Waltz of Her Life

"Yes, it's expensive," Maggie agreed. "Private lessons in anything are expensive, whether it's dancing, or tennis, or fencing. But don't forget you get an equal amount of group lessons and all those parties. We make it very comfortable and lucrative for you."

"Four grand," Linda said, still shaking her head in disbelief. "People actually pay this? They pay this much to learn how to dance?"

"Yes," Maggie said. "If you really want to commit to this, to make it a part of your life, you have to make sacrifices. We all have."

"But four grand!" Linda started to reach for her purse and rise to stand. "I'm not made of money. I don't think this is such a good idea."

Anxiously, Maggie said "Well, we do have smaller programs! I'd be glad to go over those with you!"

Linda allowed herself to ease back into her seat and listen. After all, she did want to learn to dance, to make it a part of her life.

"We have the silver program," Maggie went on. Sixty lessons, sixty groups, and two years of parties."

"And the price for that is?"

On cue, Maggie produced the placard with the dollar figure written at the bottom: $3,100. As with everything else, clearly it was least expensive to buy dance lessons in bulk. She nodded. "That leaves the bronze program. How much is that?"

Maggie brought out the placards. Thirty lessons, thirty groups, and one year of parties. The placard following that one read $1,900.

Linda shook her head. "I, I don't know. I just wasn't prepared for it to be this much. I thought…"

"You thought our lessons cost nineteen dollars and ninety-five cents an hour, right?"

"Well, yeah! Something like that."

"That's why we call it a special rate," Maggie said, with an authoritative voice. "Special, as in vastly reduced."

"I would say so," Linda murmured. "I would fricking well say so. This costs more than my college tuition."

"Yes, and you'd have hundreds of times more fun," Maggie replied. "So which program did you want to start?"

Fifteen minutes later, Linda emerged from the little office. She carried a slip of paper.

She had signed up for the smallest program and had given Maggie a two-hundred and fifty dollar check, with a promise to pay that same amount every month until the lessons were paid for. There was a cooling-off period: she could still decide to sign off against the contract as long as she brought it back to Maggie within three days. As she walked out of the studio, which was now a beehive of activity, she was just glad to be on her way to doing something else.