now and he’s raised such an amazing little girl. I didn’t want to take any of that parental pride from him.
“Anyway, I told Lily I wasn’t Katie’s mom, but I could tell he wasn’t happy about the whole thing. When he brought it up after the concert, I didn’t want to get into it. Katie was in the car sleeping and I didn’t know what she might overhear. I’m not sure what kind of relationship she had with her mother, but I don’t think any conversations about mothers should be entered into with her lightly.”
“But Will brought it up in the car where Katie was sleeping?”
Jasmine nodded.
“You just finished telling me that Will is a terrific parent who is doing a great job of raising Katie. Would he have brought up a topic of conversation that would upset her if she overheard it?”
After a brief hesitation, Jasmine admitted, “No, he wouldn’t.”
“Okay. So he was upset you wouldn’t have a conversation about you being mistaken for Katie’s mother, and he lashed out at you?”
The way Alima phrased it sounded different than what happened, yet she wasn’t wrong. Had there been another reason Will brought up that particular interaction?
If so, what?
“Maybe you need to make a point to continue that conversation,” Alima suggested when Jasmine didn’t reply.
“Maybe,” she allowed. “But it doesn’t change what he said and how much it hurt.”
“From what you’ve told me, he wouldn’t have said something like that if he hadn’t been hurt first.”
The thought that she had hurt Will upset her almost as much as their conversation had. She finally acknowledged that her friend was right. She needed to talk to Will. Since he was leaving on a road trip, however, it would have to wait until he got back.
Hopefully it would give her heart enough time to heal.
“Thanks,” she said. “I appreciate you being my sounding board, as always.”
Alima smiled over her teacup. “You are always welcome.”
They paused to sip their tea. “Now it’s your turn,” Jasmine said. “Have you told your folks about this last audition yet?”
“Ugh. No.”
Much as Alima had listened to her and offered advice, Jasmine did her best to help her friend whose parents had grown less and less supportive of her dance aspirations. It was something with which Jasmine could empathize.
“It sucks, I know,” she told her friend. “Our parents were the ones who got us involved in dance in the first place.”
“Exactly,” Alima agreed. “It’s like they got us hooked and now they want us to quit.”
“I get it. What we have to remember is that we’re adults now.”
“Speak for yourself,” Alima said with a chuckle.
“Hey, you’re a year older than I am.”
“What is it they say? Age is just a number? That works both ways.”
Jasmine smiled and shook her head. “My point is that we’re in this for ourselves now, not for anyone else. We don’t have to earn our parents’ approval anymore.”
“You’re right,” Alima said after giving that some thought. “I just needed to hear it.”
“I’m glad I could help.”
“Same here. You know, I’m really glad you decided to join our group. Don’t you find it comforting to be around people who can relate to what you’re going through? Well, aside from your meetings with rock stars and celebrities, of course.”
Jasmine issued a snort of humor. “Ha, ha. Yes, it is comforting,” she said. “It’s also a little frightening.”
“Frightening? Really?”
Not wanting to bring Alima down, she hesitated to speak her mind. In the end, she knew her friend would prefer the truth.
“I find it frightening because most of the group has been pursuing the same goal as I am for even longer than I have without succeeding.”
“Ah.” Alima nodded. “I understand.”
“You do?”
“Of course I do. But I’ll turn your advice back on you. You said the only opinion about our choices that matters is our own. Doesn’t that mean we are also the only ones who can decide what it means to be successful?”
Blinking, Jasmine said, “I suppose so.”
Alima leaned forward. “I have seen what you are capable of beyond ballet,” she said, her dark eyes intent on Jasmine’s face. “And so have millions and millions of other people now. And before you go and say you didn’t teach that girl how to dance like that, don’t give me that load of crap. You have described what Katie was like before you met her. Would that girl back then have stood in front of all those people and danced like that with one of the biggest celebrities in