Broken Dancer

At her session the next week, Rich had her walk across the floor without the cane. Diane didn't stumble or seem to have any problems, and Rich congratulated her.

"Diane, I think we're about done with you. You have a little bit of a limp, but that'll go away in a couple of months. You can keep your cane, but try not to use it. What you need now is plenty of exercise to get those legs moving like they used to move."

"What kind of exercise?"

"Walking. Walk in the park. Go to the mall and walk laps. You might also consider going dancing. You like dancing and it's great exercise."

Diane shook her head.

"No, not dancing. I'd look like a cow on crutches."

"Well, if you don't try, you won't know that, now will you?"

"If I do try, I'll know it for sure and I don't want that. Besides, I don't know any men who would want to dance with me besides you."

Rich had thought that after this last session, he'd be able to forget about Diane and get on with his life. It wasn't working out that way. He told himself he couldn't let her leave thinking she was as recovered as she'd ever be. As soon as that thought entered his mine, he realized that was just an excuse he was making to himself. He didn't want this to be the last time he ever saw her.

It was a crazy thought, he realized. He was seven years older than Diane and they were as different as night and day. There was only one common thing between them and that might not be enough. There was only one way to find out, and he might just convince her to keep trying in the process.

"Are you busy this Saturday night?"

"No. Why? Are you asking me out?"

"Sort of. Can I pick you up at your house about six? I need to show you something."

Diane didn't know where he was taking her, and Rich wouldn't tell her even though she asked. He just said it was something she needed to do. Half an hour from her apartment, he turned into the drive of a church. Diane chuckled.

"You're taking me to church? I didn't think I'd been that bad."

"Well, it's a church, but that's not why we're here. They have a basketball court in one of the wings for their youth league."

"So, we're going to watch them play basketball? I'm not really a big sports fan."

"No, we're not going to watch a basketball game. Just be patient and you'll see why we're here."

After they got out of his car, Rich opened the trunk and took out a small cart with a folding handle. On the cart he put three rectangular boxes with black fabric covers and what looked to Diane like a notebook and another small case.

"OK, I have what I need now. Let's go inside."

When they walked into the building, several people were standing on the basketball court and talking. They were of all ages from late twenties to two couples who looked to Diane to be over seventy. Rich said, "Hello folks. Sorry I'm late but Diane and I got into some traffic on the way over? Give me a couple of minutes and I'll be ready."

Diane watched as Rich took the covers off the two larger boxes. When she saw the cloth fronts, she realized they were speakers. The third box was a CD player with an amplifier. In a pocket on the side of that cover were two long electrical cables. Rich sat the speakers on the floor on each side of the gym and used the cables to connect them to the CD player. After plugging the CD player into the outlet on the wall, Rich took a microphone from the small case and inserted the plug into a jack on the CD player. He turned the switch on and then tapped the microphone to make sure it was working.

"Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Before we get started, I'd like you to meet Diane. Diane came along to help me tonight so please make her welcome. Now, let's dance."

Rich flipped a switch on the CD player, and the same rumba song Diane had heard so many times flowed from the speakers. One by one, couples formed from the group of people and they began dancing. Rich turned to Diane.

"Well, what do you think?"

Diane frowned.

"They're terrible dancers. Is this what you brought me to see?"

"Yes, it is, and yes, they are pretty bad, but they're enjoying themselves. It's what I told you once before. Dancing is about feeling the music and doing what the music makes you feel like doing."

"So, how are you connected with them? Are they former patients?"

"No, well, the man of that older couple is. He had a hip replacement about a year ago and I worked with him. The rest are just the dance club I started a few years ago. We meet on Tuesday nights for lessons and then have a dance every Saturday night."

Diane chuckled.

"The instructor must not be very good."

Rich smiled.

"The instructor is me."

Diane looked at Rich with her mouth hanging open.

"You told me you were just a guy who likes to dance. You didn't tell me you taught dancing."

Rich shrugged.

"Well, I didn't think I was good enough to tell you I teach too. I am a guy who likes to dance though, and right now, I'd like to dance with you."

Diane looked at the floor.

