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Alexis sat through three more of Ted’s dances with the ladies – one with Carol, one with Elaine, and one more with Dot, who insisted that she hadn’t had as much time with Ted as the others, which warranted a bonus dance with him.
Her arthritis seemed to be acting up again and Alexis tried her hardest not to notice it.
(Okay, yeah, she knew it was on her other hand, but it might have spread to, like, her other hand, okay?)
Joan sat next to her on the table to keep her company, but far enough for Alexis to feel the physical and metaphorical distance she had unwillingly created with these elderly ladies, who had understandably fallen for the kind-hearted vet, who took time away from his busy schedule to visit them and make them feel young again for a couple of hours. And how couldn’t they? Ted was quite possibly the easiest man to lo- like, to like… ever, and Joan’s question kept looping through Alexis’ mind while she watched him sway with Dot and make her laugh with his puns.
“Dear, we all know about the failed engagements. But don’t worry, I’m not going to rake you over the coals to find out how on earth you ever let that one get away. Or why? It’s none of my business, and I’m sure you had your reasons, I just want to know – why?”
Joan was telling her a story about how Ted gave her advice on what food to give her cat when it was having stomach problems while they were dancing at one of the volunteer sessions, and how she didn’t even need to bring her cat into the clinic because Ted’s tips paid off, but Alexis was having a hard time listening to her when almost all of her focus was on Ted’s smiling face and all the mistakes she’d made while they were together. This was, like, totally not the place to have a sudden ‘I may have fucked up royally with my ex-fiancé, who is now my boss-slash-close friend and I maybe still have feelings for him when he’s already moved on’ epiphany, but here she was, Alexis Claire Rose, sitting on a table at a rec center, staring at said ex-fiancé-current-boss-slash-close friend and unraveling mentally while an elderly lady was telling her a story about her cat.
Ew, God.
Alexis managed to form half-hearted responses to Joan, while Ted finished dancing, in order to not become an even worse human being in the ladies’ eyes, and shook herself out of her stupor. She did not have time to unpack all of the feelings she experienced in the last 20 minutes of her life, thank you very much, so she did what she was best at in these situations – she closed the door on these thoughts and marked them for later. When later would come, she did not know, but she sure as hell was sure it wasn’t now.
“Alright ladies, I think it’s time we let Ted go and go home for the evening, hmm?” Carol turned to the other elderly women and clasped her hands in front of her in a placating fashion when met with the various degrees of disappointment written on their faces.
“Oh, but, I just started my dance with Ted,” Dot cried, “You can spare five more minutes, can’t you, honey?”
Alexis could see as clearly as day how Ted’s resolve was cracking and how he was about to agree, even though it was way past the time they had agreed on leaving, so she quickly stood up from the table and put on her best smile.
“Um, I’m sure Ted doesn’t mind, like, at all,” she said, touching his shoulder, “but, unfortunately, we have two surgeries tomorrow and we gotta be at the clinic very early in the morning, so…”
Ted turned to look at her gratefully, and Alexis was so busy smiling at him and maybe, sort of, getting lost in his blue eyes, that she almost completely missed the thunderous look on Dot’s face. Almost.
“Yeah, sorry, ladies, Alexis is right, gotta be at the paw-ffice first thing tomorrow. I’ll be here next week, though!”
“Oh, it’s okay, Ted; we had a lovely evening. You two can go, we can tidy up the place,” Carol replied.
“Oh, no, we can gather up the chairs and close up, I’m sure Alexis doesn’t mind, right?” Ted turned to his left where he expected to find his assistant but instead was met with an empty space where she was just a minute ago before she had already started walking towards the exit. She stopped abruptly and turned around slowly, her eyes wide and accusatory, staring daggers right at Ted, who just raised his eyebrows at her.
Alexis whispered a quiet ugh under her breath and plastered the fakest smile she reserved for all the wrap parties Moira used to drag her off to when she was little.
“Um, yeah! Totally. I totes don’t mind,” she chuckled awkwardly, “You guys just, go on ahead, while Ted and I… clean up.”
It took all of Alexis’ willpower not to gag at what she just said and she was sure Joan saw her being uncomfortable and only smirked knowingly. She cleaned at her job, like, every day, and for her court-ordered community hours, so maybe she wanted to avoid it if possible, okay? It didn’t matter, though, because what was done was done, and the ladies were already excitedly packing up their bags, chatting about what soap opera they were watching. Alexis heaved a deep sigh and meant to be annoyed at Ted, only to be met with his stupidly proud expression and she only managed a half-hearted eye roll at him.
