Louise: A New Beginning (9 page)

“Anything’s possible. Personally, I do believe that the genes of talent pass from one generation to another. It’s just that sometimes we get interested in something different than what our parents and grandparents were found of. So tell me, Louise, what plans do you have for your future? Are you going to keep dancing after the graduation?”

“I hope so. I really hope I’ll be able to travel and learn more about the dancing traditions of different countries. And, of course, I want dancing to be my future.”

“Would you like to stay here, I mean after the graduation, and join our dancing troupe?”

“Are you being serious? To join the
Balero
troupe is. . . Oh, my God! It’s like the best thing to ever happen to me!”

“They travel a lot, they always learn something new. I’m sure you would love being a part of the team.”

“But. . . Do you really believe I can become as good as the people from the troupe are?”

Sabine smiled. “I have an eye for talent, Louise. I’m never wrong when it comes to recognizing the true ones.”

“Then yes, I would be happy to join the troupe one day.”

“Great. That means we will have one more talent in the team.”

Three years. . . I only had to wait for three more years to live a dream that I could have never imagined would come true.

“Of course, you will have to work a lot,” Sabine said.

“That is not a problem at all.”

She laughed under her breath. “You know what? I look at you, Louise, and I see myself twenty years ago, when I just started my dancing career. I didn’t see anything or anyone around me, I was focused on new ideas for my shows, I hardly had time to breathe.”

Uh, if only she knew how well I understood what she was talking about. I spent five months training like crazy. And, of course, if it were not for Will and my wild desire to see him again, I would probably take a break and enjoy my life outside school, but I needed a distraction from missing Will and dancing felt like a perfect one.

I never stopped thinking about him. Every new dance I created was for him. And every time I was dancing, I imagined him watching me, just like it was the very first night we met in
Le Papillon.

“I hope we will have more time to talk, Louise. I’m planning on staying in the States for the next couple of months, so I’ll see you in one of your trainings.”

“Sure.” I said, rising to my feet. “And again, thank you for your offer, Mrs. Cormac.”

“Have a good day, Louise.”

Simple words couldn’t describe how happy I was after my meeting with Sabine Cormac. Not to mention the excitement I felt at the mere thought of dancing with
Balero’s
best graduates. It was even better than the best of my dreams coming true. For a child from
Paradise
, like I was, it was something beyond understanding, too good to be true, but so real at the same time. And I was not going to let that reality go or give up on it.

“You can’t seem to stop smiling, Louise,” Cristopher said, watching me through the rear view mirror. “Did I miss something?” We were on our way home, but I was so lost in my thoughts about the day, I didn’t immediately realize he was talking to me.

After a few moments, I said, “Remember I told you about the meeting with the headmistress that I was supposed to have today? Well, it went better than I could have ever expected. Sabine is a wonderful person. And a very beautiful woman, among other things.” Too bad she didn’t have any kids to carry on her legacy or pass her beauty and talent to.

“So you liked her?”

“Oh, yes, I did. Actually, I never thought it would be so easy to talk to someone famous. Not even for a second did she make me feel like I was somehow less educated or less experienced than her. She talked to me as if I were an equal, a friend even.”

“Well, that’s great, isn’t it?”

“I guess so. I mean it’s not like we are suddenly best friends, but something tells me that I can trust her. You know, there aren’t very many people I trust.”

“I’m sure you can trust her. I did a little research on her. . . Even before you received an official letter saying that you had gotten accepted to
Balero
.”

I frowned. “You know, Christopher, it’s almost offensive to know you are always one step ahead of me. How on earth do you do that?”

“I like to be sure about those people I have around. As well as those people I care about.”

His words made me remember something else.

“I guess that was one of the things that you and Will’s father had in common,” I said. I knew he would immediately understand if I tried to find out something about the accident that happened years ago, but  I could at least try to make my questions look like simple curiosity.

Christopher sighed. “He and I had a lot in common. He trusted me and I knew I could always rely on him, no matter what. He was a man of his word, honest and very responsible. He never fired anyone without a good reason to do so. And even if he did, he made sure the person had another job lined up first.”

“Will didn’t tell me much about his family. Why did his mother decide to move to Europe?”

