Chapter 11:
Ororo yawned and stretched, then draped a robe around her shoulders and padded down the hall to Andi's room. To her surprise, the girl wasn't in it, and her bed hadn't been slept in. She hurried down the all to the kitchen, intending to pick up the phone and call the mansion, to find out of Remy had gotten home yet, but halted in the doorway in surprise. Andi was humming to herself as she made pancakes and sausage over the stove. She was still dressed in her outfit from the previous night. "Good morning," Ororo said.
Andi turned to look at her, the corners of her eyes crinkled in a smile. "Didn't mean to scare you, Mom," she said with laughter in her voice. I just got in an hour ago, and I couldn't go back to sleep. I thought I'd make breakfast for you and Emma." She tipped her head toward the coffeemaker. "Coffee's ready if you want some."
"I would appreciate it, Andi," Ororo said, rubbing her gritty eyes. Andi took a coffee cup from the cupboard, poured coffee in it, and added Ororo's favored amounts of cream and sugar.
"Did you wait up long last night?" she said, returning to the stove and flipping the pancake over. "I was really going to try to be home before midnight, even though you said I could stay out as long as I wanted to, but I met this boy at 'Nightlight', and Remy decided he wanted to hang with Vicky's chaperone, so we all kind of ended up going out to Ryan's studio and dancing--"
"Hold on," Emma said, appearing at the door. "I want to hear this too. Is this why Remy's snoring on the family room couch?" Ororo looked at her, startled, then went to the living room door. Remy was sprawled out, sound asleep, on the couch. Someone—probably Andi—had draped the afghan from the back of the couch over him, and removed his boots. Ororo smiled and returned to the kitchen. Emma had helped herself to coffee, and Andi was dividing up the pancakes between four plates and adding several sausage links to each one. She put three plates on the table and slid the last plate into the microwave, apparently for Remy later. Emma poured syrup over her portion, handed it to Ororo, then both women waited for Andi to seat herself before they started eating. "So start at the beginning," Emma said. "What did you do? And who's Ryan?"
Andi smiled. "Remy took me out to the new teen's club that just opened, 'Nightlight'," she explained. "He said he'd heard a couple of the kids at school talking about it, and figured it sounded like a nice place. We walked in, and he told me to go mingle while he sat at the bar." She saw Ororo's face and grinned. "No, not an alcoholic bar, Mom! They only served soda and sparkling cider there. Well, I went out there on the dance floor and just started dancing, and all of a sudden there were all these boys that wanted to dance with me too. It was really cool." She took a sip of her orange juice as Ororo and Emma exchanged smiles. "Anyway, then this boy came up, his name was Greg…and oh, Mom, he was a horrible dancer, I couldn't stand him, and then he started rubbing up against me and all that stuff. I tried to push him away, I told him no, but he didn't listen. So I did what you told me, Emma," she grinned. "I kneed him. He fell over, and Ryan was watching, and he laughed. Greg went running off, and Ryan and I danced for a while." Her eyes grew dreamy. "Oh, Mom, he's a wonderful dancer. He's in Julliard on a dancing scholarship, and he's so good! I thought I looked terrible, but he said I was great."
She took another sip of her juice. "Anyway, Ryan took me over to his table when the song ended, and got me a glass of cider while he introduced me to the friends who were sitting there. Frank and Will and Eleni and Vicky all go to Julliard; they have a loft that they all practice at outside the school. You know, just to fool around. Ryan invited me to come with them when the club closed. I checked with Remy; he had started up a conversation with Vicky's Aunt Alice who was also chaperoning Vicky last night, and he said he and Alice wanted to 'get better acquainted'…" and here Andi waggled her eyebrows, leaving the women with little doubt as to what that 'getting better acquainted' had entailed, "So we went out to his loft. Eleni lent me her leotard, and Ryan and I started dancing. When Remy and Alice came back I insisted that we had to go, but Ryan told me to think about trying out for the annual Julliard scholarship. They're having entrance auditions in a couple of weeks." Andi smiled. 'I drove home. Remy was almost asleep when we ot back here, and I figured it would probably be better for him to sleep here rather than go back to the school drunk. So I put him on the couch." She looked uncertain. "Did I do the right thing?"
Ororo nodded, remembering vividly the time Remy had gotten smashed and ran into the school's front gates on the way home. "You did fine, Andi. I'm proud of you. Though Remy was supposed to be in charge of you last night, I'm glad you're responsible enough to take care of yourself when his judgment…suffers a lapse." Emma grinned.
Andi put down her fork, looking at the two women uncertainly. 'I have a couple of questions," she said nervously. "Uhm…Emma…I know you've been kind of like…grooming me to take over your company…but I'm kind of not sure that's what I want to do. I was thinking about what Ryan said…that I have talent…and I was sort f thinking about putting something together for the tryouts. I don't think I could win…but I checked the account my father set up for me, and I think if I really wanted to I could make the tuition to go to Julliard. Would you mind terribly if I went to Julliard?"
Emma stared, her mouth open. She closed it abruptly, tried to find something to say, but found herself speechless. "Uh…Andi, really, I've been planning this for months…I gave you an account and a car and everything! I never thought of you as selfish…but fine, if that's what you want to do, go right on ahead. I couldn't stop you anyway." She got up from the table and left the room.
