—

To my relief, Lisa started doing better after that ritual with the witch. She still had nightmares, but they came less frequently and she hadn’t wet her bed since it happened. I couldn’t get the Vision’s words about the two sisters out of my mind, even though I had no idea what they could mean. Lisa and I had less time to see each other nowadays because I came home so late and she left early for school. We were together in the mornings but Pa was there then, and I was afraid to reveal too much about my life if I spoke. I asked her to come to tai chi classes with me on Saturday but she wasn’t interested. Sometimes I wondered if she was avoiding me, since she spent lots of time at the library. I supposed she had a great deal of schoolwork. The truth was, I was so entranced by my new life at the studio that I sometimes walked around in a dream world of my own when I was at home.

One evening, though, she woke up when I came in. “How was your day?”

“Hard but wonderful.” I crossed over to her and kneeled down. I spoke in a low voice so as to not wake Pa. “I’m learning so much. I feel like the worst dancer in the world, but every day I’m becoming a tiny bit better.”

“I wish I could see you dance. I bet you’re much better than you think you are.”

I kissed her on her cheek. “How was your day?”

I could see the light go out of her eyes again. “Fine.”

“Anything special happen?”

“Not really. Good night, Charlie.” She turned her back to me and the conversation was over.

Thirteen

I had developed a routine in order to hide my dancer life from Pa. In the mornings, I wore one of my old outfits. Then after he and Lisa had left, I changed into Adrienne’s clothes. She’d even given me different bras too. Although we weren’t exactly the same size, hers fit me much better than Aunt Monica’s had. There were longer skirts that clung to my legs until the knee, then loosened so I could move. I liked the darted dresses, cut on the bias so that they fell softly across my body without being tight, yet showed off the curves I had. I didn’t recognize all of the names on the labels but I could tell from the material and cut that they were expensive. Dance clothing was such a specialty market, nothing came cheap. I had hidden Adrienne’s clothing in the same sort of bags that held Aunt Monica’s cast-offs and knew Pa wouldn’t be able to tell the difference anyway unless he saw me wearing them.

I changed and did my makeup as best I could after I had the apartment to myself. Then after work, I’d do the same thing in reverse. At the studio I changed back into my regular Aunt Monica clothing and my dishwasher shoes, and scrubbed off my makeup. The other dancers looked at me oddly sometimes when I did that, but no one said anything. They all put on different clothes as well, only not quite as dramatically as I did. Then I’d go back to my other life with Pa and Lisa.

Although I was used to hiding parts of my life from Pa, I’d never done it for so long, about something that mattered to me so much. I wanted to tell him but then I was afraid he would forbid me to continue. What would I do then? Men on the street turned their heads these days when I walked by, even when I was wearing Aunt Monica’s clothing without any makeup. I supposed I carried myself differently now. I wasn’t sure how I felt about it. I was glad to be more attractive, of course, but in some ways I missed the old Charlie too, who could wear anything, go anywhere she wanted without being noticed. And although I didn’t miss the grimy work at the noodle restaurant, I missed being with Pa every day.

But my love of dance was starting to consume me. Even at home, my head was often filled with everything I was learning at the dance studio. Whenever I was alone in the apartment, I went over dance figures I had learned. I piled up the furniture the way Ma had done for me years ago, yet making sure that I could push it quickly back into place should Pa come home unexpectedly. During the week, I often went to the studio in the mornings before it opened so I could practice by myself while the pros were training with their partners. I was changing, and I couldn’t stop it.

—

At the studio, my old student Evelyn came up to me while I was seated at one of the tables, studying the technical alignments for the steps. I’d seen her and Trevor learning all of the dances, preparing for their fancy wedding in July. They’d obviously decided to make ballroom dancing one of their hobbies as well.

Evelyn was twisting her hands together, nervous. “Charlie, my brother Ryan is coming in tomorrow to take a lesson with you.”

“Really?” My heart beat a bit faster. I realized I was excited to see him again.

“Can I ask you for a favor? I’ve been watching you with your private students. You’re a great teacher, no matter what. But would you please just do your best to keep Ryan here in the lessons?”

“Of course I will.” There was a question in my eyes.

“I know, I sound like a freak. The thing is . . . may I sit down?”

“Of course.” I gestured to a seat next to me.

Evelyn sat down, then continued quietly, “It means a great deal to me to have Ryan do the father-daughter dance with me. Both of our parents are gone now. More than that, I want him to enjoy himself. I owe him a lot, he’s taken care of me my entire life. He thinks I’m just trying to impress everyone that I have money but it’s not that. The wedding’s a fresh start for me.”

“Rituals are important.”

“That’s it. So please be nice to him. He likes you and money is no object. We’re giving the lessons to him because he’d never take dance classes otherwise. If he’s willing to come every day, just haul his butt in here.”

“I’ll do my best, Evelyn. You’re a good sister.”

—

When Ryan arrived, I was too flustered to notice him. I was in the reception area saying good-bye to a couple who had just finished a series of lessons with me. I’d been teaching private lessons for a couple of weeks now. The man was always neatly dressed in a suit, and as we shook hands to say good-bye, I felt a folded-up piece of paper in his palm. I wasn’t sure what it was, so I left it there and turned to go.

“Oh, wait, Charlie,” he said, reaching for my hand again. “We really want to thank you for the fantastic lessons.”

I felt the piece of paper in his hand again and finally understood he was trying to tip me. Now I remembered the man who had shaken the bouncer’s hand at Decadence—that must have been a tip too. I certainly needed the money, but it still made me feel strange. As a dishwasher, I’d never been given a tip, though I knew the waitresses needed to be tipped because they weren’t paid much otherwise. Taxi drivers were tipped. I didn’t know if dancers were. I wasn’t his servant, although I guess they’d paid for my time. In my confusion, I just left it in his palm again.

He stared at the twenty-dollar bill still in his hand, befuddled.

“I told you,” his girlfriend hissed. “I said it would be insulting to her.”

“But everyone likes the money,” he said, as she steered him to the door.

“I appreciate it,” I said, calling after them. I didn’t want him to feel bad. The door shut behind them. “Really.” The skin on the back of my neck was on fire. I was so bad at being tactful.

“Interesting.” It was a deep, amused voice, coming from one of the couches. Ryan. He must have been waiting for his lesson there and I hadn’t seen him in all of the excitement. He was wearing a plain white T-shirt and jeans.

I said, “Can’t you tell I’m smooth? Not. Come on, your lesson’s about to begin.”

He chuckled as he followed me.

“So since you’re preparing for your sister’s wedding, do you want me to put together a choreographed number for the two of you?” It was easy to assemble little dances for couples. It was just combining a few steps that they knew and having them repeat them.