Unexpected Turn of Events
Strip Me
January 16, 2014
"Everyday I fight for
All my future somethings
A thousand little wars
I have to choose between
I could spend a lifetime
Earning things that I don't need
But that's like chasing rainbows
And coming home empty"
~Strip Me~
-Natasha Bedingfield
After an eventful winter holiday, it was back to the usual routine. Babysitting Madelyn was getting easier and easier as time went on. It didn't even feel like babysitting but rather, spending time with my favourite little kid. The schedules were getting more and more familiar and taking Madelyn to dance class was my favourite of all her activities. Thankfully, she went a few times a week which meant more time to watch her dance.
It was her usual Thursday class at 6PM when we walked into the studio. Everything went as normal, Madelyn and the other girls changed, then went to their scheduled classes and then changed back into normal clothes two hours later.
I was alone, waiting outside the empty dance studio. The once full room was now empty with the lights turned off. It was like the room was calling my name. My feet were itching to get on the dance floor. I practically ran in and started losing myself into the song I was singing. It just felt so right. It has probably been about two months since I last danced. After what felt like hours, but really it was only one song, I stopped, pleased with myself, and walked out to find an old lady smiling at me. I jumped at the sight of her. I was staring at Jackie Rose, one of the best choreographers in the country. I didn't know that this was HER dance studio.
"Hi there. My name is Jackie Rose and I am the founder and owner of this dance studio. I don't mean to scare you. I was just admiring your dancing." She smiled at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dance in you studio. And nice to meet you. I've always been a fan of your dances." I apologized.
"I know this may sound crazy but would you like to take up this dance studio? You have a God given gift and I have been looking for someone to take over. I am retiring soon and I would hate to close down. I can see that you are very passionate about dancing so you should think about my offer and you can find me in my office when you have made a decision. See you soon!" She walked away and Madelyn walked up to me.
I was still shocked from what Jackie had said. Own a dance studio? It actually wasn't a bad idea. I do want to become a dancer and what's better than teaching future dance stars and owning your own dance studio? But what about Madelyn? Who would take care of her? OMG how am I going to tell Abby and Patrick? I shook the thoughts out of my head. I haven't even agreed yet.
The day dragged on as the question stirred around in my head. This could be it. My dream.
~
The next day, I woke up from a restless night. The first thing I did after taking a shower and eating breakfast was to head straight to the dance studio. I walked around, looking for Jackie's office. I knocked on the open door and she looked up, smiling.
"So have you made a decision?" She asks.
"Indeed I have. I am accepting you offer and taking over." I smiled.
She smiled back. "Well let me tell you the details. I am retiring in May and by the end of May, the studio should be yours." She explained everything to me about the money, the teachers, and pretty much everything I needed to know. We signed some papers right then and there and I was soon-to-be-owner of this place.
Jackie let me observe the teachers whenever I wanted so I could either keep the teachers or hire new ones. There were four teachers; Grace, Sandy, Lisa, and Monica. They were all amazing dancers except they seemed like they didn't want to be there. I made a mental note of that to look for better teachers.
As I drove to pick up Madelyn from school, I was thinking about the different ways to tell the Sharps. I don't exactly have to tell them now, right? I won't even be starting until like June and it's only January. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I was dreaming about starting my career and now, it's only the middle of January and I'm almost there. I smiled to myself. I'll show those people who thought I couldn't make it in the world of dance.
When Madelyn and I got back to her house, I walked in to find Abby already there, cleaning the house.
"Hey girls. We're going to the game tonight so go get ready."
"Ooh, mommy! Can I wear Uncle Adam's jersey?" Madelyn asked, excited.
Abby laughed. "Oh go ahead. Your father would be so happy to see you wear it." She said, sarcastically.
Of course, Madelyn took it seriously and ran off to her room to get dressed. I laughed.
"Patrick will definitely like to see Madelyn wear a Burish jersey. How does she even have one anyways? I know for sure that Patrick didn't buy it." I asked.
