Summer Dances - Chapter 11

            The air was still.  Nothing moved.  Except for the stars.  They always moved.  But they didn’t change.  So it was up to that big star, the Sun, to creep up slowly and peek over the horizon to see if anything was different.  And on this day, in this place, nothing had changed.  Yet.

=

            Eddie heard the door to the house open and close, then the catch of the Jeep’s engine, and the crunch of the tires on gravel.  “This early in the morning?” he thought to himself.  “Where is he going?”  He pulled on his clothes and shoes and was soon following the wispy trace of dust left by the Jeep.

            It wasn’t long before he saw a wrought iron gate and a garden of silent stones.  Eddie coasted to a stop as he spotted the Jeep.  He paused for a moment and watched Miguel stop at one of the headstones.   Feeling empty, Eddie turned the bike around to ride back to the house.

=

            When Miguel arrived home a little while later, he was surprised to find breakfast on the table.  Eddie was pacing slowly around the kitchen, and he stopped as Miguel sat at the table.  “Well thank you, Eddie.  This looks good.”

Eddie nodded and grabbed a chair at the table.  “Where can I get a bicycle tire fixed?”

 “Well, Eddie.  I think that José down at the gas station might be able to help you out with that.”  Miguel sipped his coffee slowly, giving himself some time to think.  “Are you in a hurry to get going?”

“Oh, I don’t know, Miguel.”  Eddie sighed and looked down at his hands.  “I mean, what am I doing here?”

“I think I remember you crashed your bike,” Miguel replied with a wry smile.  He continued, “I know, I know.  That’s not what you meant.”  He took another sip of coffee and gave himself a moment to think.  “I don’t know why you’re here, Eddie,” he said thoughtfully.  “Maybe you have something you need to do.  Maybe nothing.  Maybe you crashed to slow you down.  I can’t say. Maybe we just have to wait and see.  But I will tell you this, Eddie…” Miguel looked deep into his cup, “…you need some work on this coffee.”  He looked up, his eyes laughing.

Turning serious, Miguel said, “What I can say, Eddie, is be true to yourself, be honest, do what you need to do.  Things will work out the way they need to.”  Miguel glanced at his watch.  “I have to get going.  You gonna be alright?”  Eddie nodded and Miguel slapped him on the back. 

“By the way, you’re getting really good with those dishes.”  Grabbing his keys, Miguel grinned and made his way out the door.

=

             “Eddie….Eddie….EDDIE!”

            “Whaaa?”  Trudy’s face swam into view.  She smiled worriedly and rumpled his hair.  “What’s wrong Eddie?”

            “Umm…nothing really.”

            “Oh, don’t give me that.  You’ve been bumping into things all day.  Good thing we’re done for today.”  She smiled and continued, “I thought you might hurt yourself the way you were going.”  Trudy pulled him over to a table and sat down.  “Have a seat and tell me what’s going on.”

            Eddie nodded absently and sat at the table.  “Do you believe in fate?”

            “Well!”  Trudy looked surprised.  “I wasn’t quite expecting a philosophy question, but okay.”  She glanced at Eddie’s anxious face and smiled reassuringly. Thinking carefully, she continued.  “I don’t know about fate, Eddie.  To a certain degree, I do think that things are supposed to happen.  But I don’t think that our lives are pre-destined.  I think we get to make choices.”  She looked questioningly at him and asked, “How about you, Eddie?  Do you believe in fate?”

            “Oh, I don’t know. I’m trying to make some sense out of my life.  I just don’t know why I’m here, that’s all.”

            She smiled sympathetically.  “I don’t know why either, sweetie.”  She took Eddie’s chin in her hand, “But I sure am glad that you are here.  Now let’s finish up so we can get out of here.”  She pushed her chair back to stand, but Eddie remained in his seat.  “Oh dear.  Is there something else?”

            He smiled weakly.  “I don’t know what to do about Kate.”

            Trudy looked at Eddie softly.  “Well, if you want to get to know her better, you’re going to have to talk to her sometime.”

            “Yeah, but every time I open my mouth around her, nothing ever seems to go right. I just don’t know what to do.”

            She nodded.  “I can’t answer that one for you, Eddie.  But I’ll tell you what my momma used to say, ‘Nothing ever gets finished, unless you get started.’  So, if you’re going to get something settled between you two, you better get started talking to her.”  She patted his hand and smiled.  “And speaking of finishing, let’s finish up so we can get out of here.”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 10

            The air was hot and still, holding its breath, waiting for something.  A gentle rain or a quick summer storm, either would have been a welcome respite to the doldrums of summer.

=

            A couple of nights later, at Trudy’s urging, Eddie found himself making his way to Miguel’s dance studio.  Trudy’s directions of “Over there and up the stairs” led him a gas station where the attendant grinned and said, “Hey Eddie. Around the back.”       How so many people knew his name and what his business was, he could never figure out.  Light spilled from the second floor windows as he made his way up the stairs. As he opened the door, he was relieved to see there wasn’t a certain red-haired dancer in the room.

            Soft light bounced off whitewashed walls and mirrors reflected swirling pairs of young dancers on the polished wood floor. Miguel raised an eyebrow as Eddie took a seat along the wall before turning back to his students.  “Okay kids!  Same time Thursday.”  Turning to Eddie, Miguel said, “Tru told me you might stop by.”  Eddie nodded and Miguel continued, “Well, let’s see what you got.”

            “What…right now?”

            “Sure.”  Miguel pointed to the middle of the floor.  “Go ahead…don’t be scared.”  A few of the students stopped and turned to watch.

