Just like it did when he called me Indigo Girl.
“This song has my vote for the gala, dear,” Miss Lenny said. “I have a little bet going with the ladies about our dance cards. It’d be ideal to choose sooner rather than later so I can perfect my routine.”
The dance cards for the gala were our primary fundraiser. Anyone could log in to our website and fill a space on someone’s dance card by making a donation. The highest “bidder” got to have the final dance of the gala.
“You’re gonna lead, aren’t you?” I asked her, smiling wryly.
She raised a penciled eyebrow at me. “Only way to get a damn thing done, dear. Now, have you and Ari finalized the date yet?”
The note left on my longboard last night danced across my memory.
Young at heart, old everywhere else!
Do you have a date for the gala yet?
P.S. How do sandwiches at the beach sound for dinner tonight?
P. P. S. Please say yes, or
Delly will cry (threat)
P. P. P. S. I will too (promise)
A gust of rose-and-menthol-scented air blew my hair back as Miss Lenny swept Delly up, and they started waltzing a circle around me.
And… yep. Miss Lenny was leading.
This was the first week she hadn’t brought a new guy to class with her. Her boyfriend had moved out since their last vacation together, and it was the talk of the Locc.
She did not seem torn up about it at all.
“I called dear Ari last night, and she said you had just about nailed it down,” Miss Lenny said, leading Delly in a dramatic twelve-count spin, her gaze on me and her steps perfect. “I was hoping that meant today.”
“We should have it settled by tomorrow at the latest,” I said.
Class devolved into mostly silliness as we reached the end, but everyone was having such a good time that I silenced my alarm that signaled the end of class and let them continue on for a few more minutes. There were grumbles and complaints when I cut off the music ten minutes later, but I ignored them. I was ready to get out, and was feeling more claustrophobic in this room, the mirror and the walls seeming to press in.
I’d hardly been out on my board lately, so caught up inmy work and not exactly wanting to be out of the house as much anymore.
“Looks like a storm’s rolling in this week,” Delly said, smiling at her phone as she fell into step beside me.
“Why do you sound happy about the beginning of hurricane season?”
Bypassing the locker room where I’d normally wash up and change, I strolled down the Locc’s hallways in my dance heels toward the back door.
“Because sand dollars!” she said. “Plus, my helmet came in the mail yesterday. Or helmets, I should say.” She nudged my shoulder. “I think my brother ordered one for you too. And my board should be in soon. Thanks for sending those links.”
“You’re welcome,” I said, not addressing the bit about Adair buying me a helmet.
Why didn’t that surprise me? And better yet, why didn’t it annoy me?
Delly’s gaze drifted out the window, and she gasped before pushing her face against it and cupping her hands around her eyes. “No way,” she whispered, the words muffled by how close her lips were to the glass.
I couldn’t see around her, so I stepped to the other door and looked out.
Chairs dotted the courtyard’s green space beside the fountain, surrounded by well-kept flowers of all colors and varieties and several towering oak trees.
Looked like the chair yoga class moved to outside today. They usually met in the rec room on the first floor of Zinnia House.
