Page 12 of Two-Step
“Then summer break—after I input all my grades, clean out my classroom, and turn in my textbooks.”
“You got time this week to help me out a little?”
Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “You mean more than I already do?”
Aside from the two classes I teach at the studio, I’m around a lot when classes aren’t in session, fixing a sticking door, smoothing out a rough board on the floor, or re-hanging a barre. Mom andNoncbought the downtown property more than twenty years ago, and even then the gutted Arts and Crafts house was already a century old. Its bones are solid, but any structure that old needs steady repairs.
He huffs. “You got something better to do with your time?” he teases. “Got a girl I don’t know about?”
I dodge the last question in favor of the first. “I’ve gotFestival Internationalplanning meetings, French Club summer volunteer coordinating, and drafting the itinerary for next year’s French exchange trip.”
“So much for summer break,” he grumbles.
He’s made my point for me, so I give in. “What’d’ya need,Nonc?”
My uncle snorts. “I got a new private lesson client. Kind of a special case.”
“Yeah?” I sit back down to my grading, knowing this won’t take long. People take private dance lessons all the time. For weddings. Reunions. Mardi Gras balls.
“I can’t really talk about it, but could you cover my Latin class tomorrow night?”
I sit back, my brows drawing together. “What do you mean, you can’t talk about it?”
His low laughter rumbles over the line. “I figured that’d get your attention,” he mutters, sounding amused. “It’s an actress. She’s making a movie here in town, and she needs to learn some Cajun dances.”
I roll my eyes. “Another Lifetime movie?” Since Louisiana did away with state taxes for filmmakers, we’ve become a sort of satellite Hollywood. For the last few years, Lifetime Network has filmed a handful of Christmas romance specials in Lafayette and New Iberia. Whenever they air, everyone in Acadiana tunes in to catch a glimpse of local landmarks and friends who snagged parts as extras.
Including some of my students. It was all they wanted to talk about last December.
Nonchums with uncertainty. “I can’t tell you who’s makin’ the movie. Or who hired me.”
“Wait.What?”
“I signed a non-disclosure agreement.”
My eyes bug. “You signed an NDA? Are you serious? It must be somebody big.”
He chuckles again. “Tell you the truth, I never heard of her.”
I scoff. “As if you’d know. When was the last time you went to the movies?”
“That’s easy,” he says. “Took your mother to seeMamma Mia 2…what? Summer before last? She loved it.”
“Then I can assume your mystery client wasn’t inMamma Mia 2.”
This cracks him up. “Pretty sure she wasn’t. I wouldn’t say musicals are her thing.”
“So you’ve met her already?”
He grunts. “Worked with her last week. And yesterday. She’s… uh… got a lot to learn.”
I frown. “You worked with her yesterday? But you’re closed on Mondays.”
“Usually,” he says, and that’s all he says. My wheels start turning.
“How much is she—or whoever—paying you?”
Noncclears his throat. “Let’s just say it’s enough to entice me to go in on my day off.”
