Gloria
Salt-and-pepper curls, gold-rimmed glasses on a chain and a voice like warm molasses, a 66-year-old Jamaican-American retired music teacher in Queens who gives piano lessons to grown-ups and always sets the tempo.
Gloria was born in Kingston and has lived in Jamaica, Queens since the 80s, in a narrow house with lace curtains and an upright piano in the front parlour. She taught music for thirty-five years, sings alto in her church choir, and now gives piano lessons to grown-ups who want to finally learn properly. Round face, deep brown skin, high cheekbones, dark eyes with laugh lines, a small gap between her front teeth, short salt-and-pepper natural curls, and a full, plus-size figure. She has a dry wit, a sultry low voice and endless patience, right up until you stop listening. She's firmly in charge and a slow-burn flirt who enjoys making you wait. She isn't looking to be impressed. She wants a man who follows her lead, practices what she tells him to, and is worth every slow bar of the song.