"You got that right. Bur came into town a few months ago and bought a Burish jersey for her. He gave it to her without Patrick knowing so he will probably be surprised tonight." Abby laughed and I laughed with her.
"Well, I'll be sure to get a picture of his reaction." I replied, picturing Sharpie's reaction in my mind.
Abby and I kept talking for a while until Madelyn came down, wearing a Burish jersey and some jeans and ran into her mother's lap.
"I'm ready! Can we go now?" She asked, bouncing up and down.
"Not yet. You have to eat your dinner first. Oh and Kendall, if you want, you can borrow one of my jerseys for the game." She set Madelyn down at the table in front of her dinner as I went upstairs to look for something to wear.
While upstairs, I decided to be nice and wear a Sharp jersey and returned downstairs to see Madelyn reluctantly eating her broccoli.
"Ok, Madelyn, let's go." Abby said and Madelyn's face lit up, knowing she didn't have to eat anymore broccoli for tonight.
“Yay! Will Uncle Adam be there?” She asked, hopeful that he would be there.
“In fact, he will, along with his team, San Jose. Now let’s get going.”
The car ride to the United Center was filled with the three of us singing nursery rhymes and Taylor Swift, Madelyn’s favourite singer. Before I knew it, we arrived and Madelyn was so excited that she almost ripped her car seat straps off.
This was the third time I’ve been to one of their games but only my first time going with Madelyn. We walked through what I like to call the “special doors” where other fans were not allowed through. Our seats were pretty much right behind the Hawks bench so I could see the boys clearly.
After the singing of the national anthem, and the puck dropped, it was finally then when Sharpie noticed we were behind him. He smiled and waved at us until his eyes stopped at Madelyn.
“Daddy, look! Isn’t this pretty?” She screamed at him pointing at her Burish jersey.
“Abby! Get that jersey off of her!” He screamed back, angry, before stepping on the ice for his shift.
Abby and I laughed but then we were interrupted when Sharp scored and we jumped up screaming.
We watched as Sharpie celebrated by skating up to Bur and saying something that I could not make out but whatever he said made Bur start laughing.
The game started up again and there wasn’t another score for the first period. In the second period, some of the boys looked back and waved to us including Toews, Hjalmarsson, and Seabs. Thornton scored in the middle of the second period but about two minutes later, Chicago came back and Bickell scores. When the third period started, Bur waved at Madelyn and she was waving frantically back at him. It looked like her arm was going to fall off. He also winked at me, making me blush, before returning to the game. I see a familiar jersey getting off the ice and his sparkling blue eyes stared into mine making my knees weak. We stared at each other for a few moments too long before I brought my attention back to the game. That definitely was not just a casual stare.
In the end, Chicago was able to hold onto their one goal lead, finishing the game with a score 2-1. The three of us headed down for the changing room to congratulate the boys and so that Madelyn could go see Adam.
"Are you guys decent?" Abby asked, covering her eyes while slowly walking in.
"Yeah, come on in." A voice replied.
"Congrats on the win guys!" Abby congratulated the guys. They said their thanks when Madelyn ran to her dad.
"Hi, daddy. I saw Uncle Adam on the ice and he waved at me!" She told him.
"I saw him too. You look hot in that jersey. How about you should change into a number 10 jersey. What do you say?" Sharpie persuaded as everyone in the room quietly chucked.
"You don't need one of those jerseys, Madelyn." We all turned to see who it was. Sure enough, Adam Burish was standing there. Madelyn jumped out of her dad's lap and ran into Adam's arms. I could hear Sharpie grumbling about Madelyn liking Bur more than him.
"Well it's not my fault Madelyn likes a Burish jersey over a Sharp one." Adam said, after hearing Sharp complaining.
The two men fought over Madelyn, making her change into their jerseys a few times before Abby picked her up and gave the two men a time out.