“When William was a kid, his father didn’t have much time to spend with his family. He loved them, but work and duties as the head of the company demanded his full attention, so Will and Mrs. Blair didn’t have a choice but to get used to living without him. A few hours per week could hardly be called a normal family life. I know that Angela didn’t like that, but she loved her husband and she did realize that everything he did, he did for her and their son. But after the tragedy, she couldn’t stand the idea of living in the States. She was devastated. She hated the house and everything that reminded her of the love of her life that was suddenly gone forever. So she decided to go somewhere the memories wouldn’t be so painful. She lived in Italy for a couple of years, then moved to Paris, and now she lives in Barcelona. She hates staying in the same place for too long.”

I never thought about that, but another doubt crept into my mind. “Do you think she will ever approve of her son being with someone like me?” I asked, suddenly afraid to hear the answer to my question. I knew so little about the woman who raised Will. But like any other mother, I was sure she had a picture in her mind of the ideal wife for her son.

“With someone like you?” Christopher repeated my words, parking at the house. “You are a wonderful person, Louise. And you make Will happy, which is the only thing that matters to Angela. She always said that parents fail as parents if their children are not happy.”

“But it doesn’t always fall on parents to make sure their children are content, especially once they have grown up and moved away from home.”

“True. But what you have as a child, builds the person you become when you grow up. Fortunately, your personality wasn’t affected by the life you had in
Paradise.
I’m sure Angela will see it too.”

“I hope so. I wouldn’t want her and Will to argue because of me.” Something was telling me that Will would never break the bond we shared willingly. Only I didn’t know if that was good or bad news. Our life was so complicated, and sometimes I felt like I was the very person complicating it. . .

Christopher shut the engine down, stepped out of the car, and came around to open the door for me, saying, “The only thing that Will and his mother have ever argued about is his dedication to his father’s business. Angela doesn’t want her only son to spend the rest of his life running after something that can’t make a person happy. She thinks money and power ruin everything. That’s why I’m sure she will like you. Especially after she sees the way her son looks at you.”

I sighed, recalling all those times I caught William looking at me. There had always been so much love in his gaze, so much adoration, even a slight addiction. Sometimes it scared me. I still didn’t know how our story was going to end. The more time passed since the first day of my
‘independent’
life, the less I was sure if I was ready to be with William. He, no doubt, was the man all women dream of, including me. Only I didn’t know how to live that dream without losing myself along the way. I couldn’t let that happen, not after years spent in the orphanage, where personality didn’t mean a thing. We were all equal there, no one had a right to be different, to be better than the others.

There was one more thing I often thought about. I never asked Will about his ex-girlfriends. I didn’t know what kind of women he liked. On one hand, I was more than thrilled to know that he preferred me to whoever he used to date before me. But, on the other hand, I was not sure if I was the right girl for him. And
‘girl’
was the key word here. Even though we never actually talked about our age difference, in the moments like now, I felt like it was a huge barrier on the way to our happily-ever-after.

“Is Will home?” I asked Christopher. There was no light in the windows.

“I guess he is. There’s his car.” He pointed to the open garage doors.

I needed to see Will. Maybe he was still angry at me for what happened this morning, but I wanted to talk to him; I wanted to ask him about his day and get a chance to spend a few minutes in his tempting company. It was really hard to resist him, especially now that I knew there was so little distance between us.

I entered the house and heard the sounds of music coming from behind the door to Will’s office. I came closer and listened to the song. It was the very song that was playing when I was dancing for him the last night we were together. It brought so many exciting memories to my mind. Every single touch and kiss I got from Will that night was burned in my memory, torturing me, making my heart bleed whenever he was not with me.

Needless to say, I still craved him, maybe even more than I did when we first met several months ago. And the thought that he had been following the events going on in my life for years, and making sure nothing bad happened to me only made my feelings for him grow stronger. Maybe it was simply because I had never had anyone to care about me, for real, with no secret intentions or plans for my future. He did it all out of the kindness of his heart that somehow it turned into an unconditional love. I never knew a man’s love for a woman could be so boundless and pure.

When the song was over, I knocked on the half-open door and let myself in the office.

“Hey, mind if I join you?” I asked, seeing Will sitting on the couch, with a glass of whiskey in his hand. He was still wearing the same shirt I saw him wearing this morning. His jacket was hanging on the back of the couch, together with his tie.

Will looked tired, like dead tired. Or maybe he was simply sad, and I bet I knew the reason, or rather, the who.