"Rich...I...I can't dance."

"Like you said you'd never be able to walk again?"

Diane reluctantly followed Rich onto the gym floor, and when he took her right hand in his left, put her left hand on his right arm and frowned.

"Are you sure you want to do this. I'll probably embarrass you."

Rich smiled.

"More sure than I've ever been about anything."

Diane started following Rich's lead and was surprised at how much his lead felt like Jack's. He wasn't overpowering and he wasn't weak. He just gave her enough pressure to tell her what he wanted her to do. The first pattern he led her through was one she'd learned in her first dance classes. The second pattern was more complicated, but she'd done it before in competitions with Jack. The third she'd never done, but by following Rich's lead Diane surprised herself by doing it.

When the music stopped, Diane realized she and Rich were the only couple still dancing. The rest were standing there on the floor watching them. As the last note ebbed away from the speakers, the people started to applaud.

Diane couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"Why are they clapping."

Rich chuckled.

"Because they like the way you dance."

"But I was awful."

"No, you weren't. You probably aren't as smooth and graceful yet as you will be, but you're head and shoulders above all these folks. You just can't admit that to yourself for some reason. That's why I brought you here, to make you see that."

Diane didn't say anything, but she hugged Rich. After a few seconds, he gently pushed her back.

"Everybody is wondering about you, and I have to go keep the music going. Come with me."

Rich picked up the microphone and held Diane's hand while he spoke.

"Folks, I sort of brought a ringer with me tonight. Diane's a professional dancer and she's my partner for tonight, although she might dance with somebody else if they asked her nicely. Now, how about a waltz?"

Rich was able to dance with Diane about every other dance. The men in the club lined up to dance the others with her. After three hours, Rich took the microphone again.

"Well, folks, that's about it for tonight. Thanks for coming and thanks for making Diane feel at home. I'll see you again on Tuesday, right here. We'll be learning a cha cha pattern that will make you ladies look really sexy."

As the last couple left the building, Rich turned to Diane.

"Well, still think you can't dance?"

"No, I guess I can, not as good as before, but I can. You dance as well as Jack though. Where did you learn and why aren't you competing? You're good enough you should be."

Rich shrugged.

"I took a dance class for an elective in college and liked it. After that, I took another one and then another. I did end up competing in college competitions, but I really wanted to become a physical therapist. Once I got my license, I wanted to dance again, but I didn't have a partner so I started this club. I dance with most of the women at the dances and they like it. I'm also keeping the older people moving, so it's kind of like I'm doing physical therapy as well."

"Then you were faking it when you showed me the rumba that first time?"

"Well, yeah, but you needed that. Now, you don't, so I thought I'd show you there's a dancer still inside of you. You just have to let her out. Did you have fun? It looked like you did."

"Yes, well except with that one guy. He said his name was Harold. He doesn't have much of a lead so I had to sort of lead myself."

"Yeah, I've been working with Harold, but it's hard. He won't lead me so I can show him what he's doing wrong. He says that would make the others think he was gay. He really needs to dance with a woman who knows what she's doing. Maybe I'll find one, one of these days. Would you like a cup of coffee before I take you home?"

Rich dropped Diane off after a cup of coffee and some interesting conversation. They talked about dancing and about how he thought she was doing great. Diane tried to say she wasn't, but he could see her smile when he complimented her on how she'd done.

That smile made him feel good, too good he thought. He tried to remind himself that Diane was just a patient he'd helped learn to walk again just like he'd helped many others. Every time he tried to tell himself that, though, the thought that she was different than the others pushed its way into his mind. It wasn't that she was pretty, though she was. It wasn't the way he'd seen her concentrate on learning to walk again, though she had once he'd convinced her she could. No, it was the way she'd felt when he held her as they danced and the way she smiled and...Rich had the same feeling he'd had when he met Ronda, his first wife.

It was just a feeling that he liked having her that close. Dancing with her, even though they weren't really all that close, had brought back that feeling. That feeling became more intense when Diane had hugged him at the end of the first dance.

