TWENTY-SIX

Andy Flynn was not a complete philistine. He had been to the opera before, the theatre even - occasionally. And there had actually been the odd production of the Nutcracker he had taken his kids to back in the day before he had completely fallen into the bottle. However, he was certainly not used to such cultural exposure on a regular basis. Actually, he blamed Provenza. Even if he had been inclined to spend his time attending events a little more sophisticated than a baseball match or a showing of the latest screwball comedy, Provenza would have laughed at him and put mustard down his shirt to spite him. The thought made him smile and caused his heart to ache at the same time. Hell, he would miss Provenza and his antics. Sorely, even.

Sharon, of course, was a different story. He had learned, through offhand comments at first and more detailed retellings later, that Sharon got invited to charity banquets at museums, knew which exhibitions were currently on, watched artsy movies he had never heard of at obscure little cinemas, listened to classical music in her car and attended the ballet and theatre on a regular basis. In short, she was everything he was not. That should not ever have surprised him, because that was just the air she exuded.

Andy did blend into the crowd in his elegant suit - at least he knew how to dress -, but it was Sharon who knew her way around and found their seats. While she was walking close to his side, his hand in the small of her back, he was clearly the one being led. Sharon even seemed to know a few people and gave little waves and smiles here and there. Other parents, she explained. Emily had been attending the School of American Ballet for years and some of the parents had gotten to know each other. She looked so pretty with her hair in curls and her glasses gone for the night that he couldn't wait to take her back to their hotel room. Before that, however, he would have to sit through a late dinner with Emily and after their first encounter, he worried that it would be awkward.

When they had taken their seats, Sharon begun to shift next to Andy. He leaned in so she would be able to hear him over the commotion around them. Somewhere in the orchestra pit, a violin whined and a crescendo of mismatched sounds followed. People were chatting all around them, feet were shuffling on the floor and there was a low humming he couldn't place. The lights, maybe?

"You okay, Sharon?" he asked her.

"Oh, yes. Fine." She looked at him a little sheepishly, her eyes somewhat glassy. "Okay," she finally admitted after he had given her a long, knowing look. "I am not fine at all." She laughed breathlessly. "I am so, so nervous."

Andy couldn't help it and laughed. She drew her lips between her teeth and gave him a self-depreciating look. "I know. I know. She has got this, but it drives me crazy every time!"

"May I remind you, that you're not the one dancing on stage tonight?" he asked teasingly, taking her hand. This new side of her was amusing.

Sharon snorted. "And I am sure everybody is grateful for that!" That breathless laugh again.

"Have I told you before how beautiful you look tonight?" he asked her, to which she rolled her eyes.

"Only about sixteen times, Andy. It has to stop. I am wearing a dress and I curled my hair. It's nothing to lose your mind about."

Now it was his turn to laugh. Andy did disagree quite a bit, but he would have felt a little stupid explaining it to her, so he just shrugged.

"Suit yourself, Sharon."

She smiled and leaned into him to kiss his lips softly. "Thank you for making it possible for me to be here tonight, Andy. It means a lot to me."

"You're welcome."

He watched her take in the stage, her eyes slightly glassy, her free hand fiddling with the simple chain around her neck. It was sweet to see her so nervous and excited about her daughter's recital. Of course, it was a big deal. Especially this early in Emily's career, but Sharon could have been boasting as well. Instead, he could tell how much she wanted her daughter to succeed, because she knew it would make her happy.

Finally, the lights were down and the orchestra began to play and for a while, Andy actually lost himself in the music. What he had come across of Swan Lake on a late night television binge once had made him snicker like a kid because he was stupid and immature and found men in tights funny, but the magic of the Nutcracker made him forget all about that. Even Sharon relaxed a little next to him until Act II began and the little angels they had seen backstage appeared, gliding across the stage in their little dresses. Sharon sighed and smiled up at him.

"Aren't they cute?" she whispered. "Emily was one in our local production when she was ten."

