The Rhythm Method

Surprisingly though, despite all the laughter, everyone remembered the steps when it came time for a final run through before lunch, where they would pick the pairs. The group worked really well as a team. It was a given that the two women who were part of the team would be chosen to be partnered up with two of the men. Letting the men go to lunch, Brian kept the girls a few minutes.

"Okay ladies, now that they're gone, let's talk about the boys," Brian giggled with a girlish affectation that made Charlotte grin. "Technique is great and important but..." and for the first time that day Charlotte could remember Brian turned serious. "There has to be chemistry between the partners. People need to look at you as you dance and be swept away by the romance of it, whether you are doing a tango or some gawd awful country swing dance." He rolled his eyes dramatically.

"Chemistry with this group?" Maggie who stood beside Charlotte, shrieked. She was one of the few remaining cellar masters that had completed part of the college required for a degree in viticulture before she dropped out. She was around Charlotte's age, but was bubbly and vivacious, in contrast to Charlotte's quiet, introspective demeanor. It was a good personality trait for someone who had to deal with the public at the cellar door.

"Well, I can choose the two men for you, but you might not like my suggestions. Instead, I'm giving you the opportunity to tell me who you would rather dance with. I don't want to force you to work with someone who is going to make you frown instead of smile when it counts.

"Well if smiling counts you'd better team me up with Sam," Maggie laughed.

"Not so fast," Brian said, "I want two names from each of you. Then, I will give the guys the same choice during lunch. Just because you decided to dance with someone doesn't mean they want to dance with you."

"Well, I guess maybe Ralph Watson," Charlotte said quietly.

"The beast?" Maggie gasped, looking appalled.

"He's actually quite nice once you get to know him, and, well... he saved me yesterday and everything, and umm." Charlotte blushed not really knowing why. "He makes me smile."

"If you say so," answered Maggie with skepticism in her voice.

"I would have chosen Sam as a second, but Maggie is choosing him and I can't see him turning her down. I don't really know the other guys very well," she considered for a moment, then shrugged. I guess anyone who wants to dance with me is fine, but ask Ralph first please. He will probably say yes," she said with a half-smile.

"Ditto on the Sam thing," Maggie shrugged. "Can we have lunch now?"

"Sure girls, I'm starving, let's go," Brian said enthusiastically.

It started to drizzle as Frank Price lined up his putt on the eighteenth green. Jeff Cartwright Sr. waited impatiently, wanting to finish the game and get down to the real reason he'd asked Frank to play golf with him. Frank sunk the putt, satisfied that he had bested the elder Cartwright. He didn't care for the father any more than he cared for the son. Jeff three putted, slamming his putter into his golf bag in disgust. The pair got into the golf cart, and Frank drove toward the clubhouse.

"I wanted to speak with you about Jeff, Cartwright said. "This has all been a terrible misunderstanding."

"Has it?" asked Frank. "How do you figure?"

"It was all that woman's fault," continued Jeff. "I told my son he never should have gotten involved with someone like her."

"Like her? What do you mean by like her?"

"Poor," snapped Jeff. "People like that don't understand how things work."

Frank glanced over at the fool seated next to him. "It seems to me that Jeff is the one that doesn't understand how things work."

Ignoring him, Cartwright continued. "Look. Can you speak with that woman and ask her to drop the charges? I'm asking you as a friend. I promise I'll have Jeff move out of the area immediately."

The rain was coming down harder at this point, drumming on the roof of the cart. Frank stopped the vehicle and turned toward Jeff. "I can't do that. I won't do that. Not for a friend. Not for anybody."

Cartwright nodded his head, a grim look spreading across his face. "I get it, Frank. You want something in return. How about I let you have that little filly you've had your eye on? She has championship lineage."

Frank chuckled and shook his head. "You really don't get it, do you Cartwright? I don't care what you offer me. I'm not going to ask her to drop these charges. In fact, I'm going to do everything I can to ensure she doesn't."

Jeff sat there, gritting his teeth. Then he smiled at Frank. "You're a father. Can't I at least appeal to that? How would you like it if this was your son?"

"Let me tell you a story, Jeff. When my son was thirteen, he and a friend decided it would be great fun to throw rocks at the windows of a log cabin that was being built over in the foothills. I found out about it, and I could have protected him, but I didn't. He ended up working for those owners all summer to earn back what the windows had cost them."