It was probably just a hug of thanks, but it had made him think about how much he'd liked having her with him. If he hadn't been so much older than Diane, he might have tried to see her again, but she'd never want to be with a man seven years older than she. Rich showered and went to bed wishing he was in his twenties again but knowing that wasn't possible.

That night when Diane snuggled into bed, she felt happy, happier than she'd felt in a long, long time. She'd danced again, not very well in her opinion, but she'd danced. Most of the men had been easy to follow even though they didn't have a very strong lead because they only knew simple patterns. She found she could do those simple patterns easily and had tried to put some of her former grace into doing them. She'd been better at some than at others, but the men had all complimented her and the women had all asked her how to show them how she made the moves so graceful and sensuous.

Dancing with Rich had been different. He knew the same simple patterns and had danced them, but he also led her through some she'd only done in competition. It was hard to make her body do what she wanted in those patterns but she found herself welcoming the challenge. It was different, though, from when she and Jack had practiced a routine and she worked on each tiny little detail of every move.

Dancing with Jack had been an exercise in concentrating on feeling his lead, positioning her feet properly, and putting in the correct body moves to add sensuality, or sexuality, or grace to a dance as the dance required. Jack was always ready to criticize her if she made a mistake, and sometimes he got angry with her even though the mistake was his. Unlike Jack, Rich only smiled when she made a mistake and complimented her when she did something right. Dancing with Rich had been relaxed and...she smiled...it had been fun.

As Diane thought a little more though, she realized dancing with Rich wasn't the real reason she felt so good. The real reason was that she felt happy just because she'd been with Rich. Maybe it was because they'd been together so much over the past several months, or maybe she felt something for him, or maybe it was because he seemed to be the only one who cared about her. Diane didn't know, but she did know she felt more for him than she had for any other man she knew. She had to see him at least one more time to find out.

Diane went back to work the next Monday because both Rich and Doctor Williams had both given her the release her company required. It was good to be productive again, but Diane had difficulty concentrating because she kept thinking about Rich. That afternoon, she called the convalescent home and asked to speak to him. The receptionist said he was with a patient, but if she'd leave a number, she'd tell him about the call. Diane gave the receptionist her cell phone number and then went back to work.

It was almost four when her cell phone buzzed. She didn't recognize the number, but she touched the screen to answer hoping it would be Rich. Instead, it was a telemarketer trying to sell her a life insurance policy. She quickly ended the call and then blocked the number. She was putting the phone back into her purse when it buzzed again. Diane held her breath and touched the screen again.

"Hello."

"Diane, is this you?"

"Rich?"

"Yeah, this is Rich. What did you want? You didn't hurt something did you?"

"No, I was just thinking over the weekend about...could we get together sometime and just talk?"

Rich heard the words Diane said, but he heard more in the tone of her voice. It was like she was almost pleading to see him. He pushed away the hope that maybe she felt something for him. It had to be something else.

"Sure. How about tonight?"

"I'd like that. Can you come to my apartment? I don't really want to go anywhere."

"I'll be there about seven if that's OK."

At seven, Rich pushed doorbell of Diane's apartment. She opened the door, grinned, and then said "Come in. I made coffee, but I have some soft drinks if you'd rather have one of those."

Rich sat on her couch while Diane poured the coffee, and that thought about Diane feeling something for him came back. When he'd taken her to the dance club dance, she'd worn some dressy pants and a frilly top, and he could tell she'd put on a little makeup. The woman who'd met him at the door was dressed in a dress that accented her dancer's figure, and she wore stockings and heels. Her face was different as well.

He'd always thought Diane had a pretty face, but that night, she was radiant. Her long, dark blonde hair framed that face and then cascaded down over her shoulders to brush the bare skin revealed by the deep neckline of the dress. Maybe she went to work dressed like that, but he doubted it. Had she dressed this way because of him?

After Diane had brought them both a cup of coffee, she sat down on her couch and smiled at Rich.

"Well, how have you been getting along with out me being such a pain?"

"Oh, pretty good, but you weren't a pain."

"Oh yes I was. I was feeling sorry for myself and hated just about everybody. I never told you I was sorry for doing that to you, but I am."