Andy smiled, imagining how much worse Sharon must have been back in the day when her little girl had not been the professional ballerina she was today. When the telltale little bells of the Sugarplum Fairly began to chime. Any reached over and squeezed Sharon's hand tightly. Emily came on to the stage and began to dance, her movements fluid and light. Although Flynn knew that it couldn't possibly be, she actually made it look easy up there. He was far from being an expert, but the look on Sharon's face told him that things were going well. Even to his untrained eye, the performance was flawless and if the applause that followed when she was done was any indication, the audience loved her.

Sharon's cheeks were flushed, her eyes shining, when she turned towards him. "Oh, Andy, that was perfect. She did it!"

Only in that moment, he fully realized what it would have meant for her and possibly for Emily, too, if she hadn't been able to attend. Maybe he wasn't completely useless after all if he could at least drive her places to be able to make her happy. She squeezed his hand affectionately and looked back at the stage. Andy, however, spent most of the rest of the performance watching her. At first he could see her winding down and relaxing slowly now that Emily was done. Then, however, a gradual change began to take place in her and she shifted again, tensing every now and then, her face hardening every time. Once he could even tell that she was stifling a gasp.

When the show was over, they drove back to their hotel. Emily would need some time to change and talk to her cast mates before she would arrive, so they had arranged to be served a light dinner in the hotel bar later. Back in their room, Sharon took Mr. Whiskers out of her bag and placed him on her pillow, smiling warmly.

"She is trying, isn't she?" Andy asked, stepping behind her to wrap his arms around her.

"She is."

Sharon leaned back into his embrace, but nudged his hand away when he made to place it on her stomach. She tensed in his arms again for a moment, but then relaxed, turning around and smiling brightly.

"Are you okay?" he asked her with some suspicion. She was acting a little strange.

Sharon smiled even more brightly. "Perfectly, Andy. I'm good! I can't wait to see Emily."

He gave her a long look when she vanished into the bathroom and stayed there for a little longer than he would have expected. Resolving to keep an eye on her, he folded his arms and waited.

Emily was practically glowing. Neither she nor Sharon were paying a lot of attention to their meal as they were busy discussing the performance. It seemed that Emily, too, was happy with it and had received lots of praise by her peers backstage. Her hair was down now, falling around her face in waves and making her look even more like a younger version of her mother. Andy had lost them pretty early on in the conversation, because for their frequent use of ballet terms, they might have as well been speaking a different language. He enjoyed seeing them so enthusiastic, though, and was happy that he could observe and didn't get a lot of opportunities to put his foot in his mouth. Sometimes, when he was most intent on making a good impression, the dumbest things just tumbled out of his mouth and he didn't think he had any room to maneuver when it came to that with Emily.

She had greeted him politely, but stiffly and seemed glad as well that she could concentrate on talking to her mother. However, when Sharon rather suddenly excused herself and went off to the restroom, the two of them found themselves alone at the table and, inevitably, an awkward silence descended on them.

"I'm sorry I couldn't really contribute to the discussion," Andy said carefully, giving her a self-depreciating smile. "I am not really an expert."

Emily seemed to appreciate that he had taken the initiative and smiled back at him. "I'm sorry we excluded you, really."

"No, no!" Andy hurried to assure her. "It's your evening. Never mind me! And it is nice to see you two so happy."

A shy smile appeared on Emily's lips. "Mom seems happy when she is with you. I haven't seen her look at anyone like that before."

Andy felt awkward at that, afraid that he would say something to offend Emily.

"I love her very much," he finally said, hoping that it would be innocent enough.

Emily shrugged. "Mom never told us why she left LA and suddenly she was pregnant and now here you are, out of the blue. It is all a little unexpected, you know."

Andy was grateful that she seemed at least ready to be opening up to him like that.

"I can imagine and I am sorry this is being sprung up on you like that. We didn't have the easiest time processing it all either." He raised both his hands in a helpless gesture.

Emily furrowed her brow, apparently trying to make sense of their admittedly rather complicated circumstances.

"Are you going back to LA then? Mom is due soon."

