Waltz of Her Life

It felt just like it had in her dream! "I'm doing it! I'm doing it!" She was so happy she started to jump up and down in his arms. He stopped the dance and hugged her.

"Yes, this is fantastic!" he said. "You are so fun to work with!" Ron quickly showed her the side step, where they would face each other, step two slows, do a quick-quick to brush their feet together, and then he would swing her around so that she would again dance backwards.

As a celebration, Ron re-started "String of Pearls" and they danced a glamorous foxtrot around the perimeter of the room, with Ron passing her back and forth several times (he told her the dance step was called "Passing Twinkles") and also dancing side-to-side with her.

Maggie also clapped for them when she saw them.

"Let's learn another fun, fast dance," Ron said. He started to show her the "triple step" where they shuffled from side to side. Doing one triple step, then rocking back with her right foot completed one basic step of the dance known as "swing." Linda thought about telling Ron about her experience at the bar, years before, with the couple dancing West Coast Swing.

She kept quiet, listened and learned as he showed her how to do a turn, triple stepping under his arm as he held it high for her.

For the swing they danced to rock and roll, a new band that Linda had never heard of, called INXS. As they danced to a catchy tune, three other young dance instructors, a guy and two girls, all about Linda's age, came in through the front door. The guy, who was tall and had dark hair but fair skin, said "What a treat! You have the whole dance floor to yourself!" The two girls just smiled and waved.

At the end of their lesson, Ron scribbled a few notes on Linda's paperwork. "Let's go see Miss Maggie," he said. "She's going to want to know all about how you did."

Ron and Linda entered an office where Maggie sat. To Linda it seemed su prisingly small, and surprisingly bare. Only a few pictures on the walls, of people dancing in dance competitions, gave the room any character. There was a Spartan, wood grain desk behind which Maggie sat straight, preening as if she were holding court. Two non-descript stationary chairs had been set out in front of it. As they entered the room, Maggie beamed for them, showing genuine enthusiasm. "Finished already?" she said. "It really looks like you had fun out there."