Dance with the Doctor

“Yeah. She said that would be easier. Her apartment’s really small and besides, she doesn’t cook.”

Wasn’t that what restaurants were for? “And your dad is okay with us meeting at your house?” she asked.

“Dad doesn’t mind. Mom eats with us all the time.”

“All right,” Darcy said. What business was it of hers if Mike dined regularly with his ex. After all, the woman was the mother of his child. It was probably great for Taylor that her parents got along so well. “I’m working Friday evening, but I can come Saturday.”

“Great.” Taylor’s eyes shone. “I can’t wait.”

Darcy was nervous at the thought of sitting down face-to-face with Mike and his ex. They’d want to talk about the transplant, of course, and about Riley and the circumstances of his death. She’d have to work hard to keep it together. But maybe talking with two sympathetic adults would help her. They, of all people, would come closest to understanding her pain. And she’d have Taylor there to remind her that some good had come of her sacrifice.

For the next forty-five minutes, the girls tried out their moves and learned new ones. The studio echoed with their laughter and shouts as they turned and swayed, dipped and shook. They sang along with the songs they knew and made up words to new ones. Taylor turned out to have a wicked sense of humor, and a knack for outrageous rhymes. “The boys all think I’m such a cutie, when they see me shake my booty,” she rapped, shaking her hips for emphasis.

She quickly looked at Darcy. “Don’t tell my dad I said that,” she said. “He’d be horrified.”

No doubt. “My lips are sealed,” Darcy promised.

Toward the end of class, the talk turned once more to costumes. “My mom found this pink fabric with glitter all over it,” Hannah said.

“I want a red costume,” Debby said. “With lots of fringe.”

“I’m trying to talk my mom into buying me silver pants,” Zoe said.

Only Taylor failed to chime in. She’d fallen silent, her expression glum.

Since Mike appeared to be late today, Darcy waited until the other girls had departed with their mothers before she asked Taylor if she felt all right. “You got so quiet suddenly,” she said. “What’s wrong?”

Taylor lifted one shoulder in half a shrug.

“You were fine when you got here,” Darcy persisted. “Did one of your meds make you not feel well?”

“I’m worried about my costume,” Taylor admitted.

“Your costume? Honey, you’ve got six weeks. I’m sure you can come up with a very nice one by then. I’ll help you.”

Taylor shook her head. “I’m not worried about finding one, I’m worried about wearing one.”

Darcy knelt so that she was eye level with the girl. “I don’t understand.”

Taylor pulled at the blue turtleneck sweater she wore. “I have a scar from my surgery,” she said. “A big one.”

Darcy swallowed hard. “Can I see?”

Taylor nodded and pulled up the hem of her sweater. Darcy struggled not to reveal the shock she felt at seeing the pink, puckered scar that bisected the child’s torso from neck to navel. She stared at the spot near the center of Taylor’s chest. Riley’s heart was in there. Taylor’s heart