“Yeah, two classes down. Two more tomorrow, and the last two Wednesday.”
“Then summer break?”
“Then summer break—after I input all my grades, clean out my classroom, and turn in my textbooks.”
“You got time this week to help me out a little?”
Now it’s my turn to chuckle. “You mean more than I already do?”
Aside from the two classes I teach at the studio, I’m around a lot when classes aren’t in session, fixing a sticking door, smoothing out a rough board on the floor, or re-hanging a barre. Mom and Nonc bought the downtown property more than twenty years ago, and even then the gutted Arts and Crafts house was already a century old. Its bones are solid, but any structure that old needs steady repairs.
He huffs. “You got something better to do with your time?” he teases. “Got a girl I don’t know about?”
I dodge the last question in favor of the first. “I’ve got Festival International planning meetings, French Club summer volunteer coordinating, and drafting the itinerary for next year’s French exchange trip.”
“So much for summer break,” he grumbles.
He’s made my point for me, so I give in. “What’d’ya need, Nonc?”
My uncle snorts. “I got a new private lesson client. Kind of a special case.”
“Yeah?” I sit back down to my grading, knowing this won’t take long. People take private dance lessons all the time. For weddings. Reunions. Mardi Gras balls.
“I can’t really talk about it, but could you cover my Latin class tomorrow night?”
I sit back, my brows drawing together. “What do you mean, you can’t talk about it?”
His low laughter rumbles over the line. “I figured that’d get your attention,” he mutters, sounding amused. “It’s an actress. She’s making a movie here in town, and she needs to learn some Cajun dances.”
I roll my eyes. “Another Lifetime movie?” Since Louisiana did away with state taxes for filmmakers, we’ve become a sort of satellite Hollywood. For the last few years, Lifetime Network has filmed a handful of Christmas romance specials in Lafayette and New Iberia. Whenever they air, everyone in Acadiana tunes in to catch a glimpse of local landmarks and friends who snagged parts as extras.
Including some of my students. It was all they wanted to talk about last December.
Nonc hums with uncertainty. “I can’t tell you who’s makin’ the movie. Or who hired me.”
“Wait. What?”
“I signed a non-disclosure agreement.”
My eyes bug. “You signed an NDA? Are you serious? It must be somebody big.”
He chuckles again. “Tell you the truth, I never heard of her.”
I scoff. “As if you’d know. When was the last time you went to the movies?”
“That’s easy,” he says. “Took your mother to see Mamma Mia 2… what? Summer before last? She loved it.”
“Then I can assume your mystery client wasn’t in Mamma Mia 2.”
This cracks him up. “Pretty sure she wasn’t. I wouldn’t say musicals are her thing.”
“So you’ve met her already?”
He grunts. “Worked with her last week. And yesterday. She’s… uh… got a lot to learn.”
I frown. “You worked with her yesterday? But you’re closed on Mondays.”
“Usually,” he says, and that’s all he says. My wheels start turning.
“How much is she—or whoever—paying you?”
Nonc clears his throat. “Let’s just say it’s enough to entice me to go in on my day off.”
“So what do you need me for?”
He sighs. “Like I said, she’s a beginner… and then some,” he mutters under his breath. “I wasn’t planning on meeting with her tomorrow, but her manager wants her to come, and the only time she’s got is during Latin class. Can you cover that for me while I work with her?”
I’ll have fifty-two finals to grade tomorrow night, but Latin class is only an hour. Hell, maybe I could even live it up a little and grade papers at Reve Coffee Roasters beforehand.
“I need to get a life.” I don’t mean to say it out loud, but I must because Nonc responds.
“Yeah, son, you do.” Concern edges his voice. “When was the last time you did anything that wasn’t for me or your mother or work—and I’m counting all of your francophone volunteer endeavors as work.”
“You can’t count those as work, Nonc.”
“Why not?”
I think about my monthly meetings with the Festival International board and the Cajun Table events I try to attend each week.
“Well, first of all, I don’t get paid for them.” I think about the Cajun Table dinners where I sit and share meals—and drinks—with people who aim to keep Cajun French alive by speaking it together. “In fact, they eat up a