Page 8 of Dancing With Redemption

4

Roxie

Roxie woke up to the smell of coffee in her temporary room, and a smiling June bouncing on the bed. When they were kids, she’d wake up to find hot chocolate on the nightstand with a much younger June bouncing just like she was now. The sweetness of it all made Roxie smile as she reached for her friend.

“Good morning,” she said with a wan smile. “What time is it?”

“It’s almost 8:30, and I couldn’t wait anymore. Remember this?” June thrust a box at Roxie just as Roxie pushed herself up in the bed.

Roxie’s eyes went round, the box was one of the most familiar things she’d seen in a long time. “Your ballet box! You kept it?”

It was a plastic bin that June had decorated when they were about eight, a bin that June used to hide her tutus and ballet shoes in. Liam and his friends had taken some of June’s ballet stuff and all but destroyed it that summer, playing around in the backyard and the pool. It had made June so mad that she’d found the box and would hide it in different places every day to keep the boys from ever finding it again.

“Well, duh,” June laughed, rolling her eyes. “I can’t wear any of it anymore, but some of your stuff is in here too. I couldn’t get rid of it. Especially when I thought I’d never see you again.”

June’s sob of pain and the way she hid her head were like a stab wound to Roxie. She took her friend in her arms and let her cry, trying to soothe her as she mumbled words Roxie couldn’t quite make out. Roxie’s eyes started to leak too, as June cried, her hand clenching at Roxie’s arms. “It’s okay, June, I’m right here.”

“I knoooooow!” June wailed, sitting up a little to look at Roxie’s face. “But for so long I didn’t know. I missed you, I wished you’d come back into my life, I feared that you never would, but now you’re here, and, oh my God, I’m crying all over you.” June laughed at herself, grabbing a tissue from the box on the nightstand before she wiped at her face and blew her nose. “Sorry.”

“Don’t be, honey.” Roxie blubbered a little herself and grabbed for one of the pink tissues that smelled like baby powder. “I should have found a way to let you know I was alright. I just didn’t know how.”

“And you were coping with far more than I could have dreamed of. Pregnancy, everything with your parents, being alone. It all must have been overwhelming and merely surviving must have taken all of your energy.” June brushed aside anything that Roxie might have said and forgave her all at the same time.

It was something June had always done, forgiven easily, made excuses for others, found the reasons behind behaviors that many might not have accepted. She was too forgiving, maybe for her own good, Roxie thought now. “Yeah, all of that is true, but I still could have said something.”

“Don’t worry about it. Just get dressed and come with me. We’re going out for breakfast. And you can keep the box if you want. Like I said, some of that stuff in there is yours. Outfits and shoes we outgrew, things like that.” June got up and waited for Roxie to agree with a wide grin. “I’m not leaving until you agree.”

“Oh, I see,” Roxie said playfully, throwing the white duvet back from her legs. “Blackmail is the first order of the day?”

“Yes, my dear, it is. Now, are we going out to eat or not?” June bounced in place, obviously supremely happy to have her friend back in her life.

Roxie was happy to have June in hers, too. “Of course, we are, June! Just let me get ready and we’ll go wherever you want.”

“Good!” June cried, and danced out of the room on her tiptoes, the way she used to do when they were young.

Roxie showered, put on a pair of jeans and a black sweater, tied on a pair of black and white canvas shoes, and decided to go without makeup. Her black and purple hair was decoration enough for the morning, even if she looked about twelve without makeup on days like today. It didn’t matter. She was only going out with June for breakfast. It wasn’t like she was going on a date.

It did turn out the morning was a walk down memory lane, however.

June drove them into town, past the cemetery, prompting a question Roxie hadn’t thought about until now. “Do you know where my parents are buried?”

June stiffened beside Roxie, her eyes leaving the road for a minute. “Yeah, want me to take you after breakfast?”

“I’m supposed to meet your dad at some point today, but he said he’d text you when he was ready for me. Yeah, that sounds like a plan.” Roxie had left her phone off, not wanting to let Lincoln know where she was, if his family hadn’t already told him without her knowing, that is.

“I can take you tomorrow if dad needs you after we eat.” June smiled with reassurance at Roxie.

Roxie just nodded, suspecting where they were going.

“I had a feeling we were coming here,” Roxie said when June pulled up in front of a familiar restaurant. “Mr. Parker’s pancakes were always the best around.”

“You remember? Awesome!” June said as they took a booth seat and gave their order to the waitress.

Roxie didn’t bother to look at the menu, she knew what she wanted, the same thing Lincoln had brought to her that one day that seemed like so long ago. Only, it wasn’t that long ago. She asked for coffee and orange juice before the waitress left.

“June! Where’s Lincoln at?” Mr. Parker asked as he came out of the back with two plates piled high with pancakes, bacon, and sausage links. “Wait…Chloe?”

Roxie smiled up at the man, a little rounder and grayer with age, but still Mr. Parker. “Yeah, it’s me, Mr. Parker.”