Dev Dreams, Volume One Read Online Free PDF

anything. He tried out
for his high school play and, he had told her more than once, “I
was up on that stage and I had watched all the other people trying
out. I was better than all of them, but they were angry at me for
it. They couldn’t tell me I wasn’t allowed to try out, but they
didn’t have to even pretend that I could get a part.”
    He was born an actor. A very good actor with
a beautiful, startling voice and a face adept at taking on
expressions. No one ever gave him the opportunity to express his
talent. Kevin was stubbornly persistent, but no one even gave him a
chance. Together they had rehearsed a scene from Taming of the
Shrew and Mariann had started crying half way through. Never had
fiction moved her to tears before. At the theater they refused to
see his audition. She hadn’t been surprised, but Kevin was a
talented man who deserved to be doing what he loved.
    Mariann and Charles finished their rehearsals
and Mariann went to the bathroom to wash the sweat from her face
and re-clip her hair before the class that she was teaching began.
The mirror showed her a face flushed with energy and the love of
dance. She couldn’t get away from it; she loved dancing more than
anything. Did she love it more than Kevin? But then she started
thinking about kids, about Charles's kids. When it came to kids, no
one ever asked you to justify your love. You could love them just
for being.
    She had a class to teach, but first she ran
to her bag and pulled out her cellphone, taking it with her
outside, behind the studio. She leaned on the brick wall and dialed
her home number. There was no answer.
    The voice mail beeped and she said, “I
married you because I love you. I'm sorry.” It probably wasn't
enough, the phrase “too little, too late” came to mind, but she was
glad she had apologized at least.
    She walked back to the studio and found her
class milling about. This was her advanced class. She taught it
with the help of a male dancer. Mariann would show the woman’s
part, and he would show the man’s part and then they would
demonstrate it together. The wall to wall mirrors would show a
million glistening arms flying in circles. Usually Mariann’s eyes
sparkled when she danced...but she knew they were dull and flat
these days. Mariann was teaching the Rumba today. It was the
slowest of the Latin dances. One, two, three, and four; quick,
quick, slow; quick, quick, slow; one, two, three, and four. Slow,
sensual, pained, full of heartache and longing.
    There were other classes too. The private
lesson Mariann gave to the couple preparing a waltz for their
wedding dance, the advanced technique class, and then the meetings
with Sam about how they could expand and what they should be
teaching. Would anyone sign up for lessons in Mambo? How could they
use the new interest in Swing and Salsa in their advertising?
    At the end of the day Mariann went out for
dinner before the social dance hour. The bottoms of her feet still
got sore after such a long time dancing. To go out she changed into
sneakers. Mariann went to the same fast-food restaurant she always
went to on Friday. Before they were married she and Kevin would
share meals here, Mariann eating more of his food than of her own,
and Kevin always sticking his fork in whatever she was eating.
    Back at the studio the director had been
working on the mood of the place for the evening social dance. The
lights were on dim; the mirrors glimmered faintly in the darkness.
The music was turned up and all the dancers got in their costumes.
Mariann wore a short pink skirt with small leggings underneath and
a purple shirt that clung tight to her skin and exposed her entire
back. She pulled on her high-heeled dance shoes and took Charles’s
hand. They were using this time to improve their partnership and
how they worked with each other. He led her mechanically through
the Cha-cha, the Samba, and the Merengue, chatting the whole time.
Then came the Rhumba. Either Charles had run