13. Aidan

13

AIDAN

A idan had finished installing the first barre and was working on the second now. It was fairly easy work, though he was always careful. Getting the details just right was the difference between being a regular contractor and a creative carpenter known for beautiful finish work.

Late-morning sunshine poured in the windows, bouncing off the mirrors and filling Kenzie’s family-room-turned-ballet-studio with brilliant light. He couldn’t help thinking of Kenzie herself and the way she had lit Walt up with happiness this morning, just by making toast.

Aidan could hear the two of them in the kitchen now, talking softly, most likely reading the stack of ballet books Walt had brought.

The way she told him that reading his small words could be a help warmed Aidan’s heart. Everyone wanted to be of service, even a four-year-old, and Kenzie had somehow sensed that longing in Walt .

Aidan shook his head and applied himself to his work again, trying his best to get back into the zone. He wasn’t sure how much time had passed when the soft sounds floating down from the kitchen got louder.

He paused for a moment, listening as Walt’s voice got louder. He was yelling or crying, and Aidan was pretty sure he heard the word no.

Aidan was on his feet in an instant, already furious with himself. He should have known better than to leave Walt with Kenzie for so long. She’d said herself that she hadn’t watched children since high school, and she was hurt on top of it. Walt had clearly gotten bored and started to misbehave.

When he stuck his head in the kitchen, it took Aidan a moment to put together what was happening.

Walt wasn’t crying, and he wasn’t yelling either. He was standing on one foot with his hand on his nose, laughing his head off as he tried to keep his balance.

“Now, hop,” Kenzie told him, her eyes twinkling as she smiled at Aidan over Walt’s shoulder.

“ No, ” Walt managed to yelp as he bubbled over with laughter. “No, you didn’t say Simon Says .”

“Ah,” Kenzie said, shaking her head as if she couldn’t believe it. “You are just too hard to trick, Walt. Simon says hop up and down.”

Walt hopped once and then melted to the floor with laughter as Kenzie smiled fondly at him with real warmth in her eyes.

“Sorry if we were too loud,” Kenzie said, glancing up at Aidan .

“It’s fine,” he told her. “It’s great.”

“When I was little I wasn’t very good at sitting still at school,” she said. “My teacher used to give me wiggle breaks to help, and I thought Walt might like to have one since we were reading so much.”

“You’re good at sitting, Kenzie,” Walt said brightly, popping up from the floor.

“Well, I sort of have to be right now,” she said, pointing at her boot and laughing. “But when I was a kid, what helped me the most was dance classes. That got all my wiggles out every time.”

“Like Vampirina Ballerina,” Walt said wisely.

“Yes, I went to dance class like the ballerina in the book,” Kenzie said. “My grandma was the teacher, so that was really lucky.”

“I’ll just finish up,” Aidan said quietly and slipped out, feeling overwhelmed, though he wasn’t sure why.

He’d had trouble sitting still in school himself, and he was pretty sure Walt was going to have the same problem. He’d been wondering how a benched ballerina was doing such a good job with Walt when the professionals at the preschool kept telling him ominous things about it being best to hold the boy back from entering kindergarten next year?

But the idea that Kenzie had been restless herself really surprised him. He’d thought all ballerinas were naturally disciplined and well-behaved. It never occurred to him that all that jumping and dancing might have helped her sit still in school.

How must she feel now that she can’t dance ?

He honestly wasn’t sure what he would do if he couldn’t stay on the move for work. It was understandable now why she had walked into town the other night to see the lights.

He focused on work again, managing to knock out the second barre and check everything carefully in what felt like no time.

“Hey,” he said, sticking his head in the kitchen door.

The two of them were curled up in the window seat now. Walt was leaning on Kenzie’s shoulder as they looked at the black and white photos in a massive book that was the oldest of the selections Miss Caroline at the library had made for them. She’d thought Walt might not be ready for it for a while, but he was gazing down at the images with real interest.

Kenzie looked up and smiled gently at Aidan, making his heart throb like she was squeezing it in her hand.

“I think we’re all set,” he said gruffly, tearing his eyes from hers. “Want to come out and make sure you like the way it looks?”

“Wow, Walt,” Kenzie said. “I have barres and mirrors in my house now, just like the ones Stephanie is using in the book. Should we go check it out?”