When everyone was finally dressed and ready, we decided to go out for dinner. I walked up to Seabs.
“Hey. I just wanted to say thanks for bringing me back to my house the other night.”
“No problem. What are friends for, right?”
“So we’re friends?” I asked, surprised that he considered me as a friend even though we just met.
“Of course. Why, do you not want to be friends with me?” He pretended to act offended.
I laughed. “I think everyone in Chicago wants to be friends with you.”
He laughed too. “Sureeee…So now that we’re friends, why did I have to get you off your ass?” I didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “You don’t have to tell me, you know.” He finally said.
“No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t keep it to myself.” I told him all about how my mother showed up and then all about how I figured out it was Alzheimer’s and she was taken away.
“I’m so sorry, Kendall. It must have come all of a sudden. Just know that you have someone to talk to now.” He smiled at me.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” We hugged. This is a whole new me. Owning a dance studio, making friends, having fun. And to be honest, it felt amazing.
I smiled to myself the whole way to the restaurant. At the restaurant, we, as in Sharpie, Abby, Madelyn, Seabs, Toews, Kane, Shaw, Burish and I ate in silence because everyone was starving. I was watching the news on the t.v. in front of me and then suddenly there was a picture of me on the t.v. My eyes widened.
"Just this morning, Jackie Rose, owner of Rose Studios and a famous dance choreographer, announced that she is retiring and someone else will be taking her place. Ken-"
"So, you guys excited for the Olympics?" I said, distracting everyone from the t.v.
"Mommy, look! Kendall's on t.v.!" Madelyn screamed to her mother.
Busted.
"Hey, it is." Everyone turned to look at the t.v.
"Kendall Evans is a 25 year old who loves to dance and Jackie says that she has a strong passion for dance. Mrs. Rose offered her a job yesterday and Ms. Evans accepted this morning. They have already signed papers and on May 26, Kendall Evans will be the new owner of Rose-Evans Dance Company. Best of luck to her." Then the reporter went on to another story. Everyone turned to stare at me.
"Why didn't you tell us this, Kendall?" Sharpie said, still surprised about what he just heard.
"It only happened this morning and I was planning on telling you....sooner or later." I mumbled the last few words.
"Details. Now." Abby said, excitedly.
"Ok. So yesterday, I took Madelyn to dance classes and when she was finished, the room was empty and I couldn't resist so I started dancing. When I walked out, Jackie was there and she asked me if I wanted to take over the studio. She said to think about it and then she left. This morning I went back to tell her that I would love to take over and the rest is history." I finished my story.
"Well this calls for a celebration!" Toews said. He waved over the server and asked for a few bottles of champagne.
"No, really. It isn't necessary." I waved the server away.
"Kendall. This is what you've wanted to do since forever. You told me that night at Sharpie's. I was going to help you become a dancer but now you've done it yourself. You deserve something special." Tazer replied.
"Daddy, what's going on?" Madelyn asked.
"Well, Kendall is going to be your new dance teacher!"
"But isn't she my babysitter?" Shoot. Why was she so smart. This was what I was afraid of happening. It's going to be so hard not to see Madelyn everyday and to take care of her everyday.
“Nope. Not anymore. We can find a new babysitter for you Mads.”
“But I don’t want another babysitter. I want Kendall.” Awww. That was so cute. She was then distracted by a piece of cake that was put in front of her and she didn’t talk about that subject for the rest of the night.
For the rest of the night, the rest of us celebrated my new job until Madelyn fell asleep in her cake. That was our cue to take off for the night. We all said goodbye and congrats to me and we parted our different ways.
I walked to my car but then realized I shouldn’t be driving after drinking some champagne. I turned around and bumped right into Patrick Kane.
I giggled. “Sorry.”
“No problem. By the way, congrats on the new job.” He then kissed me like it was so ordinary that we kiss and for a moment I actually thought that. I didn’t even try pulling away.
I just went with it.