            Eddie cleared his throat.  “Well…okay.”  He moved to the center of the floor and swallowed again.  “I can dance…” He closed his eyes and began moving to the hip-hop music in his head, popping and sliding, his arms and body snapping and jerking.

“Dance?” Miguel asked. “Bah! That’s not dance…where’s your partner?”  There were a few titters from the few remaining students as Eddie came to a stop.

Miguel called to one of the girls, “Ana! Your Quinceañera is coming up, no?  Let’s show this young man what a proper dance looks like.”  The young girl smiled shyly at Eddie, then turned to Miguel and curtseyed.  He bowed back and a moment later, the two of them were waltzing around the studio, rising and falling to the familiar “one two three, one two three.”  They pulled up to stop in front of Eddie; Miguel giving Ana a fancy twirl at the end.

            “Okay, now you.”  Miguel motioned to Eddie.  “Ana, if you would…”  She stepped up to Eddie, curtseyed, and then waited.  “Eddie,” said Miguel, exasperated, “you should bow back to her.”

            “Oh yeah,” he mumbled, and bent clumsily at the waist.

            Miguel rolled his eyes.  “It will do for the moment.  Okay, let’s have some music.”

            Ana smiled at Eddie. “Put your hands here and here, okay?”  She turned to Miguel who smiled and nodded.  Looking back at Eddie she continued, “One big step and two little ones…here we go!”  With Ana’s encouragement, Eddie was soon moving about the floor with an almost graceful step.  As the music continued, the other students began to call out pointers of their own, “Relax, Eddie!” “Chin up!” “Don’t look at your feet!” “Yay, Eddie! Way to go!” 

The waltz ended and as Ana curtseyed, Eddie remembered to bow.  In an instant, several of the other girls were clamoring to dance with him.  Eddie looked over to Miguel helplessly.  Grinning, Miguel shushed the girls and organized them into a line.  “One dance, girls, then it’s home.”  Looking at Eddie, Miguel shrugged and smiled. “Practice makes perfect.”

Fifteen minutes later, the last girl had left and Eddie sat on the bench, dripping with sweat.  Miguel slapped him on the back and handed him a bottle of water.  “Not bad for your first time.”

“You think?”

“Well, you did have some good teachers.  The girls did well.”  Miguel looked at Eddie mischievously. “Did you want to come to the adult class tomorrow? Kate will be there...” As Eddie choked on his water and sputtered, Miguel clapped him on the back and smiled.  “I didn’t think so.”  He helped Eddie to his feet and moved to the door.

As Miguel began to turn off the lights, Eddie turned to look back onto the studio floor.  “I can do this…” he muttered to himself, and proceeded down the stairs.

Miguel watched as Eddie made his way down the street, his arms up and his feet moving to an imaginary waltz.  “Indeed, Eddie,” he chuckled. “You certainly can...”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 9

            “Sí, se puede.”  Eddie stirred the small square of paper into the glass of water.  “Here’s looking at you kid –“ He downed the drink and made a face to himself.  “Maybe a little sugar next time…” he thought to himself.  Pulling on his clothes, he looked out into the darkness.  “Okay.  It can happen.”  He opened the door and stepped out into the early morning

=

            It is quite simple really.  You start in the cool of the morning before the dawn, riding toward the sun, riding toward where the day begins.  Then as the sun breaks on the horizon, you turn around, and the long shadows of the morning sunrise shows you where you’ve been, and shows you the way home.

=

            Kate woke to the soft chirp of her alarm clock, and reached up to turn it off.  She lay there in the soft darkness for a few moments, thinking about what had happened the day before.  She hadn’t meant to get so angry with Eddie, but ever since she had inherited the ranch it seemed that men were always telling her that she wasn’t good enough to be in charge.  Either that or they were trying to marry her to take control of the ranch.  She shuddered involuntarily and then sighed.  “Why did Daddy have to die?” she thought to herself.

            She shook her head to clear her thoughts and sitting up, turned to get out of bed.  Her bare feet made soft sounds as she moved across the smooth wood floor to the kitchen to start her coffee.

=

            Somehow, on that morning ride, Eddie found himself at the Shannon ranch.  His gaze was captured by a figure standing on the porch of the house, her red hair glowing in the light of the morning sun, her long white nightgown moving gently in the early breeze. 

He rolled to a stop at the bottom step, and she looked at the bike thoughtfully.  Then, as if she were talking to herself, she said quietly, “My father used to give me rides on the handlebars…”

Silently, Eddie pulled off his jacket and folded it, making a seat on the handlebars of the bike.  He motioned to Kate to sit down, and she tilted her head to one side to look at him curiously.  She came down the steps to pull herself carefully onto the handlebars.  “Go that way,” she murmured, motioning down a dirt path toward a grove of trees. 

Carefully, he made his way down the path, her long red hair brushing against his face, the scent of lavender floating delicately in the breeze.  They came to a stop in the shade of the trees and she dismounted gracefully, making her way to a small brook that bubbled at her feet.

“My father used to bring me here all the time,” she said wistfully.

“Fathers are over-rated-” and too late Eddie realized that he had done it again.      

=

            “Well, that’s going to be pretty.”  Trudy eyed the side of Eddie’s face as she applied an ice pack to a hand shaped mark.

            “I thought it was a dream.”  He winced at the cold, “Turned out to be a nightmare.  I didn’t know a girl could hit so hard.”

            Trudy sat quietly for a moment. “That ‘girl’ as you call her, Eddie, has run a successful ranch pretty much on her own for the past few years. A lot of people thought she should have sold it, didn’t think a ‘girl’ could run a ranch. But it was the last thing she had from her father.”

