Don't Cry, Okay?

Lying on his deathbed, old Noah slipped a piece of paper into his wife's hands while she was bawling her eyes out.

As the crests of his ECG readout battled to keep the man alive, he knew his end was near and knew exactly what his last words were going to be. And to whom.

Slipping his hand out of the embrace it was in with Jocelyn's hands, he sandwiched her face between his palms, brought her closer, and kissed her just as passionately he kissed her the first time. Maybe more.

With the routine beeps of the machine growing louder and louder in his ears, he looked her right in the eyes. No, he looked her right in her soul.

And with slurry words, he said, "What started as a sham, went on to become the most real and the most important thing in my life," He said 'wha' for what and 'live' for life.

"I love you with all my heart, and I always will, Jocelyn." he continued, but this time, there was not just clarity but conviction in his words. 

The ECG machine started beeping faster. It felt more like a countdown of a time bomb than an equipment meant to keep a man alive.

It went on for thirty more seconds before coming to a halt. The fast beeps stopped as abruptly as they started, only now, there were no slow beeps. There were no crests or troughs in the machine, just one single line. 

There was no life in the body of Noah. Only a lifeless body remained. Next to his weeping lover.

The room, as white as possible, with just a small potted plant on the bedside table adding color to it, fell silent. The only sound that came from the room was Jocelyn's sobs.

You know it's natural- death. You try to convince your aching heart that you'll see that person again. The person you kissed on a rainy day in Paris, the person who lifted you when you were at rock bottom, the person you loved so much that your heart accepted him. All of him. All his flaws and love.

Maybe you'll see his beautiful smile again, but still, it hurts. Oh, so much.       

                               ***

Jocelyn was hurting. She lost her will to live, and she didn't have it in her to work either. A part of her believed if she cleaned the house, she'd be throwing out Noah Finn's essence along with the dirt.

 She fired the housemaid, knowing damn well she couldn't work around the house by herself.

Her fragile body couldn't take it.

She wasn't eating, missed church on Sunday, and cried herself to sleep. Cried again when she woke up.

The house was a mess. Dust started accumulating in the corners of the rooms. Only one cushion remained on the couch on which she tried to suffocate herself to death but failed. The other two lay in two opposite corners of the room. One teacup sat on the center table while the other on the floor shattered to pieces. Noah dropped it when a stroke hit.

The blue wallpapers only invited her to join their gloom. And, she did. 

However, in a house full of unclean furniture and decor, there was one room that remained spick and span. 

As clean as the day the old couple left for the hospital, as clean as the day before, and still just as clean.

Noah liked it when his bedroom was clean and organized. 'The only thing worse than The Red Sox losing is my room being an utter mess' he used to say.

Jocelyn gathered her strength each night and cleaned the room. She would rub the already clean table with a detergent until it started to shine, she would make her bed each morning and night and then cried herself to sleep on that very bed. 

Every night it broke her heart, but still, she did.

                             ***

Another night, time for another cleaning session, and then another eyesore.

She went to their room, made the bed with hospital tucks at the corners, placed the pillows against the headrest, wiped the nonexistent dust from the photo frame showcasing a picture of the couple kissing in front of the Eiffel Tower 40 years back, which they still believed to be the happiest day of their lives. 

The photo frame was placed right beside a lamp with floral prints. Noah gifted it to her last year. 

When she was done cleaning, she laid down on the bed and stared at the ceiling for a few minutes. Probably thinking if he's okay up there. Unlike Noah, She wasn't religious. She just accompanied him to the church each Sunday. 

However, she prayed to every god there was that Noah was alright. 

She found comfort in the thought that Noah was looking over her. She mumbled some words. A message to Noah perhaps, or maybe a prayer.

Then picked up the photo frame and looked at it for another couple of minutes. 

Then thought about the last time they talked, the last time he kissed her, the last time he touched her. As the tears started flowing from the corners of her eyes, she remembered another thing that happened on their last day together. He passed her a note.

She jumped off the bed and started wildly rummaging through the drawer, checked if she kept the note beneath her pillow. 

Though very unlikely, she also checked the trash just in case she threw it in the dustbin. The dustbin only contained empty packs of medicines Noah took.

She finally got to the wardrobe for inspection and started examining the coat she wore to the hospital on that unfateful day. She ran her hand above the outer pocket and heard a crinkle.

She was relieved. Then curiosity about what's written in there started to take over her fear.

She slid her hand inside the pocket and took out the paper. 

She finally looked at the final message he left her: 

THE VAULT INSIDE THE WARDROBE

Carefully setting the paper on the side table, underneath the lamp, Jocelyn then pushed in the password to the vault installed inside the wardrobe.

As the gap between the frame of the vault and its door increased, Jocelyn observed the usual stuff (jewelry & cash) originally kept in the vault for years, now placed on top of what looked like a folder.

