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You’re tough – you have to be – turning your grandparent’s old farm into something workable again was a feat to be proud of. But doing it while pregnant? Well, everyone had their limits.
You waddle into the house knowing how pitiful you must look. One hand gripping the basket of freshly picked vegetables from the garden, the other forming a knuckle, kneading your lower back.
“Is it that vexatious sciatic nerve again, my muse?” Elliott asks, rushing from the kitchen to alleviate you of your burden. “Come, sit. Warm drinks are forthcoming, then I shall help.”
He busies himself in the kitchen, the familiar sound of mugs and spoons tinkling together in harmony as he preps and delivers your drink to the coffee table, before instructing you to turn around, gaining better access to your lower back.
“I think the baby is expressing their displeasure at my being so active,” you admit with a weary chuckle.
“Mhm,” he hums in agreement, deft fingers honing in on the knot that’s been giving you nothing but trouble for days on end.
“You know, I’ve been reading up on alternate methods for alleviating back pain,” he begins casually, but you are well aware of your husband's intentions by now. Know he’s testing the waters; gearing up for something larger, more thought out. “One method I happened across involved belly dancing.”
Your initial reaction is to laugh. To tilt your head back and fall against his shoulder and just dissolve into uncontrolled joviality.
Instead, you meet his suggestion by voicing the first concern plaguing your mind.
“I feel so uncoordinated right now, and your recommendation is to stick me in a dance class?” The absurdity of it causes little hiccups of laughter to escape, as his arms wrap around you from behind.
Elliott makes friendly tisk-tisk noises at you, his lips finding your temple before continuing on.
“Laugh as much as you like, but I’ll have you know that many historians are in agreement on the matter: that belly dancing was created to assist women in preparation for child birth.”
That intrigues you a little more. “But wouldn’t I have had to start it months ago?”
“Not at all! That’s the beauty of it. It’s very beginner friendly, and would be beneficial, even at your current stage of pregnancy,” he goes silent for a moment. “Also… I may have already taken the liberty of locating and signing you up for a class.”
Your tired eyes snap open, as you turn your head slowly around to face him in surprise.
“Elliott! I haven’t even agreed to anything yet!”
It’s said with a mixture of disbelief and humour, because this is entirely something he would do if he felt it would help even the smallest amount. The hardest part of this pregnancy for Elliott has been his inability to ease your burden as much as he would like.
“It’s just with Emily! We don’t have to drive anywhere or even leave Pelican Town. Leah was the one who initially told me about it. Says it’s a class with just her and Haley. Small, intimate, and local.”
He’s so earnest as he says it, trying to ease any doubts you have, that you actually start considering it as he slowly sways you.
Only close friends.
We can take an evening stroll.
If you don’t enjoy it, we never have to go again.
If you wish, I shall remain for moral support every step of the way.
After another two days of increasingly annoying back pain, his arguments win out. Truth be told, you’re willing to try just about anything at this point if it even hinted at the possibility of pain relief.
Even now, as you make the slow, normally pleasant walk through the Cindersap forest, the pain makes it feel like a slog.
Elliott is helping as best he can, but it still doesn’t prevent you from having a nice long lean on Marnie’s fence to stretch out your back muscles.
“Can’t wait to have my body back,” you grumble as Elliott rubs your shoulder in support.
That's where you remain until Leah finds the two of you, also on her way to class. She talks happily about how excited she is to have you with them. How Emily is an excellent teacher, how belly dancing has worked muscles she didn’t even know she had, and how it’s now her favourite part of the week. Her enthusiasm does wonders to help you close that final distance to Emily and Haley’s home.
Their house is cozy inside and out. She’s got low, rhythmic music playing in the background, and the heat cranked up to near obscene levels.
“It’s to better facilitate the mood we’re trying to cultivate here,” Emily says mystically, instructing you to remove your coat, and take a hip scarf from the pile on the couch.
Elliott hovers behind you, his own waistcoat and vest removed, sleeves rolled up as he surveys the pile, selecting one in your favourite colour.
“Fascinating,” he grins, shaking the scarf so the sewn-on coins tinkle pleasantly. “It’s actually heavier than anticipated!” Elliott helps divest you of your additional layers, stripped down to your sports bra and sweat pants. With some manoeuvring, he assists in securing the scarf around your waist, where it currently resides, hugging snugly against your hips. Your pregnant belly prominently on display to the room.
“Wow, I hadn’t realized you were that far along already!” Leah exclaims, asking politely first if she can touch it.