Andi looked after Emma, trying to blink back tears. "Mom, I'm not selfish, am I?" she pleaded with Ororo. "I mean, dancing is something I always wanted to do, but my mother never let me do it…but they all think I had talent, and I know if I practiced hard enough I could do it…but do you think Emma's right? I mean you both have given me so much, and I don't want to seem ungrateful--"
Ororo placed a finger over Andi's lips, stopping her torrent of words. "Andi, stop. Emma is disappointed, that is all. She will get over it. What she gave you she gave of her own free will. She did not make you sign a contract with her that said in exchange for your gifts you would have to become her protégé; it is still your life. Do what you want with it. If you wish to attend Julliard, then I will not cross you in your desires." She sat back and picked up her fork. "Now what was your other question?"
"Uh…" Andi fumbled, having lost her train of thought in the unexpected confrontation with Emma. "Oh, Ryan. It was about Ryan. Mom, would you mind if I went over to his loft to practice? I mean, I know he's a boy and all, but he's not interested in sex, really he's not. It's all about dancing, with him." Andi stopped.
Ororo looked at her thoughtfully, sighing inwardly to herself. It was going to happen sooner or later; Andi was going to start taking an interest in boys. She would ask Remy later about the boy…but in the meantime… "No," she said. Andi's eyes started to tear up, but Ororo stopped them up with her next words. "I do not see why you should need to go over to his loft. As he invited you there once, perhaps he will not be adverse to coming here. And I would like to meet the boy who has captured my little girl's attention." She smiled then at Andi, and the girl went from dispirited to excited all at once.
"Really? He can come here? Wow! Oh, Mom, you're the greatest," Andi squealed excitedly as she got up and hugged Ororo. "Oh, I'm going to call him now!"
She started to jump up, but Ororo stopped her. "If you are going to be dancing then you are going to need all your energy. Sit down and eat your breakfast first, young lady!" Chastened, Andi sat. The rest of the food on her plate disappeared in record time, and then she jumped up and ran off to her room. Ororo had recently put a phone in there for her, even though Andi hadn't asked for it. She had figured that eventually the girl would want to have private phone conversations.
She was washing Andi's dishes and emptying Emma's plate when a low groan from the doorway announced Remy's arrival back to consciousness. Ororo turned and surveyed him, hands on her hips. "Remy…" she began.
He waved a hand at her. "I know, I know," he said weakly. "You goin' to skin Remy for losin' control an' makin' Andi take charge o' t'ings. Can I get some coffee and aspirin before you start de yellin'?" He looked up at her blearily. "Please, Stormy?"
Laughing to herself, Ororo pulled out her own chair for him and helped him cross the kitchen to it. He accepted a cup of coffee…black, the way he always took it after a night of drinking…and swallowed two aspirin with it. Two cups later, he regained some of his usual demeanor. He gave Ororo his version of the previous night, delicately not bringing up the 'get better acquainted' part of his evening with Alice. He could see Ororo's eyebrows drawing together, and hastened to divert her mind down other channels. "Andi say she wan' to try out for dat fancy dancin' school. She tell Emma yet?"
Ororo sat down with another cup of coffee. "Yes she did. Emma…did not take it well--"
"Well how did you expect me to take it?" Emma said acidly from the door. "I put all this work into training her to follow in my footsteps, preparing to give her my company….and the silly girl wants to throw it all away for some silly hobby of hers."
Surprisingly, it was Remy who answered her. "It's not silly, Emma," he said seriously. "Andi dance really good. Remy drunk las' night and even he see dat. It's not written in stone, Emma. Dancers dance for maybe ten years or so; I t'ink mid t'irties be de point dey stop dancin' cause all de parts don' work right no more. When dat happen Andi need somet'ing else to occupy herself wit'. And really, you don' look like you ready to retire anytime soon. You still as beautiful as you were when we firs' run into you." He smiled at her charmingly. Emma stared at him, then smiled unwillingly. "I guess," she said.
"Emma, children are not put on this earth to do what we wish them to do," Ororo said, taking Remy's plate out of the microwave as it beeped. She put it in front of Remy and sat in the third chair. "They are their own people. Andi does not owe us anything. We did not rescue her from her former life to have her become what we want her to become; if that was our intention we could have left her with her parents. She needs to know that we support her in her interests and stand behind her, no matter what she chooses to do. She needs to know we love her, Emma, not for what she can do, but for what she is. She needs to know that our love for her, unlike her parents' love, does not have conditions."
She blinked as Emma got up abruptly and walked out. "Was it something I said?"
* * *
Andi looked up as Emma opened her door. She was dressed in her dancing clothes; black leotard, short skirt, and the new pointe shoes she had bought for herself with the money Emma had given her for her birthday. She paused warily in the act of lacing up the shoe and looked up at Emma. "Emma--"
Emma held up a hand. "Wait, Andi. Let me say something first. I'm sorry for what I said in there. It is your own life, and you do have a right to do with it whatever you want to. If you want to pursue your love of dance, go on ahead. But I want you to know…if you change your mind, Frost Enterprises will still be waiting for you."
Andi's eyes widened. "Oh…Emma…thank you…" She rushed into Emma's arms and hugged her. Emma hugged her back, tightly, and they stood that way for a long time. Finally Andi pulled back. 'Ryan's on his way here," she said. "Mom said I could invite him here to help me practice. Wanna meet him?"
Emma raised an eyebrow. Oh, yes she did…
"Promise me one thing?" Andi said beseechingly to Emma.
Emma frowned. "Sure, what is it?" she asked.
"Promise me you won't knee him…?"