Rosemary Danced: Ivy Book One Read online

“Yes, I did. I designed three of the costumes for their spring recital.”

  “Did you design the peacock costume?”

  “Yes.”

  The woman pulled on the arm of the woman standing next to her. “That’s the gorgeous costume that I’ve been gushing over for months.” Turning back to Rosemary, she smiled. “I have been wondering how to find you. The Elite is our biggest competitor and Bobbette wouldn’t tell me your name. Do you have a business card?”

  “I have a card with my name and number.” Rosemary reached into her bag and handed a card to the woman.

  “I’m Madame B’s daughter, Marie Mercer.” She glanced at Rosemary’s plain white card. “My dear, you need business cards, a website, a Facebook page and Instagram account to showcase your designs.”

  Rosemary looked stunned. “I’ve been concentrating on school.”

  Marie smiled. “Are you majoring in design?”

  “No. I’m a senior at Central Marion.”

  Marie gaped. “You’re still in high school?”

  “Yes.”

  “I’m going to give you my card. Please call me at your earliest convenience.”

  Rosemary accepted the business card. “I will. But, it may be a couple of weeks. We have a college visit scheduled and I’ve made some family commitments for early December.”

  “That’s fine. I’ll wait. Please do me a favor and don’t accept any design commitments between now and then. Between the studio and the dance teams we coach, I’d like every moment of your free time.” She reached out and shook Rosemary’s hand. “We pay very well.”

  Rosemary smiled. Mike took her hand when Rosemary didn’t answer. “Ms. Mercer, I’m not speaking for her, but Rosemary has been a successful model for several years and I think…well, I believe for Rosemary it’s less about money and more about…” Mike looked at Rosemary. She nodded and squeezed his hand.

  “…more about the creative process. I love that about dance, choreography and costume design. Mike is right.” Rosemary found her voice. “Honestly, money is pretty unimportant to me.”

  Marie Mercer and the rest of the group chuckled. “I understand, but you should be paid for your talent. While I’d love to have exclusive rights to your time and your designs, I think you need an agent. Someone who will have your interests at heart. If you’d like, I can recommend some people you might wish to interview.”

  After the ballet, they walked across the street to a trendy bistro for an early dinner. Just as they finished, Mike’s phone buzzed. He read the text, grinned and fired off a response. “I’m hearing that there are at least three sets of grandparents at your house, hoping to see the birthday girl.”

  “Three sets of grandparents? Surely not Opa and Oma.”

  Mike shook his head. “John’s parents, his late wife’s parents and your nonnie and papa. Your nonnie brought a cake you like.”

  “Carrot cake? I hope so.”

  Mike’s phone buzzed again. “…and my mom and sister. My uncle Vince…” His phone buzzed again. “…and apparently Grandma and Grandpa Moore.” He grinned. “It’s a party.”

  Chapter 38

  The house was full of people. Nonnie had brought carrot cake and John’s mom had brought cupcakes. They were eating cake when Mike’s Uncle Vince went into the foyer and returned with a large, gift-wrapped box. He grinned at Rosemary’s papa. “Tom, I think we all forgot about this.” He set the box down in front of Rosemary.

  Rosemary opened the card on top of the box. It was from her parents, grandparents, Mike’s mom, uncle and grandparents, the Jensens, John’s parents and even her Uncle Jack. She unwrapped the box and gasped. “An embroidery machine! I’ve wanted this!” She looked around the room. “Thank you, thank you! I can’t wait to use it.”

  After the gift was unwrapped and the cake was eaten, the Jensens, the Moores and Patty said their goodbyes. “We Are the Champions,” Mike’s ringtone for his teammates blared.

  He answered and then said, “Rosemary, some of our friends want to stop by.” He looked at John and Margie. “Is that okay with you?”

  John grinned. “Sure. They can come to the house or if you want to have them in the studio, that’s up to Rosemary.”

  Mike looked at Rosemary. “It sounds like about a dozen people are coming over. It’s already eight-thirty; I’m sure it’s close to bedtime for the kids.” He looked at Rosemary. “The studio?” Rosemary nodded.

  “I’m going to run out and straighten up. I threw clothes all over my closet today!” Rosemary kissed her grandparents again and hugged her parents. “Can Connor come out, too?”

