Two Months Later

“Diva! Are you bringing your green track pants with you?”

Eva stuck her head out of her bathroom to look at the pants her friend, Danielle, was holding up. “Um…yeah, throw those in. Michelle and Eric want us to practice like a million times a week so I’ll probably need them,” she said, going back into the bathroom where she was packing up her toiletries. She sighed as she looked at everything she had laid out on the counter. “How am I going to get all my stuff into two bags?”

“By not being so high maintenance, that’s how,” a male voice came from her doorway.

She looked up and smiled when she saw her boyfriend, James, leaning against the doorframe, a smirk on his face. “I’m packing for five months. Give me a break.”

He smiled and came into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him. “You’ve really left this to the last minute, huh?” He checked his watch. “It’s like eight o’clock. You leave in ten hours.”

“I know. I meant to do it sooner.” She began to pack her make up into a bag.

“You know your apartment door was unlocked, right?”

“Yeah, I know. Nick and Mere are bringing Lacey over so I can say goodbye so I just left it open.” She zipped her bag closed once everything was in it and watched in the mirror as James came up behind her and looped his arms around her front.

“Have you already said goodbye to the rest of your family?”

“Yeah. Mom and Dad wanted to come with me to the airport tomorrow but my flight’s so early.”

“And I’m already driving you.”

She turned around so she was facing him. “That too.”

“So are you all packed then?”

“I think so. Danielle was just helping me fit all my stuff into my suitcases.”

“Yeah, how long will she be here?”

Eva gave him a look. “Be nice.”

“Well she doesn’t like me, Eva.”

“And you don’t like her either so you’re even. She’s my best friend though. Don’t get into a fight with her. Not tonight.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’ll try.” He sighed slightly. “But I want some time alone with you tonight. You’re going to be gone for so long.”

“I’m sure that Dani’s planning on leaving once I finish packing and Nick, Mere, and Lacey are gone.”

He leaned his head down and kissed her. “Good.”

“Be nice,” she repeated and he gave her a bright smile.

“I’m always nice,” he replied.

She was about to respond when she heard the sound of a girl’s voice out in the hallway. Smiling, she broke away from James and went to the door. When she opened it, her smile grew as she spotted the three year old girl with dark hair pulled back in ponytails.

“Aunt Eva!”

Eva bent down and scooped up the little girl. “Hi, Lacey,” she said, giving her a kiss on the cheek. “I was waiting for you to get here.”

“We can’t stay for too long, Eva,” Mere said. “It’s past her bedtime.”

“I know. As long as I get to see her for a bit.” She looked up when she heard Nick clear his throat and she saw him raise his eyebrows at her as his eyes traveled from her to James, who had followed her out of the bathroom. She rolled her eyes at her brother and then turned her attention back to the girl in her arms.

“So you’re out past your bedtime, are you?” she asked, carrying Lacey into the apartment kitchen.

“Yep.”

“Lucky girl.” She looked over at Mere. “Is it okay if she has some juice?”

Mere nodded. “Sure.”

Eva opened the fridge and pulled out a container of juice and then poured some into a sippy cup that she kept around just for when Lacey came over. “There you go, Sweetie.”

“What do you say, Lacey?” Mere prompted.

“Thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Eva replied.

“Danielle and James are going at it again,” Nick said, coming into the kitchen.

Eva sighed. “What about this time.”

Nick shrugged. “Something about when Danielle’s leaving.”

“I told him not to start anything,” Eva sighed. “He wants her to leave so me and him can be alone.”

Nick gave her a look. “Be careful, Eva.”

Eva looked down at Lacey. “James isn’t like that, Nick,” she said softly. “Stop worrying.”

Nick smiled. “I’m your older brother. It’s my job to worry.”

“You and Mark both need to lighten up a bit. I’m fine.”

“Is Mark stopping by?”

“He was at Mom and Dad’s when I went over this afternoon so I saw him then.” She laughed a bit. “It feels like I’m moving to France or something with all these goodbyes.”

Mere smiled. “Well we’re used to seeing you all the time and we’re going to miss you. Lacey’s really going to miss you.”

Eva set Lacey down as the girl started to squirm and watched a she ran from the room. “Yeah, I’m going to miss her a lot too.”

They fell silent for a few moments and Eva listened to the muffled sounds of James and Danielle argue.

“Do they ever stop?” Mere finally asked.

Eva shook her head and pushed herself away from the counter. “No. Hold on a minute.” She left her brother and sister in law in the kitchen and walked down the hallway to her bedroom.