Even sooner than Emily might think, Andy thought, if Sharon's abrupt disappearance was any indication. Through her enthusiasm and her animated chat with Emily, Andy could tell that she was in pain in fairly regular and frighteningly as well as exceedingly short intervals. She hid it well and he didn't think that anything had really registered with Emily, but he knew something was up. He had wondered whether he should say something, but he understood that she wanted this evening with Emily and she had consciously chosen not to tell him. She had done this before, so he trusted her to know when to let him know.

"I will need to go back to LA at some point," he said. "to handle a few things, but I won't leave before the little guy is here." They had not really discussed all the details yet, but that one seemed like a no-brainer. On the ride to New York they had talked about all the items on his to do list, but not about when and how he would take care of them. For now, he had other priorities.

"So you're planning on staying in Boston," Emily said. Her tone was neutral and didn't let on what she thought about it. Andy was reminded that Sharon was not the only one Jack had left behind every time he had vanished. There was a sad look in Emily's eyes and she looked down at the table, quickly grabbing her glass and taking a sip. Andy wondered whether he should let her know that he was not like her dad but decided not to for fear of seeming patronizing. His future relationship with Emily would be a long game, he realized. Words could be empty and Emily Raydor knew that from experience. There was no other way than showing her through his actions that he was someone to rely on.

"My mom has been through a lot, you know," Emily said, visibly having to force herself to look him in the eye. "She doesn't let on, but my dad has done quite a number on her. My brother Ricky and I worry about her lately with her sudden departure from her life in LA and that baby on the way. A lot."

Andy nodded mutely. What was he to say to that? But Emily didn't seem to expect an answer.

"I'm glad she finally divorced my dad. I wonder why he ever got married and had kids in the first place." Her eyes were glazing over with tears and Andy was suddenly and painfully reminded of Nicole. What kind of father was he for just running off to Boston? He would have to at least talk to her before he moved. But would she even talk to him?

"I don't know your father very well, so I can't speak for him," he said carefully. "But I can't imagine he regrets having you." That was certainly the way he felt about his own kids.

Emily shrugged. "That's why he is here tonight, isn't he? Surely the tickets I sent him got lost in the mail as usual." She furtively wiped her eyes. "I'm really glad that you made sure mom could come here today. This is such an important day for me, I couldn't imagine doing it without her here."

Andy nodded. "You're welcome. It was important to her as well."

They smiled at each other over the table, both silent for a moment.

"If ballet isn't your thing, what is?" Emily suddenly asked. "I mean, what are your interests?"

"Baseball," he said. "I like the Dodgers."

Emily chuckled and pressed her hand to her mouth in a way that was very reminiscent of her mother.

"Did you see the teddy bear mom's team gave her for the baby?"

Andy gave her a mock dark stare. "I sure did. We had words about that."

To his surprise, Emily started to laugh. "Oh God, Ricky will love you. He told mom to give it back when he saw it."

"He did?" Andy's heart lifted a little. Maybe he didn't have to be as afraid of meeting Ricky as he was, after all.

"Yeah," Emily said. "Said no brother of his should grow up like that."

"What did your mom say?"

"She doesn't really care either way. She watches with us sometimes, but I don't think she has any preferences."

Andy shook his head. "Unbelievable."

"Right?" Emily took another sip of her water. The ice between them was broken, Andy realized with a little jolt of happiness just when Sharon returned and sat down at the table.

"Sorry for taking so long. Have you decided on dessert?"

Her barely touched plate had been cleared away a while before and Sharon had discarded the dessert menu the moment it had been delivered to their table, but Emily choose a strawberry and cream concoction that looked very appetizing when it arrived. Andy opted for a coffee, expecting a longish night.

After Emily had given Sharon a long hug goodbye and had quickly embraced Andy as well, Andy folded his arms across his chest. The moment Emily was out of sight and earshot, Sharon grabbed the back of her chair, doubling over, groaning loudly. When she had straightened up again, he cocked his head.

"So, when are you finally going to admit that you're in labor, Sharon?"

She shrugged and tilted her head with an almost playful look. "Uh, right about… now?"

Andy shook his head, muttering "as stubborn as they come" under his breath.

"Are we going to make it back to Boston in time?" he asked rhetorically, because that was not what this looked like.

"No I don't think so," Sharon said, taking his hand. "But there is something I need to tell you first."