Mambo in Chinatown

Julian had only seen us do our choreography once, but he took me through the entire number. His hands were gentle yet firm, and with a minimum of pressure, I felt exactly where I needed to be and where he wanted me to go. When he brought me up into the final overhead lift, the one that still gave Ryan and me problems, it was effortless. Julian was far stronger than he looked. After he put me down and we finished our final series of turns, I felt myself glowing from the exhilaration of dancing with him.

Ryan was leaning a shoulder against the mirrored wall, his arms folded. “Isn’t that impressive.”

Julian ignored him and gave us both a few general tips, which Ryan responded to with guttural noises. When Julian was about to leave, he kissed my hand and held it clasped in both of his. “I am glad I discovered you.”

I couldn’t help blushing a bit. “Julian, I’m so grateful to you for everything.”

Behind us, Ryan sighed loudly.

Julian turned and said, “Best of luck to you with your charming partner. May you endeavor to deserve her.” Then he left the small ballroom.

The moment the door shut behind him, I said, “Are you okay?”

“I don’t like the way he looks at you, that’s all,” Ryan muttered. “He’s got the hots for you.”

I blew a strand of hair off of my face. “Oh, I wish. There are girls lining up to be Julian’s chosen one, why in the world would he pick me?”

“Lining up, huh? He’s not all that.”

I remembered what Nina had said. “If a dancer’s with Julian, she becomes a star, so there are enough women after him. But he wasn’t that nice to you, and I’m sorry about that. Still, please try to get along with him the next time you see him because he’s judging our event, will you? Julian feels nothing special for me, he’s like that with any woman. It’s in his job description.”

Ryan said, “Yeah, right.”

Nineteen

It was time for Ryan to fulfill his part of our agreement. Zan had been so excited when I told her. She and I took the subway into Brooklyn to meet him at his apartment, a fourth-floor walk-up in a nice residential area.

When Ryan opened the door, I glimpsed a jungle of greenery behind him. “Hey, come on in.” His feet were bare beneath his simple cotton pants and T-shirt.

There were masses of plants everywhere in his large studio. His bed was just a mattress on the floor, like mine, although his apartment was much more spacious. The mattress was covered by a red blanket, with a low shelf next to it, filled with worn books. He’d built a tall arched trellis over the bed, the kind you see in gardens, and it was surrounded by several pots of ivy that grew upward, interweaving through the slats. When he was lying down, he’d be able to look up at the leaves and trailing tendrils forming an archway of green above the mattress.

His windowsills held a system of artificial lights shining upon an array of dazzling orchids. The blooms weren’t orderly, like the new ones I’d seen in flower shop windows. His orchids were in various stages of flowering, with long and branching spikes: some bore tight purplish buds, some were barren. They’d been cared for and survived, veterans that had bloomed time and time again.

I gestured at the orchids and raised my eyebrows.

He shrugged. “They’re my favorite flowers. You guys want a drink?”

“Just some water, please,” I said as Zan shook her head.

While Ryan was busy in the kitchen area, I kept pulling my eyes away from that bed, lying in the middle of his room like an open heart. I glanced at Zan, who was fidgeting with her fingers. I was pretty sure she hadn’t been in a strange man’s bedroom like this before.

A long-haired orange cat with a white ruff wandered out from behind a pot of ferns. I bent down and extended my hand. It waddled over and sniffed.

“That’s Sushi.” Ryan handed me my glass. “I’ve been telling him he needs to get into shape but he doesn’t listen.”

Sushi rubbed himself against my legs as I sipped the water. “So why do you like orchids so much?”

“They’re so strong and resilient if you treat them right. They’ll bloom repeatedly for you.”

“I always thought they were too exotic to be good houseplants. Too difficult.”

“In the wrong environment, the most beautiful orchid is like a weed. A weed’s nothing more than an unwanted plant.”

—

We piled into Ryan’s car, which he’d parked on the street, and he drove us to the middle of a fairly empty parking lot. I noticed a van with the words “Patrick’s Landscaping” on it. “Is that yours?”

“Belongs to the boss. I didn’t have time to get it back to the company lot last night. He doesn’t mind, though.”

Zan was staring at the van with longing. “Can we drive that one?”

Ryan chuckled. “Why don’t we start with something a bit smaller?”

His dark green car was fairly new. He let Zan sit in the driver’s seat while I stayed in the backseat. She glanced at me and I could tell she was about to burst. She bounced up and down a few times.

Ryan slid into the passenger seat next to Zan, then turned to say to me, “You can get out now if you want. You sure you want to risk your life?”

“That’s what friends are for.” I rolled down the window and felt the sunshine on my face.

He asked Zan, “So what do you know about driving a car?”

“Everything,” she said.

“Good. Ever driven one before?”

“No. But I read about it.”

“Right. So first you have to—”

Zan reached out and adjusted the mirrors.

Ryan blinked. “Good. Do you know where the controls are?”

She pointed. “Steering wheel, controls for the lights. Brake. Accelerator pedal. Gear selector lever. Has park, drive, neutral and reverse settings.”

“You sure you’ve never driven before? What do you do for a living?”

“I run an egg cakes cart. Can’t drive it. No motor.”

Ryan and I both laughed. Then Zan revved up the engine and we were off with a jerk.

—

Zan made a few rounds of the parking lot, then took off for the streets. She was a natural. There were a few close calls because she tended to drive too fast, but Ryan had his hand on the steering wheel and managed to bring us back on track. By the time we got out of the car, she and Ryan were chatting like old friends.

I gave her a big hug. “You were amazing!”

She tipped her head back and turned her face to the sky. “I drove!” Then she remembered Ryan. “Thank you. If you ever want any free egg cakes, just come to Canal Street.”

Ryan gri

“It’s because I want it more,” Zan said.

We said good-bye to Ryan and headed toward the subway station.

“I like your guy,” she said, slinging her arm around my shoulder.

I shook my head and sighed. “He’s not mine.”

—

I needed a dance costume and competition shoes since my Latin shoes were riddled with holes. I didn’t mind wearing them at the studio but I couldn’t use them while performing so I had to order a new pair, which I would save for competitions. I was sitting in the teachers’ room with Nina and Katerina, trying to figure out what I should do.

“How much does a ballroom costume cost?” I asked Nina.

“Roughly between five hundred and five thousand dollars. Some can be even more, cheap ones cost less, but the wrong dress can hurt you on the floor.”

I drew in my breath sharply. “Maybe I should just go buy a bikini somewhere. How do you manage it?”

Katerina answered, “It’s really hard. You’re lucky you’re doing Latin.”

“Why?”

She looked at me like it was obvious. “No feathers, of course. The smooth dresses cost a fortune because of all the stones, sequins and ostrich feathers lining the hem of the dress. Latin is less material.”