Chapter 29.
"I like the blue hydrangeas with the white roses," said Callie, as she leafed through a flower catalog. She looked across the table at Brandon. "What do you think?"
He shrugged. "I can't really tell one flower from another, so I don't know how much I can help you. But they are beautiful."
She nodded, satisfied. "I think I'm gonna go with these.
"Then that's one more thing that's settled," said Jill, circling to order number on the catalog page. "I've also scheduled some dance lessons for the two of you."
"Dance lessons?" Callie asked, wrinkling her nose. "Why do we need dance lessons?"
"For your first dance," she explained. "You don't want to make fools of yourselves in front of everyone. You want to look poised and confident."
"I don't want it to be all choreographed, though," Callie told her. "It won't feel natural."
"Lots of people take dance lessons before their weddings," her stepmother replied. "Your first lesson has already been arranged. It's tomorrow at two o' clock, and I expect you both to be there."
"Maybe we already have plans?" Callie commented, growing irritated. "You could have asked us first."
"You're going," Jill told her firmly. "It's already been paid for."
Callie rubbed her temples, her head pounding. "I'm sick and tired of you trying to control everything," she snapped. Her stepmother had become more anal than usual since being recruited to help with the wedding plans. The understated event Callie and Brandon had envisioned was quickly becoming an elaborate affair.
Robert placed his hand on her daughter's shoulder, effectively getting her attention. "Watch the attitude, missy. Jill was just trying to help."
She sighed, taking a deep breath. "I'm sorry, okay? I'm just stressed."
"I accept your apology," Jill told her. "But you're still going to the dance lessons."
Brandon reached across the table and squeezed Callie's hand. "Let's just do this. Who knows? It might be fun."
Jill smiled appreciatively. "Finally, someone sensible."
The next day, Callie and Brandon arrived at the dance studio at two o' clock on the dot. "Don't be nervous," said Brandon, patting her knee. "It's going to be fine."
"Who said I'm nervous?" she asked, climbing out of the car, her stomach fluttering.
Brandon gave her a probing look, his lips turned up in a playful smile. "I know you, Callie." He wrapped his arm around her shoulders. "Better than you even know yourself."
"Alright," she sighed. "So, maybe I am a little nervous?"
"I am too," he confided. "But it's not like we haven't been through this before, right?"
"Right."
They entered the building and signed in, then were taken into a large studio that was lined with mirrors and smelled slightly of sweat.
"You must be Callie and Brandon." The voice startled Callie, and she turned to see a tall woman crossing the floor.
They nodded.
"I'm going to be your instructor," the woman told them. "My name is Leslie."
"Nice to meet you," said Brandon.
"Nice to meet you too," Leslie replied. "I hear you're getting married soon. Congratulations."
"Thanks," they said in unison.
Leslie turned on some slow music, the kind appropriate for a wedding. It filled the cavernous room, bouncing off the high ceiling and mirrored walls. "Now," she directed. "Stand face to face, so your stomachs are nearly touching. And Brandon, rest your hand on Callie's waist."
Smiling, Brandon awkwardly complied, laying his hand just above the curve of Callie's hip, his fingers grazing the small of her back.
"Very good," said Leslie. "Now Callie, please place your hand on Brandon's shoulder."
She brushed her thumb against the back of his neck before setting her hand down.
"Excellent."
"This like deja vu, isn't it?" Brandon whispered to her, tucking a strand of hair that had escaped from her ponytail behind her ear, then taking her other hand in his.
Callie nodded. She couldn't help but smile, thinking about the dance lesson they'd taken before Mariana's Quinceneara. She remembered her body becoming rigid at Brandon's touch, her muscles clenching tight. She wasn't used to being touched so intimately, and the excitement of being touched by Brandon frightened her, not because she didn't like it, but because she did.
"That was the day I knew it was over with Talya," he told her as they danced, Leslie counting off the steps in time with the music.
She smiled, remembering the moment when the dance teacher had asked them to look into each other's eyes and find a connection, and how her legs had turned to jelly. Meeting each other's gaze, she had been sure that Brandon's beautiful green eyes could see into her very soul; that something in her own eyes would betray her feelings for him. She'd felt naked, but she couldn't look away.
Now, they were looking into each other's eyes again, like they had years ago. But instead of feeling exposed, Callie felt warm from the inside out. She laid her head on Brandon's shoulder, and felt him embrace her, their feet still moving to the music.
Callie wasn't sure how she found herself at Girls United, but there she was, parked on the curb. Brandon had a late class that afternoon, and she had other errands to run in the area. But the arrival of their wedding invitations in the mail had cemented her decision to visit the group home; she'd decided she had to deliver Rita's invitation in person.
She'd meant to visit Rita many times in the past few years, especially since they'd rebuilt the house after the fire, but something always stopped her. When she lived with Robert and Jill, it was because Jill was uncomfortable around the girls. Then, after that, it was shame that kept her away: the last time she saw Rita, Callie was in the psych ward with stitches in her wrist, at the lowest point in her downward spiral.
Climbing up the porch steps and ringing the doorbell, though, Callie felt as if she were coming home, in a strange way.
"Coming!" a voice called from inside.
Callie's heart skipped a beat. She could never mistake that voice. When the door swung open, she smiled, her eyes becoming misty. "Hi, Rita."
"Callie!" Rita cried, scooping her up in her arms. "What a surprise. Come in, sweetheart."
She followed her into the house, looking around in every direction.
"Is something wrong, Cal?" Rita asked, turning back to her.
She managed a small laugh. "I kind of expected everything to be the same." The bones of the house were similar to the original structure, but the rooms had a much more updated feel.