            Eddie winced again, but this time not from the cold.  Trudy continued.  “Yes.  Two years ago, her dad passed away.”  She paused for a moment.  “He was so proud of her.  He made her finish college.”  Trudy smiled, “I remember he had to fight with her to leave for school.  Oh, she didn’t know he had cancer at the time.  She never would have left.  By the time she found out, it was too late, and he made her promise that she would finish.”  She shook her head and laughed.  “God, those two were so hard headed.  The arguments they had!  But you could tell they loved each other dearly.”

            Trudy looked Eddie in the eye.  “She’s strong in many ways, Eddie.”

            “I’m beginning to see that,” he said ruefully. “Especially strong with that right hand.”

            Smiling, Trudy said, “You need to appeal to her softer side.”

            “She has one?” Eddie raised an eyebrow.

            “Well, of course,” she laughed.  “You saw her dance the other night.”

            He nodded thoughtfully.  “That’s right…”

            “Eddie, you need to learn how to dance.”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 8

            By the time Eddie got back to the café, the afternoon had already disintegrated into one of those hot summer days where the air stands still and waves of heat shimmy across the road like restless spirits.  He dragged himself through the door and spotted Trudy and Miguel at the counter.

            “Oh my,” murmured Trudy, as she saw the dejected expression on Eddie’s face.

            “You could have warned me…” Eddie sighed, shaking his head.

            “You didn’t warn him?” Miguel asked, raising his eyebrow at Trudy.  He turned to Eddie, “You ran smack into the wrath of Kate, I see.”  Eddie nodded.  “Let me guess,” Miguel continued, “another less-than-shining moment?”

            Eddie nodded his head again.  “I was just surprised that she was running a ranch.  I mean, after seeing her all dressed up and dancing last night…” He sighed and sat down at the counter.  “And then I saw someone tossing hay out of a barn…how was I supposed to know they were the same person?  You just don’t expect a long legged tango dancer to be running a ranch…” Eddie lowered his face in his hands.

            Miguel looked at him with mock seriousness, “Indeed.”  As Trudy patted Eddie on the back, Miguel turned to her and said, “Graciela.”

            “You think?” her eyes opened in wonder.

            Miguel nodded gravely.  “Eddie? There’s someone I think you should meet.”

=

            As Eddie trudged up the steps he wondered if he would ever get on Kate’s good side.  He raised his hand to knock on the door but before he could, the door swung open and an old lady pointed her finger at him.  “Do you play harmonica?  You should play harmonica.”

            “Huh??”

            She poked him in the chest and repeated, “Do you play harmonica?  Well? Do you?”  She paused and looked him up and down.  “Oh, no matter, no matter…” The old woman moved into her kitchen and shuffled through the papers on her table.  After a few moments, she stopped and looked up.  “Well?  Why are you here?  Oh, never mind… Miguel sent you.  You need something…” She mumbled and moved around the table.

            “Huh? Um, yeah.  NO.  I mean, yeah, Miguel sent me,” he said confusedly. “But I don’t need anything-˝ she cut him off with a glance.

            “Do you play harmonica?  Here, take this.”  The old woman handed Eddie a small box and turned back to the table.  “Go ahead, open it up…” she said and continued to poke through her papers.  Nestled inside, on a bed of white cotton, lay a shiny sliver harmonica.

            “I don’t play-˝ he began.

            “You should play harmonica,” she said, looking up for a moment.  “Ah…” she sighed happily and pulled out a piece of paper.  She looked up again.  “Why are you here?” she repeated and began searching for something else.

            “Um…yeah.  I was told to-˝ he started again.

            “Miguel sent you,” she said, peering at him.  She took a bottle from a shelf and returned to the table.  An old fashioned pen was pulled from behind her ear, and dipping the pen into the bottle, she began writing furiously on the paper.  She was muttering to herself and he caught snatches of her babbling, “…good …breathing …learn rhythm…blues …ah…here it is.”  She found a pair of scissors on the table and swiftly cut the paper into smaller pieces.

            “One of these per day, 10 days,” she said, placing the papers inside an envelope.  “Dissolve it in water, then drink it down…you’ll see…here…watch.”  She took one of the pieces from him and made her way to the sink.  He watched as she poured a glass of water and slipped in the paper.  It dissolved immediately, tinting the water a light beige. 

He took the glass from her hands, sniffed it cautiously, took a sip, and then raised his eyebrows.  “Tea? …Is this tea?”

With a puzzled look, she asked, “What?  You want ice?”

=

            Later, back in the café, Trudy and Miguel watched as Eddie plopped himself down at the counter.  “Well?” Miguel asked, raising an eyebrow.

            “She gave me some paper with writing on it.  I’m supposed to make a drink with it.”  Eddie pulled one of the papers from the envelope and showed it to Trudy and then to Miguel.

            “That sounds about right,” said Miguel, taking the paper and reading it.  “Sí, se puede,” Miguel read aloud.  He looked at Eddie’s puzzled expression.  “It means ‘Yes, it can happen.’ Make sure you follow her instructions, Eddie.  Graciela may seem a bit strange, but she knows her stuff.”

Eddie looked at Trudy, who nodded in solemn agreement.

“Oh yeah,” he added.  “And she gave me a harmonica.”

“A harmonica?”  Miguel looked at Trudy, then back to Eddie.  “You’re lucky.  She gave one guy a cello.”

=

            That night as he was leaving the café, Eddie was surprised to see Miguel waiting outside.  “Hey! Trudy usually drives me back.  Something wrong?”

