. Before he went into the bedroom to change he did a tour of the house, checking the locks on the other doors, making sure everything was good. It was an occupational hazard to double and triple check the doors of his home. He wasn't a well-liked person; he had put enough wackjobs away to give them all a personal vendetta. He didn't want any of them being taken out on his kids.
It wasn't until Sharon was in bed, curled up against Andy who was reading a file that she spoke again.
"She was wonderful?" Sharon questioned.
Andy put the file aside; a mixture of paperwork and evidence that had to be looked over and corrected. He slid down further into his side and ran a hand up and down his wife's arm before settling it against her hip. He pulled her to him and simultaneously rolled onto his back. A hand came to his chest and a puff of warm air to his neck.
"She was the star." He said.
It pleased her that her daughter was growing up. It scared her that her daughter, well, really, all her children were growing up. No more did she have children running around with babbles. No more did she have children who needed to go to the potty together. It was only one – the baby who was still in diapers but thankfully learning to use the bathroom. One day she wouldn't be needed. One day they would be able to do things on their own. That scared her more than anything.
Sharon knew that one-day, on a marquee somewhere, her daughter's name would be in bright lights. The late night call of panic, her self-doubting bone that she had, forcing her to call her mother. Sharon would answer; spend all hours of the night convincing her daughter that she will be spectacular and the audience would love her. It proved true, at the young age that Emily was now. It only would mean more to her when she was older. Sharon just had to prove that no matter what; Emily would always be Sharon's little star.
This is a continuation of Keys, which you should read first. It'll give a better sense of the world.
I'm A Star: sung by Eden Espinosa; Dreaming Wide Awake, written by Scott Alan