Walt scrambled out of the window seat so fast Aidan was afraid he was going to knock something over.

“Careful, buddy,” he told his son. “We should let Kenzie go out first, since this is for her.”

Walt’s little lower lip stuck out and quivered.

“How about if Walt comes with me at the same time?” Kenzie offered before he could melt down. “We can do a countdown and then both walk in at once. ”

“Yeah,” Walt piped up.

“Okay,” Aidan said, joining in the fun in spite of himself. “Three…”

“Two…” Walt squeaked.

“One,” Kenzie said. “ Let’s go .”

The doorway was really too narrow for both of them, but Walt slipped through and then waited for his new friend and they both walked fully into the family room together.

“It’s beautiful,” Kenzie said excitedly.

“Look,” Walt said, running to one of the barres and practically swinging from it.

“Gently,” Kenzie told him with a smile. “Can you do first position?”

Walt stood up straight and moved his feet around. Aidan had no idea if he was right or not, but it made Kenzie smile.

“ Yes ,” she told him. “You’re incredible, Walt.”

Walt’s chest puffed up and he looked so proud that Aidan had to smile too.

“Now you,” Walt yelled to Kenzie.

She leaned her crutches gently against the sofa and hopped lightly over to the other barre.

Aidan watched as she dropped her head, inhaled as she came back up, and suddenly seemed to be two inches taller, her rib cage practically floating above her waist and hips.

“I can’t move my feet very well,” she told Walt. “But I can do some of the arm exercises.”

Walt let go of the barre to watch her with great interest.

Kenzie lifted one arm above her head, soft and rounded as she fell forward and swept herself around until she was bending backward almost even with the barre itself, before swirling back to the front and straightening again, a big smile on her face the whole time.

“Oh, that feels so good,” she said happily, spinning around to do it again on the other side.

Aidan watched her with his jaw on the floor. He had thought this whole project was a little silly. After all, she would be on her feet again soon enough, and then she would be back in New York with her ballet company and everything she needed.

But seeing her now, it was like Kenzie had come to life. She was genuinely happy doing this. And that kind of flexibility was probably hard to hang onto if you didn’t practice it daily.

“Kenzie,” Walt said, laughing in delight. “Kenzie.”

“Do you want to do it, too?” she asked him.

But he just laughed and barreled over to hug her.

“Gently, buddy,” Aidan said.

“I want to go see the animals,” Walt said suddenly.

“We could do that,” Aidan said. “I’m all done here.”

“I want Kenzie to come,” Walt wailed, wrapping himself around her like a vine.

“She can come too, if she wants,” Aidan heard himself say.

Kenzie’s eyes widened a little and she turned to him.

“If you want,” he said, shrugging. “We’ve got plenty of room in the car, and it’s just Cassidy Farm. You should be okay on crutches.”

The tourist farm had paved pathways so that guests who used wheelchairs could enjoy everything the place had to offer, and all the doorways were nice and wide. If you were going to walk around somewhere on crutches, it was a pretty good choice.

“Okay,” she said, looking like he had just offered her the winning lottery numbers. “Let me grab my coat.”

In Aidan’s experience let me grab my coat was woman-speak for I’m going to spend half an hour changing my clothes and puttering around , so when she grabbed her crutches and disappeared into the hall that led to the front of the house, he took his time gathering his tools and hoped that Walt wouldn’t lose his good mood if it took them a while to get going.

But Kenzie amazed him by appearing a minute later with her coat on and a smile on her face.

She must have literally just grabbed her coat…

“I wish I could help you carry that stuff out,” she said, indicating the tools.

“Oh, I’m fine,” he told her. “I can do it all in one trip. I’m going to head out with it now and be back to help you guys out. Walt, can you get your coat on by yourself?”

“Yes,” Walt said with a serious look in his eye.

He normally did the upside-down coat trick, but Aidan could tell by the look on his little face that he was going to try to impress Kenzie by doing it the grown-up way.

I don’t blame you for wanting to impress her, buddy, he thought to himself, then frowned.

He hurried out to the truck with his stuff, wondering what was happening to him .

Please don’t let me make a fool of myself over this girl, he prayed. Walt and I need stability.

But his mind unhelpfully showed him the image of Kenzie and Walt curled up in the window seat, looking like they belonged together. And his mind immediately started running down a list of the materials he would need to put a seat just like that in his own house.