Mambo in Chinatown

I dressed carefully, applying two heaping palmfuls of gel to flatten down my hair. I decided to wear pants: they couldn’t possibly go over as poorly as the dress had. The pants were somewhat baggy but plain and black, and I paired them with a big, pink cotton shirt patterned with large roses to match the flower in my hair. I wore my one pair of heels, relieved to find that the bare patches I’d colored in were mostly hidden by the pants.

Adrie

“Hello?” When no one answered, I pushed through to the next set of doors and peered into the main ballroom.

It was a blur of lights and people. A couple on the floor was dancing as Adrie

I recognized the receptionist from last week, Nina, dancing with a broad Latin man. She wore a burgundy spaghetti-strap leotard with gray sweatpants rolled down to her hips, and high heels. Her shoulders and arms were tight with muscle, and as I watched, she did a series of high-speed turns around her partner. She stopped in between one heartbeat and the next. So, not a receptionist after all. She must have been a professional dancer filling in at the desk until they could hire someone.

Adrie

“I’m early anyway,” I answered, entering the room.

“Hallelujah, you came!” Nina said, her hands clasped together in mock prayer. “Please don’t leave or they’ll make us take shifts playing receptionist again. We’re just ru

Mateo, medium height with dark skin, was dressed in a black T-shirt and sweatpants. He extended his hand to me. When our palms touched, he looked down at them quickly as if he’d been startled, but said nothing, only gave me a quick smile. He turned to Nina and put his hand on his hip. “You’re off balance, sweetheart. Don’t blame me.”

Adrie

I was relieved the center was important here too, something Godmother always told me in tai chi. It made me feel a bit more comfortable in this unfamiliar world. They repeated the move with Mateo doing the lady’s part, Adrie

Nina nodded and did the step with Adrie

Finally Adrie

“It was my fault, my dear,” Mateo said to Nina. “Forgive me?” And he bent and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

I looked down. Some women were so lucky. I had never seen anything like this place. I felt a flash of sadness for Ma, who would have amazed them all, I thought, if she’d only had the opportunity.

Adrie

We walked toward the two young women who were sitting at one of the tables set against the wall of the ballroom. I recognized the tall blonde from last week. Now that I was closer, I could tell that although she made a stu

Her companion was petite and dark, with short black hair. Unlike my hair now, her cut accentuated her large dark eyes and crimson lips, pulled in a half smirk. They both looked me up and down but didn’t say a word.

Adrie

I felt the softness of her palm, then she jerked it away. “Do you have a skin disease or something?”

“Simone!” Adrie

Everyone stared at my right hand. It was red and callused, the skin broken and bleeding in a few places where the chapped skin had cracked. I was so used to everyone else at the restaurant having a body shaped by manual labor that it hadn’t occurred to me that my hands were unusual.

Adrie

As I walked past the two women, I didn’t miss the way they stared. Adrie

I nodded.

“I’m going out on a limb by hiring you. You have to look presentable and those hands are ridiculous. If necessary, slap some makeup on them.”

“I’ll fix them,” I promised, mortified.

Adrie

Adrie

The telephone caught my eye. It had many buttons. Adrie

I swore to myself I’d study it every chance I had.

Adrie

“We can use this room for wedding couples and group classes, also when students are rehearsing special numbers that require specific music,” Adrie

“How much are the private lessons here?” I wondered if I’d ever be able to take a few myself.

“A hundred and twenty dollars,” Adrie

“For a package?”

“No. Per lesson.”

I almost choked. What kind of world was this? Godmother’s paid tai chi classes cost that much for several months of training.

Adrie