“OH, LORD, YOU’RE NOT IN bed with Tyler, are you?” Zoey asked.
I let out what sounded like something between a moan and a giggle. Tyler had found an erogenous zone behind the bend of my knee and was doing something creative there with his tongue. Zoey had caught us still in bed on my day off.
“Call back in two hours,” he yelled out in the background.
“Tell him he’s full of it,” she said, and I giggled.
I’d leave that for them to discuss. Tyler was due to leave for practice, but had more time to get there when he left from my place. Perhaps he should move in?
Before I went with that train of thought, Zoey screeched, “Le Parc is sold out!”
What she didn’t know was that she was the third call I’d received with that news, the first two being Michel and Priscilla. The trailer had been broadcast internationally as well as all over social media, and it had been such a hit that the New York Ballet and New York F.C. as well as the Crane Foundation had decided to try to team up together for an extended dance with professional athletes and ballerinas. That was the best part—well, that along with Yasmine and Javier being forced to showcase our dance in their promotional presentations. After all that had happened, it was good for the two of us to turn it around and be a part of the success.
“Thank you for the flowers,” she said to the both of us.
We had sent them to her as congratulations for finally being made a soloist. I was happy we were both doing well in the company.
My call waiting sounded and Zoey, wanting to get on with her day, ended the call. I wanted to as well once I heard the voice of the person on the other line.
“Scarlet, are you there?”
I sat up. “Ma.”
She hadn’t spoken to me since our fight, although I did hear regular updates from everyone else. What could be the reason for her call now? Dread weaved into my thoughts and I fired off questions concerning her health. “Are you feeling all right? Did you have to go back to the hospital?”
“I’m doing fine.” She told me she didn’t have to go into the hospital, her blood pressure was down, and she was much better.
“That’s good,” I replied politely. We went quiet and Tyler rubbed my back.
“Tyler there with you?” she asked.
“Yes, he is,” I said confidently. The days of hiding our relationship were gone. I went as far as holding the phone out for Tyler to speak into it. He gave me a wolfish grin, but spoke down the line.
“Yes, I am, Ms. Ricci.” He gave me a kiss and handed it back to me.
“Tell him thank you for the lilies,” she said once I was back on the phone.
I raised my brows. “He sent you lilies?”
“Yes. Did you tell him they’re my favorites?” she asked.
“No,” I admitted. Talking about Ma had been a sore subject and thus one I avoided. “He knows they’re my favorites too.” I squeezed his hand. “I hear you’ve been on vacation?”
“Yeah,” she said jovially. “You all sending me to the Bahamas to rest was a lovely idea. Thank you.”
I sighed and smiled. I had been pleased when I was offered to be a part of the plan. We had always wanted for Ma to take a break, but she was always too involved with looking after all of us, even though we were all grown. “I’m happy…we’re all happy that you went.”
“It was paradise,” she enthused. “Where Vince and I stayed, they wouldn’t let me lift a finger.”
“Good,” I said with a lift in my tone.
“Good job on that video. We’ve been showing it all over town. Everyone is just as amazed and proud of you back here. Tyler was good too,” she added.
“Thank you,” I said. “I’ll let him know.”
We went quiet again. She broke the silence this time.
“I’d love for you and Tyler to come to the house for dinner on Sunday, please.”
“Sunday dinner?” I looked at Tyler. He nodded to accept for his part. I wanted to go, but I wanted to know where things stood in our relationship now. “Are you sure?”
“I am,” she said. “I’ve missed you, Prince—” She stopped herself. “Scarlet.”
“It’s all right to call me Princess,” I said and swallowed. The name was a nickname and a part of me. I owned it.
“Well, I want to be part of your life again,” she said. “You’re my heart, my beautiful daughter. I love you.” Her voice caught, making my heart constrict.
“I know, and I love you too,” I replied, my voice cracking.
“Ask her what we can bring,” Tyler said as he wiped the tear from my face with his thumb.
“Tyler would like to know what to bring to dinner,” I said to her.
“Just bring yourselves,” she said. “That would be a wonderful start.”
My heart expanded. I wanted that so much.
“Yes. We’d like that too.” We talked for a while and she caught me up on everyone, even though I would see them all soon.
When we reached a break in conversation, she reiterated, “All right, then we’ll see you both on Sunday.”
I smiled at Tyler. “See you then.”