"Your point..."

"My point is, Jeff, that I taught him that actions have consequences. Had Jeff just had the initial incident with Charlotte, he would most likely have gotten a slap on the wrist and probation. Maybe he would have learned a lesson. But he couldn't let it be. Neither can you. Now, he'll learn the hard way."

Jeff was now fuming. "You're going to pay for this, Price. If it's the last thing I do, you will pay."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it Jeff? Get the hell out of my golf cart. I'm finished with you," Frank snapped.

Jeff jumped out, grabbing his clubs in the process. He stood there in the pouring rain, watching as Frank drove away toward the clubhouse.

Once at lunch, Brian watched as Charlotte and Maggie went up to get food for themselves to eat. He took the opportunity to join the men at their table. There were several empty seats, as the groups were to sit together.

"While the women, are gone, I want to take a quick poll. I want each of you to tell me which of the women you would prefer to be paired with should the opportunity arise. Let's begin with you, Sam."

"Kate Upton," Sam replied with a big grin.

"There is always a comedian in the group, isn't there?" asked Brian with an amused smile. "Ms. Upton is not in your group, Sam."

"That's too bad, Sam replied. He looked over at Ralph, who watched him with a raised eyebrow. Sam got the message. "Maggie is my choice." Ralph nodded imperceptibly.

"What about you, Ralph?"

"I'm dancing with Charlotte," Ralph replied gruffly. It didn't come out as a request, and it wasn't intended to.

Brian nodded, then went around the table, asking each of the other men for their choice. Each of them chose Maggie, and several nervously glanced at Ralph before speaking. No one had the balls to test their luck by challenging Ralph.

"Okay then," Brain said with excitement. "We have our pairs."

The women arrived at the table, putting their trays down and sitting in the available seats. Maggie was seated beside Sam, and Charlotte sat directly across from Ralph in the only remaining seat.

"Do we have our partners?" asked Maggie.

"I was thinking about pairing up Ralph and Maggie as one team, and Sam and Charlotte as another," Brian replied. A hush fell over the table, each of them looking at Brian in surprise. Charlotte looked so disappointed that she appeared ready to cry. "Of course," Brian continued, "I'd likely end up with a mutiny on my hands and be tied to the rack somewhere in the cellars of this castle, so instead I think Ralph and Charlotte will be team one, and Sam and Maggie team two."

After a few seconds, they all burst into laughter. Brian waved a finger at Sam. "You aren't the only frustrated comedian in the group, Sam," he laughed. "Finish your lunch," he said to them. "After, the dancers will come with me, and the others will join Suzette outside for your afternoon session." The other members of the team moaned loudly, not wanting to go outside in the rain.

There was a lot of good natured chatter at the table as they ate their food, Sam and Maggie leading the way with their comedic antics. At some point, Ralph glanced up, realizing that Charlotte was watching him. She had a very pleased half-smile on her face and was biting her bottom lip. She shyly looked away when he caught her eye, but the smile persisted.

"I want to remind you that I have a learning disability when it comes to dancing," the big man said to her.

Charlotte smiled. "I take it as a personal challenge to bring out the best in you, Ralph Watson."

"Well you'd better," chimed in Mark, one of the other rats on their team. "We could all use that bonus and the day off. It's up to you four to bring that home to us."

"Don't you worry," Maggie exclaimed. "With Sam and I on this team, how can we lose?"

Charlotte just continued to smile as she felt her heart race. She was filled with a mix of emotions as she thought about the hours to come. She realized she had never had butterflies in her tummy like this before. Never. And she realized that the beast of a man sitting across the table from her was the reason she was feeling them now. She left half of her lunch uneaten, nervously awaiting the start of the afternoon and the chance to find herself in Ralph's arms.

Shortly thereafter, they were on the elevator on their way upstairs. Ralph stood nervously beside Charlotte as they rode.

"Are you ready for this, Ralph?"

"I guess so," he said with a chuckle.

"What's so funny?"

"A week ago, if you'd ask me whether I'd ever be excited to dance, I'd say you were crazy. But here I am, one week later, looking forward to it."

"It must be your partner, huh?" she said with a grin.