Rich shrugged.

"A lot of my patients feel that way at first. You get used to it. Is that why you wanted to see me, to tell me you're sorry?"

Diane looked at her coffee cup because she couldn't look Rich in the face.

"No. I wanted to tell you how I...that when you danced with me, I felt...oh, damn...I rehearsed this over and over but now I can't say it. I'm afraid you'll think I'm crazy."

Rich chuckled.

"Diane, you're a lot of things, but crazy definitely isn't one of them. Just tell me."

Diane looked up.

"I...I liked being with you."

"Well, I liked being with you too."

"No, I mean, I really...I really liked being with you. See, I said you'd think I was crazy."

"Diane, we've been together a lot, and I tried really hard to help you walk again. That's probably what's going on. It's happened to me before."

Diane's face turned sad.

"So you don't feel anything for me?"

Rich put his hand on Diane's.

"I didn't say that, Diane. I liked being with you at the dance club a lot more than I should have. It's just that I have to be careful. It's normal for a patient and a therapist to develop a relationship and that helps with the therapy, but usually, it's just a temporary thing that stops for the patient as soon as the therapy ends. If I tried to take it further, most patients wouldn't think that was right."

Diane had tears in her eyes.

"I'd think it was right. I don't want it to end."

Rich moved down the couch until he was sitting next to Diane.

"Diane, are you sure about this?"

"I am unless you don't feel anything too."

"I'm a lot older than you are."

"I don't care about that."

Rich stood up and walked to face Diane.

"Would you stand up for me?"

"Why?"

"I want to kiss you and it'll be a little awkward to kiss you if we're sitting down."

Diane stood up and put her arms around Rich's neck. He kissed her gently at first, then with the passion he'd felt building but had tried to ignore. When he pulled gently away, Diane sighed.

"I guess you do like me. I'm glad."

Rich held her tight and kissed her forehead.

"I have for a long time, but just like you couldn't let yourself believe you could ever dance again, I couldn't let myself believe there was anything there. I guess you just gave me the therapy I needed."

Diane opened her eyes and smiled.

"I have more of that therapy for you...a lot more."

After he took her in his arms and kissed her again, Diane pulled gently back and put her cheek next to his.

"I've thought about this all weekend, Rich. I decided if you didn't feel like I did, I'd just have to live with it. I also decided if you did, I'd show you how much I want to keep seeing you."

Rich chuckled.

"I think you already did."

"No, I didn't yet, but I'm going to...if you'll let me."

"I'm not sure what you mean by 'let you'. Why wouldn't I?"

Diane's voice was a whisper.

"Because I want to give you something I've never given anybody before. I want to give you me."

Rich pushed her gently back and looked into her eyes.

"Diane, are you sure this isn't just some crush? I mean, it isn't just a crush on my part, but this is something you can't take back."

Diane didn't say anything. She just took Rich by the hand and led him through the door to her bedroom. Once they were inside, she put her arms around his neck again and smiled.

"I promised my mother I'd wait until I found the right man. I can't think of any man I know who's more right. Show me how right you are."

Rich kissed her again, and when Diane stroked his hair, he cupped her hips and squeezed gently. Diane caught her breath at his touch, but didn't pull away. Instead, she pressed her breasts into his chest.

Rich found the zipper on the back of Diane's dress and eased it down while they kissed, then gently pushed Diane back.

"Over your head or the other way?"

Diane stroked his chest with her forefinger.

"Over my head."

Rich knelt, lifted the hem of the dress and started moving it up. When the hem reached her waist, Diane raised her arms. Rich pulled the dress from her body and laid it on the chair beside the bed. Diane reached for him again after he turned back to face her, and while she covered his lips with hers, Rich undid the band of her bra. Diane broke the kiss and eased away as he slipped the straps from her shoulders and down her arms.

Rich put Diane's bra with her dress and then turned back to look at her. She stood now in just her panties and stockings with an elastic lace band at the top to hold them up. Her breasts weren't large, but they were soft and rounded and her small, dark pink nipples stood out proud of her wrinkled nipple beds.