You nod, letting her and Emily fawn and coo over you while Haley just nods disinterested.
“Uhhh, sis, if you want to get any actual dancing done, you’ll have to pull yourself away from her belly and actually teach the class at some point.”
Everyone looks up. Haley has a way of cutting through the niceties to keep things on track. She’s incredibly no-nonsense when need be. Like she subconsciously adopted that role so her sister could lean into her carefree nature.
“My sister is right, places please,” Emily in that mellow, unbothered tone of hers, taking up her spot close to the fireplace in their living room. “Now, I’m going to start with some basic moves that will be incorporated into the dance, that way you have a chance to catch up with the routine. This will be a refresher for everyone else, so use it as a warmup.”
Emily is a good teacher. It’s just that you seem to possess two left feet – an affliction you’re well aware of by now - having haunted you since that initial flower dance when you first arrived in the valley. It had taken you a solid two seasons of constant practice, before feeling confident enough to ask anyone to dance the following year.
Your initial goal is to hide and assume a spot at the back of the room; quiet, and out of the way. Emily, however, has other plans. She lines the three of you up next to each other, placing you squarely in the middle so you can watch Leah and Haley work their way through the moves and learn.
After the third time you manage to turn the wrong way and go crashing in to Haley again, she snaps.
“You mean to tell me you can bring an entire farm back to life, but you can’t master a simple spin to the left?” There’s no real heat behind it, but it’s still embarrassing. The kicker is that she’s not wrong either. You are a terrible dancer. You just assume she’s angrier at the blatant disrespect you’ve shown to her bare feet, than she is at your actual dancing.
Leah steps in, graciously taking up the middle position, separating you from Haley and her poor abused toes.
“I’ve had paint cans fall on me before. I’m sure I can handle your farmer toes,” she grins reassuringly as Elliott appears, flanking your other side.
“Might I join in on the merriment? I’ve been observing from afar, and feel like I have a decent enough grasp on the moves to participate.”
You blink, gaze darting to the other ladies for signs of objection, finding none.
Leah is grinning smugly, like she saw this coming from a mile away. Emily is openly elated – her belly dancing class doubling in size in a single evening – and Haley seems intrigued, giving him the once over in appraisal. She’s the one who makes the final decision for the room.
“I don’t see why not. But he would like, have to dress the part too,” she grins wolfishly, pointing to the dwindling pile of coin scarves by the door, as if to say I dare you.
But Haley doesn’t know your husband the way you do, as an eager Elliott makes a bee-line directly for the scarves with no hesitation.
“Most assuredly,” Elliott says, selecting a deep red scarf and affixing it to his meagre hips. To no one’s surprise except perhaps Haley’s, Elliott removes his shirt and with a toss his hair, takes up his spot again next to you. “Whenever you’re ready, Emily,” he smiles graciously. “Let the humble students resume their work.”
She starts from the top, focusing on your posture and keeping your heels on the ground as you attempt to battle your body into submission, Elliott keeps quietly offering helpful tips as the class goes on.
“Bend your knees more, my muse. You will find it easier, I promise.”
You squat, rather ungracefully, as he gently tips up your chin, trying to get you to relax your shoulders.
“Remember to breathe, my heart,” he whispers, accidentally breaking your concentration once again.
For the next twenty minutes, you stumble through the basics of the class until Emily has everyone standing in line to dance completely through the routine. You think you’ve got the shimmy mastered, but have completely fumbled the camel walk. It’s frustrating how everyone else seems to be grasping it so effortlessly, rolling their torsos in long, undulating motions as they shimmy from side to side.
Your torso cannot possibly undulate in this state. Your camel walk is more like one giant camel hump at this point.
You try. You really try.
You may even be having fun doing it, as evidenced by your sharp laugh of joy as the baby kicks, but you once again turn the wrong way and run directly into Elliott.
“We will never get through the routine like this, sis,” Haley grumbles. “She may be getting the moves, but she keeps bumping into her husband. How are we supposed to move as a cohesive unit?”
Leah shoves Haley in the arm. “We’re not doing this to compete; we’re doing it for fun. So maybe calm down?”
“Yeah, sis. If our newcomers require any additional lessons, I’m always more than happy to get them up to speed.”
“There will be no need,” Elliott says bluntly, smirk coiling the corner of his mouth. “I’ve already memorized the routine and can teach my wife in our spare moments.”
Haley crosses her arms and makes an skeptical sigh. “Bull-fucking-shit. You’ve barely been to one class while we’ve been practising for months now. Prove it.”
