But she was glad when the song ended and she could go back to her seat. The "New York, New York" foxtrot music began to play, however, and Ron intercepted her. "Let's do our showcase," he said, gently taking her hand and guiding her back out onto the floor.
"If there's room for it," Linda said, glancing at the other couples streaming onto the floor. During the winter, she and Ron had danced in the Heart of America showcase at the Music Hall Ballroom in St. Louis. More than a hundred different couples had appeared over the course of the day, in a fine ballroom with gleaming shellacked hardwood floors and plaster pillars.
Ron had brought in a dance coach from New York to help him choreograph a special routine with her that swept the floor with triple twinkles, side-passes and turns that literally had the crowd oohing and aahing.
As Ron took her into dance position, she bit her lip. Would she remember all of the routine or embarrass herself? The routine opened with a triple twinkle, but Ron kept his steps small and confined; Linda realized that he was cleverly modifying it for the close quarters and other couples on the floor. Still, their dance swept around the perimeter of the floor, and when they passed by the table where she had sat, she saw Stephen sitting alone. He was watching them and smiling, having decided to sit that one out.
The song she and Ron had danced to in St. Louis was different: it was the Cole Porter tune "Let's Fall in Love."
When Ron gracefully delivered her back to the table, Stephen was clapping for them. "That was excellent!" he said, stars in his eyes when he looked at her.
The next number was a tango, a dance they'd probably not even taught to Stephen yet. Not many of the women knew how to follow it well, either, but both Ricardo and Ron had taught Linda well. She could feel eyes on her as the men scanned the floor for tango partners. To discourage them, she angled her body completely toward Stephen, putting her eyes on him, also. This would signal to all but the most doltish dancers that she wanted to sit this tango out.
"That was beautiful!" Stephen said, still beaming at her. "I wish I could lead you in a dance like that."
She patted him on the arm. "One day, you will," she told him. "He takes lessons?" Stephen said, indicating Ron, who was tangoing with Millie.