A Dancer's Heart

My name is Delancey Piourette Dancer. I am the daughter of the Fourth Dancing Princess, Deirdre Dancer. A lot of times when I tell people that, they go: "Oh you must have the perfect life, I'm so ''envious!" ''Well my life isn't one anyone should envy.

I shouldn't even be telling you this. I've been taught that matters of the heart are private things, never spoken about in polite company. But you know what? I don't care. Now I'm going to pour out my whole heart to you, and hope that you understand.

Deirdre Dancer
You would be surprised at how may times I've been asked to share my earliest memory of Mother. You would probably be even more surprised what answer I always give.

A fight. My earliest memory of my mother is a fight. I was six at the time, and had been sent to bed early. But before I feel asleep, the yelling began.

I crept downstairs, holding on to Mr. Nutkin, my stuffed squirrel, and bravely facing the source of the loud noise. But it was my mother and my father.

My mother was the one doing the yelling, her normally deep and calm voice becoming shrill and hoarse. My father always argued in a different way, he got quieter, even quieter than he usually was.

I knew I should have gone to bed, ignored this fight, but I couldn't. I watched them, worry gripping my heart because up until that point my parents had seemed like the perfect married couple who always agreed on everything.

"I am her mother! I know what's best for her to do! She;s destined to be a dancer, dancing should be her life as it is mine!" I grew even more upset, realizing that they were fighting about me.

"Delancey wasn't born to dance her heart out like you were Deirdre." My father spoke in a dangerously calm voice. "When she is overwhelmed by her emotions, the only suitable outlet is the piano. Dancing just makes her more upset, because she feels pressured to get everything exactly right for you."

"As she should! A Dancer is always perfect at whatever they try to do. You know that Louis. I know everything that she needs, and the piano is not one of them!" My mother said with finality.

My mother prided herself on the fact that she was a great mother, that her daughter would never need anyone else for guidance or instruction, not even her father. But Father knew me way better than she did, and even now he understands me more that she does.

I never let on that I had seen that fight. Or the many, many others that occurred as the years past. The thing was, these fights are always about the same thing. Whether I was born to be a dancer, or born to be a piano player.