"Everyday I fight for
All my future somethings
A thousand little wars
I have to choose between
I could spend a lifetime
Earning things that I don't need
But that's like chasing rainbows
And coming home empty"
~Strip Me~
-Natasha Bedingfield
After an eventful winter holiday, it was back to the usual routine. Babysitting Madelyn was getting easier and easier as time went on. It didn't even feel like babysitting but rather, spending time with my favourite little kid. The schedules were getting more and more familiar and taking Madelyn to dance class was my favourite of all her activities. Thankfully, she went a few times a week which meant more time to watch her dance.
It was her usual Thursday class at 6PM when we walked into the studio. Everything went as normal, Madelyn and the other girls changed, then went to their scheduled classes and then changed back into normal clothes two hours later.
I was alone, waiting outside the empty dance studio. The once full room was now empty with the lights turned off. It was like the room was calling my name. My feet were itching to get on the dance floor. I practically ran in and started losing myself into the song I was singing. It just felt so right. It has probably been about two months since I last danced. After what felt like hours, but really it was only one song, I stopped, pleased with myself, and walked out to find an old lady smiling at me. I jumped at the sight of her. I was staring at Jackie Rose, one of the best choreographers in the country. I didn't know that this was HER dance studio.
"Hi there. My name is Jackie Rose and I am the founder and owner of this dance studio. I don't mean to scare you. I was just admiring your dancing." She smiled at me.
"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean to dance in you studio. And nice to meet you. I've always been a fan of your dances." I apologized.
"I know this may sound crazy but would you like to take up this dance studio? You have a God given gift and I have been looking for someone to take over. I am retiring soon and I would hate to close down. I can see that you are very passionate about dancing so you should think about my offer and you can find me in my office when you have made a decision. See you soon!" She walked away and Madelyn walked up to me.
I was still shocked from what Jackie had said. Own a dance studio? It actually wasn't a bad idea. I do want to become a dancer and what's better than teaching future dance stars and owning your own dance studio? But what about Madelyn? Who would take care of her? OMG how am I going to tell Abby and Patrick? I shook the thoughts out of my head. I haven't even agreed yet.
The day dragged on as the question stirred around in my head. This could be it. My dream.
~
The next day, I woke up from a restless night. The first thing I did after taking a shower and eating breakfast was to head straight to the dance studio. I walked around, looking for Jackie's office. I knocked on the open door and she looked up, smiling.
"So have you made a decision?" She asks.
"Indeed I have. I am accepting you offer and taking over." I smiled.
She smiled back. "Well let me tell you the details. I am retiring in May and by the end of May, the studio should be yours." She explained everything to me about the money, the teachers, and pretty much everything I needed to know. We signed some papers right then and there and I was soon-to-be-owner of this place.
Jackie let me observe the teachers whenever I wanted so I could either keep the teachers or hire new ones. There were four teachers; Grace, Sandy, Lisa, and Monica. They were all amazing dancers except they seemed like they didn't want to be there. I made a mental note of that to look for better teachers.
As I drove to pick up Madelyn from school, I was thinking about the different ways to tell the Sharps. I don't exactly have to tell them now, right? I won't even be starting until like June and it's only January. It's hard to believe that just a few weeks ago, I was dreaming about starting my career and now, it's only the middle of January and I'm almost there. I smiled to myself. I'll show those people who thought I couldn't make it in the world of dance.
When Madelyn and I got back to her house, I walked in to find Abby already there, cleaning the house.
"Hey girls. We're going to the game tonight so go get ready."
"Ooh, mommy! Can I wear Uncle Adam's jersey?" Madelyn asked, excited.
Abby laughed. "Oh go ahead. Your father would be so happy to see you wear it." She said, sarcastically.
Of course, Madelyn took it seriously and ran off to her room to get dressed. I laughed.
"Patrick will definitely like to see Madelyn wear a Burish jersey. How does she even have one anyways? I know for sure that Patrick didn't buy it." I asked.
