Rags to Riches. Really? (1st book of Really? Series)

Chapter 19

"So," my boss said, leaning against the door of the female's locker room and watched me mop the floor from somebody having an accident. "How are your dancing skills going?"

"How is that receding hairline going?" I asked, putting the mop back into its bucket and surveying the floor before me.

"Haha, very funny," he said, scowling, and I smirked. "Is everything cleaned up?" He studied the room before him before he looked at me.

I nodded. "Yes," I replied. I twisted the bucket around and looked at him. "Everything is clean and ready to be destroyed again." I rolled my eyes and sighed. "So, why is it that you are asking about my dancing skills? I thought we were on break since it is noon."

"Because it is noon," he replied. "No one is here except for Patrica, and she is out for her lunch break. You already had your sandwich, so this is the best time to do something while we wait for the terrible ones."

I rolled my eyes again and scowled. "Do I get a say in this, Abe?" I asked, and he instantly shook his head. I mentally groaned and closed my eyes. "Fine. Lemme dump this first, and I will meet you in the ring. What are we doing today?"

"The waltz," he replied. He smirked, and I rolled my eyes again. "What else?"

"The tango," I replied. "Or something else."

Abraham shrugged. "Not today. Today we shall do the waltz." He snapped his fingers and stomped his foot onto the ground before he started to dance away, humming some of the tune.

I shook my head and pursed my lips. I had no idea why he wanted to do it, but I wasn't going to question it. I knew better than to do that because I had been working here for a long time to know when to question something or not, and most of the time, I didn't question it.

***

Abe twirled me around the ring while we danced to some waltz music. He kept humming along and having a grand old time while I was just done.

I was bored of him lifting me into the air and doing stuff like that, knowing the dance backward and forwards because Abe had always been someone that wanted to keep me "cultured" in anything with dance or stuff like that.

And I was sure that if I were his daughter, then I wouldn't have learned how to fight at all, no matter how much the world changed around him. Sure, he would have let me taken some self-defense classes, but that would be all.

I wouldn't have learned how to fight the way that I did and win money and fight for my skills in the ring.

"You know that she is looking kind of bored. Right, padre? (father?)" a male asked from outside the ring. "You need her to do the salsa or tango to get a beautiful smile on her face."

Abe stopped humming and glared at the male that had spoken. "Why are you here?" he asked, not letting me see who he was talking to while we kept dancing. "You don't work today."

"But I was in the neighborhood and wanted to see the most beautiful Señorita (Miss) in all of Bakersville," he said.

I rolled my eyes, knowing full well who had walked into the studio. "Hello, Jean-Pierre," I said. "How are you?"

"Muy bueno, (Very Well,) now that I have seen your lovely back," he replied. "¿Cómo estás? (How are you?)"

"What have I said about speaking in Spanish here, Jean-Pierre?" Abe groaned teasingly. "You know how to speak French. Why can't you speak that?"

"Porque no sabes español, y Mira sabe español, (Because you don't know Spanish and Mira knows Spanish,)" Jean-Pierre replied. "¿Bien, cómo estás, Mira? (Well, how are you, Mira?)"

"Cansada, (Tired,)" I replied. "Abe quiere que baile, pero no quiero bailar. (Abe wants to dance, but I don't want to dance.)"

"¿No quieres bailar el vals? (You don't want to dance the waltz?)"

"Sí, pero Abe quiere que baile el vals. (Yes, but Abe wants to dance the waltz.)" I stopped dancing, indicating that I was done, and Abe finally groaned and let me go. I turned towards the edge of the ring and saw not only Jean-Pierre but my family as well, including Tony.

"Fine, then I will turn the music off," Abe said. "I try to keep you cultured, and this is how you repay me?" He shook his head and tsked, but he went to turn off the music while I went to the edge of the ring and getting out of it.

"Would you like to dance the salsa then?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. An easy-going smile was on his face, and I rolled my eyes.

"Later," I replied, and he pouted. I grunted when Jenny ran towards me and picked her up. "Hey, Little Bit," I said, bopping her on her nose. "Why are you all here?"

"To see you fight, duh," Jenny said, rolling her eyes. "Why aren't you fighting?"

"Because it's break time," I replied. I set her down, and she huffed and pouted. "You are getting too big for me to be picking you up."

"Since Mira doesn't want to do the salsa with me, do you want to learn it?" Jean-Pierre asked, holding his out for her to take.

"I said I would do it later, Jean-Pierre," I said, rolling my eyes. "I want to check in with my family and see why they are doing here."

"To see you fight," Jean-Pierre said, widening his eyes, and I rolled my eyes again. "Why else would they come here to see you? Dance?" He gestured towards my sister, who had slipped her hand through mine. "I mean, she just said that they were here to see you fight."

I didn't reply but shrugged my shoulders instead while I walked over to them with Jean-Pierre muttering something underneath his breath before he followed me over to them.

By looking at them, I knew that they were safe and healthy. So, I knew that wasn't the problem, but I had a feeling that there was something more.

Why she had brought all of them, I didn't know, but I prayed that things didn't go south with my mother. However, by the grave looks on both Ramont and my grandmother, I knew that it was true and wondered what had happened between them.