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Faith to Dance

By Joi Copeland

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CHAPTER ONE


Hey, Bro! I miss you so much! Today is the day. Can you believe it? I have mixed feelings about opening my own dance studio. Mom and Dad should be here. It's because of them Faith to Dance is a reality. Why did things happen this way? Anyway, I already have six kids signed up. I can't wait to begin. Thanks for the encouragement and love. Text when you can.

Renee McCarthy hit send and smiled. Her very own dance studio. She climbed out of her car and shut the door. She grabbed her bag from the trunk and turned around, Faith to Dance Studio before her. Her very own dance studio.
Tears filled Renee's eyes. She swiped them away. No sadness today. Her parents wouldn't want her mourning their death on the first day of her dream becoming a reality.
Renee unlocked the front door and pulled it open. Sunlight bounced off the stamped concrete floor. The giant, mocha colored squares glistened. A grin covered her face. And it was all hers.
Flipping on the lights, Renee's grin grew. Through the glass separating the two rooms, Renee caught sight of her reflection on the opposite mirrored wall. She stifled a giggle. A dream come true. Her parents would be so proud of her. Mood sobering, Renee blinked back tears. Her wonderful parents. If they could only be here, participating in the celebration.
Renee shook her head. No. She wouldn't think about the emptiness her heart felt. Today she deserved to be happy. Six dance students would be filing into the studio, all ready to learn different styles of dance.
Her phone buzzed in her pocket. "Hello?"
"Is this Faith to Dance?" a woman's pleasant voice responded.
"It is. This is Renee. How can I help you?"
"I have two little girls I'd like to sign up. Do you have room?"
Renee bit the inside of her cheek to keep from screaming. "I sure do. We start today at three pm. Will that work for the girls?"
"Oh, it sure will! Thank you so much. You've made these girls very happy."
"Let me get their names and ages." Renee scooted over to the sign-in counter and pulled out her book.
"Faith and Hope Erikson. They're twins, seven years old." The woman let out a little squeal. "I'm sorry. I'm just so excited about this."
Renee giggled. "No need to apologize. I'm excited myself. And you are?"
"Good grief. I should’ve introduced myself first. I'm Tiffany Erikson."
"Fantastic. I'll see you and your girls in a few hours." Renee hung up her phone and sighed. Soon eight little girls would fill her dance studio. She pushed open the door to the dance area and turned the lights on low. The mirror sparkled across from her. The dance barre decorated the opposite side of the mirror.
Renee dropped her bag near the front of the room and connected her iPod to the speaker. Her parents always encouraged her to dance, especially to her favorite Christian bands. Rend Collective blared through the speakers as Renee gave way to the music and danced her heart out. Several songs later, she sank to the floor and rested her head on her knees. Her breath hitched in her throat. That was for you, Mom and Dad.
Clapping startled Renee. Her head bolted up. "I'm so sorry. I didn't know anyone was here," she said as she sprung to her feet.
A beautiful woman with brown-blond hair smiled, her blue eyes lighting up. "That was beautiful," she said over the music.
Heat traveled up to Renee's face as she turned off the music. Grabbing a towel, she dabbed her face. "Thank you."
"I apologize for being early. The girls were so thrilled I was able to sign them up for dance class today, they begged me to come and scope out the place." The woman ran her hand through her long hair.
Melody pushed down her envy of the tiny woman and forced a chuckle. "I don't mind at all. I'm Renee, the owner of Faith to Dance." She stuck out her hand.
"Tiffany Erikson," the woman grasped Renee's hand.
What would it be like to be so small Her five-foot-ten-inch frame loomed over Tiffany. "Nice to meet you. Where are the girls?"
Two heads peeked over the rim of the window from the other room. Renee giggled. "Never mind. I see them spying on us."
Tiffany glanced over her shoulder and shook her head, a smile lifting the corners of her lips. "Those two. They beg me to arrive early but wouldn't step in the room until I spoke with you." She leaned forward and lowered her voice, "they wanted to make sure you weren't a drill monster."
Renee threw her head back and laughed. "I'm definitely not a monster." Renee motioned for the girls to come forward and knelt in front of them once they stood before her. "Welcome. I'm glad you're here today."
"Hi." The girl smiled. "I'm Hope."
"I'm Faith. Like the name of your studio." The other girl spoke up.
"Well hello, Faith and Hope. Those are beautiful names."
"My daddy says we're named after a Bible verse. But we don't have a sister named love because love is greater than Faith and Hope, and that wouldn't be right." Hope's brows v'd on her forehead.
Renee laughed. "Your daddy is a very funny man. I know the exact verse he's referring to. It's First Corinthians chapter thirteen, verse thirteen. ‘And now these three remain: faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love.’"
Faith's eyes grew wide. "That's the one! How did you know that?"
"I love the Bible. I read it every day."
Tiffany placed her hand on the girls' shoulders. "See? It's as if God wanted you girls to dance here."
Hope nodded, her curls bouncing with her head. "We've wanted to dance for so long, but Daddy wouldn't let us. We prayed and prayed, and then we found this place."
"And it's named after me," Faith chimed in.
"Faithy, not exactly after you," Tiffany corrected. "But it certainly does seem like an answer to prayer."
"For all of us, I believe." Renee stood. "Would you like me to show you around my little studio? I can show you what that barre is for and some special things we do with it."
The girls' eyes lit up as they nodded their heads. Renee dipped her head and took each of their hands. She just knew God had His hand on this endeavor. All because He'd called her parents Home. She bit back a wave of sadness and forced a smile to cross her lips. Today was the day of new beginnings. Hopefully for her, her students, and maybe even her brother.