She gently slid out the black leather folder with another piece of paper taped on the top with the message:

DON'T CRY, OKAY?

She flipped open the folder only to realize, it wasn't a folder. It was a photo album. An expensive one.

Noah made different sections for various highlights of their relationship- 'Trip to Singapore', 'Scooter'- pictures of the dog they adopted years back, 'Noah Cooks'- pictures of the dishes Noah cooked for Jocelyn throughout their marriage, though most seemed to miss the mark.

She kept flipping pages, and tears kept dropping down on the expensive pages and the priceless memories the two made.

When she reached the final 7 pages of the book, the headline said- GROOVIN' WITH STRANGERS & PARIS

                                  ***

Though it had been days since Noah reached Paris, his mind was occupied with what he saw waiting at New Wark Airport. 

She was the most beautiful woman Noah laid eyes on and as much as he loved to look at her, a part of him, probably his heart, was hurting. 

This was the first and last time he was going to see her after all.

 He didn't have it in him to approach her. Especially in front of his mentor accompanying him to Paris for what would be the biggest opportunity of his dancing career.

'Focus on work now. You can think from your pants later' is what he imagined he'd say if he even dared to approach her at that moment.

He tried to forget about her, but her image was imprinted on his mind: Blonde silky hair just touching her shoulders, freckles over her nose and cheeks that could be seen from a distance, and plump red lips.

Noah Finn was one of the two people from The States selected to participate in 'Groovin' with Strangers- Paris', going head to head with contestants from countries like Spain, France, and Denmark. 

He wasn't just representing himself, but he was representing his entire nation, being paired with another American contestant who he had never met.

Each country had two contestants who hadn't ever met each other.

No two contestants could be from the same town. Different people, different work ethic, and different styles were paired to face off against 6 other pairs of contestants from different nations. 

The only thing common between these pairs was the countries they came from, and sometimes their gender.

Noah prayed to God he wasn't paired with another man. He needed a love interest just as much as he wanted the trophy. He didn't even mind a weak partner. He had enough confidence in him to balance out his partner's weaknesses.

However, he wasn't sure how much he wanted to date his future 'female' dance partner, after seeing that girl.

                            ***

Groovin' With Strangers finally began. 

On the first day, he had a solo performance, and then, he'd be introduced to his dance partner. 

Noah was the third to perform. Wearing a black suit and a white shirt underneath, he went out to perform in front of approximately 200 people and three judges. 

Halfway through his performance, the judges stood up and gave him a standing ovation. 

"Wish she was here to see me," he mumbled to himself as his eyes glistened with the shining lights and the sound of applause filled his ears.

Getting judgments on his performance was just a mere formality, he knew he was good. 

After his performance, he was awarded a sash that said 'USA' in the middle with dual-tone stripes of red and blue on either side.

Making his way back, a girl jumped in his way from one of the sides. The sudden dive of the girl and the adrenalin pumping through his body flustered him for a moment. 

He hopped back and then froze.

 It was the same freckled girl who Noah saw at the airport. Only this time, she wore a dress colored in the colors of the flag of The United States.

"You..," Noah stammered, "Aren't you supposed to be from a different city?"

"What do you mean? I'm from San Antonio. Where are you from?" Jocelyn said.

"I-," Noah stammered again, "But, I saw you at the New Wark Airport."

"Mister, Tickets are cheaper from New Wark," Jocelyn said with a isn't that obvious? look on her face.

She continued, "Listen, we can go on with the greetings during rehearsals. For now, I want to know if you want in or not."

"Want in?" Noah asked.

"You're good, and so am I, but the competition is fierce. We need to make sure we win. So, I was thinking, next week, we could tell the audience we're dating. Just to lock in that trophy you know."

Noah grinned to play it cool but inside, his heart was exploding with excitement. He thanked all the gods in the world. Maybe just one of the millions listened to his prayers, and Noah thanked him irrespective of the religion they came from.

Noah pretended to consider. The answer was a yes anyway.

 "Isn't...that cheating?" 

"It isn't really. We're just telling the world we're dating. To sympathize or not is on the audience. And even if it is, long story but I really need that money," Jocelyn continued, "Please?"

Noah nodded, "Okay."

A loud cheer running through the crowd made it's way backstage, "Jocelyn Tucker, the stage is yours," said the host in a rhythmic manner.

"See you after the performance honey," Jocelyn said sarcastically.

 She then winked, turned, and started heading towards the entrance.

She turned again, "You know this plan would've sucked if my partner wasn't a cutie, right?" she winked again, and started walking. Only this time, she didn't say it sarcastically.

Noah watched her perform, and he knew what she meant by 'fierce'. 

She was good. 

Not just good, but probably better than Noah. 