"You got that right. Bur came into town a few months ago and bought a Burish jersey for her. He gave it to her without Patrick knowing so he will probably be surprised tonight." Abby laughed and I laughed with her.
"Well, I'll be sure to get a picture of his reaction." I replied, picturing Sharpie's reaction in my mind.
Abby and I kept talking for a while until Madelyn came down, wearing a Burish jersey and some jeans and ran into her mother's lap.
"I'm ready! Can we go now?" She asked, bouncing up and down.
"Not yet. You have to eat your dinner first. Oh and Kendall, if you want, you can borrow one of my jerseys for the game." She set Madelyn down at the table in front of her dinner as I went upstairs to look for something to wear.
While upstairs, I decided to be nice and wear a Sharp jersey and returned downstairs to see Madelyn reluctantly eating her broccoli.
"Ok, Madelyn, let's go." Abby said and Madelyn's face lit up, knowing she didn't have to eat anymore broccoli for tonight.
“Yay! Will Uncle Adam be there?” She asked, hopeful that he would be there.
“In fact, he will, along with his team, San Jose. Now let’s get going.”
The car ride to the United Center was filled with the three of us singing nursery rhymes and Taylor Swift, Madelyn’s favourite singer. Before I knew it, we arrived and Madelyn was so excited that she almost ripped her car seat straps off.
This was the third time I’ve been to one of their games but only my first time going with Madelyn. We walked through what I like to call the “special doors” where other fans were not allowed through. Our seats were pretty much right behind the Hawks bench so I could see the boys clearly.
After the singing of the national anthem, and the puck dropped, it was finally then when Sharpie noticed we were behind him. He smiled and waved at us until his eyes stopped at Madelyn.
“Daddy, look! Isn’t this pretty?” She screamed at him pointing at her Burish jersey.
“Abby! Get that jersey off of her!” He screamed back, angry, before stepping on the ice for his shift.
Abby and I laughed but then we were interrupted when Sharp scored and we jumped up screaming.
We watched as Sharpie celebrated by skating up to Bur and saying something that I could not make out but whatever he said made Bur start laughing.
The game started up again and there wasn’t another score for the first period. In the second period, some of the boys looked back and waved to us including Toews, Hjalmarsson, and Seabs. Thornton scored in the middle of the second period but about two minutes later, Chicago came back and Bickell scores. When the third period started, Bur waved at Madelyn and she was waving frantically back at him. It looked like her arm was going to fall off. He also winked at me, making me blush, before returning to the game. I see a familiar jersey getting off the ice and his sparkling blue eyes stared into mine making my knees weak. We stared at each other for a few moments too long before I brought my attention back to the game. That definitely was not just a casual stare.
In the end, Chicago was able to hold onto their one goal lead, finishing the game with a score 2-1. The three of us headed down for the changing room to congratulate the boys and so that Madelyn could go see Adam.
"Are you guys decent?" Abby asked, covering her eyes while slowly walking in.
"Yeah, come on in." A voice replied.
"Congrats on the win guys!" Abby congratulated the guys. They said their thanks when Madelyn ran to her dad.
"Hi, daddy. I saw Uncle Adam on the ice and he waved at me!" She told him.
"I saw him too. You look hot in that jersey. How about you should change into a number 10 jersey. What do you say?" Sharpie persuaded as everyone in the room quietly chucked.
"You don't need one of those jerseys, Madelyn." We all turned to see who it was. Sure enough, Adam Burish was standing there. Madelyn jumped out of her dad's lap and ran into Adam's arms. I could hear Sharpie grumbling about Madelyn liking Bur more than him.
"Well it's not my fault Madelyn likes a Burish jersey over a Sharp one." Adam said, after hearing Sharp complaining.
The two men fought over Madelyn, making her change into their jerseys a few times before Abby picked her up and gave the two men a time out.
When everyone was finally dressed and ready, we decided to go out for dinner. I walked up to Seabs.
