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“It’s not the same thing. These men are vetted. They go through criminal background checks and medical exams to make sure they are healthy enough to participate. They also have extensive interviews, and one of the people that conducts the interviews is a psychologist. The producer told me that they weed out quite a few people in that process because they have odd tastes, or just weird the interviewers out.”
She gave me a dubious look. “Weird the interviewers out?”
I pursed my lips. “Come on, do you really think this is a bad idea?”
“For you? Yes. For anyone else? No, not at all.”
I startled back slightly. “What do you mean, for me, yes?”
“Ali, I love you to death, you know that. We have been besties since freshman year in college, but I can’t see you doing this. I’m worried that you will freak out at the last minute and end up not doing it, and then you will be mortified and stress over it for weeks.”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but closed it and wilted slightly in my seat. “Okay, I get what you are saying.” I pushed some of my salad around on my plate. “But what if this works for me? What if I go out there and dance with these men and find one that I connect with? And what if I can do it without ever having to open my mouth and say anything? What if I have such a connection with one of them that it leads to a third date, a fourth, maybe a future?”
She blinked rapidly for a few seconds. “Do I need to remind you that you can’t dance? You trip over your own feet walking from the room, Ali. How do you think that you are going to dance when you are so nervous that you’ll probably puke? Five minutes ago, you were asking me why I talked you into doing this after you saidyouweren’t sure you’d be able to do it. Now you are acting like you are trying to convinceme.”
“I’m not trying to convince you.” I paused. “Okay, maybe I am trying to convince you so that I convince myself that it’s a good idea.”
She rubbed her temples like she had a headache coming on.
“Look, I want to do it. I do. I really, really do, and I need you on my side. I need you to encourage me because you are right. When it gets time to go out there, I might be so nervous that I forget everything, and I’ll need someone to pick me up after I trip over my own feet and pass out from mortification.”
She reached over the table and put her hand on my arm. “And I will be there, taking pictures the whole time.”
I laughed. “No, you won’t! There will be enough cameras there to capture my humiliation. Speaking of pictures, are you still working on your line for the gallery show?”
“Yep, I am.”
For a few minutes, we talked about a couple of the new photos that Charlie had taken recently and the plans for her show. I loved her photographs, loved watching her work. Her pictures were conversation pieces, no matter who saw them. She was incredible, and not just with one subject, but with just about anything that she put into the frame of her lens. She could bring life to a wall, or humanness to a frog. Her talent was exceptional, and I envied her.
Not only was she an incredible photographer, but she was a wonderful person too. She went out of her way to help people, and she was my best friend to boot!
After lunch, we spent the afternoon browsing our favorite boutiques downtown, and we were coming out of one when my cellphone rang with a number that looked familiar, but I didn’t recall immediately.
“Hello?”
“Ali? This is Holly Melton, the producer ofMay I Have This Dance.”
“Hi, Holly. How are you?”
“I’m great. I just wanted to check in with you and make sure that you are all set to get started tomorrow.”
“I am. I’m looking forward to it.” As I said the words, a mixture of panic and excitement whooshed through my veins.
“Oh, I’m so glad to hear that. I also wanted to let you know that there has been a slight change.”
“Oh?”
“Yeah, one of your dates had to back out, he was in a water-skiing accident and broke his leg.”
“Oh, no! Poor guy!”
“But don’t worry, I had a backup just in case, and he’s excited to step in.”
“Alright, and you think he might be someone that I’ll like?”
“Oh, Ali, I know this man personally. He will be perfect.”
I chuckled a little uneasily. “Well, I’m leaving that up to you. I think I have enough to worry about.”