'If she's so good, how good would others be? Especially the Spanish.' he thought.

He could only clap when she came back. She waved seductively as she walked past him.

He thought perhaps he did the right thing faking a relationship with the girl of his dreams.

Two days later, they started practicing and, they complimented each other. They only made each other better. Noah started feeling they actually had a shot for the trophy. He was slowly regaining the confidence he lost on the first day itself by seeing his own partner perform.

Their first performance together (jazz) was outstanding. 

Though they came second to the Spanish, they were on Cloud 9.

Each week one pair would be disqualified. In the first week, Denmark was sent home.

They celebrated a great performance over beer, sat in a bar looking out at The Eiffel Tower. 

The moonlight falling on the surface of the bar illuminated the nook artificial lighting couldn't.

Gazing at The Eiffel Tower, Noah said, "If we win, I want us to be pictured right in front of it," he then looked at Jocelyn, "Deal?"

"Deal." Jocelyn's face lit up.

Two more weeks went by, taking India and Japan with it. Only four nations including Noah and Jocelyn's remained.

Rehearsals were in full swing now. It wasn't just about surviving now, it was about coming first. Three weeks and they still couldn't overtake the Spanish team for the first position.

Frustration was evident on Jocelyn's face, whereas, the only thing that could be seen on Noah's was his red cheeks.

He fell for this girl. Hard.

He could sense her frustration and it'd only get worse in the coming weeks. It was now or never for him.

After the final practice for the day, they sat down with their backs against the mirror covered wall.

"Joc, I know we've been friends for a while but-"

"You have feelings for me?" Jocelyn interrupted.

"How did y-"

"A three-year-old could tell the way you look at me. I'm a full-grown adult, dummy." she interrupted him again.

Noah stooped his shoulders and looked down in embarrassment.

She turned towards him and said, "I'm not going to lie to you, I just see you as a friend Noah. We'll probably never see each other again after this. Let's make this easy for both of us?" she showed no emotion.

Noah's heart felt heavy. With wet eyes, he got up, "You're right. I'm sorry. I'll see you tomorrow." 

He rushed out of the studio.

The awkwardness between them was immense, the next three weeks went bad and They were placed second-last every week and barely made the finals.

Last week and the two weren't just full of frustration now, they were full of fear.

After another unsuccessful rehearsal, Jocelyn threw off her cap. 

"Fuck this!" she screamed.

The cap flew off and hit the mirror wall, dropping on the floor.

She walked towards it and sat with her back against the mirror and knees touching her chest.

Though pissed, Noah couldn't see her like that. 

"Why do you care for money so much?"

 She glared at him with soft but angry eyes.

"I mean, we all want to win but, your motivation seems to be money, not the trophy." Noah continued as he sat beside her.

She broke down right there. Tears running down her cheeks, she looks at him. Not with anger anymore, but desperation.

"I grew up in a bad neighborhood. Bad influence was everywhere. Drugs, violence, and thefts," she cried more.

"Dance was the only way I kept myself sane and busy. This is the first opportunity I've got to leave that life back."

She now held Noah's hand in hers, resting her nose on her hand.

With tears now falling through her hands, "I don't want to go back there Noah, not again."

She held her chin with his fingers and turned her face towards him. Looked at her with deep caring eyes but stopped there.

They kept looking at each other for a minute, maybe two. 

Then, suddenly kissed him.

They kissed for god knows how long and then retracted. Not from regret, but to gasp for air.

They looked at each other, smiled, then Jocelyn touched her temple against his, then kissed again.

They again retracted, and Jocelyn finally spoke, "Noah Finn, let's earn a picture in front of The Eiffel Tower, okay?"

"Sounds like a plan!"

They practiced again, and again, and again. Each time getting better than before. Each move bringing them closer- emotionally.

By the last day of the rehearsals, they were flawless. 

                                ***

The night they all waited for had come. 

The Spanish went first. Pressure was high but they performed just how everyone expected them to. They were the favorites and they delivered.

Now it was time for the underdogs. Noah and Joc wore matching outfits and performed Hip-Hop. 

A three-minute performance that felt like a lifetime to the new couple left everybody speechless. Jaws dropped.

And then suddenly, the entire crowd stood up and applauded. The kind of applause even the Spanish didn't get.

They knew they had the trophy in the bag.

                               ***

The next day they stood right in front of The Eiffel Tower, with Noah's arm resting on Jocelyn's shoulders.

"Say Cheese", the photographer said.

"Ch-eeeeee-se-," Noah was again interrupted by Jocelyn but it was an interruption he didn't mind.

She kissed him right in front of The Eiffel Tower. 

The moment sat on their bedside table for the coming years.

Old Jocelyn said exactly what both young Noah and Joc said at that moment.

"This will be the best day of my life."