"I'm quite happy with the partner I've been teamed up with, so I'd say you're right about that."

The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and Ralph grabbed Charlotte's hand without even thinking about it, pulling her to the room where they would spend the afternoon working on their routine.

Country swing dancing was a whole new ball game for both of the couples as they watched a video from Truecountry.com. Ralph watched the guy carefully and his foot moves didn't seem that difficult. Hell, he seemed to slide across the floor rather than walk. Maybe if he tossed Charlotte high enough during some of those trick moves and aerials, no one wold notice what his feet were doing.

Brian started off teaching his teams the two step, and once they were comfortable promenading around the small space with that basic step, he began to throw some tricks into their routines. While both teams laughed and joked between themselves and with each other, Ralph and Charlotte showed they had a lot of faith in each other. Brian was surprised at the risky moves Charlotte allowed, trusting Ralph not to drop her even when she was poised high above his head.

The other team, however, was not as willing to experiment and take risks. This was especially true with Sam breaking into a moonwalk every so often, sliding his feet across the well-polished floor. Brian wished he could have paired up the brave Charlotte with the more coordinated Sam, but there seemed to be something more between Ralph and Charlotte. Perhaps that was why she allowed him to throw her around in the dance so much, Brian mused.

Ralph was enjoying having the excuse to hold the small frame of Charlotte in his arms and against his much bigger frame. With her guidance as a partner, the natural rhythm he lacked seemed to come to him as he followed her feet, eventually beginning to lead her in the dance as he was meant to do. It was mid-afternoon, and thinking that they still had an hour or so to practice, the rest of their team trooped back into the room, a little wet and bedraggled looking.

The self-appointed team leader, a winemaker's assistant named Greg, went and spoke to Brian, who looked at his pairs still on the small dance floor and chuckled. Shrugging, he walked towards them, clapping his hands in an exaggerated way and announcing in a loud voice, "Show time!"

"Yeah... but no, we still have more time to practice," Maggie exclaimed, pointing to the large wall clock.

"Seems the storm has set in, so the team dance off is now," Brian said as if it made no difference. "All right kids, let's do this so our friends here can go have hot showers and change before dinner. God knows I could use the break too," he laughed, pretending to mop his brow. "Who wants to go first?"

"We will," Sam volunteered to Maggie's horror. "That way they don't have to be so disappointed after watching the acrobats."

The watchers seemed exhausted from being outside as they slumped in their chairs. It seemed to Ralph that they wished this was over as much as he did. He stood at the back with Charlotte as the music blared into the room, watching the routine that Sam and Maggie had just learned unfold on the dance floor. Without all the joking around they were quite good, and Ralph lifted his finger to gnaw on a nail nervously.

Charlotte looked up at him and smiled, taking his other hand and squeezing it. He looked down at her with an answering smile. She was amazed again by how the simple act of smiling changed his entire face and made him handsome in her eyes.

Cheering with the rest of the crowd as Sam and Maggie took multiple bowls, Ralph and Charlotte moved slowly forward. "You ready for this?" Ralph asked quietly.

"About as ready as you are," she whispered.

"Then we are screwed, and not in the good way." He winked at her, making her giggle. The music started a moment later, and they launched into a routine that revolved more around tricks and aerials rather than dance steps, as Ralph shuffled and slid his way across the floor, throwing Charlotte around his body like a rag doll. The music didn't die when they finished their routine, and Brian yelled one more time at them. They launched into the routine a second time, forgetting about the audience as their eyes locked during the dance. They both smiled, realizing that they had made it through without messing anything up too badly.

The cheers and applause when they finished were a welcome relief, and Ralph picked Charlotte up and spun her around as they left the floor.

Brian was clapping vigorously as he moved to the middle of the room, replacing Charlotte and Ralph as the center of attention. The other team members continued to applaud the two dancers, but slowly came to a halt as Brian attempted to speak.

"Thank you to both couples for the hard work you put into those dances," he began. "I have my ideas on which pair I'd like to see move on, but before I share them with you, I'm going to take a vote. By a show of hands, who would like to see Sam and Maggie represent this group in the dance off tomorrow?"