“They’re mad, Aunt Eva,” Lacey said from where she was sitting on the couch, looking at a picture book.

“I know, Sweetie. They’re not being very nice.” Giving the girl a smile, Eva slipped past her and went to her bedroom. She stopped in the doorway and crossed her arms over her chest. Danielle was the first to notice her and she fell silent, soon followed by James.

“In case you guys didn’t notice, there’s a three year old in the next room who doesn’t need to hear you two yelling at each other. Stop it.”

They both murmured an apology and satisfied that they were going to behave, Eva left the room, going back to where Lacey was. She spent the next ten minutes with her until Mere said they needed to go. Eva felt a lump rise in her throat as she squatted down to hug Lacey.

“I’m going to miss you, Honey,” she said.

“Going away?”

“For a little bit. But I’ll call you on the telephone.” Eva hugged her tightly and then pulled her face back. “Kiss?”

Lacey leaned forward and gave her a loud kiss.

“Be good for Mommy and Daddy.”

“Okay.”

Eva hugged her once more and then stood up. She moved forward to hug Mere and Nick.

“Have a fun time,” Nick said as he hugged her. “We’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you guys too.”

“Make sure you call and email, okay?” he said when he pulled back.

“I will.” She slipped her hands into the back pockets of her jeans and watched as Mere picked Lacey up. She said goodbye once more and then they left. Danielle came up behind her as the door shut.

“I got all your stuff into the suitcases,” she said. “And I’m assuming you want to sleep tonight so I’m going to head out.”

“Okay.” Eva hugged her. “I’ll call.”

“You better.” Danielle squeezed her. “Have fun, Diva. Give Justin a big kiss for me.”

Eva laughed. “Sure, Dani.”

Danielle smiled and kissed Eva’s cheek. She put her shoes on and then opened the door. “See you later, Diva.”

“Bye.” Eva watched Danielle leave and closed the door behind her. She sighed as she stared at the closed door. Only a few seconds passed before she felt James’ presence behind her. She felt his hands on her arms and stepped away from him.

“What?” he asked.

She turned around to face him. “You said you weren’t going to fight with Danielle.”

“I’m sorry, Eva. I wasn’t trying to. We just don’t get along.”

She sighed again and moved past him to go to her room. Moving her suitcases off her bed, she sat down on the edge of it.

“You okay?” James asked, coming in behind her.

“Yeah. Just a little anxious about leaving.”

“I’m sure you’ll be okay.”

“It’s just that I don’t know these people.”

“You’ll get to know them. You’ll be fine. Besides, you’ve been dancing with them for two months now. What’s the problem?”

She stared at him for a minute. “I don’t know,” she finally mumbled.

“So can I stay here tonight?”

“I thought you were just going to come by in the morning.”

“I was. But I just thought…” he trailed off and shrugged. She was quiet for a minute and he laughed a bit. “I don’t have to, Eva. Just thought it would be easier.”

“I guess you can if you want. But I need to sleep.”

“I know.”

She stood up. “Okay, well I’m going to get ready for bed.” She went to her bathroom and changed into her pajamas, washed her face, and brushed her teeth. When she got back into her room, she found James in his boxers and t-shirt, sitting on her bed and talking on his cell phone. She went to the other side of her bed and got into it, laying on her side. She closed her eyes and listened to James’ side of the conversation. He only stayed on the phone for a couple minutes before saying goodbye. She kept her eyes closed as he got up and shut off the lights and then got into her bed. She felt his hands on her waist and moved over towards him so he could move his arms fully around her. He leaned forward to kiss her and then laid his head on his pillow.

“So you never did tell me if you’ll be able to fly back and visit.”

“I never asked. I forgot. But I’ll find out tomorrow and call you.”

“You better be able to visit. I don’t want to go five months without seeing you.”

She smiled. “Me neither. If there’s a break in concerts I’m sure it’ll be fine. And there’s that week break in the middle of it too.”

“When is that?”

“I don’t know the exact dates. In the middle somewhere.” She yawned and let her eyes close. “What time is it?”

“Ten.”

“I’m going to be so tired tomorrow.”

“What time is your alarm set to?”

“Four.”

“Damn…” he murmured. “I thought you said you had to be up at six.”

“That’s when my flight leaves. I have to be at the airport by five fifteen.” She opened her eyes to look at him. “Good thing you’re here or you wouldn’t have known to pick me up at six and I would have missed my flight.”

He smiled and kissed her again. “Yeah, good thing.”