#
"Mad? Of course I'm mad!" Drew Erikson gritted his teeth.
"Listen, Drew." Tiffany crossed her arms over her chest. "You need to relax. This has been a long time coming."
"Really?" Sarcasm dripped from his words. Remorse sailed through him. If his congregation saw him, they'd be disappointed. Drew shook his head. No. They'd understand his frustration. "I don't know what you mean."
"The girls have been asking for dance classes for years, Drew." Tiffany sighed and sank onto the couch. "You can't keep them from this. It's in their blood."
Drew paced in front of Tiffany. True, Faith and Hope had been asking for dance lessons since they were three. He'd put them off and distracted them with a playground in the backyard. That worked until they were four, and their friends from preschool went to ballet classes. He gave them their own rooms. At five, their kindergarten teacher taught the kids in class a few dance steps. Drew bought them a play kitchen. At six, they begged and cried for dance lessons. Drew booked a vacation to Disney World.
Running a hand through his hair, Drew groaned. "I can't do it, Tiff. Plain and simple."
Compassion crossed her face. "I understand, Drew. I really do. But it's time to move on. You need to move on."
Drew shook his head. "It's too soon."
"Too soon? It's been almost seven years. How can that be too soon?" Tiffany crossed the room and wrapped her arms around Drew's waist. "I'm sorry she's gone."
Drew rested his chin on top of Tiffany's head. "Me, too. I should’ve done more."
"No. There's nothing you could’ve done. The Lord gives, and the Lord takes away."
Drew snickered. "Don't go throwing my own words back at me."
Tiffany stood on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek. "I love you. I don't want you to be mad at me. But, Drew, this is for the best."
"Is it though?" Drew pursed his lips. "I don't know that it is. The girls are going to expect me to be at their recitals. And what happens when you can't take them to their lessons?"
His little sister shrugged her shoulders. "Then you have to take them. One step at a time, right? Maybe your first step is going to see them dance. The studio is adorable and has glass so the parents can see the kids practice."
Drew's heart dropped to his feet. "I don't know that I can."
"Listen, big brother, you can do all things through Him who gives you strength. Isn't that what you told me when I thought I couldn't get over Trevor leaving me at the altar? I understand the situation is different, but the verse still applies." Tiffany slung her purse over her shoulder and strode toward the door. "You can do this, Drew Joseph Erikson. I believe you can." She tossed him a wink and left.
"Daddy?" Faith poked her head around the corner. "Is it safe to come out now?"
Drew chuckled. "Of course it's safe to come out. It's always safe."
"You were yelling at Aunt Tiffany." Hope shuffled her feet across the carpet. "You said we shouldn't yell at each other."
Drew plopped onto the ottoman and opened his arms. "Yes, I did. I was wrong to yell at her. She caught me by surprise, that's all."
The girls raced to his arms and snuggled against his chest. "So it's okay to yell at Faith if she catches me by surprise?" Hope's eyes lit up.
"No, munchkin, it's not okay. I need to say I'm sorry to Aunt Tiff." Drew cleared his throat. "It's super hard for me to encourage your dancing, though."
Faith nodded and rubbed her hand over his beard. "Yeah. Auntie told us it would make you sad. We said we didn't have to do it, but she said you’d come around in time."
Drew bit back a sarcastic retort. "Of course she would say that."
"Will it make you cry, Daddy?" Hope rested her head on his shoulder. "We don't want to make you cry."
Swallowing the lump in his throat, Drew shook his head. "No, it won't make me cry. I may not be able to come to your lessons for a bit, though. Is that going to hurt your feelings?"
"No. We understand. Aunt Tiffany explained a lot to us, so we know this is hard for you. But, Daddy," Hope's blue eyes pierced his own, "if it does make you too sad, we can stop. You just have to be honest with me and Faithy, okay?"
Drew didn't deserve his girls. He didn't know what he'd done to have such wonderful daughters, but he thanked God every day for them. He wanted nothing more than to be the father they needed. Only God could make that happen.
"Girls, I promise I'll tell you if I am having too many sad thoughts."
"We will pray for you, Daddy." Faith kissed his cheek and giggled. "Your beard tickles my lips. You need to shave it off."
"Oh yeah?" Drew nudged his beard against her neck. Giggles erupted from Faith. "Don't think you can get away either, Hopeful." Drew grabbed her around the waist and did the same to her.
Before too long, both girls were holding their sides, laughing hysterically. Drew laughed along with them until they were all on the floor. "How about pizza for dinner? We can watch a movie while we eat. Maybe for dessert, I can make my famous chocolate malts."
"Yay!" both girls yelled and jumped up.
Drew scooped one in each arm and carried them to his car. He loved his daughters more than his own life. If he had to see them dance, he'd make that sacrifice for their happiness. At least he hoped he would be able to sit through a recital. Only time would tell.

***


Hey, Sis! It's been two weeks. How's the studio? Are you having a blast or what? Things here are about the same. The church is doing well. We have our issues, but when you get a bunch of humans together trying to run God's house, it can get messy. I love you, Sis, and hope the studio is all you've anticipated! Text when you can.

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