  “Sure, if he wants to,” John answered.

  “Mike, will you ask him?”

  “I will. But you don’t have to clean up; nobody will go into your closet!”

  Rosemary ran out of the house and flew up the stairs. If there were any girls in the group, somebody would definitely look into the closet—especially if they realized that it was twice the size of her bedroom.

  Fifteen minutes later, the studio was uncluttered and the closet was in decent shape. Rosemary had changed to a soft pink boatneck sweater and a pair of tight black jeans. She’d left her polka-dotted shoes on and her hair up. Mike’s eyes lit up when he came up the stairs with Connor and saw her standing at the top of the stairs. “Very Audrey Hepburn, Gorgeous.” He stopped and kissed her.

  Connor cleared his throat. “Still standing here, guys,” he said.

  “Hi, buddy.” Rosemary grinned at him. “What are you carrying?”

  “Paper plates, napkins and cups. They’re bringing pizza.”

  “I thought they were just stopping by, Mike.”

  Mike shrugged. “I dunno, babe. I got a text from Chad Keller after you left the house. You must know Dr. Lemon? Amy’s dad?”

  “Dr. Lemon is Amy’s dad?”

  “Yeah, he is. So, you do know him?”

  “I do, but I haven’t seen him in years.”

  “So, they must be at Kellers’ tonight. When Chad went in to tell his parents he was coming here, Dr. Lemon asked if you were Margie Masters’ daughter. When Keller told him yes, the guy flipped Chad three one-hundred dollar bills and told him to get pizza and pop for everyone.”

  “Amy’s dad is Doc? That’s incredible. He’s the coolest guy ever. Not like Amy at all…”

  “He’s a great guy. Did you hear that Amy’s parents are sending her to a boarding school after Christmas?”

  “That seems kind of extreme. I hate that she’ll miss the rest of her senior year.”

  Mike put his arm around Rosemary. “You’re too forgiving. Apparently, they’ve had a lot of concerns about her behavior. Her dad is afraid that she’ll get worse if they don’t do something to get her attention. She’s grounded from everything now and they’re homeschooling her until she leaves.”

  They heard cars in the driveway and car doors slamming. Three minutes later, the studio was full of people. Members of the football team and their girlfriends, most carrying chips or two-liter bottles of soda. Chad Keller and Jake each carried in a stack of pizzas. Mike pulled down the table and set up the stools. Connor brought in several clear plastic bags from the cabinets. When he opened the bags, large floor pillows expanded.

  Mike put music on and Rosemary did her best to direct people where to place the food and drinks. She smiled at Jake when he put the two bags of ice in the kitchen sink. Behind him his girlfriend Kara, was carrying two big bags of chips.

  “Hi, Rosemary.” Kara said quietly.

  “Hello,” Rosemary said.

  “Jake, will you give us a minute? I want to talk to Rosemary.” Jake moved away without a word.

  “Rosemary, I want to apologize. I was a complete jerk, and I’m sorry.”

  Rosemary nodded. “Apology accepted. Don’t worry about it.”

  Kara looked incredulous. “How can you just let me off the hook? I was totally rude and crass.”

  Rosemary shrugged. “Life’s too short to stay mad. I don’t hav
e time for it.” She smiled. “I’m glad you came.”

  “Thanks.” Kara looked around the room. “This is a cool space. Is it for parties?”

  Rosemary laughed. “No. It’s my dance studio and my living space.”

  “I’d love to have something like this. It would be great to get away from my sisters!”

  Jake lumbered past. “Looking for the bathroom.” Before Rosemary could respond, he opened the closet door. “Yikes.” He stepped back.

  “The bathroom is the next door, Jake.”

  “Is that your closet?” Kara stared past Rosemary.

  “Yeah. I’m kind of a clothes horse.”

  Two more girls moved closer. “Do you have a washer and dryer? In your closet?”

  “Uh, yeah. I designed my dream closet. Do you want to see it?”

  “Yes!” All three girls answered at the same time.

  “Have at it.” Rosemary nodded toward the closet.

  Mike chuckled beside her. “I guess I was wrong. I didn’t know anyone would want to see your closet.”

