Dance, The (The Restoration Series Book #1): A Novel by Dan Walsh, Gary Smalley Page A

business card the elderly woman had given her at the restaurant, sitting there on the dresser beside the music box. She picked it up.
    “What’s that?” Charlotte said, standing right next to her. “The Windsor Dance Studio . . . where have I heard that name?”
    “An elderly woman gave it to me Sunday when I was eating dinner with Michele at Giovanni’s. She heard the music playing, and we chatted a little while. She loved the song too. She said she and her husband used to dance to it, before he died, and he’d sing the words. She was so cute. I think they used to own the studio. She still goes there to help out sometimes.” Marilyn closed the music box.
    “That’s right. That’s where I heard the name. A young girl came into Urgent Care a few days ago with a sprained ankle.It happened at that studio, and she was trying to get them to pay the bill.”
    “Oh my.”
    “The owner came down—I guess the new owner—he was a real looker, I’m tellin’ ya. Think his name was Roberto. Tall, dark, and handsome.” She smiled. “All the nurses were talking about him after he left. Can’t repeat some of the things they were sayin’, if you get my meaning. But I was thinking, I could just see him out there on the dance floor. Kind of reminded me of that Latin actor, you know, what’s his name?”
    “Antonio Banderas?”
    “That’s it. Only this Roberto guy was taller. Listen to me, like I know how tall Antonio Banderas is.”
    “So this girl sprained her ankle dancing?” Marilyn said. She didn’t like the sound of that. She had actually half-talked herself into giving it a try.
    “Yeah, she made quite a scene. Roberto wound up covering her bill, but he made it pretty clear he didn’t think his studio was responsible.”
    “Do you know what kind of dance she was doing?”
    “It was a swing class. But this Roberto said she was showing off, doing all kinds of moves that he wasn’t asking them to. Her partner was apparently flipping her all over the place. Through his legs, over his head, things like that.”
    Well, that was some relief. Marilyn had no interest in anything that radical.
    “Why, you thinking about taking lessons?”
    “Maybe. Michele thinks I should.”
    “Have you ever taken lessons before?”
    “Are you kidding? Jim would never let me do that.”
    “You serious? He would actually forbid you?”
    “Well, maybe not forbid me. But I never felt like I could even bring up something like that. I already told you how much he hated dancing. So why would I even consider it? Besides, who would I dance with?”
    “Obviously not with him, but seriously, Marilyn, you should do it. Dancing’s back in vogue these days. You see all those dance shows on TV. People of all ages are learning how.”
    “But I can’t do something like that . . . alone.”
    “Who says?” Charlotte started walking toward the doorway, then turned. “It’s not like you’d be going out on Jim. It’s a dance studio. There’s probably lots of people there without partners. Dancing with someone isn’t the same as dating or getting into a relationship. You just do it for the fun of it. Just because you want to. What’s the harm?” She shrugged her shoulders. “I’m making some decaf, want some?”
    “I’d love some.”
    Charlotte walked out. Marilyn set the business card on the dresser beside the music box and reread the information. Could she do something like that, take dance lessons? By herself? It was a crazy idea. It was probably too expensive anyway. She had to start being careful with her money now.
    Just then Charlotte poked her head inside her door. “You know what? They’re probably open right now. Most people work during the day and take lessons at night. Why don’t you call down there, get some more information?”
    “You really think I should?”
    “I definitely do. Sounds like your daughter thinks so too.”
    Marilyn picked the card back up. “But I wasn’t thinking about taking swing