“My daughter, Cory the dancer!” I tried forcing a smile paired with excitement, but it felt so hard to say I nearly choked. “Ugh! What will my friends think when they hear about that!” The mirror reflected back at me a disgusted face. “She comes from such an upscale family! My mother’s a surgeon, one of the best in the city of Richmond, my father is a doctor and one of the founders of the Corriander memorial hospital. I am a psychiatrist, her dad’s a science professor at one of the leading colleges in the city. Both his parents are lawyers, why would she want to do something so…degrading, and embarrassing on her part, Lord knows she’s not the best, second best or even on the list of great dancers. Sigh! God when I asked for a loving, kind, daughter I also meant one that would listen and follow the path laid out for her!” The mirror just continued reflecting back at me, a look of disappointment. I gaze at the analog clock on the wall behind me, it’s 3:15p Cory will be home soon. 17 years and I never thought she’s choose dancing as a career choice, She randomly told her father and I at dinner last year and we thought it was a phase; well at least I did. Her father, James is always just a smile, nod and hug of praise for whatever she goes for. “It’s her life to explore, Janette” he always tells me. As a psychiatrist I see a lot of people mostly those who are recovering from substance abuse, those poor parents. Losing their child mostly from misunderstandings and a lack of something that the substance fills while also taking simultaneously. I don’t want that for Cory. Going out to be a dancer of any kind is too risky and if she doesn’t make it…my thoughts are interrupted by Cory calling out to me from the front door. Her and James drop their bags, remove their shoes, and proceed to enter the living room. Our home is a ranch-style farmhouse. It’s an old home that we had modernized, but it still has many of its old design. James smells the air of the home, as he walks in the kitchen to see what’s for dinner. “mnmnmn, meatloaf and mash tatoes my favorite!” He licks his lips and smacks his belly. His 6ft stature bends to get a deeper smell, so deep he can practically taste the flavors, before I shoo him out, laughing along the way. I ask Cory how her day was. “Oh..my..God, MOM! SO! Juanita, Lita, and Brittany want me to be the 4th in their group Four claws!! Obviously they NEED me, because..HELLO there’s only 3, and don’t worry we’re not just dancing hip hop, it’s a mixture of many different dance types, ballet, waltz, tango and the foxtrot…all that WITH the hip-hop twist. I mean nobody’s doing that!” My exact thoughts..nobody is doing that. “So this is like a summer thing, right?” I chime in. Her mouth opens slightly, as she turned her head up word in thought, she would do this right before she expressed herself matter-of-factly. “Actually, she began, it’s what I want to do for the next few years.” She widened her eyes and looked at me. Before I could say what I wanted, James swooped in with a hug to Cory smiling proudly at his little girl, who is now “making grown up career decisions.” He said aloud proudly. Why must I always be the bad guy. “I think this would be great for the summer, and then maybe switch focus to a job, or program, maybe we look at some college options, hmm.” She scoffed, shook her head in disappointment and disbelief. “Why can’t I do what I wanna do? I’m almost 18 anyways, I shouldn’t have to go to college or a “program” she raised her fingers to make air quotations. I said we’re NOT just doing hip hop it’s more than booty-shaking too ma! It’s crump, it’s stomp, it’s expression, ART! You don’t see that?!” Her eyes began to water. “Sweety, I’m not trying to put you down, I just want to be realistic here. I mean dancing is a hobby, if that, where do you plan to go with this?” She squinted at me angrily before answering me. “Do you listen to anything that I’ve been saying for the last.. I don’t know 2-3 months, it’s all I’ve been talking about!” She turned to her father, “Daddy, what do you think?” Her eyes silently pleading with him to be on her side. He cleared his throat, his expression gentle, light before speaking, “I am grateful you shared what you want to do, I am proud of your dedication for this, I’m sure your mother is too. I also want to know more about where you want to go with your dancing, how will you support yourself and so on.” She looked from him to me then stormed off to her room. James shook his head at me in disappointment. “Tomorrow, I will be taking her to look at some college options, and THAT is not negotiable.” I stormed off into my room.

“Trisha! Girl how are you? I’m so glad you came over, I’ve needed somebody, anybody to talk to, but I am glad it’s you. Chile Cory gone gimme a heart attack! Talking bout she wanna be a dancer!”

Trisha clutched her necklace and leaned back on the leather love seat “A dancer?! like a “shake ya money maker?”

“Girl what?! NO!! I fanned her off. A Hip hop dancer with a waltz tango twist that she calls “ART” I air quoted.