            “I had class tonight,” Miguel explained.  “You might want to see this.” He motioned Eddie to the back of the Jeep.  There, gleaming in the moonlight, was a bike.

            It was a single speed, fat tire cruiser, but to Eddie, it was truly a thing of beauty.  “It’s not like the road bike you rode in on,” said Miguel, pulling the bike from the Jeep, “but I thought you might like to get some wheels back under you again.” 

Eddie ran his hands over the handlebars.  “Where did it come from?”

Miguel shrugged.  “Oh…someone dropped it off.  I guess they heard you crashed your other bike. Go ahead.  Take it for a spin.”

Trudy came out from the café just in time to see Eddie rolling down the street, pedaling happily, the harmonica in his mouth.  “Didn’t that bike belong to Kate’s dad?” she said, as Eddie disappeared from view.

“Indeed,” murmured Miguel, rubbing his chin. “I believe it did.”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 7

            “Edddddddie!”  Trudy’s voice called him out of the storeroom.

            “Yes, ma’am?” Eddie dusted some flour off of his shirt as he came to the front counter.

            “Goodness, Eddie,” Trudy said smiling, “don’t call me ma’am.  You make me sound old.”

            Blushing slightly, Eddie corrected himself.  “Yes, Trudy?  Is there something I can help you with?”

            “Why, yes there is Eddie,” she said, her eyes twinkling.  “Could you take these lunches down to the Shannon ranch?”  He soon became acquainted with another small town idiosyncrasy; the idea of going “this-a-way” for a distance, then turning “that-a-way” until “you see the sign for the Shannon place.”   There was a reassuring, “You can’t miss it,” from Trudy, who loaded Eddie down with bags of lunches.

            He piled the lunches into the café’s truck, and started off “this-a-way” down the road.  Thankfully, it was as Trudy had promised, and after turning “that-a-way,” he soon saw a sign pointing to the Shannon ranch. 

            He saw a group of workers stacking hay bales that were being tossed from the upper floor of a barn and pulled up beside them.  “Where’s your boss?” garnered some blank stares, and Eddie realized the workers probably didn’t speak much English.  So reaching back to his high school Spanish, he tried, “¿Dónde está…ummm… tu jefe?”

            “Ah!” one worker answered and pointed toward the barn. “Ella está para arriba allí,” he rattled off.  Eddie’s Spanish failed him as he heard the first words and he figured it must mean ‘the boss was over there,’ so he headed up the barn’s ladder.  He called out as the boss wrestled another bale of hay through the opening of the barn’s upper floor.  “Hey!  Excuse me! I got your lunches from Trudy’s!”

            Eddie’s jaw dropped in amazement as long red hair spilled from underneath the hat as Kate pulled it from her head.  “You’re the boss?” he stammered, “but you’re just a girl!”

            Kate covered the ten steps between them and was in his face before he could blink, and her finger jabbed him in his chest.  “Look mister, just because I’m a girl doesn’t make me any less capable of being the boss!  I’m sick and tired of men treating me like some lost little girl who doesn’t know how to handle a ranch.  I’ve worked this place since I could walk, and just because I’m not a man doesn’t mean I don’t know what I’m doing!  Now if you can’t handle the idea of a woman running the show, I suggest you get the hell off of my ranch!”  She punctuated her last five words with five jabs to his chest, and out of the corner of his eye, Eddie could see the workers below smirking and nudging each other.

            So shocked at her outburst, all Eddie could muster was a strangled, “Yes, ma’am” before he stumbled down the ladder back to the truck.  As he started to pass out the lunches, he could hear her yelling, “And don’t call me ma’am!  It makes me sound old!”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 6

            The first rosy glow of the sun and the sparkling dew on the grass promised a clean canvas to paint the new day.

=

Miguel dropped Eddie off at the café on his way to the Co-op. “I’ll be by later to pick you up,” he said with a wave of his hand.

Eddie was soon immersed in bubbly conversation and soapy dishes.  The lunch rush slipped by quickly, and during a mid-afternoon lull, he had an opportunity to talk to Trudy.  “What’s this about a dance tonight?” 

She smiled and explained.  “Founders’ Day.  Everybody will be closing up early.  It’s a pretty big deal.”

“And you’re catering the party?” Eddie asked, grinning.

“We’re bringing the salad,” she corrected.  Trudy’s voice sang out. “Roger!” she called to the cook, “Is that salad ready to go?”  The cook waved his hand through the window and Trudy smiled.  “The café doesn’t bring anything fancy.  It’s more fun to have everyone else bring out their best dishes.”

Eddie again marveled at the simplicity and caring of the town.  Instead of the professionals coming in and supplying all the food, each family could show off the things that they loved to cook.

Trudy’s voice broke through his thoughts, “That’s it! Time to go!  Roger, let’s get that salad loaded up.  Eddie, your ride is here!” She pointed at the doorway to where Miguel was standing. She waved at him, brushing back her hair, and then turned to Eddie. “Make sure you come.  It will be fun,” she said with a smile.

=

The first few stars of evening winked slyly to each other as they watched the sun slide beneath the covers of night.

=

Eddie sat off to the side of the wooden dance floor, watching the families arrive, exchanging smiles and handshakes and warm-hearted hugs with each other.  He thought he could escape notice, but people kept asking if he was alone and if he wanted to join them at their table.  “No, thanks.  I’m with Miguel,” he would say and they would smile and nod and say, “Ah, Miguel! Good! Good!”  Apparently, being associated with Miguel was quite a good thing.

