Mambo in Chinatown

On Monday, all Ryan said was that it’d gone well and then he changed the subject. Evelyn and Trevor were on their honeymoon. A part of me had been afraid Fiona would come to the studio, but she didn’t appear. Ryan and I practiced nonstop. And then, the competition was upon us. The studio closed on Wednesday and the other dancers headed to the competition. I didn’t need to be there until the next day. Pa still wasn’t speaking to me after our fight. He was so angry while I packed to leave. I’d never seen him like this. Even so, I couldn’t still the hum of anticipation underneath my skin because Ryan would be picking me up soon.

On Thursday morning, Ryan would drive the both of us up to Co

As I left the apartment with my suitcase, Lisa said in a small voice, “I hope you win, Charlie.”

I hadn’t even known that she’d been paying attention. I looked back at her, sitting in her usual spot on the couch, with her cane and walker by her side. I swallowed a lump in my throat. “I’m going to do my best.” I walked over and gave her a hug.

Instead of Ryan’s car, I saw the “Patrick’s Landscaping” van pull up in front of my building. Ryan waved at me and I ran out. After I’d thrown my bags in the back and settled in next to him, he said, “I hope you don’t mind. My car’s in the garage. The boss let me borrow this.”

I laughed. “Everything’s an adventure with you.” And we were off.

I enjoyed sitting up so high in the van, looking out over all the other cars. I understood now why Zan wanted to drive a truck. He had the air-conditioning on and it was wonderfully cool inside.

I said, “So tell me more about the wedding last weekend.” What I meant was, how are you and Fiona doing?

“Everyone was really impressed with our dancing. Evelyn was thrilled.”

I didn’t want to ask directly but I had to. “What did Fiona think?”

He gave an awkward laugh. “She was blown away. I think it made her feel a bit inadequate.”

I tried to pretend I was a professional with no feelings whatsoever. “She should probably take lessons sometime.” I chewed on the inside of my cheek, then I said it. “Maybe not with me.”

There was a pause. “Maybe not.” He was staring straight ahead through the windshield, then took a breath. “So . . . what type of men do you like?”

“What?! That’s quite a change of subject.”

“I mean, in some ways, I don’t know a lot about you. Do you get hit on by students a lot? Do you ever like any of them?”

“All the time. And no, not in that way.” It’d surprised me at the begi

“So what are dancers supposed to do if you’re not allowed to date the students?”

I looked at him in some surprise. Of course he wouldn’t know. “Dance with other professionals. Dominic’s been trying to match me up with another pro for a long time now.”

His smile seemed forced. “Any good candidates?”

“I haven’t looked yet. I’ve been so busy with our routine. There are a few I’m supposed to meet here.” Dominic had told me about a guy from the West Side studio, and another from Long Island.

“I guess two pros are a perfect match.”

“They can be.” I looked out at the moving traffic for a few minutes. We were crossing some bridge. I blurted out what I’d really been wondering. “Is Fiona still in town?” I needed to brace myself if she was going to show up in the audience.

“No.” Then Ryan was silent and we didn’t talk much more until we arrived at the hotel.

—

When we arrived in front of the enormous hotel, one of the doormen saw the van and tried to wave us through to the back, probably where the landscapers usually parked. I glanced nervously at Ryan and he shook his head for me not to worry, pulling the van up to the curb. I stepped out, then removed my dance costume from the back. The man took one look at the glittering dress in its transparent bag and said, “Oh, you’re one of the dancers for the competition. I’m so sorry.”

Ryan gri

Already, other doormen were holding the massive doors open for us. I stared in awe when we entered the grand hotel. A pianist played quietly next to a waterfall over pale marble shot through with gold threads. Everyone there seemed so elegant and assured. I tried not to stutter when I gave the hotel clerk my name. I’d never done this before. The clerk told me Nina had already checked in for the room I was sharing with her. All of the dancers doubled up with each other, and I was grateful Nina would be there with me. The clerk handed me my key, then Ryan checked in for his single room.

I said, “Do you want to meet back here soon?”

He smiled. “I thought I’d be on my own.”

“I’m supposed to take care of you.” Dominic had told us we were to stick to our competition students like glue.

“I’m glad there are some perks to being a student.”

We walked deeper into the hotel toward the elevators, and I saw a flock of women in brightly colored ball gowns coming toward us, checking Ryan out and giggling. I looked up to find him studying me. He hadn’t even noticed.

He said, “So I guess this is our last dance together, isn’t it?”

“Yeah.” I busied myself with my bags, trying to hide my emotions. When I finally glanced at him, he was wearing his neutral expression again. He took our bags and we went to the elevators.

When the doors opened, a woman wearing a white bathrobe and slippers was standing inside the elevator. By the way she held the robe closed, I could tell she wasn’t wearing anything underneath. Although her makeup and heavy mascara were smudged, I recognized her as one of our students. She said, “You have to try the sauna before you leave. It’s fantastic.”

I only had a vague idea of what a sauna was. “Where is it?”

“Downstairs, by the pool. Nothing will relax you better than all that steam after a hard day of dancing and stress.”

I was completely out of my depth. I’d never been in either a hotel or a sauna. It was like the first day I stepped into the studio for my job interview, where everything was new and everyone else seemed so comfortable. Now the studio was like home to me, but this hotel and the people in it made me feel inexperienced and insignificant. How could I possibly think of competing here? We would place last, we’d be the laughingstocks of the entire session.

Someone squeezed my arm. It was Ryan and his eyes were kind. “Don’t look like that. I believe in you. Together, we’re going to be just fine.”

I nodded, relaxing a bit. Sometimes it was like Ryan could read my mind. I only had time to give him a grateful look before the elevator doors opened again. It turned out our rooms were on the same floor, only at opposite ends.

“Are you all right with your bags?” He was always such a gentleman. How I hated lucky Fiona.

“I’m fine, don’t worry about me. I’ll meet you back here at the elevators in ten minutes, okay?” The thought of Ryan accompanying me to my room was too tempting.

He gave me a nod, then strode off to his own room.

I had to fumble with the room key for a while before I figured out how to open the door. Nina wasn’t there. She was dancing so many heats with Keith, she was probably already on the dance floor. I opened the closet door and an explosion of sequins and feathers greeted me. She’d hung up her gowns—she needed several different ones for the events. The bathroom was littered with false eyelashes, makeup, glitter, bottles of hair spray and bobby pins. Good old Nina. It reminded me of our teachers’ room, and I felt better seeing this evidence of the ballroom world I knew. I hung up my competition dress, quickly stashed away the rest of my things, then went out to meet Ryan.