“There’s not much to say. We’d been going out for a couple of years and it felt to me like we were moving toward something more serious.”
“Marriage?”
She nodded. “I thought so. But then, he decided that I wasn’t what he wanted. He wanted someone else.”
“That had to be rough.”
“At the time, it was devastating,” she agreed.
“And no boyfriends since then?”
“Not really. I’ve dated a few guys, but nothing ever really materialized.” She paused, remembering. “I’d go dancing with my girlfriends at this salsa club in Charlotte, but most of the guys I ended up meeting wanted only one thing. To me, sleeping with someone is an outgrowth of a commitment, and a lot of guys just want a fling or whatever.”
“That’s their problem.”
“I know. But…” She tried to think of the best way to phrase it. “It’s hard sometimes. Maybe it’s because my parents are so happy and make it seem so easy, but I’ve always assumed that I’d be able to find the perfect guy without having to settle. And growing up, I had all these plans… I just knew that by now, at my age, I’d be married and we’d live in a restored Victorian and we’d be talking about kids. But those things seem further away now than they did when I was a little girl. They seem further away than they did even a couple of years ago.”
When he didn’t respond, she shook her head. “I can’t believe I’m telling you all this.”
“I’m interested.”
“Sure you are,” she said, dismissing his comment. “It sounds boring, even to me.”
“It’s not boring,” he countered. “It’s your story and I like hearing it.” He let that sit before abruptly changing the subject. “Salsa dancing, huh?”
“That’s what you heard? In everything I said?” When he shrugged, she went on, wondering why it seemed so easy to talk to him. “I used to go almost every weekend.”
“But you don’t go anymore?”
“Not since I’ve moved back. They don’t have any clubs here. Not officially, anyway. Serena tried to drag me to this one place and I thought about it, but I begged off at the last minute.”
“It sounds like it might have been fun.”
“Maybe. But it’s not even a real club. It’s in this abandoned warehouse, and I’m pretty sure the whole setup is illegal.”
“Sometimes those are the best places to go.”
“I assume you’re speaking from experience?”
“Yes.”
She smiled. “Do you know anything about salsa dancing?”
“Is it like the tango?”
“Not really. The tango is kind of like ballroom dancing, where you move around the room. Salsa dancing is more of a party dance with lots of spinning and changing hands, and you stay in one place on the floor. It’s a great way to spend a couple of hours with friends, especially if your partner is good. It was the only time I felt like I could really let go and be myself.”
“Aren’t you being yourself right now?”
“Of course,” she answered. “But this is definitely the quieter version of me, the more typical one.” She raised the oar overhead to stretch for a moment, then dipped the tip into the water again. “I have a question,” she said. “And I’ve been wondering about it since you mentioned it.” When he turned toward her, she went on. “Why do you want to teach the third grade? I’d think that most guys would want to teach at the high school level.”
He pulled his oar through the water.
“Because at that age, kids are old enough to understand most everything an adult tells them, but still young enough to believe that adults tell the truth. It’s also the year when behavior problems begin to really manifest. Taken together with all the testing the state requires, third grade is just a critical year.”
They glided on water almost as still as glass. “And?” she asked.
“And what?”