You suspect Leah is aware of Elliott’s ballroom dancing background by the way she stifles a laugh, wanders off to grab her bottle of water and watch this play out.
He told you – surprised you is more like it – years ago when you had first started dating. How it was one of the few activities his family forced him into that he actually enjoyed; and it shows. It shows in the way he so effortlessly moves through waltzes and foxtrots. How, even if he’s not familiar with the style, he’s capable of learning the moves in record time.
The mechanics are all essentially the same, my muse. It’s just the flourish added that makes them unique. He had said, spinning you around the kitchen as you clung to him laughing.
You’re brought back to the present by your husband’s playful voice cutting through the room.
“I, of course, chalk it up to Emily’s superb instruction,” he grins. “I am more than willing to demonstrate to prove my technique is sound.”
Emily is practically giddy with excitement. “Oh would you, Elliott? It would be such a morale boost, knowing I’ve managed to teach the material so well!” She jumps with a delighted little clap before reaching for her stereo to start the song over again. “Here, I’ll even mark your cue for where to start.”
“No need. I believe I can handle it, my dear.”
He assumes his position next to her at the front of the class and winks at you as you perch on the edge of the couch next to Leah. Emily has her hands to her mouth while Haley is standing with her hip cocked, arms crossed skeptically over her chest as if to say “I can’t wait to see you fail.”
He doesn’t miss a beat. Starting with bent knees and slow hip shimmies in time to the music, Elliott slowly picks up speed until the coins around his waist begin to tinkle pleasantly to the music. He extends one foot, then the other, also making use of his arms, arcing around his body in a mesmerizing pattern, swaying like two vipers ensnared by a snake charmer.
It isn’t until he starts doing the camel roll – his stomach hypnotically undulating from concave to full – that Haley throws her arms up in disgust and storms off.
“Uuugh,” she says, gaze landing on you instead of him. “Take your stupid sexy husband home already!” She snarks, on her way to her bedroom. “How is he so effortlessly good at this shit? I’m taking a break, Em.”
Elliott blushes profusely as she walks past him in a huff, his eye landing on the three of you sheepishly for some guidance.
“Sexy?” He laughs. “I wasn’t even trying to be.”
Leah almost chokes on her water, giggling helplessly as Emily bounds over with a little jingle in every step.
“Elliott, you neglected to tell me you could practically teach the class!” She says it in a mock serious tone, but everyone can tell she’s absolutely delighted. “Where did you learn to belly dance?”
“Why, from you, just now,” he says. There’s a gravity to his voice that gives her pause.
“You’re joking, right? You’re practically better than I am!”
“My dear Emily, I would never joke about something like belly dancing!”
You watch as they both stare at each other in surprise. How their postures loosen, shoulders shake, and breath becomes uneven before they both burst into laughter at the same time.
“Positions, please,” Emily eventually says, wiping a tear form her eyes.
Elliott is already helping you to your feet, pressing a kiss to your temple with a grin. “Think you can make due with private lessons from your husband?”
There it is. That cheeky wink again as he pulls you into his arms, casually addressing Emily. “What of your sister? Are we starting once more without her?”
Emily just waves a hand dismissively. “She’ll come back once she realizes how immaculate the vibes are in here tonight,” Em chuckles, practically glowing. “I had a feeling the universe was going to bring something delightful through my door, but I never expected it would be amplified so much,” she says, momentarily lost in thought before something dawns on her. “Ooh! It must be the piece of rose quartz I have tucked in my bra!”
She’s laughing as she reaches down her sports bra to retrieve a sizable chunk of quartz, the entire room trying not to stare.
“We’ll just set this on the mantle again so it can absorb some of the positive energy coming from tonight’s session,” she says before adding. “Plus, it was poking me in the boob.”
The three of you share furtive glances at once another before devolving once again into laughter. By the end of the night, Haley has rejoined the group, you finally manage to nail down your shimmy, and have only become mildly obsessed at the way Elliott’s hips and stomach move in that scarf.
And as the two of you dress to leave, all smiles and relaxed joints, Emily inquires if you’ll be returning again next week. Even though you’re still not great, you did have a great time. And besides, you’ll have a private tutor to get you back on track.
“We’ll see you next week, Em. Can we keep the scarves to practice with?” You say, Elliott smiling delightedly behind you.
“Of course you can!” She grins. “I can’t wait to see how far you’ve advanced.”
Me too, Emily, you think. Me too.