The tables surrounding the hardwood dance floor soon filled and the band began those dance tunes that were uniquely Texan. The dark curtain of night caressed the edges of the dance floor and the stars sparkled in spirited competition with those artificial substitutes hanging from the trees.  Couples made their way to the floor, soon joined by a soft breeze that wove in and out between the dancers.  People holding plates began a different dance around the platters and bowls crowded on the serving tables.  The easy rhythms of happy sighs and soft satisfaction began floating gently into the night sky.

Miguel materialized from the crowd and waved Eddie over to the serving line.  “Get some food, don’t be shy.”  Miguel smiled at him and pressed a plate into Eddie’s hand.  “Didn’t mean to abandon you.  I just had to get my students ready.”

Eddie wasn’t being shy as much as he had been struck speechless to see Miguel now dressed in a steely gray shirt and black dress pants.  “Students??”  Eddie stared disbelievingly at Miguel.  “You’re a teacher?”

Miguel laughed.  “Not a school teacher…hey, I got to get going. -  Tru!”  He waved Trudy over.  “Can you keep Lance here company?  I have to get my students ready.”

Trudy shooed him away with a smile and took Eddie’s arm.  “Let’s get some of this good food and enjoy this party.”   They filled their plates and wove their way to an open table.  People tossed greetings their way, and Eddie was surprised to hear an occasional, “Hey there, Eddie!” tossed in as well.

“People know me?” he asked, sliding into a chair.

Trudy grinned. “It’s a small town.”

“Oh yah,” he said, nodding, not completely understanding.  He scanned the crowd for Miguel. “What’s this about Miguel being a teacher?”

“Not a school teacher –“ she began, but someone at the microphone cut short her explanation.

“Everyone having a good time?” the man at the front called out and the crowd roared their approval.  “I’d like to welcome everybody to our Founders’ Day celebration!”  The crowd applauded again as he continued.  “I’d like to thank our band for coming out to play tonight,” he waved toward the band, “and I want to thank everyone for bringing all the good food!”  Everyone laughed and one person called out, “You’d better hurry if you want some, Padre!”

The priest laughed and replied, “Gluttony is a sin, my son!”  There was more laughter and he continued.  “Also to help us celebrate, here is one of your favorite dance troupes, Las Rosas de Tejas!”  The band struck up another dance tune and a dozen kids glided onto the dance floor.  Through the bright swirl of the dancers’ skirts, Eddie spied Miguel across the floor preparing another line of kids.  Eddie raised his eyebrows and looked at Trudy.

She nodded, “Yep…Dance teacher,” she said smiling.  Eddie watched in wonder as Miguel’s students performed. Trudy, meanwhile, lent commentary, “He teaches Latin dances mostly, tango, mambo, samba, but he’s been known to teach a waltz every once and awhile.”  She stopped suddenly, “-Well, this is different.” 

Miguel was stepping onto the dance floor.

“I thought he said he didn’t dance,” said Eddie, turning to Trudy.  “He doesn’t…” she said softly. Her eyes followed Miguel as he led a pretty young redhead onto the floor; the music for a tango began to swell from the band.  Soon, the two dancers were gliding across the floor, mesmerizing the audience with the sharp steps and turns, the long dramatic strides, and then finally, a deep, passionate dip at the end.

The woman was gorgeous; bright red hair, long slender legs, creamy skin. Eddie was hypnotized. A thunderous ovation rose from the audience as the dance came to an end.  A small sigh escaped from Trudy’s lips.  “Goodness…”

“Wow. That was hot,” whispered Eddie. He had been watching the young woman and suddenly noticed Trudy’s reaction.  “Oh!…Trudy.  I’m sure it’s nothing. There’s probably nothing…she’s probably just a student…I mean–“

She looked at him puzzled, “Well of course she is.  That’s Kate.”  She waved the two dancers over and said rather pointedly to Miguel, “You didn’t tell me you were going to dance.”

Miguel started to answer, but Kate interrupted, smiling.  “I’m afraid I didn’t give him any choice.  Steven was supposed to dance with me, but I didn’t think he was ready.  So I made Miguel be my partner.  Only the best will do!”  She gave a little half-bow to Miguel, who returned it with a flourish of his hand.

“You,” said Kate, fixing her green eyes on Eddie, “must be Eddie.”  He smiled and offered his hand.  Her grip was surprisingly strong for a girl, he thought.  “Do you dance?” she asked.

“No, I bike,” he replied. Kate raised a questioning eyebrow and Eddie stammered out an explanation.  “I ride a bike.  I don’t dance.  I mean, I dance.  Well, not like that.  Not like you.  You were beautiful.  I mean the dance was beautiful.  Not that you aren’t…” Eddie looked toward Miguel for help, who was hiding a grin and shaking his head.

“Lance,” said Miguel, coming to the rescue, “why don’t you go get something for the ladies to drink?”  With a thankful look at Miguel, Eddie turned away to find the drinks. 

As he slipped away, he heard Kate ask, “Lance?  I thought his name was Eddie…” He rolled his eyes and made his way to one of the metal tubs full of drinks.  Settling on a couple of bottles of water, he made his way back to the table only to find that Kate had left.  “She apologized for leaving,” Trudy explained, “She has an early day tomorrow.”

Clearly disappointed, Eddie sat down and mumbled, “I looked stupid.” 

Miguel slapped him on the shoulder and chuckled.  “Probably not your most shining moment,” he said smiling.  “But Kate has a way of keeping people off balance.  And speaking of off balance, I think I’m going to change and call it a night.  Eddie, you’ll be all right? Can’t say I’m entirely comfortable all dressed up like this.”

“You look good, Miguel,” Trudy said quietly. 

