When Will got home for the team’s first home stand of the year, he took over driving Katie around to the studios. He wanted to meet her potential instructor anyway. They had gone to visit the third and fourth studios the day before. At number three, Katie took an instant dislike to the studio’s owner, an older woman who seemed nice enough to him. For some reason, Katie refused to go near her.
So that was out.
The fourth studio had been the most disappointing of all. The studio’s owner gave them the standard tour, tried to engage Katie, and when Katie didn’t respond to her, told Will his daughter wasn’t smart enough to understand ballet instruction.
She got quite the heated earful over that.
Fearing another disappointment to come, he said, “Try to keep an open mind, okay, kid? You’re about to meet someone you don’t know, but if you want to learn ballet, you’ll have to work with someone who can teach you.”
Katie gave him a thumbs up.
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
They walked into the studio together. She clung to his hand as they checked things out. The entry area was narrow and long, similar to the other studios they had visited. Straight ahead of them, an open door led to a wide dance room where a tap class was in session. More doorways down the hall to the left appeared to house other classes.
Immediately to the left of the entry door was a sign-in desk manned by a teenage girl who was currently talking on the phone and typing into a tablet. She lifted a finger when she saw him and mouthed, One minute please.
He nodded and glanced to his right. At least ten pairs of eyes stared back at him from what was evidently the parent waiting area. All of them were female.
“Mr. Campbell?”
Turning back to his left, he watched a tall, willowy woman approach from down the long hallway. She wore a smile that produced creases beside her warm blue eyes. That and the gray in her brown hair told him she was older and quite probably the person they were there to see.
“I’m Ms. Rutherford,” she said, confirming his assumption. She extended her hand and accepted his handshake before looking down at Katie. “And you must be Katie.”
Katie edged behind his leg. Her grip on his hand tightened.
Shit.
“It’s nice to meet you,” he said. “Uh, Katie’s a little shy.”
“Many young children are,” Ms. Rutherford said with another smile. “Why don’t we see the space and you can ask me any questions I didn’t get the chance to address on the phone?”
“Sounds good.”
Katie relaxed once Ms. Rutherford’s attention wasn’t focused on her. That gave him hope this might work out.
They started at the girls’ locker room and made their way around to each of the studio’s six instruction rooms. As he typically did, Will evaluated everything through the eyes of a renovator, noting things he’d change if he had designed the place. All in all, he thought the layout worked well.
Whenever they walked through rooms where classes were in progress, Katie did her best to hide against his side. It again told him she wasn’t yet ready for a group environment. Ms. Rutherford looked from him to Katie throughout the tour, likely observing the same thing. He couldn’t read her expression as he got the rundown of how their classes were structured, when they typically met, and brief bios of the instructors, but he hoped the patience he’d sensed in her earlier extended to his daughter’s unusual behavior.
“Do you or any of your instructors offer private lessons?” he asked when they reached the end of the tour and sat with Ms. Rutherford in her office.
“Has Katie been in dance before?”
Encouraged that he didn’t get an immediate no, he replied, “No. She got a brief lesson and responded well to it.”
“Did you enjoy your lesson, Katie?” Ms. Rutherford asked.
Katie refused to look at the woman. She slouched in the chair beside his, her chin tucked against her chest and her eyes on the floor.
“Answer the question, kiddo,” he prodded.
Finally, Katie gave a brief nod.
“Okay, Katie. Why don’t we do this?” Ms. Rutherford said, getting to her feet. She walked over to the side of Katie’s chair. “I’d like you to show me what you’ve learned.”
Rather than doing as instructed, Katie slid bonelessly to the floor and crawled under her chair.
“What the—” Will stopped himself before he swore. He got out of his chair and crouched by Katie’s. “What are you doing?”