  Rosemary laughed as she listened to the oohs and aahs coming from inside her huge walk-in closet. “Mike, almost any girl I’ve ever known would like to have a closet like that. It’s a dream come true.”

  “Here I thought I was your dream come true.” Mike grinned.

  “You are, babe.” Her eyes twinkled. “Second to my closet.”

  Mike laughed and put his arm around her, leaning over to whisper in her ear. “Don’t look now, but Connor is talking to Keller’s sister Chelsea.”

  Rosemary didn’t turn around. “She’s very pretty.”

  “She’s also very smart, athletic and the nicest kid ever. She babysits for Miranda once in a while. She’s in Miranda’s ‘top five’ along with Mom, Uncle Vince, you and me. That’s a pretty exclusive club.”

  “Hey, lovebirds! Join the party!” Jake yelled.

  “Come on, beautiful. Your adoring public awaits.”

  After most everyone had left, Chad and Chelsea lingered to help clean up. Mike was telling Chad some of the things that Rosemary would be doing over the next few months.

  Chelsea spoke up. “Rosemary, you need a virtual assistant. Someone to manage your social media and coordinate your calendar.”

  “I do. I’m generally pretty organized, but I’m afraid things are going to spiral out of control.”

  Chad laughed. “Chelsea keeps a calendar of every appointment in our family. She manages all of us and handles the church’s social media, too.”

  “You do?” Rosemary stared at her. “Do you do Instagram? TikTok? Snapchat or any of the other social media platforms?

  “Sure.”

  “Do you have time for a part-time job?”

  Chelsea grinned and nodded.

  “You’re hired; I’ll call you and we’ll talk.”

  When it was just the two of them, Mike took her into his arms. “I had fun today, Rosemary.”

  “It was the best birthday ever. Thank you, Mike.”

  “I’m glad you enjoyed it.” He kissed her. “I love you, you know?”

  Rosemary smiled softly. “I love you, too.”

  Chapter 39

  Traveling to Baton Rouge on Thanksgiving took most of the day. After checking in to the hotel in downtown Baton Rouge, Mike and Rosemary took a walk around downtown.

  Most places were closed, but they found a little sandwich place and ate shrimp po’boys with sides of red beans, rice and coleslaw. Mike wasn’t full, so he ordered a second po’boy, with a cup of gumbo. Rosemary laughed at him, but took a taste of the seafood gumbo.

  “That’s great. What’s the rice for, do you think?”

  The waitress overheard and grinned. She brought Rosemary another cup of gumbo, along with a bowl of rice and potato salad. “Yankees…y’all are Yankees, right?”

  “Uh, not sure what that means,” Rosemary admitted.

  “Y’all not from Louisiana?”

  “No, we’re from Iowa.”

  “Here’s what you do. Okay if I show you?”

  “Sure, go for it.” Mike offered.

  She scooped the rice into a gumbo bowl, dumped both cups of gumbo on top of the rice, added some file’ and then the potato salad on top of that. Mike and Rosemary looked startled. “Eat it. Both of you dig into that with your spoons and eat it. Ain’t nuthin’ better.” She winked and sauntered off.

  Mike shrugged and dug in. His eyes widened as he swallowed. “Oh, boy. She’s right. It’s great. Try it.”

  Rosemary picked up her spoon and tasted it. “Yum. Out of the way, Studor.”

  “No way, Bakker. I’ll share, but I won’t give it up.” They ate the gumbo down to the last drop. Mike grinned. “I think I might finally be full.” Rosemary laughed at him, marveling at how much food he could put away.

  Mike knocked on Rosemary’s door the next morning. When she joined him in the hall, Mike kissed her on the cheek. “Wow.”

  Rosemary smiled at him. “Thanks. Breakfast first?”

  “Breakfast first, then a meeting with Coach O.”

  Mike and the coach talked LSU football for almost an hour. “Would you like to come to LSU, Miss Bakker?”

  Rosemary smiled. “I’ll let you know later in the weekend, Coach O.”

  “Fair enough, young lady. I hope we’ll have the chance to get better acquainted over the next four years.” When they left Coach O’s office, a player met Mike to take him to work out and a grad student met Rosemary to take her to the Fine Arts Building. When they met three hours later, they walked to the campus bookstore to buy jerseys for the game. When Mike knocked on Rosemary’s door, he was wearing a gray suit, a crisp white shirt and a navy tie.

