Broadway Dream

Chapter 25: First show

Since Today is the first Broadway show Elli is going to perform in, she barely gets any sleep. Her excitement and nervousness made it practically impossible for her to get some shut eye. Not only did it take her a while to fall asleep but she ended up waking up as soon as the sun rose and the birds started singing. She came into my bedroom trying to wake me up various times but I kept just sending her back to her room so she could let Maya and I get more sleep, but when she came in for the sixth time I gave up and decided to just wake up.

I make some breakfast and she helps me by setting the table whilst gushing about how excited she is for tonight. Once everything is done I pad back to my bedroom to go wake up Maya so she can eat some food and get ready to leave with Elli, the both of them had to be there around 12 pm so they could get everyone stretched, dressed and ready to go to perform at 8 pm. Sadly I'm going to be stuck home, alone for 8 hours but I figure it means that I'll be able to get some work done as well as start building the crib Maya chose with Elli.

It takes a lot of kisses to get Maya awake and in a good mood, she hates being woken up. "I made some breakfast love" I murmur before kissing her neck, "You have to get some food in you before you go" I remind her pulling away to look at her beautiful blue eyes. "I know" she mumbles with a smile, "What'd you make?" she asks curiously lifting a hand and running her fingers through my messy bed hair. "French toast with extra cinnamon just how you like it" her eyes light up at the mention of her favourite breakfast making a soft laugh tumble from my lips, "Lets go eat then" she quickly says pushing my chest and sitting up as she rushes to get to the kitchen.

"Hold on baby" I laugh grabbing onto her arm and gently tugging her back towards me, "Josh I'm hungry" she whines with a smile, "So am I" I laugh "But we aren't going anywhere until I get a good morning kiss" she playfully rolls her eyes and stands on the tip of her toe as she leans up, pressing her soft lips against mine in a sweet kiss.

"Happy?" she questions when we pull away.

"Very" I grin "Now lets go eat some breakfast" she nods and lets me lead her to the kitchen where Elli is drinking her orange juice whilst patiently waiting for Maya and I before eating. "Good morning mommy!" she smiles brightly seeing Maya walk beside me, "Good morning baby girl" Maya smiles letting go of my hands to go to the her daughter, she hugs her from behind and kisses her cheek. "Did you get some sleep?" she asks brushing Elli's long hair behind her ear, "Yeah" she answers making me scoff "Barely" I argue "She's going to be tired after tonight".

"You still nervous?" she shakes her little head "I'm excited!" she grins "But a little nervous, not too much though" she admits making Maya smile "That's good" she kisses Elli cheek once more before moving to take a seat next to her and we all start eating breakfast.

~🎭~

"Stay still sweetheart" I say once again when Elli starts fidgeting and moving around. "I'm going to mess your makeup up if you don't stop moving".

"Sorry" she mumbles and stands still allowing me to finally finish her makeup. She was doing extremely well ever since we got here, she did some good warm ups and when we ran through a few things she looked beautiful and the eight year old couldn't be more excited. However as time slowly started to pass her excitement was being replaced by nerves.

Of course that's completely normal to be nervous by I just hope that it doesn't overwhelm her to the point where she messes up in the dance. I honestly wouldn't make a big deal if she misses a step, stumbles or gets the wrong timing, but I knew she would be extremely hard on herself to the point where she would think that she isn't good at dancing and should stop. I just prayed that everything would go smoothly.

"Okay" I breathe out with a smile glancing at her final look, "You look so beautiful" I gush making her giggle. "Thank you mommy" she smiles and I have to fight the urge to hug her and give her a big kiss. "Let's do a few more stretches before going on okay?" She nods and I put away my makeup palette and the other things I used in my bag.

We go back stage where all the other students are running through their steps individually whilst others stretch.

"First let's get rid of all the bad nerves" I start as she moves to stand in front of me. "You're going to take a deep breath and then shake them away" she nods in understanding and takes a deep breath before shaking herself. "Perfect now do it once more just to make sure you shook them all away".

I do my best to calm her nerves down and get her to smile and laugh instead, taking her mind off of the possibilities that things could go wrong if she doesn't focus. I help her through a few steps before the manager tells us it's time to start the show.

"You're going to be amazing, everyone's going to love you and think that you are an amazing ballet dancer because you are" I quickly say before she has to leave "I love you so much, baby sister also loves you and we are so proud of what you have achieved and no matter what happens we will always love. Now break a leg".

"I love you too mommy and baby sister" she smiles. She takes a shaky breath and goes to join the other kids who are going to dance with her in the first dance.

I move around the stage to get a better view and gnaw on my bottom lip as the lights do dim down and the music starts to play. Elli is the first to come out in her gorgeous dress, a wide smile pulls at my lips as I watch how she lights up the stage with her presence. She looks stunning.

~🎭~

I watch my daughter in awe, every movement she does looks not only professional but incredibly beautiful. She has grown so much in the past few months because of Maya and I couldn't be more proud of her.

The entire show goes by beautifully, Elli thankfully didn't miss a step or anything, she was perfect. When it's over everyone begins to cheer for the entire dance crew who put this amazing show together. Maya gets called on stage along with Missy and they both receive a bouquet of flowers for training the dancers and helping put the show together.

As the audience start to leave, I head backstage to go congratulate my daughter for doing so well. It takes me a while to find them but once I do I furrow my brows when I find a man talking to both of my girls. "Elli" I call her making her head whip in my direction, "Daddy!" She yells with a big smile as she runs over to me.

I bend down and open my arms to catch her. "I'm so proud of you" I gush wrapping my arms around her tiny frame once she throws herself at me. "You did so good and you were so beautiful" I kiss her cheek and hold her tightly against me, "You did amazing" I add making her giggle.

"Thank you daddy".

"Look I got you some flowers" I show her the small bouquet filled with her favourite flowers and she gasps.

"Wow they're so pretty" she takes it from me and leans down to smell the flowers "And they smell so nice" I chuckle and kiss her cheek.

"Josh" Maya calls making me glance at her, she motion for me to come over to her and I move to stand next to her. "Josh this is Mr. Blair, he is the organiser and manager of the International Ballet Festival that takes place every year here in New York" she introduces as I smile at the man.

"Its nice to meet you Josh" I nod and shake his hand.

"You too" I say politely.

"Your daughter is a very talented ballerina and I couldn't take my eyes off of her during the entire show. She has such a beautiful presence, outstanding technique and she's just beautiful overall" he compliment making me smile and glance at Elli who's slightly blushing. "Thank you" he waves me off, "I was wondering is Miss Ellianna wanted to do a solo at the Festival? She could do any dance she desires but it would be amazing if she took part" Elli's eyes widen at his question and she instantly looks at me.

"Can I?" She asks hopefully, "I don't know" I shift my gaze to Maya who just shrugs and nods. "Is it something you really want to do?" She vigorously nods.

"When is the Festival?" I ask curiously. If it's during the next few weeks I don't think it'll be such a good idea since Elli has 2 weeks full of Broadway performances, today was just the first day.

"In 9 weeks" he answers making me nod. That's far enough, she'll already be done by then.

"Well if it's something you really want to do, I don't see why not" her smile widens and she let's out an excited squeal. "Thank you" she hugs me tightly making me laugh.

"Here is my card, if anything happens or if you have any questions please don't hesitate to call me. I'll send Maya an email with all the things you need to know" I nod in understanding "Okay great, thank you".