over the top then layered a red wooly vest on top of that. I twisted my hair up and snapped a clip over the top of it to hold it in place. A pair of chunky socks followed by a quick glance in the mirror. My reflection was grinning like a fool. I was back, baby.
I thundered down the stairs and almost ran smack dab into my mother. She wore a smock to protect her clothes and I breathed yet another sigh of relief when I saw that her left hand was blessedly ring-free. “Oh, Joey. I wanted to talk to you about yesterday.”
“Later,” I said. I was about to rush past her when a thought dawned on me. “Mom, are you going out with Paul later?”
Her delicate eyebrows drew together. “Yes, we were going to see a movie.”
“Sounds good,” I breathed. “Just do me a favor and don’t get married.”
“I wasn’t planning on it.” She sniffed in indignation. “And don’t forget to put gas in the car!”
After snagging my coat, purse, and snow boots I headed outside to where Dragon already had the car idling. Smart kid.
“You want to drive?” I bent over the door to ask.
“I don’t have my permit,” she looked interested though.
I winked at her. “I won’t tell if you won’t. And the roads are plenty dry.”
She thought about it for a beat then shook her head. “But maybe I can go get my permit later this week?”
“Sounds good to me.” It would motivate me to spring my VW just so that Dragon had something cooler than mom’s unreliable POS to drive around town.
We headed over to the school, Dragon worrying a hangnail and me so wound up it wouldn’t have been too surprising if I jumped out of my skin.
My cell rang just as we were pulling into the parking lot. I fished it out of my pocket and was relieved to see Darcy’s drunken countenance appear. “Hey, I am so glad to hear from you!”
“Okay, weirdo. I just talked to you last night,” Darcy said. “You want to come over for coffee?”
“Meet me at Grammy B’s. I’m bringing Dragon to school then I have a stop to make.” I needed to see my grandmother and Darcy desperately. It’s absolutely true what they say, you don’t know what you’ve got until it’s gone.
With a grin in place, I walked my cousin into her first day of school. Principal Mott stood at the door, looking only a little bit grayer than she had in 1996. “Ms. Whitmore.”
“This is my cousin, Dragon.” I put my hand on the girl’s shoulder. “It’s her first day.”
“Is that so. Well welcome, Dragon. The first thing we need to do is go to the office and get your schedule.”
“You okay?” I nudged her in the ribs. She looked at me and then nodded once.
“Good to see you, Joey.” Principal Mott nodded at me. “You’re looking well.”
“I’ve never been better.” With a final wave and a promise to pick Dragon up at three-thirty, I headed back to my car.
I drove into town and parked in a space in front of dad’s office. No parking deck, just the small stately building. I spied him through the window, phone pressed to his ear. I exited the car, blew him a kiss, and then marched to my destination.
Alina stood, hands on nonexistent hips, and scowled at the team of workers that were installing some mirrors. “Not there. Where is your head, up a goat’s ass?”
I tapped her on the shoulder and she slowly turned her attention on me.
“I got fat,” I told her.
She stared at me, both eyebrows raised as though my admission surprised her. Of course with Alina, it was hard to tell until she had you trapped beneath a car.
I pushed on. “No more back handsprings or saltos for me. But I know I can be healthy again if you help me. And I can help you run this place. Make it a little more inviting and a lot more profitable. So you can do what you were born to do and train champions while I help everyone else.”
She rounded on me, all-powerful compact muscle. “And this is the Joey Whitmore I am remembering. To do or die in the trying. You will work here, yes.”
“Yes. Gymnastics is what I was born to do,” I told her. That was the only part skinny Joey seemed to have gotten right. The piece that was missing from my existence. My bad luck hadn’t come from