The bouquet of lilies Tyler bought for my mom was large and hard to hold on to, but Tyler had two cheesecakes and a fruit salad and his hands were full, so I had to wrangle it myself. We only had to make it to the door where Antony came out and met us. He helped put the flowers on an end table and the cheesecakes in the freezer.
“Sorry to you both,” Antony said after we were done. “She’s my baby sister, and I just freaked. I’m sorry I beat you up.”
Tyler scoffed. “You hit me accidentally. If it was Zoey, I’d probably react the same way. Everything is fine now.”
Tyler and I both wanted to leave what had happened in the past. I accepted his apology and the kiss he placed on my cheek. I also told him, “There’s no need for fighting—I believe I have proven I can handle myself.”
“I know that now,” Antony said. “Tyler showed he could do right by you. I mean, he danced with you on film—that took some balls.”
Tyler gave me a look that warmed my heart. “It was for a great cause and the proceeds helped out the club, the ballet company, and the foundation.”
I was more than pleased. It was amazing how much had changed. We’d gone from being thought to ruin the joint program to saving it. After our successful promotion, we were both working with our companies to help promote, support, and maintain it in the future with other teams and companies.
Tyler went into the kitchen and was surprised with a hug from Ma as she stopped cooking to greet us.
“I told you not to bring anything,” she scolded, but her tone was light. “Thank you for the beautiful flowers and cheesecakes.”
I led him back into the den where he rejoined Antony, Vince, and Phillip after I accepted their hugs and watched them all exchange pleasantries with Tyler. That alone made the dinner a success, but I still had more to talk about with Ma, so I left them to help her out in the kitchen. I stirred the bisque she had prepared and let out a complimentary sound of approval when she brought up a spoonful for me to taste.
“Divine,” I said. “I miss our dinners.”
“I miss you, Princess,” she said then motioned for me to take a seat at the small table. “You’re probably wondering why I stopped talking to you.”
“Because I had a boyfriend and you thought I’d end up pregnant and leave the ballet.”
“That was part of it,” she said. “I wanted you to do what I wanted, like you’ve always done. I just wasn’t ready to…” She looked down and rolled the end of her apron.
“To let me go,” I finished for her. “I love that you care and supported my dancing my whole life. I didn’t just do ballet for you, I did it because I love to dance. I gave everything I had because I love dancing. Even if I never become a principal, I’m never giving it up.”
“I’ve heard about the same,” she said. “You know when I called Christophe that day…did he tell you what he told me?”
I shook my head.
“He said he was proud of you for messing up. He also said it was time for me to let you go.”
I was so surprised that I was speechless.
“You both proved as much to me. You stood up and fought on your own to stay in the company,” she said. “I’m proud of you, Princess. I’m not proud of how I handled things, and I wanted to tell you I was sorry for a while, but I didn’t know what to do. I wondered if I still had a place in your life, if you still needed me.”
She was looking at me, her eyes shining, and mine got all teary.
“I’m always going to need you, Ma, but I also needed to grow up and live and have a relationship too. It’s not like it used to be. I can have a relationship too.”
“I’m beginning to see that now,” she said. “Tyler stayed with you and never said anything but good things about you in the press. Michel adores him. Priscilla has come around too, saying he’s good for you. I want to get to know you both together.”
I went over and hugged her. “I want that so much.”
“Now you all get in here and help set the table,” Ma called out. “I did my part with the cooking. That’s you too, Tyler.”
Tyler came in, placed his arm around my waist, and kissed the top of my head. He’d come help, and he’d also let her see that we were very much together.
“You plan to marry my daughter after she becomes a ballerina?” Ma said, stirring the pot—both literally and figuratively. Ma would always be Ma, and I loved her for it.
“Yeah,” Antony chimed in. “You’re sleeping with my sister, so you’ll have to make her honest.”
I guffawed. “You beat him up and now you want us to get married? I love these double standards. Should I call your latest girlfriend and ask where her ring is?”
“She has a point,” Ma said, and we all laughed.
I thought the subject was dropped, but then Tyler said, “I know I love her, and I’ll marry her the second she says yes to me.”
My mouth dropped open and my heart jumped into my throat. All I could say was, “What?”
His eyes glimmered. “When you’re ready,” he added, and we kissed. There wasn’t anyone else I could imagine myself with. I loved him deeply.
Ma gave Tyler the best cut of meat, and that was as good as a welcome to the family.