“Hey. I just wanted to say thanks for bringing me back to my house the other night.”
“No problem. What are friends for, right?”
“So we’re friends?” I asked, surprised that he considered me as a friend even though we just met.
“Of course. Why, do you not want to be friends with me?” He pretended to act offended.
I laughed. “I think everyone in Chicago wants to be friends with you.”
He laughed too. “Sureeee…So now that we’re friends, why did I have to get you off your ass?” I didn’t say anything for a few seconds. “You don’t have to tell me, you know.” He finally said.
“No, it’s fine. I shouldn’t keep it to myself.” I told him all about how my mother showed up and then all about how I figured out it was Alzheimer’s and she was taken away.
“I’m so sorry, Kendall. It must have come all of a sudden. Just know that you have someone to talk to now.” He smiled at me.
“Thanks. I really appreciate it.” We hugged. This is a whole new me. Owning a dance studio, making friends, having fun. And to be honest, it felt amazing.
I smiled to myself the whole way to the restaurant. At the restaurant, we, as in Sharpie, Abby, Madelyn, Seabs, Toews, Kane, Shaw, Burish and I ate in silence because everyone was starving. I was watching the news on the t.v. in front of me and then suddenly there was a picture of me on the t.v. My eyes widened.
"Just this morning, Jackie Rose, owner of Rose Studios and a famous dance choreographer, announced that she is retiring and someone else will be taking her place. Ken-"
"So, you guys excited for the Olympics?" I said, distracting everyone from the t.v.
"Mommy, look! Kendall's on t.v.!" Madelyn screamed to her mother.
Busted.
"Hey, it is." Everyone turned to look at the t.v.
"Kendall Evans is a 25 year old who loves to dance and Jackie says that she has a strong passion for dance. Mrs. Rose offered her a job yesterday and Ms. Evans accepted this morning. They have already signed papers and on May 26, Kendall Evans will be the new owner of Rose-Evans Dance Company. Best of luck to her." Then the reporter went on to another story. Everyone turned to stare at me.
"Why didn't you tell us this, Kendall?" Sharpie said, still surprised about what he just heard.
"It only happened this morning and I was planning on telling you....sooner or later." I mumbled the last few words.
"Details. Now." Abby said, excitedly.
"Ok. So yesterday, I took Madelyn to dance classes and when she was finished, the room was empty and I couldn't resist so I started dancing. When I walked out, Jackie was there and she asked me if I wanted to take over the studio. She said to think about it and then she left. This morning I went back to tell her that I would love to take over and the rest is history." I finished my story.
"Well this calls for a celebration!" Toews said. He waved over the server and asked for a few bottles of champagne.
"No, really. It isn't necessary." I waved the server away.
"Kendall. This is what you've wanted to do since forever. You told me that night at Sharpie's. I was going to help you become a dancer but now you've done it yourself. You deserve something special." Tazer replied.
"Daddy, what's going on?" Madelyn asked.
"Well, Kendall is going to be your new dance teacher!"
"But isn't she my babysitter?" Shoot. Why was she so smart. This was what I was afraid of happening. It's going to be so hard not to see Madelyn everyday and to take care of her everyday.
“Nope. Not anymore. We can find a new babysitter for you Mads.”
“But I don’t want another babysitter. I want Kendall.” Awww. That was so cute. She was then distracted by a piece of cake that was put in front of her and she didn’t talk about that subject for the rest of the night.
For the rest of the night, the rest of us celebrated my new job until Madelyn fell asleep in her cake. That was our cue to take off for the night. We all said goodbye and congrats to me and we parted our different ways.
I walked to my car but then realized I shouldn’t be driving after drinking some champagne. I turned around and bumped right into Patrick Kane.
I giggled. “Sorry.”
“No problem. By the way, congrats on the new job.” He then kissed me like it was so ordinary that we kiss and for a moment I actually thought that. I didn’t even try pulling away.
I just went with it.
7/21/13