Read Online Dead Man Dancing by Marcia Talley - Free Book Online Page B

to resist.’
    â€˜Ruth!’
    â€˜Not that way, silly. But he’s
soooo
charismatic. If Jay were a TV preacher, I’d be claiming Jesus as my personal saviour and singing and sweeping the ceiling with the rest of his acolytes.’
    â€˜Sweeping the ceiling?’
    Ruth’s arms shot ceiling-ward and she began to sway, singing, ‘He is wonderful, He is merciful,’ in a fluty soprano.
    I had to bop her with my purse to get her to stop. ‘Behave yourself!’
    â€˜OK, but only if you agree to come along. Otherwise I might have to cover my ears and go “nah-nah-nah-nah-nah-I’m-not-listening-to-you” whenever Jay’s talking.’
    I laughed out loud. ‘It’s not going to be like that at all, Ruth.’
    And for once, I was right.
    â€˜Ah,’ Jay said from behind his desk as Kay escorted the four of us into his office later that evening. ‘I was expecting Hutch and Ruth, but I seem to have won the lottery.’
    â€˜We’re family,’ I said, as if that explained everything.
    â€˜Yes. I understand. Completely.’ Jay shuffled through the papers on his desk, moving a page from the bottom to the top of the stack, as if Paul and my presence had changed everything. ‘Have a seat, please. Kay, you, too.’
    When we were all comfortably settled, Jay turned his liquid eyes on me. ‘Not to denigrate the remarkable progress you and your husband have made over the course of the past several weeks . . .’ He paused, while next to me, Paul beamed. ‘But I have to be honest. I called you in this evening primarily to talk about Ruth.’
    Ruth nearly fell out of her chair. ‘Me?’
    â€˜Yes, you,
señorita
. Your advancement has been nothing short of extraordinary.’
    I resisted rolling my eyes. Ruth had been right. We were in for some major league flimflam.
    After a moment, Jay turned his attention to Hutch. ‘Hutch, of course, only needs a bit of brush up to get back up to speed, even after twenty-five years.’
    Get back up to speed for what? I wondered.
    Jay put his hands together, fingertip to fingertip and moved them up and down, like a spider doing push-ups on a mirror. He cleared his throat. ‘Have you ever heard of
Shall We Dance?
’
    â€˜The TV show?’ Hutch asked.
    â€˜That’s the one. To get right to the point, there’s a new season next year, and they’re holding open auditions in Baltimore on February 8th. I think you have a chance of making it.’
    Several moments of stunned silence was shattered by Paul. ‘What’s
Shall We Dance?
’
    â€˜It’s an
American Idol
-style reality show,’ Kay explained, although how that would help Paul understand is anybody’s guess as he never watched
American Idol, Survivor, Big Brother
or any kind of so-called Unreality TV. ‘Instead of individuals competing, though, it’s dancing couples,’ she continued. ‘They start with twelve couples, all amateurs, and each week two are eliminated until there’s only one couple remaining.’
    Ruth paled. ‘I couldn’t. I’m not ready.’
    Kay rose from her chair and laid a comforting hand on Ruth’s shoulder. ‘Yes you can, and we can help you. If you agree to this, Jay will coach you privately, twice a week. Then, we’ll put you together with Hutch, and work up a dynamite routine.’
    â€˜Jesus.’ Ruth said.
    Hutch, who had been slumped in his chair like Raggedy Andy, suddenly came to life. ‘I’m game if you are, sweetheart.’
    Ruth wagged her head. ‘This is all too sudden, I can’t even think.’
    â€˜How much will it cost?’ I asked, remembering my promise to help Ruth keep her head.
    â€˜Cost?’ Jay puffed air out of his lips, as if I’d insulted him. ‘Absolutely nothing.’
    Kay smiled benevolently. ‘If you make it through the auditions and get on to the show,