Dani was fortunate to get this job. Luckily, the whole move to Haywood Lake went without a hitch, including finding a great neighborhood school for Jack.
The first week of moving to Haywood Lake, she stopped by a bulletin board on her way out of the grocery store and saw a notice looking for an experienced yoga instructor with flexible hours. Dani called the number immediately and met Mallory, the owner of Spiritual Bliss. She was a sweetheart, with a friendly smile and an infectious laugh. She was also easy to talk to and encouraged Dani and the other instructors to be creative with their classes while staying within their teaching certification requirements.
They took an immediate liking to each other. Mallory set up the course schedule with Dani, and that gave her a lot of flexibility in teaching the classes. The hours worked perfectly for her: three days a week from nine in the morning until four in the afternoon, which was similar to the schedule she had in New York, giving her ample time to get Jack from after-school care. It also gave her the flex time to be with him if he was sick or on vacation.
It didn’t hurt that Mallory was in her early thirties, like Dani, and that they both enjoyed gardening, although neither had a lot of time to pursue that interest. Though they’d only known each other for a few weeks, Dani felt as if she’d known Mallory for a long time.
Although Mallory was single, she loved kids. She and Jack had a fun time doing yoga poses one day when Dani came in to pick up her paycheck with Jack in tow and she got stopped by a client for a chat. Mallory became Jack’s new favorite person, and Jack kept asking when he could come back. Dani told him she could teach him yoga at home, but he wanted Miss Mal. Kids—go figure.
“Want to grab a cup of coffee before you go home?” asked Mallory. “Greens & Grounds is just around the corner. We can talk about your love life.” She waggled her eyebrows and grinned.
Dani just huffed. As if.
Today Mallory wore light gray yoga pants, sneakers, and a pea-green long-sleeved blousy top over an emerald-toned sports bra and matching headband. She’d cut her silver-gray hair into a pixie style that accented her dark green eyes. Everything about Mallory seemed light and cheerful. Dani could only hope to look so put-together and cute.
Dani looked at her watch.
Hmmm. It was two thirty now. She had to pick up Jack by four, but the school was close by. “I’d love to.” It wasn’t often she got to talk to another woman one-on-one, so this would be a treat.
“Great. Let me put my things in the office, and we’ll go.”
Dani retrieved her purse and waited for Mallory by the front door. She’d never seen such a young woman go gray. Mallory confessed that the women in her family turned gray early. Dani hoped when her hair turned gray, it would look as good on her as Mallory’s did.
“Okay, I’m ready.” Mallory came out of her office, and the two walked out of the studio.
Grounds & Greens was a block over. It had space in another converted warehouse. The overhead bell on the door tinkled as they walked in.
“Inside or out?” asked Mallory.
“Hmmm. I think inside today.” Dani looked around. “That leather sofa in the corner looks like it has my name on it.”
“Great. Tell me what you want, and I’ll order,” said Mallory.
“Just a black coffee.”
“Go grab a seat. I’ll be right back.”
There were only a few people in the shop, although Dani had seen lines out the door early in the morning.
She groaned as she seated herself on the plush leather sofa. It faced large windows overlooking the main street. Dani watched several couples walking by. The addition of green plants decorating the interior broke up the area into smaller, more intimate seating. An exposed brick wall to her right contained metal shelves with books and small antique coffee pots arranged on them. The tin ceiling was painted brown and complemented the cream walls.
She closed her eyes for a moment. The scent of freshly ground coffee, whirring blenders, and people talking in the background lulled her into a moment of bliss.
“Here you go.”
Dani blinked her eyes open and straightened up. “Almost fell asleep.” She reached for her mug and took a sip. “Hmmm. This is delicious.”
“Their coffee is the best.” Mallory took one of the wingback chairs by the window and placed her coffee on the table. “Have you ever had one of their smoothies?”
“No. I understand they’re yummy.” Dani glanced over at the baskets of fruit and vegetables behind the counter. Bright yellow lemons, oranges, celery, bananas, green parsley, and apples were arranged in an artful way. Thinking about their flavors made her mouth water. The counter was a beautiful wooden structure, and Dani wondered if it was handmade. Many of the tables in the shop looked old.
“So.” Mallory took a sip of her coffee. “I’ve wanted to discuss expanding your hours and the type of classes you teach.”
“Oh.”
“I know you’ve taught dance before. How would you feel about teaching one or two weekly classes here at the studio? I’ve had clients asking about modern dance as another way of exercising and expressing themselves.”
“What days were you thinking?”
Mallory shrugged. “Your choice. Tuesday and Thursday would make it a full week for you, or you could fit them in between the yoga classes.”
This would take some thought. Dani enjoyed having Tuesday and Thursday off, but working those two days would mean more money—although what she was making now more than covered her and Jack’s expenses since the house was mortgage-free and she didn’t have to buy any furniture. Then again, someday, she’d like to take some trips with Jack. Maybe even get to Disney World, which she promised to take him to.
At some point in time, she wanted to teach yoga or dance to kids who’d never been exposed to either. The after-school dance lessons taught by volunteers when she was in grammar school had been an important part of Dani’s childhood, and she wanted to reciprocate. Dani wondered if Mallory had ever thought of getting involved in an outreach program to schools.
The class would have to be after school, probably in another part of town. There were lots of Boys & Girls Clubs involved in inner-city schools. The clubs provided programs designed to help kids excel in school and lead healthy, productive lives. Most importantly, the clubs exposed kids to possibilities they otherwise wouldn’t have.
However, there was the problem of finding someone to pick up Jack.
After moving in, Dani discovered an older woman sneaking peeks at her from behind the curtains. She was glad someone was watching the neighborhood but didn’t want a Nosy Rosie getting into her business. A week into their new move, Dani decided it was best to address the problem. If you have a problem with me, let’s discuss it.
Although she hated confrontation, the issue had to be brought out in the open.
Banana bread in hand, she and Jack marched to Mrs. Bittner’s house one Saturday. Instead of a surly older woman, Dani found Mrs. Bittner, or Mrs. B., as she liked to be called, delightful. It turned out that a previous neighbor had not been very friendly, so Mrs. B. was reluctant to make an overture. After talking for a while and getting comfortable, Mrs. B. volunteered to babysit Jack so Dani could teach the outreach dance class.
It was also nice to get the neighborhood gossip. A welcoming committee had dropped food off when she first moved in, but she learned a little more about her neighbors, especially her next-door neighbor, whom she had yet to meet formally. Mrs. B. seemed enthralled with him, but he kept rather odd hours and only grunted when she said hello one day as they walked to their cars. Dani shrugged—his loss.