They were stacking the chairs when the elderly women were right at the exit and Joan turned back around.
“Oh, Ted, I forgot.”
Ted and Alexis both looked back at the door where Joan was sporting a small grin as if she knew something they didn’t. Alexis decided she didn’t really love that look.
“Yeah, Joan?”
“There is one lady you didn’t manage to dance with tonight.”
Alexis’ lips parted slightly in surprise and her first instinct was to glance at Ted to gauge his reaction. His expression morphed into one of realization and his eyebrows rose almost comically high on his forehead before he looked back at her and both their gazes shifted shyly to the ground.
“Have fun, kids,” Joan called back to them and proceeded to follow her friends out to the exit while Carol tried to placate Dot about something. Alexis had the sneaking suspicion it was about what Joan had just done, but she couldn’t dwell too much on it, because she was too busy being shocked at the situation. She also couldn’t help but glance back at Ted, whose jaw was working on overdrive and who was looking at an indeterminable spot on the floor, so Alexis decided to put him out of his misery. They were put in so many awkward situations because of her fuck-ups and she really didn’t want to ruin what fragile friendship they’d formed ever since he came back from their honeymoon, so she turned fully towards him and fidgeted with her hands, taking a deep breath for courage.
“You really… don’t have to—“
“She’s right.”
…Excuse you?
Ted proceeded to put away the chairs they’d stacked and turned the record player back on before walking back to Alexis, who was still frozen in shock and questioning her ability to hear and comprehend information. He had this… stupidly soft smile on his face, and he looked so open and kind, that her first instinct was to just snatch her purse from the table and run as fast as she could. But, against all that her mind was screaming at her, she stood still and her eyes followed Ted’s hand outstretching to hers, palm up, invitation clear as day.
“Everyone got their turn; some maybe more than others,” he chuckled, “So… it wouldn’t be fair if someone didn’t get a dance. Right?”
At that point, Alexis’ mind was a mix of Oh. Oh my God. Ohhhh my God and whathefuckwhatthefuckwhattheFUCK and it seemed like that little mental breakdown was happening in her brain forever and for, like, a second, simultaneously. She didn’t know for how long exactly she’d just been standing there stone still, eyes wide and mouth slightly agape, but she did remember noticing Ted’s confidence falter slightly and his hand twitching as if he was going to apologize, play it off as a joke and propose they pretend it never happened. So she saw herself take his hand and felt her lips stretch into a grin before her traitorous voice filled the awkward silence:
“Right! Of course. Fair is fair, right?” she didn’t notice her voice drop to a whisper on her last sentence, but she did catch the relief in Ted’s eyes, as he guided her closer to him and put his other hand on her back (at a respectable place, of course, this was still Ted. Though, she did wish he were maybe not so respectable.)
“Fair is fair,” he parroted back at her, voice as low as hers. They started swaying gently to the quiet classic record that was playing in the background, but Alexis couldn’t really hear what they were dancing to since her attention was way better utilized by looking at this man, this wonderful, kind, dorky man, whom she’d so foolishly let go and for what? Going after the same type of guy she’d always run back to, even though all her previous relationships either ended in disaster or she moved onto the next? She broke his heart twice and yet here he was, offering her a job, encouraging her, helping her, dancing with her.
Her stomach turned into wild knots and her heart ached, which were things Alexis was totally not prepared to deal with right now, and there was this feeling that was on the tip of her tongue, something so overwhelming and all-consuming that just broke the dam whenever she looked at Ted and his stupid smile. And it got even worse when she remembered that he’d moved on and he had someone to come home to. It was foreign, unfamiliar, and new, and Alexis didn’t like it, so she forced herself again to file it for another day, instead focusing on how warm and right his palm on her waist felt, and how his gaze was fully focused on her and only her.
Just for tonight, maybe she could pretend everything was okay and let herself be swept off her feet by a handsome gentleman, before the inevitable something she didn’t quite understand yet, hit her like a truck tomorrow.
So, Alexis smiled at Ted, who grinned back at her and spun her gently, prompting her to chuckle in delight and everything was okay.
“Hey, Alexis.”
“Yes, Ted?”
“Why did the cat go to the vet?”
“…Why?”
“Because he wasn’t feline fine!”
“Oh my God, Ted.”