All Grown Up

dr

wince as the final stretch tugged my ankle in an uncomfortable way. It had been both

n stage, in full view of the audience. I’d stumb

able to finish out the routine with everyone else. I was sure adrenaline had somethi

til then, I could give it a rest, at least for a little while. Of course, I’d need to keep training and making myself

, though, he would want me to sit out the fin

elphia to train at a conservatory there. Then, I’d been lucky enough to land a series of dream jobs working on different shows. But here

owing up early, listening to the director, smiling, and everything had finally paid off.

that all up because of

lery opening tonight if you’d like to join

e, I knew it would exhaust me. Better that I rest up, ice it, keep it elevated, and keep weight off it. I was disappointed because

. “Think I’m just going to head home and go check t

u’re such a grandm

e spoke up. “I am also a grandmother, I think,” she said, grinning a

person who didn’t want to go out that night. Part of hiding my injury m

a feeling that they could all tell what was going on anyway. All of them had been dancing alongside me

fewer of them who had any details about what was wrong, the fewer

eryone would start to wonder if I was sick or what. And if they put two a

e coast was clear

ed me into his office as I was

ying to keep the cheer in my voice as

cut the crap tone of voice, the one that he normally only us

Surely, he didn’t realize that I was injured. I had done a good job of hiding i

s the director. He wanted a show that was flawless. Dancers, he liked to tell us, should look at

rector shook his head. “I know tha

r caught on. I gave a small laugh. “You know how important my career is to me,” I told him. “If the

ken, but I also knew that it hurt more than any injury that I’d ever had before. Not that I’d had many serious in

robably going to be over. If nothing else, he was going to tell me that I needed to

ouldn’t get to dance the final show of the season. And that meant that next year whe

one of my friends who

ou shouldn’t dance on this.” He moved my ankle

dance on it?”

peated. “It would be v

g with the pain that came with dancing. Did he think that cramming my feet into ballet shoes was comfor

id. “You won’t make it better by dancing on it, but you won’t

t him. “That’s all

. “I can tell that something must be wrong with it. It’s been weeks now, and yo

admitted. “Not the academy one but another one. He said that it

d. “I know that this dance troupe is important to you, but you know that your health and the health of all of my dancers is my priority over an

have it checked out. It’s sore, but there’s not

repeated, shaking his head. “I’m send