face pinched.
Charlotte’s mouth parted. She went to deny it but couldn’t. I could tell she was unsure of what he had told me. He didn’t mention it, but it was clear to see that not only did she harbor resentment against me for being able to dance, but because she must’ve been crushing on Brando once upon a time.
Her presence made total sense—she wanted to watch me react to the news that I’d have to leave. She always did. It gave her pleasure to watch me suffer.
“It was because of Elliott!” She threw her golden hair behind her shoulder in a huff. “Elliott didn’t want any of his friends dating his sister.”
“I see.” I grinned, and not nicely. “Did Brando tell you that? Or Elliott?”
“No!” She brought her hands up and they came down with a slap against the table. “It doesn’t matter now! It’s over and done with. Brando Fausti lost his chance with me.”
“Who told you that?” I pressed even harder, hoping to make her snap. “Cat got your tongue, hen?”
She started cursing at me in Spanish and I started cursing at her in French. War had been initiated.
“Dovolj!” My mother shouted in Slovenian. Enough!
All three of us became quiet, as still as the water. A lone jogger panted by, a small wave at us as he did so. The only time my mother spoke Slovenian out in public was when she didn’t want anyone else to hear her reprimanding. She could do it with a pleasant smile on her face too, even if the words were less than kind.
“Charlotte, go inside and tell your grandmother,” she continued in Slovenian. “She has been anticipating the news.”
Charlotte and I glared at each other until she had to look away. I grinned to myself, a moment of complete satisfaction when she tripped over a root hidden underneath a pile of leaves, her body giving a jerk before she righted herself.
“She is all you have left, Scarlett Rose Poésy.”
Turning, I gave Pnina my full attention. “This is true, but you might want to remind her of that. Elliott is my brother. She’s just the person who occupied your womb before me.”
“I know who Elliott is,” she said, a bit breathless. “My son.”
Our eyes held. And my heart softened a little. My mother loved us; she did, just in her own way. Elliott’s death had cost her so much, even if her hard exterior made me forget from time to time. I promised myself that no matter what, even if my temper flared, I would respect her. She was my mother, even if there were times I questioned my belonging.
I decided to go down a different road. “I’m not Maja Resnik. I’ll never be. Even if I move like her, when I’m out on my own, I’ll never allow myself to be a repeat of her. I’ll always be me. Despite your hopes.”
My mother’s softened eyes turned hard. When she narrowed them, they were like daggers. “Do you take me for a fool, child? I know who you are. Just as I know my son, I know my daughter.”
“Do you?” I mused, but I kept my eyes on hers. “You want to make her happy. You’ve always wanted to make the ballerina happy. Even if it cost me my happiness.”
“Nonsense!”
“You’ve always felt the need to prove something to her. You couldn’t do it. Neither could Charlotte. And, oh dear God, I wish she could have. Then I would be off the hook! I don’t want this. None of it. I want to be a teacher. I love it.” I took a deep breath, settling my anxious nerves. “I love teaching people things they don’t know and helping them understand what they do.”
My mother sucked in a sharp breath. “A teacher?” She made it sound disrespectful, useless.
“Yes, a teacher. It’s one of the most important jobs. Teaching people.”
“You?” She laughed. “You are a prodigy! Maja Resnik’s protégé! A world-class dancer! This is nonsense, absolute nonsense.” She laughed again, mocking me. “A teacher? That is like putting a star in a jar just to watch it burn. Why not watch it in the sky, where it belongs? Nonsense! You have Maja Resnik’s blood. And you would waste your talent to become a…a teacher?”
“Yes,” I said simply.
She was becoming unhinged. I tried to set a more even tone. Perhaps if we could discuss this rationally, which we were never able to do before, she would understand. But she continued before I could wage part two