  Rosemary’s long legs looked impossibly long in navy silk hose and four-inch heels. Her midnight blue, long-sleeved, above-the-knee sheath dress was raw silk. Her raw silk wrap was silver and her clutch was midnight blue and silver. Mike held out his arm. “I feel like the frog escorting the princess.”

  “Hardly. You’re the star here, Mr. Quarterback. And you’re always the hottest guy in the room.”

  “I am perfect in every way, Gorgeous,” he teased.

  There were five recruits attending the dinner, most of them with their parents. A big tight end from Texas was with his father, a well-known movie star. All the women, except Rosemary, fluttered around the movie star like butterflies. Rosemary tried to avoid him completely, although she often felt his eyes on her.

  The host was not only an alumnus of LSU, he was a former football player who’d had a successful career in the NFL. After dinner, the players were invited to the man’s study to view his collection of trophies. Rosemary wandered past the grand piano to stare at a Degas painting featuring ballet dancers. She was analyzing the dancers in the painting when the actor approached.

  “Miss Bakker, are you enjoying the evening?”

  “I am, thank you.” She held herself very still, conscious that she was backed into a corner with the actor blocking her from the rest of the room.

  “What do you do for a living, Miss Bakker?”

  “I’m in high school.”

  He looked startled. “I just assumed…honestly, I thought you were several years older than your boyfriend.”

  “No. I just turned eighteen.”

  He looked at her curiously. “Your parents let you come to Baton Rouge without a chaperone?”

  Rosemary shrugged. “My mother is used to me traveling to shoots. She was glad that Mike and I traveled together for this trip, though.”

  Laying a hand lightly on her arm, he leaned closer and smiled, his white teeth shining in the dim light. “You’re a lovely young woman, Rosemary. I would love to see you later tonight—alone.”

  “Uh, no.” Rosemary pushed the man’s hand away. “No.” She saw Mike walking toward them. “Hey, baby.” She reached for his hand.

  Mike looked sharply at the older man. “If you’ll excuse us.”

  The actor smiled sardonically and stepp
ed aside. “Of course.”

  As they walked away, Mike whispered in her ear. “What did he say to you?”

  Rosemary looked pained. “He asked me out.”

  Mike’s face darkened. “That jerk. Stay here; I’m going to talk to him.”

  “No, don’t.” Rosemary pulled on Mike’s hand. “Please. We’ll never see him again; let’s just drop it. He wasn’t inappropriate, he’s just kind of…entitled.” You came just in time, I was surprised to see you so soon.”

  “Nils took me aside and told me he could tell his dad was going to make a move on you.”

  “That was nice of him. Come on. We can avoid the guy until it’s time to leave.”

  Mike grumbled, but agreed.

  Before they left, Rosemary thanked the actor’s son for sending Mike out to rescue her. Nils shook his head. “I’m sorry about him. My dad can’t resist a pretty face and he’s not used to women ignoring him. I was afraid he’d take that as a challenge.” Nils was a very handsome copy of his father with wavy light brown hair and hazel eyes.

  The game experience in Tiger Stadium on Saturday was unreal. Mike was blown away by the crowd and the energy in the stadium. There were seven overtime periods. LSU ended up losing the game seventy-two – seventy-four, but Mike couldn’t stop talking about the game, the stadium and the fans. All of the recruits sat together in the student section and by the end of the long game, they’d exchanged contact information with Nils.

  On Sunday morning, an LSU scout joined them for breakfast. He asked Mike how he felt about coming to play at LSU. Mike was honest; he loved the campus and thought the game was unforgettable. When Rosemary excused herself for a few minutes, Mike told the scout about the incident with the actor and how uncomfortable Rosemary had been. “I know that a lot of women would be thrilled to have him pay attention to her, but Rosemary isn’t like that. I’ll be honest. I don’t know if I can play here if he’s going to be around.”

  The scout nodded. “I just met with Nils. He mentioned his dad showed interest in your girlfriend and that she didn’t like it. Nils sent his dad back to California yesterday and asked me to tell you that if you two play together at LSU, he’ll take care of his dad.” The scout looked at Mike for a long moment. “What would it take to get you here to play for LSU?”