He looked surprised, but quickly regained his composure. “Well thank you, Tru.”  He looked down at himself and grinned.  “They do say that clothes make the man.”  And with a wave, Miguel made his way toward the door.

“Oh I don’t know about that,” Trudy said to herself thoughtfully, watching him leave, “Not the clothes so much…” She shook her head, clearing her thoughts and turned to Eddie brightly, “Well, if he’s not going to dance with me, maybe you can do me the honor.”

And with that, they made their way to the dance floor.

=

            Planets and stars slow-danced their way across the sky until the dawn gently shooed them off to bed.

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 5

            Eddie stacked the last plate and watched Trudy count out the day’s receipts.  It felt good to do a hard day’s work, and he stretched a bit as he walked over to where Trudy was working. 

She glanced up and smiled at him. “I volunteered to take you back to Miguel’s after work tonight, in case you were wondering how you were going to get back there.  Miguel is probably asleep already.”  She slid a number of bills over the table to him.  “Your share of the tips,” she explained.  “We share the work, we share the rewards.  And anyway, you might need some pocket money before payday.”

“Wow…thank you!” he murmured, taking the money and slipping it into his pocket.  “This is great!”

Trudy smiled.  “You did a good job, Eddie.”  She motioned for Eddie to follow her as she locked the money in the office safe.  “How long do you think you’ll be staying?  Miguel didn’t sound too sure as to how long you were going to be here.  And it’s always hard to find good help.”

“Well, I was hoping I could talk to you about that,” he said.  She looked at him questioningly as he continued.  “I mean, you know Miguel pretty good, right?  I don’t want to put him out or anything.  He’s given me a place to sleep and all, but I don’t want to make it hard on him.  I’m a stranger, after all, and he just kinda took me in out of the rain without really knowing anything about me….” Eddie’s voice trailed off as he looked at Trudy.

She nodded thoughtfully, measuring her words before she spoke.  “Yes, that’s Miguel.  That’s what he does.  He’s special, that man.”  She looked off into space for a moment and then shook it off.  “Anyway, you won’t be putting him out.  Just be fair to him, and honest.  Do your best.  He’ll give you the same.”  She smiled and brushed back her hair.  “Well, let’s lock up and get going.”  Taking her keys, Trudy walked toward the door.

“How long have you two been dating?” Eddie asked.

Her keys suddenly dropped from her hand.  “What??”

“Oh man.  I’m sorry.  It was just how he was talking about you before we came in today.  He seemed to be…and you were kinda…well, I just thought…” Eddie stumbled over his words.  “I really put my foot in it, didn’t I?”

“Goodness…I…well, he never…we’ve been friends…I never thought…” She blushed.  “Did he really say something?”

Eddie looked at the floor, embarrassed.  “He said you were pretty special, so I thought….”

“Oh…My…Goodness.”  Trudy laughed softly.  “I swear…that man!” She laughed again, scooping her keys up from the floor.  “Well I need to think about this!”  She took a few steps and paused, then shook her head and smiled at Eddie thoughtfully. “That was a lucky storm that blew you in!”

=

On the drive to Miguel’s house, Eddie filled Trudy in on his story.  How he was on an adventure, escaping from an abusive father, looking for a place he could feel wanted, a place where he could belong. “Mostly,” he said, “I just need some time to think.  And you know,” he continued, looking up at the stars, “this sure is a pretty place to think.”

Trudy pulled up to the darkened house and turned off the car.  “I don’t have a key,” Eddie said suddenly. 

She smiled softly.  “The door won’t be locked.  You can head on in.”  Eddie looked surprised.  “He trusts people.  We all do here.  And Eddie, you’re absolutely right.  It is a pretty place to think.” 

He slipped quietly from the car and into the house, marveling at the idea of leaving one’s house unlocked at night.  Once inside, he glanced back out the window to see Trudy standing outside her car, brushing back her hair, looking up into the night sky.

It wasn’t until several minutes later that he heard her car start up and the crunch of gravel under the wheels as Trudy drove away.

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 4

            Miguel brought the Jeep to a stop in front of a neat, white-painted building with large windows and red tile trim.  Curtains hung in the windows and red and green neon glowed with the words “Trudy’s Good Eats.”  He shut off the engine and turned to Eddie.  “Now I’m not in any position to tell you what to do, but I ask that you be nice to this lady inside.”  Miguel glanced through the window.  “She’s a friend of mine and I won’t take well to anyone disrespecting her.  She’s pretty special.”  With that, he gave Eddie a stern look, swung himself out of the Jeep and walked to the door.

            The look gave Eddie pause and he thought to himself, “Well, okay…” and followed Miguel into the café.  The familiar smells of breakfast were lingering in the air and called to Eddie as he walked in the door.  Fresh cut flowers decorated red checked tablecloths.  Comfortable wooden chairs smoothed by the hands and bottoms of countless customers glowed from the sun that glinted off well-polished chrome.  The waitress, a somewhat attractive blonde perhaps in her thirties, was pouring coffee for a customer at the counter.

            “Miguel!”  She smiled and her hand reached up to brush back her hair.  “What brings you in today?  Did you come in to ask me to the dance tomorrow?”  She laughed easily and said, “I can’t wait forever, you know.”

            Miguel took a seat at the counter and watched uncomfortably as the customer at the counter eyed Trudy appreciatively.  “Aw, Tru, you know I don’t dance,” he said.

            She turned to Eddie and smiled.  “He says he doesn’t dance.”  Her eyes returned to Miguel, laughing.  “Well then, if it’s not the dance, what can I do for you?”  She deftly poured a cup of coffee and pushed it toward Miguel.

