Dance, Lust And Them

Chapter 7

 It turned out Janelle didn’t have to be at work the next day, so she spent it relaxing and lounging about in bed for a few hours. She usually never got to relax, as there was always something to do around the house like cooking or cleaning. Either that or she had to be at work for hours on end, training for various videos and gigs that she was going to be a part of. The dancing was hard work, and Janelle needed to make sure her body was in shape so she could keep up with the other girls.

 Since Janelle didn’t have any plans that evening, she decided to call her father and ask him if he wanted to go out and grab a bite to eat. He agreed, telling her how excited he was to see her after quite some weeks having been apart. She had been so busy with work that she hadn’t found time to meet up with him, even for a short period of time. They agreed to meet at the diner for lunch in an hour.

 As Janelle proceeded to get ready, her phone buzzed twice. There was one text from Curtis and one from Vance. They both told her they’d had a lot of fun with her the other night and that they’d gotten to talking, and were willing to try the whole open-relationship thing with one another.

This excited Janelle to no end, of course, because she really liked both of them and didn’t want to lose one of them out of jealousy or spite. They agreed to meet up with each other later that night for dinner at Curtis’s place. He had an enormous house that Janelle barely visited, as she was anxious when she was around mansions.

 She wasn’t sure what it was, but it made her nerves to be around big houses. It probably stemmed from her love of horror movies, and the fact that terrible things always happened to the protagonists when they were alone in their enormous houses. They also always had pools with bright light that would illuminate through glass doors and onto the kitchen floor, or the dining room floor, or anywhere blood could be.

 Janelle, what is wrong with you? When’s the last time you even watched a horror film? Why are you thinking about it right now? Get your anxiety in check girl, before it ruins the rest of your day.

 She gave herself a pep talk in an attempt to quell her fear of her plans for later that evening. When this didn’t work, she headed towards the diner in the hopes that seeing her father would make her feel better. She walked through the double doors, the bell chiming overhead, and noticed her father sitting at the back corner of the diner. Like Janelle, he enjoyed the window seat as it let him look at the people walking around outside. It was another gloomy day, and the forecast predicted rain. Nevertheless, there were still clusters of people milling about outside.

 “Darling,” he exclaimed when he noticed Janelle walking towards him.

 Janelle laughed and hugged her father. She’d forgotten that he was so much shorter than she was, and he’d started walking around with a cane. Even though that was true, he was still full of life and energy just like when he was younger. He told Janelle that he’d started doing yoga and it made him feel like a young man again. He showed her the small muscles that were starting to form on his arms. Age hadn’t seemed to affect him whatsoever. It was like he was in his late forties all over again, aside from the cane.

 “So how are you?” he asked animatedly. “How’s work going?”

 “Work is great,” she said, a small smile spreading across her face. She didn’t want to tell her father everything, but she did tell him that she was starting to see a man named Curtis. Telling him she was seeing Vance, at the same time was definitely not a good idea. That and the fact that she was working with him—her father would probably have a heart attack because of it.

 Though his wife had passed away years and years ago, he’d remained faithful to her all these years. He told Janelle that he’d tried dating when he was younger, but it didn’t last long. He said there was only one woman he’d ever truly loved, and now that they weren’t together anymore he couldn’t bare to be with someone else.

 “Aren’t you lonely?” Janelle used to ask.

 “No, not really,” he would say. “She’s with me all the time. I see her in my dreams, and she sends me little signs occasionally. She’s with us all he time, you’ll see.”

 Janelle did see. She knew that the statue of Aphrodite that she’d been watched over by her mother. It didn’t matter that she probably existed as a spirit in a universe far away. Or maybe she really was buried six feet under, a thought that made Janelle shiver. Either way, she knew her mother was watching over her. She wasn’t alone in the world, not anymore.

 “So when am I going to meet this man of yours?” her father asked.

 Janelle laughed nervously. “Daddy,” she said. “We’ve only been seeing each other for a short amount of time. I might scare him off if I show him to you.”

 He leaned his head back and roared with laughter. “Don’t be absurd,” he said. “I’m sure it will go over fine. But you’re probably right. Maybe we should hold off. Don’t forget about me though, or else I’ll disappear without having met him.”

 “I won’t forget,” Janelle said smiling. She hated when her father spoke like that. It was something her grandmother always did—told Janelle not to forget her for she too would become one with the earth someday. Janelle preferred not to think about it, as it made her depressed and anxious about the future.

 When Janelle next checked her phone, she realized she had about five more texts from Vance, Curtis, and Mads. Vance and Curtis were telling her about how they would be bringing wine over and Mads was gushing over yet another new boy she met. Janelle was happy that there didn’t seem to be any bad news waiting for her in the form of a text.

 “You kids and your text messages,” Janelle’s father said. “I barely understand how to swipe left and right on my phone, and here you are typing away.”

 “I’m sorry for being rude, I just have to send a message back to my friends. How was your food?”

 “Good, not as good as a home cooked meal but it was nice nonetheless.”

 “I’ll come over sometime soon and cook dinner for you,” Janelle said, smiling.

 “I’d like that,” her father said.

 They paid the bill and walked towards their respective vehicles. Janelle bent down and gave her father a strong hug before bidding him farewell and heading towards her house. She was excited to see Vance and Curtis, especially now that they were going to be spending more time just the three of them. Janelle was interested in exploring the dynamic between the trio, and she was hopeful that they would become closer while they cooked dinner together.

 She’d picked up some rib eye steaks on the way home and the two men were bringing over wine and seasoning. She always ate home cooked meals, as they made her feel happier and healthier. They also reminded her, unsurprisingly, of her mother. She would cook meals for Janelle all the time when she was younger. Though the kids at school would make fun of her for having brown bag lunches, Janelle didn’t mind them. Her mother always wrote Xs and Os on the bag, which gave her the courage to make it through the day.