said. "He's taken a couple of amateur matches, but it was just for the experience. He likes training, but if he was interested in taking it all the way, like my dad, he'd be training full-time instead of working.
"Oh, so he has a job?" I asked.
"Yeah. Right next door at my uncle's hardware store."
I smiled inwardly, remembering the comment about her family owning this whole block. I liked Tara instantly. She had a nice smile and she looked me in the eyes like she was genuinely engaged in the conversation.
"How long are you in town?" Tara asked as she went to the bar and began to stretch.
"Just till tomorrow," I said, moving to the side of the room. "I've always wanted to check out Galveston. Are you sure you don’t mind if I crash on your couch tonight?" I asked Jennifer.
They looked like they were about to start class, so I figured I would need to be going soon.
"Our couch," Emily said.
"More like Tara's couch," Candice added.
Jennifer smiled at me. "Tara's my boss and my landlord. Technically the couch is hers. Emily's my roommate, so the couch is hers, too… but, no, none of us mind if you sleep on it."
All of us laughed at her statement.
"Okay, well, I wrote down the address," I said. "And I have a map. I'll plan on being there by nine or so, if that's not too late."
"No, no problem. Just call me if something comes up and your plans change. We have another roommate, but she's not home half the time."
I heard the door open, and turned to find some young ballerinas walking in. "I'll let you guys go," I said, starting to walk away.
"You don't have to, those are Miss Candice's girls," Tara said.
Emily and Candice had taken off toward the door to greet the girls.
"They teach the four o'clock beginner class," Tara said. "They're going to the back room."
She smiled at me as she got into another stretching position. I thought it was nice that she wasn't in a hurry for me to leave. Watching her stretch made me want to do the same. If I didn't have on jeans, I would have asked if I could go out there and stretch with them.
"Are you traveling alone?" Tara asked.
"I am," I said. "I've just always wanted to come to Galveston."
"What are you going to do while you're here? Go to the beach? It's pretty warm today, for November."
"I was planning on going there," I said, nodding. "And then I'd like to get some good seafood tonight. I was thinking about going to a place called Elliot's."
"Oh, no, you don't want to eat there," Tara said. "Have you been there before?" she asked.
"No, I haven't. I just heard it was good."
She shrugged. "I don't like it. If I was going to eat seafood, I'd definitely go to Miller's."
"Oh, okay, thank you," I said, smiling even though it was disappointing to hear her say such things about the restaurant.
I had imagined that going a lot differently. I had hoped to hear people say it was the best restaurant in town.
"It's wherever you want to eat, though," Tara said. "Carson's Diner on the corner has really good food, too." She smiled. "And there's all sorts of junk food at the boardwalk."
"I have a hard time resisting junk food," I admitted, smiling and touching my stomach. I turned toward the door because I knew it was about to open. I could see students coming in—a group from the sidewalk and others from a school bus that had just stopped right out front.
"Whoa," I said.
"Yeah, it's the after-school rush," Jennifer said. "It's quiet time right now, though. They work on homework or sit and stretch until we get started."
"Okay, well, I'm going to get out of your way," I said. "It was nice meeting you, Tara, and good seeing you, Jennifer. Thank you for letting me crash at your place."
"Oh, it's no problem," Jennifer said. "I might hang out with some friends tonight. You're welcome to come with us. I thought you would until you mentioned getting home at nine. We'll probably head out at around eight o'clock. If I leave before you get home, I'll leave the door unlocked for you. Emily might be home, but if she's not, I'll make sure the door's open."
"Thank you," I said, waving at them.
There were girls coming in as I was going out, and after a few seconds of smiling and scooting past young ballerinas and their mothers,