There were a few hands raised, but the majority of the team members stood with both hands at their sides. Brian counted the yes votes nonetheless, making sure he had an official tally. Sam jumped into the middle of the room, waving his arms around.

"Come on now. Maggie and I were great," he jovially exclaimed. "You all don't have to be afraid of Ralph. He's a big old teddy bear," Sam continued. "Three votes? I think there's been tampering here." Sam acted as if he was outraged, eliciting giggles from the crowd.

"I will agree that you and Maggie may have done a better technical job," Brian responded. "But dance, like music, comes from the heart. As I watched Ralph and Charlotte, I felt a connection there. They made me believe in their feelings for each other. True artists are able to make you believe. They have done an amazing job pulling that off.

"Now, just to make this official, please give me a show of hands for Ralph and Charlotte."

This time, a sea of hands went up, including Maggie's. Reluctantly, Sam raised his hand too. Ralph turned to Charlotte with a surprised smile. He had enjoyed dancing with her, but didn't think they had any chance of winning. He was much more pleased about that than he ever thought he'd be.

"Okay everyone," Brian shouted. "We have three hours until dinner. This evening, Ralph and Charlotte will work with me on the finale, and the rest of you will take part in a special exercise with Suzette. Until then, you are all free to do as you wish."

The crowd dispersed from the room quickly, each mostly going their separate ways. Rather than taking the elevator, Ralph headed for the stairs. Charlotte saw him, and hurried to catch up.

"Where are you going?" she asked him.

"I'd like to get some air. It got stuffy in the room. I need to cool off a bit."

"Isn't it raining outside?"

Ralph shrugged. "I like walking in the rain."

Charlotte looked at him thoughtfully. "Want some company?"

Ralph nodded and smiled. "I'd love it."

They walked out to the front of the castle into a light rain, headed for the path that they had jogged on that morning. The cool rain felt good on Ralph's skin, and he reveled in it, turning his face up to the sky. They walked quietly at first, until Charlotte broke the silence.

"Was dancing with me as bad as you thought it would be?"

Ralph looked at her and smiled. "It wasn't soooo bad," he theatrically replied. He took a deep breath, pausing before continuing.

"Are you a true artist, Charlotte?"

She glanced at him as they walked. "What do you mean?" she asked, knowing exactly what he meant.

"What Brian said. True artists can make you believe. Are you a true artist?"

Ralph slowed to a stop and turned toward Charlotte. "Do I seem to be the artist type to you?" she asked quietly, averting her eyes.

"Do you always answer a question with a question, Char?"

"Probably more than I should," she replied with a giggle.

Ralph stood there, waiting for an answer. "Well?"

Charlotte gulped as Ralph watched her. "I've had one hell of a week, Ralph. I thought I was involved with a man that I would marry one day, and it turns out I wasn't just wrong about him. I was wrong about what I wanted as well. I guess I never questioned it and just did what was expected. I never really knew who the hell he was if I'm honest about it, just who he seemed to be. I saw the money, security, career and confidence he showed the world, not the man behind it."

"That isn't an answer, Charlotte."

"You scare the shit out of me, Ralph. You always have."

"So I gathered. And I really didn't like you very much, Charlotte. But here we are, and I'm still waiting for an answer."

Charlotte stood before Ralph, fussing about with her rain soaked hair, trying to avoid the words. "I can't fake something like that," she replied softly. "Who knows? Maybe that's why Jeff went elsewhere to have his needs met."

"Say it, Charlotte," Ralph asked, his eyes demanding the truth. "I need to hear the words from you."

Ralph looked down at her as the rain fell, harder now, rivulets of water running down her face. He reached a hand to her cheek and gently caressed it, showing that he, too, was trying to work out his own growing feelings for her. She looked up at him expectantly. He leaned over and kissed her gently, a soft, tender kiss on her lips, taking her breath away.

"The feelings are real, Ralph. I'm not an artist. I'm not an actor. I'm just me. I have never felt like this before. It's scaring the hell out of me. You're scaring the hell out of me, but in a very different way than you used to. I know this sounds crazy, but I think I'm falling for you, Ralph Watson."

Ralph leaned forward again, kissing her more deeply this time. She slipped her hands onto his shoulders and parted her lips, his tongue finding hers in a dance no less awkward than their own dancing, as they began to give in to what had been building between them.