            “Tru, I was hoping you could help this young man with a job.”  Miguel nodded toward Eddie.  “Lance, this is Trudy.  Tru, Lance.  The storm blew him up to my house with a broken bike, so it looks like he’s stuck for awhile.”

            Eddie leaned across the counter and shook hands with the waitress.  “The name is Eddie,” he said, shaking his head and looking at Miguel.  “He just likes to call me Lance.”

            Trudy laughed and looked him over. “Well, to be honest Eddie, this isn’t such a bad place to be stuck.  It’s simple and quiet.  Good, honest, hard-working people.”  She looked around the café and said with a smile, “Hungry ones too. I can always use some help around here.  And for a friend of Miguel, I think I can find something.”

            “Thanks Tru.  I knew I could count on you,” Miguel said.  “I really appreciate it.”

            “Oh Miguel, you know I’d be more than happy to help you out.”  She smiled at him again and then turned to Eddie.  “When can you get started?  It’s not a living wage, but then again, the living is easy here.”

=

            With Eddie working comfortably in the kitchen, Miguel relaxed at the counter and sipped his coffee.  The lunch crowd was beginning to come in and he felt a little guilty taking up a seat at the counter, but he always enjoyed his time in the cafe. 

This was the center of the community and not just because it was at the crossroads in the middle of town.  It was like a big capital letter of a coffee shop that started the day and the perfect punctuation of dessert at the end.  And in between were the hot delicious adjectives of lunch and the solid filling nouns of dinner.  The abuelos and tiós played dominos on the patio.  Families came for Sunday breakfast after church.  Couples on dates would occupy the tables for dinner.  Teens would grab a basket of fries and a soda at night.  The bulletin board next to the register had the usual garage sale notices and pet-for-sale postings, but there were also the snippets of daily life like “J.  You left your jacket in my car.  L.” and “Alex, call me next time you’re in for a fry run. Sal.”  It was comfortable and cozy, and Trudy deftly steered it all with an easy balance of common sense and business sense.  It was five-star service in a two-star town.

She made it work and made it look easy.  Miguel marveled at the grace that she had, gliding between the tables, balancing plates and glasses, smiling all the while and joking with the customers.  Everyone felt welcome, and Trudy worked hard to put things on the menu so that everyone could find something that they would like.  And if something wasn’t on the menu, you couldn’t put it past Trudy to ask the cook to give it a try.  It made the cook crazy at times, but he always seemed to rise to the challenge.           

Miguel wondered what it was like.  What was it like to be around someone so much who was so full of life?  Someone who would challenge you all the time?  He shook his head ruefully, “If only a guy like me could have a chance with someone like Tru.”  Certainly, they were friends, but didn’t Tru deserve someone who was going somewhere, someone who could give her things, not an old rancher like himself? “How could I possibly make her happy?” he thought to himself.  He threw a couple of dollars on the counter and waved to Eddie and Tru as he left the café.

=

He sat outside in his Jeep, surveying the crumpled bills in his wallet.  A five and three ones…eight dollars.  He thought about the three shirts and remembered how he had promised himself that when he had that fourth shirt, the white one, he would move on.  And then he looked through the window and watched Tru, smiling and happy, wiping down the counter, with that one wisp of hair that always seemed to work its way loose.

He leaned back and looked up into the sky.  A cloud was passing overhead, casting a shadow over the crossroads.  Lost in his thoughts, Miguel wondered where the cloud was heading.  His gaze returned to his wallet, then up to Tru in the window of the café. 

Where indeed.

Summer Dances - Chapter 3

            The air was clean and wet from the rain, and the soft gray blanket of morning was being pulled slowly from the sky by the approaching dawn.

=

            Miguel stood on the porch, sipping his hot coffee, savoring this moment of the day.  It felt good today, strong and fresh and clean.  Setting his cup on the porch railing, he unfolded his knife to cut some of the flowers from around the house.  As he knelt, he could sense the Earth moving beneath him, and he liked the feel of it.  “There’s a new partner to the dance,” he thought to himself, and stood up with his flowers to start the day.

=

            Not much happened during this time of the growing season, but Miguel liked to keep a routine.  He drove to the co-op to open up the warehouse and check messages.  One never knew when someone might need a tractor or some tool shared by the growers in the area.  There wasn’t anything to take care of; things hadn’t changed much since last night when he had locked up.  But he checked the calendar out of habit anyway.  He took comfort in knowing that he was reliable and that he did his job well.

            With nothing else to do there, his next stop was the post office to check his mail.  There were a few catalogs, nothing more.  It was shaping up to be another quiet weekend, well, except for the kid on the bike.  Miguel smiled to himself and shook his head as he pulled away from the post office.  Things didn’t look too good for Eddie, but with a little luck it might work out okay for him.  The scraped knee would heal soon; the bicycle would be harder to fix, but the other stuff going on with that kid…well, that would be the hardest to repair.

            He was still thinking things over when he arrived at the cemetery.  Gathering the flowers, he stepped from the Jeep and through the wrought iron gates.  It didn’t take him long before he came to some familiar stones.  He cleared the old flowers away and carefully arranged the fresh ones.  “Daisies, mamá.  Your favorite.”  It was because of his mother that he was in this predicament.  She had raised him to respect and care for those in the community.

            “When I’m gone, Miguel,” she had told him, “these people will be your family.  They helped us when we needed it when your papá passed away, so we will help them when they need us.”  And so that’s how it was, with his mother opening her door and her heart to those who needed it, and Miguel taking on the responsibility when she had passed on.

