“You have no reason to worry,” I tell her. “I have all the dancers we need. We’re meeting at Lana’s studio for the first practice on Tuesday.”
Her eyes light up. “Tuesday? Can I come?”
I hesitate. Oliver and all of his band students will be there. I can’t exactly say no to her, but I’m not sure how to make this work.
“Are you sure? Don’t you want it to be a surprise?”
She laughs. “A surprise for Ryan. Not for me. I need to know how every little thing is going to go so that I can propose to him at just the right time.”
“Right. Of course. I don’t know what I was thinking.”
I guess I was hoping it would be a little easier to keep the whole thing a surprise for Tina. If she wants to be more involved, it will require some more careful planning on my part.
I pull my car up to her neighborhood’s front gate, then lean out the window to punch in the gate code.
“So?” she says as I drive down the block. “What time on Tuesday?”
I park in front of her house. “Five thirty.”
“Perfect. I’ll see you then.”
ChapterEighteen
Candy Canes
“Idon’t like this,” Lana says. “I don’t like this at all.”
Oliver and I just finished explaining our plan to Lana. We’re at the studio before everyone else. I’ve spent the last few days going back and forth with him over text, figuring out how to handle Tina coming for the first half of class. While Tina is here, no one is to take out their instruments or mention anything about the marching band. Oliver already explained this to his students earlier. They’re all on board.
“She won’t be here for every practice,” I remind Lana. “Just this one and maybe the last one. Or at least what she will believe is the last one.”
Lana shakes her head. “See, this is what I don’t like. The lying and scheming. I’m a choreographer, not an actress. I have a reputation to uphold.”
“She’s going to love the surprise. I promise.”
Lana shakes her head and then walks away, whispering something under her breath. I exchange a look with Oliver.
“You better get out of here,” I say to him. “Tina will be here any minute. I’ll let you know when you can come back.”
Oliver takes off. Just a few minutes later, his students start showing up along with some of the dancers who responded to my post in the improv group. More and more people continue filing into the building. Pretty soon, the entire studio is crowded. Some of the people in the improv group had mentioned they might bring some friends, but I’m not expecting this many people. I don’t even notice that Tina is here until she’s right next to me.
“Wow,” she says. “This is incredible. There are so many people here!”
“And they’re all here for you,” I remind her.
She smiles and clasps her hands together, watching the crowd of people like a proud mom might look at her children.
There’s a loud whistle at the front of the room. Tina and I both turn to look at Lana. All of the chatter in the room dies down as she gets everyone’s attention.
“I want all of my dancers facing me,” she says in a commanding voice. Everyone turns their bodies toward her at once. Tina and I stay at the side of the studio, watching. The room is silent for a moment until Lana says, “I might need a bigger studio.”
There’s a rumble of laughter across the room. The dancers look a little more relaxed.
“Ms. Cain,” Lana says, looking at me. “Would you like to start us off?”
“Sure.” I step forward, dragging Tina with me. “My name is Priscilla,” I say, addressing the room. “This is my friend Tina. Tina is planning on proposing to her boyfriend, Ryan. You all are here to help make that happen. We are going to be doing a flash mob at the Saratoga County Fair. Right before the flash mob, Tina and Ryan are going to go for a carriage ride. When the ride is over, the music will start and you all will start to dance. Lana here will be teaching you the dance routine and timing everything just right.”
“Okay,” Lana says, clapping her hands together. “I’m going to walk you through the first steps of the dance.”
