FAGE 12. Never Too Late to Start Anew

Title: A Dance to Remember

Written for: Ankita Kaul / Ninkita

Written by: DeJean Smith

Rating: M

Summary/Prompts used: Five hundred twenty-five thousand six hundred minutes…As the song from Rent goes, there is a finite number of minutes to a year, but how many of those minutes are memorable? How many slip by carelessly, with no thought to their importance? And how many hold events that will change our lives forever? A FAGE 12 offering for Ninkita using the prompts dancing in the dark, a musician who plays an unusual instrument, and strangers meeting on a bus.

If you would like to see all the stories that are part of this exchange visit the Facebook group: Fanficaholics Anon: Where Obsession Never Sleeps, or add the C2 to get all the stories direct to your inbox.

A special thank you to my banner maker, DD2, and my pre-readers, DD2 and Beppa. So happy y'all enjoyed my ramblings.

Chapter 1:

Bella stared out the front window of her new home, a tiny but adorable two bedroom, two and a half bath townhouse, in a safe but reasonably priced Seattle suburb. She anxiously awaited the arrival of most of her worldly belongings and above all, her beloved truck. She glanced at her watch. Jake was two hours late, and if he did not get his butt in gear, she was going to have to leave for rehearsal before unloading.

Well, he can do it by himself, she rationalized internally.

Bella shook her head, fighting off the annoyance that became more and more prevalent when thinking about her on again, off again boyfriend. He had not wanted her to take the job with the Seattle Symphony for Children, citing its newness and lack of cachet—a word he had to have looked up, because it certainly was not part of his everyday vocabulary. From the beginning of their relationship, their times together had been more like friends than romantic partners. Neither pushed going that next step because they were happy being each other's plus one at parties or movies and nothing more. Now with her moving a few hours away, she had wondered what would become of the two of them.

Oboists slash English Horn players were not in high demand without moving great distances from her small hometown of Forks, Washington, so when the position in Seattle was announced, Bella jumped at the opportunity. She absolutely loved the concept of a symphony created purely for the purpose of performing great pieces before audiences composed of children of all ages. When she was told the endowment included scheduled special days of sensory sensitive concerts, dancing-in-the-aisles parties, and even participatory events alongside fieldtrips from schools, Bella was sold. She had to become a part of this endeavor. Fortunately, the hiring committee agreed, so with a joyful heart, she packed her bags and headed to Seattle.

Who let the dogs out….

"Hey, Jake. Get lost?"

The silence that greeted her after she answered the phone made Bella think she had been hung up on, but after a quick glance at her phone, she saw the call was still connected.

"Jake?"

"Hey, Bella."

His tone immediately told her something was amiss.

"What's wrong?"

"Well, first, I'm alright."

"You're alright? Why do I need to know you're alright?" Dread settled in the center of her chest and deepened the longer it took him to speak.

"Ikindawreckedyourtruck."

"Slower and in English this time. You what?"

A deep breath on his end did nothing to alleviate her fears.

"I kinda wrecked your truck."

"What do you mean by kinda?" She began to rub her forehead in frustration. Most of her clothes, a few pieces of furniture her dad, Charlie, had foisted off on her, and her books were loaded in the back of The Beast, as she lovingly called it.

"Newton's dumpster was moved and …" His voice trailed off.

"Newton's dumpster? Why were you anywhere near Newton's dumpster? That's behind their store."

"Well, Nessie had a few errands she wanted to run during her lunch break, and you know Mike only gives them thirty minutes, so I offered to run her around town. She was really grateful and…" His voice trailed off, and she knew from experience something had happened that he did not want to admit.

"Nessie the girl who has had a crush on you since birth?"

"Yes."

"Nessie the girl you've sworn was nothing more than an annoying little sister type?"

"That was before. People change. She's not that bad anymore."

Bella found his defense enlightening. And the fact she felt nothing at that revelation even more so.

"So, continue. And?"

"Bella, I hit the dumpster, okay. Don't make me say what happened before."

"I see." Her mind flew to a dozen different options of what had distracted Jake, but she certainly did not want to venture any further into the possibilities.

"Anyhow, I wanted to let you know I'm going to fix the truck. I just need to wait to payday before I can get parts and do it."

"When?"

"Last week."

"Payday was last week?"

"No, I wrecked it last week."

"Jacob Ephraim Black, you wrecked my truck last week and didn't tell me? I've been waiting all day for you to get…"

"This is why I didn't tell you when it happened! I knew you would get upset!"

"Upset does not begin to cover what I'm feeling right now. I'm due at rehearsal in two hours. How am I going to get there now?"

"Uber?"

"I don't get paid for another two weeks, and I'm a little thin right now after buying this house!" She took a deep breath and blew it out loudly, spinning on her heel in frustration as she tried to come up with a solution. "Look. Have Charlie make a claim on my insurance for me so I can get a rental."

"He won't do that. I already asked. He 'won't let his baby girl's insurance go up because a stupid mutt was getting a blow job in her truck.'"

Had she not been horrified by his words, Bella would have been impressed by the impersonation of her father's voice.

"You what?"

"And I kinda forgot to mail in my insurance check so I was dropped a few months ago, so there's that."

Bella wondered if she could kill someone through the phone as he continued talking.

"So, Seth and Leah are going to bring part of your stuff up in the station wagon over the weekend. They said they would call and set it up."

"Jake."

"I'm really sorry you found out this way."

"Jake, I…"

She was completely speechless. She had no idea how to talk to him. All the words she wanted to throw at him evaporated in thin air.

After a moment of silence where Jake wisely said nothing, she closed her eyes and took a cleansing breath.

"Arrange for my stuff to be brought up as soon as you can."

"I will."

"And Jake?"

"Yes?"

"Sell my truck and send me the money."

And she ended the call.

Bella slowly slid into the thrift store chair she had purchased and proudly placed in the front window. It was a perfect seat, beautifully stuffed, and just waiting for an off day, a cup of chai, and a good book. Absentmindedly stroking the deep burgundy velvet armrest, she took a deep breath and slowly released it, staring mutely at her phone.

And felt nothing.

Well, in truth, she felt more intensely about losing her truck than her now ex-boyfriend. She was going to miss "The Beast." So many memories were tied to that bucket of bolts. She learned to drive in it, taken friends to Port Angeles on the weekends for shopping and fun, and gotten her first kiss while sitting on the tailgate.

Now it was gone in a moment. The idea of ever sitting behind the wheel squicked her out. She sighed deeply, realizing she could not change the past.

"Well, no time to waste," Bella muttered to herself, sending a quick text to her dad, telling him to make sure Jake got a fair price for her truck. A quick shudder ran down her spine as she once again visualized what must have distracted Jake. After a moment to recover and clear her mind, she searched for a ride share, ordered one, and prayed she would not be late her first day of rehearsal.

Thank you for reading the opening chapter of A Dance to Remember. I hope you are enjoying it.