Trisha shook her head in disbelief, “I thought she was into that what, nurse science whatever right?” “Neuroscience, girl” I raised my eyebrow at her, while she laughed at her mix-up. “I’m a little buzzed.” She admitted, by today’s news, you probably need to be too, she laughed a little louder this time. She wasn’t lying though. “I plan on taking her to look at some colleges this week, maybe that’ll spark more inspiration.” “Shoot for all that have her go to school for performing arts, win-win.” I sighed but before I could get my response out, as if she read my mind she continued speaking. “And don’t you start listing the family academic achievements, I personally don’t give a shit, 1 and 2 what’s so wrong with going a bit off the path you laid out? I mean you said it she got all y’all successful people in her corner she might succeed at random dancing. She tickled herself with that one and started laughing again. “Sigh, name one successful dancer that you know, I’ll wait…” I crossed my arms and waited while she searched her mind for something. “I told you I’m buzzed and you wanna give me a Jeopardy ass question, girl I don’t know, my point is she might be good, how she dance?” I gave her a look that hopefully wouldn’t need words to clarify. “Damn, girl can’t do nothing?” I just shook my head in response.

We visited 3 colleges none with a performing arts program so Cory can focus on more important careers. Though she tried to fight her expressions I know 2 that absolutely peaked her Neuroscience interest. I feel very pleased with myself. “Sooo what’d you think? I asked on the car ride home. Cory stared out the window, “hmm I think you don’t believe in me.” “I promise, it’s not that. I just don’t think that dancing is your strong suit that’s all and I think you should follow your dream. “DANCING IS my dream though” she emphasized. It is right now, but you stop and start a lot of things and today’s passion may not be tomorrows passion when it starts to get hard. Plus dancing…” “Is not my strong suit, got it.” She put her headphones on and continued staring out the window, silent the rest of the ride.

“Daddy, even though I’m a little upset with you, I still want you to come to our performance tonight, it’s at a Jazz club downtown they host amateur nights and Four Claws signed up! Not gonna lie, I’m nervous but we’ve been practicing for months, I feel good about this. I’d like you to support me…please?” “No doubt, babygirl! What time?” “EEEEEPPP!!! Daddy if I have never said I love you before I do and mean it, here’s the flyer, thanks for the ride love you bye!!

“James? What’s this? I hold up a glitter flyer invitation for a Jazz Club downtown with new performances from Four Claws. “So you was just gone get dressed up and go see Cory and not tell me? Am I not invited?” He was speechless and stuck on stupid, I flicked the paper until an answer spilled out of him. “I just assumed you wouldn’t wanna go, I mean you didn’t want her to do this. She never said you couldn’t come, so if you get dressed now I can still be on time.” He said looking at his watch. I swallowed as much of my anger as I could as I power walked to the bedroom, scanned the closet for my fancy shimmer sky blue, evening gown. Sprayed my hair with blueberry rose oil and formed into a tight bun. I spritzed midnight mystery perfume in the air and spun in the center, allowing the mist to gently kiss on my skin. I pulled up my tights and slipped into my high heeled thick wedged black heels and glided into the living room reaching for James’ arm to escort me to the car. Feeling like a real queen I applied my lip gloss in the car.

As we pull up to the valet I spot Cory and the rest of her dance group, stretching, laughing having a good time. She looks happy and excited, her eyes catch mine and I instinctively wave, her face flushes red and her eyebrows express irritation before cutting her eyes away. My heart sinks, even more when I look around and see the amount of people in this Jazz club and I even spot two well known dance choreographers from upstate. My heart is pulsing so loud I can’t hear anything James is saying to me as we walk in. I try and find Cory, scanning the crowds of people, I want to let her know that there’s always a plan B, sigh the show begins. The girls walk out slow as the lights fade to shadows. All we see are their dancing silhouettes, dancing a hiphop fox trot. I hear giggling in the crowd and my heart starts to pound any louder and I think everyone will hear it. I begin to shift uncomfortably, as I hear whispers among the crowd. Oh no, they’re not enjoying it. I look manically at different people, some are pointing, whispering, giggling. My face is dripping sweat, before I get up to leave I see Cory is still smiling. What an awful thing to do in the face of failure. I bolt out of there and wait in the car until it’s over. It’s nearly midnight before anybody starts coming out. Everyone’s laughing, hugging, high-fiving giving compliments. Cory is talking with a man and woman, James by her side standing like her personal bouncer. I can’t make out what their lips are saying, and I don’t dare get out. Cory shrieks and jumps up and down hugging her father. She starts shaking their hands uncontrollably until her father grabs her hands away. She runs to the car, her dad behind her smiling just as big. “What was that?” I question. “Oh, my, God, MOM that was Cally and Michael from the show “So let’s dance” they want me to be on their show and they want Four Claws to choreograph some new routines for their music video!! AAAHHH I am SO HAPPY Right now!” She laid across the backseat in pure bliss. Consumed by this moment.