"Quickly. Quickly. Alright," she exhaled deeply, her tone still soft and her face soft, a smile melting across, clearly expressing her joy at what was taking place. "First position," her voice beamed, her back upright, strong, just as her tone was. "No. No. Tiffany. Your feet don't go side by side. You're not a soldier preparing to march. You are a beautiful bird on the verge of taking flight. Your heels should be kissing." An instant eruption caused the smile on her face to broaden. "Perfect," she praised the sweet little girl with long brown hair. "Now remember your arms. They should be curved, relaxed as if you're holding a bunch of....what girls?" In unison, and quite loudly, the response came. "Flowers!" Her smile split, allowing a soft laugh to escape. "That's right. Flowers." She demonstrated, and her students quickly followed suit. "Relaxed Gabby. You're as stiff as a....," her voice trailed, knowing she knew the answer. A soft giggle broke through the silence among the class. "Board," she answered softly. "I'm stiff as a board Mrs. Anna." Anna nodded and watched as the blonde with a perfect bun began to relax her arms and shoulders. "Now dance is beautiful, it's expressive, it's your chance to shine," she began as she moved down the bar that was lined with the smiling faces she had grown to know and love. Coming to a stop just behind Gabby, she reached over and began to loosen the hair that was clearly tightly arranged. "But above all class, it should always be fun." Her fingers straightened the little girl's locks as best she could. "Now. Much better. There will be time for perfection, time for not a single hair out of place, but guess what? That time is not now. Now is the time," she began moving backward from the students, "for being kids. For learning. For having fun, and I want to make sure you do all of that here, with me. Got it," she asked, her fingers pointing towards the smiling faces watching her. "Yes Mrs. Anna," they replied. "Guys. Guys. Guys. Guys. Come on," she spoke, her tone one of mock exasperation. "Got it," she repeated, her eyebrows raised with a quizzical expression on her face. "Got it, Mrs. Anna." This time the answer was the correct one. "Good," she praised them. "Now," her tone changed instantly. "First position. Heels kissing, arms loose holding those lovely flowers all of you brought for me," she teased. Soft giggles sounded out. "JC, hand off the bar, please. Thank you. Now Tendu." She watched as the girls mimicked her own movements. A sea of right toes pointing out, sliding out, returning back to the start position. "Tendu. Left foot. That's good. Now let's do this eight times per side. Count it off girls. One and two and three and four. Other foot." She counted off the movements for the class, each student moving at their own pace but still, all were close to unison. "Good job class. Good job. Now, hands to the bar. It's time to work on how we Plie." JC's face lit up as she grabbed the bar. Anna of course noticed, and she acknowledged the little girl with a wink. "Don't forget to really bend at the knees girls. Eight once more, and this time JC will be counting us off. JC, when you're ready please."
The class lasted for an hour. At the conclusion, Anna spoke a few words of praise to each child as she handed them a bottle of water. "It's important class to take care of our...." The answer came as loudly as the others had. "Bodies!" She nods to them. "That's right. Bodies." Parents began showing up to pick up their children. Once more Anna took a moment to speak to each and everyone, letting them know how their child was doing in the class. They were appreciative. Anna turned around and the room was suddenly quiet and empty. She slowly walked through the room, taking in everything that she loved. There was a softness here, a warmth that she loved to wrap up with, allowing it encompasses her. Her feet made no sound as she came to a rest. Her fingers touched the buttons until music filled the room. She began to move, like water flowing through the space. Gracefully her body began to tell some unwritten story that she was writing. It was a release. It was her release. Becoming lost in this was so easy to do. The barriers of society, of a confining world, of any problems, or stress, or anything that didn't make sense, always melted away until nothing was left but her and the music. Each movement had a word, an emotion, that she conveyed. Peace took the place of any unwanted thoughts. Her muscles felt both the strain from the dance as well as the release it so graciously showered upon her.
When it came to a conclusion, she was looking to the floor. Slowly lifting her eyes, she noticed the time. It was getting later on in the day. The class had long ended. Her body glistened with sweat from her own efforts. Reaching inside her bag, she pulled a white towel with which she blotted the sweat from her skin. Finding her phone she read his text. Lunch. It seemed like a good idea. She had certainly earned it, and so had he. He had been absent at breakfast, something that didn't raise any suspicions. His work was important, to both him and the city. He was important. That was why she struggled to come up with a gift for their anniversary. Anna saw him placed on a pedestal, so high that it was almost impossible to find anything that was worthy of him. Somehow, for some reason she still couldn't believe, he had found her worthy. He would never know or understand, what she saw when she looked at him. Though it had been a while since they met, she still felt those same butterflies when his eyes met hers. Breathless. He literally took her breath.
She gathered her things and waved goodbye to another teacher across the hall. There were no more classes for her for the rest of the day. So it was easy for her to leave and spend time with her husband. On this particular day, she only had her morning class. Most days the classes were later in the day. Those were days she enjoyed as well, but those days allowed her to go home and sink into relaxation at home. She headed down the sidewalk towards the location she was to meet Xavier. Waving at people she knew along the way, Anna felt happy. It wasn't an uncommon feeling. The shops along the way, the people, they were all familiar. Walking these streets was a common occurrence. Often Anna didn't take a car to get around. There was a certain joy in connecting with everything the city offered that she found she could only get by walking. A car was too impersonal. Connection. She craved it. Perhaps that was what drew her to Xavier. She could connect with him, and she did, right from the start, at first glance, when their eyes met. Thinking back on the day, she found herself smiling, beaming. It was then she came to the place where he was. She had been past this place before but never went inside. Glad for the chance, she headed through the people, admiring the things offered there. It was the experience she had hoped it would be to go inside. Clearly, this would be a place she would visit again. There was an ambiance here that she found attractive. The people, the feel of everything here, drew her in, like a moth to a flame. She gravitated towards him, with silent steps as to not arouse him of her presence. A quick glance at the item that had captured his attention was all she allowed herself. She was more interested in surprising him. Her fingers quickly moved in front of his eyes. "Guess who," she whispered in his ear, before gently kissing it, and then awaiting his reaction.
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