The older woman nodded. "The building may be different, but the spirit's the same."
"Do you ever hear from the other girls?" Callie asked.
"A few of them," Rita replied, sitting down and indicating for her guest to join her. "Daphne got her little girl back."
"That's awesome!" Callie gushed, smiling.
"It is," she nodded. "Let's see... Kiara comes in a few times a month to volunteer. And Cole is living independently, doing well. I've lost touch with Carmen, unfortunately. And Becka moved out of the area about a year ago."
"What about Gabi?" Callie asked, accepting a glass of iced tea.
Rita's face creased with sorrow, her body language apprehensive. "I'm sorry to tell you this, but Gabi passed away a few months back."
"Oh." Callie felt as if all the breath had been sucked out of her. She took a slow sip of her drink, her eyes filling with tears. "I'm sorry to hear that."
"I was too," Rita confided. "I attended her funeral."
"Was it... was it her HIV?" she asked, drawing a line in the condensation on her glass.
Rita nodded grimly. "It was." Looking up, she managed a weak smile. "What about you, Cal? What brings you here?"
"I... I wanted to give this to you," Callie told her, still shaken up by the news. She handed her a stiff envelope.
Slowly, Rita tore it open, looking over the invitation. "You're getting married," she said, in more of a statement than a question. She held the card up, taking a closer look at the delicate print. "To Brandon Foster." She gave Callie a playful smirk. "You just couldn't stay away from him, could you?"
Callie gave her a perplexed look, unsure of how to react. "Well, I-"
"I'm just kidding," Rita smiled, reaching over to pat her shoulder. "Congratulations, Cal. I'm happy for you."
"Do you think you can come to the wedding?"
"Of course," Rita replied. "I'll be there with bells on."
"Thanks," she nodded. "That means a lot to me. I don't think I would even be able to take this step without everything I learned from you."
"Well, I can't take all the credit," the older woman told her. "But hearing you say that makes my job worthwhile." She chuckled. "You were a pain in the ass, Callie. But I loved you. I love all my girls."
Callie smiled, picking at a small tear in her jeans. "Thanks. I think."
"It's a compliment," Rita assured her. "But hey... marriage is a big step. How are you holding up emotionally?"
"I'm a little stressed," she admitted. "But I guess that's normal."
"Something is bothering you, though?" Rita guessed.
"How did you know?" she asked.
"Because I know you."
Callie sighed, thinking back to earlier that morning. It was time to take her birth control. She'd popped a pill out of the case and held it in her hand. And for a moment, she'd considered throwing it away, going off the pill altogether, without telling Brandon. "I had a pregnancy scare," she confided. "A few days ago."
"Yeah?"
She nodded. "I've been thinking about having a baby for a little while, but Brandon and I both agreed to wait a few years. I know he's right, but I can't help it. I'm sad that the test was negative."
Rita gave her a sympathetic look. "It feels like you've lost something, doesn't it?"
She looked up in surprise. "How did you know?"
"I've been in a similar situation," the older woman confided. "But in my case, I found out I wasn't able to conceive."
"What did you do?" Callie asked.
"I was angry for a while, made some dumb mistakes. But it worked out in the end. I have lots of children now: you, and all the other girls I work with."
"I almost made a dumb mistake," Callie admitted. Quickly, she told her about her impulse to go off birth control.
"Callie," Rita sighed. "Honey. Don't do it. If you trick him, I promise you, you'll regret it."
"I know," she nodded. "And I don't think I could really go through with it. It's just... the scare made me realize how much I want a baby."
"You're only twenty, Cal. What's the rush?"
She shrugged. "I don't know. I just love Brandon so much, and I want us to be a family."
"But you will be a family when you're married," Rita told her. "A small family, but a family just the same."
"I know," she replied.
"Is your relationship with Brandon healthy?" the other woman asked. "Does he treat you well?"
"Yeah," she nodded, her smile returning. "He treats me like a queen. I don't deserve how much he does for me."
"I think you deserve it," Rita told her. "I really do. Everyone deserves to be loved. Everyone deserves to find someone who makes them feel special."
"I didn't mean it like that..." said Callie, her words hanging in the air.
"Do you remember what I told you about my first marriage?" Rita asked her. "How it ended?"
She nodded. "Yes. You cheated on him. But I would never cheat on Brandon."
"I'm not saying you would," she assured her.
"What are you trying to say?"
"I'm saying," she went on. "Don't screw this up. Brandon loves you, and he wouldn't have asked you to marry him if he didn't. Never forget that. Just trust in it."
"What does this have to do with me wanting a baby?" Callie asked. Deep down, she knew exactly what Rita was trying to tell her and yet, she felt the need to have it vocalized.
"It has everything to do with it," she told her. "Your going off your birth control could easily become my affair. How would he ever be able to trust you again if you lied to him about something so important? I just don't want you to make the same mistakes I made, Cal. You and I have both dealt with the same insecurities, and one of them is allowing ourselves to trust in a good thing."
"So, what should I do?"
"You could tell him how you're feeling," she suggested. "Just be open with him. About this, and anything else that comes along."
"Rita?"a voice called, interrupting. A teenage girl entered the room.
"What's up, Sarah?"
"I don't feel well," she girl told her.
Rita nodded, standing up. "Hold on a sec, kiddo."
"I better go," said Callie, setting her glass on the coffee table. "Thanks for the visit."
"You're welcome, sweetheart," she replied, giving her one more hug. "I'll see you at your wedding."
To Be Continued... no one guessed the dance lesson from "Quinceneara." An underrated Brallie moment, but one of my favorites.