“Come here,” he said, outstretching one hand to me. “Sit with me. Want something to drink?”

“No, thanks. I just wanted to see you.”

I came to sit next to him, he put his arm around my shoulder and pulled me close to his chest, kissing my hair.

“How was your day?” He asked quietly. Another song started, filling the space around us. It was slow and beautiful, reminding me of a fairytale with a prince and princess walking through a meadow on a sunny day, holding hands, and singing.

“Good, great actually.” I let myself lean a little closer, wrapping one arm around his waist, my head resting on his chest. I could hear every single beat of his heart beneath my touch.

“What was the greatest part of it?” He asked, running his palm up and down my back.

It was such a peaceful moment. So much different from stormy mood swings and crazy kisses we had before we left for the day.

“I have finally met Sabine Cormac. And that was…one of the best moments of my entire life.”

Will’s chest rose and fell under my cheek.

“Did you like her?” He asked. Maybe I was imagining things, but I could swear I heard worry in his words.

“A lot,” I said, enjoying the scent of his cologne, washing over me. “She’s amazing. And so kind. She doesn’t have children, can you believe that?”

Will’s body stiffened at my words. I looked up at him, but his face was unreadable.

“What’s wrong?” I asked, puzzled.

He forced a smile. I could always tell when it was forced. “Nothing. I just haven’t had the best day.” He then kissed me again, on the forehead this time, and pulled me back into his embrace.

“Is it bad because of me?” I dared to ask. I knew it was not easy for him to see me right now. I could tell he was very close to losing his patience with me. I could actually feel it, especially after the kiss he gave me this morning.

“No. You make my days better.”

I doubted he was being honest with me.

“I can leave if you want,” I said.

“No, Louise. You will stay here. Even if I need to be alone, I would rather go stay in a hotel than let someone stalk, or worse – hurt you. Besides, as I have already said, you don’t have anything to do with my bad mood.”

“Problems at work?”

“Not exactly. . .” He sighed again. “Eighteen years ago, today, I entered my father’s office for the first time. That day changed my life. It changed everything for me, it changed
me
.”

“You miss him, don’t you?”

“All the time. . .”

I wish I could say the same about even one of my parents. But I never knew what having parents meant. I didn’t know anything about the love other children received from their parents. I had no idea what it felt like to miss a family member.

“You know, something weird happened today…during my conversation with Sabine.” I moved so I could see Will’s face, and proceeded, “There was a moment when I was looking at her and I caught myself thinking about my mother; about the things we could do together. Like baking, or decorating the Christmas tree, or simply talking and sharing a cup of tea. So strange, right? I don’t know why, but I suddenly started thinking about her. Maybe because I imagined someone like Sabine being my mom, beautiful, kind, and caring; someone who would love me for who I am, and not for someone I can be when dancing.”

“Oh, my sweet Louise. . . You know I love you, don’t you?”

I smiled up at him. “Of course, I do.”

“I love you for who you are, for everything you mean to me. And that will never change.” He traced a line down my chin with his finger and my whole body trembled.

“Kiss me,” I said suddenly, surprising both of us with my words. “Kiss me like you did the night I was dancing for you, here, in this house, in your bedroom.”

He shut his eyes, shaking his head. “I can’t. . . I can’t because I won’t be able to stop with just a kiss, Louise. Not after I taste the sweetness of your lips again. That kiss this morning. . . You can’t even imagine how close I was to losing control with you. Staying away from you, dreaming about you, and not being able to even kiss you is torture. You don’t understand. . .”

“I do,” I said, touching his cheek with my palm. “God knows, you are not the only person being tortured here.”

“Then what the hell are we doing still dressed?”

I giggled. “Talking?”

“No, really,
Miss Obvious
? Seriously, Louise, what is your problem with making love to me?”

“That’s the thing, Will, it’s not a problem at all. The real problem will start later, when I wake up in your room, in your bed, with you by my side. . .I wouldn’t be able to walk away.”

“Walk away? Is that what you are going to do…again?”

“No, but. . .it’s complicated.” I put my hand down and moved away from him. Too bad, there was no way to hide from his piercing stare. I could feel its force without even looking at Will. “You know there’s nothing better for me than to stay with you forever, than to allow you to make me happy, to just forget about my past, and move on into the new world where I won’t have to run away, or tell you to stay away from me.”