My Father

I was momentarily saddened, then I brightened.

"Jacques, I have been dancing for many years, have realized by dream of being a Prima ballerina for four years now. I wasn't planning on dancing much longer, anyway. Why don't I take this opportunity to retire from the dance?"

"Are you sure, Marie? This is a big decision."

"As long as I am with you, my love, I will be fine. Besides, I will be living in France! Maybe," I said as I rubbed sensually against him, "this will give us the opportunity to give my mother the grandchildren she has been waiting for!"

"If that will make you happy, Marie, of course. Meanwhile, you can work as my assistant, keep your hand, or is that foot, in it!"

"Oh, Jacques, that will be wonderful! Now, I just have to tell my mother that we'll be moving to France."

My only regret, besides being so far from my family, was that my father wasn't there to share the fulfillment of our dream with me.

Surprisingly, it was my mother who convinced me that I had to go.

"Of course, I will miss you, Mary, or maybe I should start calling you Marie, now that you will be living in France..."

"Oh, Mom," I said tearfully, "you know that I will always be your Mary."

"I just know that your father is so proud of you," she said, wiping away a tear, "Just don't make me wait too long for those grandchildren!"

Jacques, who had been standing nearby, giving us our moment, joined us in a tearful group hug.

"Now, don't you be a stranger," she preemptively scolded me, "I expect frequent phone calls. Your sisters, too."

"I understand, Mom, and I'll visit as often as I can. I also expect to see you in Paris as soon as we're established."

She could only nod, and Jacques and I left quickly before we all broke down crying.

Jacques and I flew off to Paris, and while some might expect that the reality couldn't live up to the dream, it did, and then some.

There was some resentment of the American interloper, but I understood and tried to respond kindly. I think it had helped that I took an intensive course in French, and while I wasn't exactly fluent, I could manage, and they appreciated the effort.

We settled into a comfortable life, and began working in earnest on giving my mother her new grandchild.

My family and I did stay in close touch. We added Skype to our communications, and I made it home as often as I could, and hosted my mother and sisters in Paris.

We now have two beautiful little girls, Yvonne and Claire, and they like to do pretend dance moves just as my sisters and I did, although with some gentle instruction from me.

I sit here now on a bench by the Seine, watching the boats sail by and Claire and Yvonne twirl around until they get dizzy and fall down.

Sometimes I try to tell them about my life back in Ohio, but I might as well be talking about the Moon, they just have no conception of what a miner's life is like.

As the sun sets, I close my eyes and think of my father. He gives me one of his special smiles as the sun shines through his eyes, and is gone. I wipe a tear from my eye, say a silent, "Thank you, Daddy," and get up with a smile on my face to gather up my babies to go home.