            “What am I supposed to do with this kid, mamá?”  The illegals were easy to care for, a little food and a place to sleep for a few hours. “This kid…he needs more than food for his stomach.”  Miguel sighed and lifted his eyes to the sky.  He knew better to complain.  There was always enough, not a lot, but just enough to get by.  Perhaps that was his fate, to have what he needed, but not too much to get complacent.  Ah well, things would work out, they always did.

            But he was getting restless.  He recognized that when he stood in front of his closet several weeks ago, looking at the three shirts that were in his closet.  Three well-worn work shirts hung there and he had thought, “When I get a nice white dress shirt, I’ll get a real job in the city.”  And the thought shocked him, the idea that he would want to leave this town.  But he found himself revisiting that moment in front of the closet more and more often.

            He shook his head to clear his thoughts and with one last prayer, patted the headstone.  “Goodbye, Papá… Mamá.”  Miguel climbed into the Jeep and smiled ruefully.  “Wish me luck.  Wish me luck, indeed.”

=

            Eddie had quickly taken care of the dishes and now stood looking around in the middle of the living room. The house was well kept and clean. Nothing fancy, but comfortable and simple.  The pictures on the walls showed who must have been Miguel and his parents at different stages of their lives.  He noted the father in the pictures disappeared when Miguel was young and wondered what that must have been like.  The pictures of the mother intrigued him.  Her eyes seemed sad in the earlier pictures, but as she grew older her eyes looked strong and fiery and full of love.  “I bet you were a great mom,” he thought.  His own mother he hardly remembered, and his father he didn’t want to remember.  Eddie gazed at the pictures again and came to rest on Miguel. He was having a hard time trying to figure out the man.

It felt a little awkward, intruding on this stranger who had taken him in from the storm.  But apparently, Miguel was used to it.  The room that he had slept in, the one with the illegal immigrants, seemed accustomed to visitors.  There were clean sheets and towels stacked in the closet, along with boxes of soap and toothbrushes.  Not quite a five star hotel, but a nice port in a storm, so to speak.  Miguel seemed friendly enough, but it seemed like he was troubled by something.  Eddie laughed at that thought; hadn’t he just met the man?  It was a bit early to be making those kinds of judgments.

The sound of the Jeep arriving back at the house interrupted his thoughts. 

“How did you do with those dishes, Lance?” Miguel stepped into the house and poked his head into the kitchen.  Nodding approvingly, he said, “Nice job!  Think you can do that professionally?”

Summer Dances - Chapter 2

Eddie woke the next morning with the smell of bacon and coffee creeping into his dreams.  He moaned to himself as he sat up and his aching body reminded him of the crash from the day before.  The dull ache in his stomach, meanwhile, reminded him that he had missed dinner.

            There was a knock on the door and Miguel pushed the door open.  “Hey Lance, want something to eat?”

            Lance?  Who the hell was Lance?  “Eddie….my name is Eddie,” he mumbled sleepily, and he looked up and saw the smile on Miguel face.  Grinning sheepishly, Eddie replied, “Um yeah, thanks…” 

Miguel nodded and motioned down the hallway.  “Bathroom is down that way.  I’ll have some breakfast for you in the kitchen.”

With his face freshly washed, Eddie felt much better as he sat down at the table. Miguel slid a plate of scrambled eggs and bacon in front of him and poured him a cup of coffee.  “I can give you a ride into town later if you want to check around for some bike repair,” he offered. “Not sure you’ll find anything though.”  Eddie nodded as he downed the breakfast, grateful for the hot meal. 

He looked up at Miguel and said, “I don’t have any money really, so I was hoping that maybe I could do some work for you around here, in exchange for the food and stuff.  You know, until I can get going.”

Miguel looked at him thoughtfully.  “That sounds like something that might work.  But you’ll need money to fix that bike.”  He picked up his dishes from the table and walked to the sink.  “There might be some people in town who might be able to help you out, give you a job or something.  You’re not afraid of hard work, are you?”

Eddie looked him square in the eye.  “No sir.  Whatever it is, I’m willing to give it a try as long as someone can show me what to do.”

“Well Lance,” Miguel said laughing.  “I don’t think you’ll need much training for washing dishes.”  He motioned to the dishes in the sink, “Tell you what, take care of these and we’ll see what we can do.  I have some things I need to take care of this morning, so I’ll swing back in a couple of hours and take you into town.  Think you can handle it?”

“Think you can trust me?”  Eddie shot back, rising to the challenge.

“Lance,” Miguel chuckled, “I think we’ll get along just fine.”

 

Summer Dances - Chapter 1

The West Texas skies were that dark inky blue that comes before a storm, and the green fields glowed in eager anticipation of the rain. 

=

            There was a knock at the door.  Glancing up from his book, Miguel wondered if it was another of the passengers from the ferrocarril subterráneo from Mexico. “Un momento!” he called out and pulled his weary bones from the chair.  At the end of the day, he had been looking forward to relaxing with his book, and now… this.  He made his way to the door and swung it open. 

Looking at his visitor, he would not have been more surprised if an alien had been standing there; but this was not even one of the illegals.  He surveyed the figure on the porch, a young Anglo with a bicycle on his shoulder, a scrape on his knee and an uncertain smile on his dust streaked face.   

            Miguel stared hard at him. “Who are you?”

            “Eddie.”

            “Eddie…” Miguel repeated.  “Well, good Eddie, for a moment I thought you were Lance Armstrong. What can I do for you, Eddie?”

            Eddie shifted the bike uncomfortably on his shoulder.  “Where can I get a bicycle tire fixed?”

            “I can’t help you there.”  Miguel glanced at the bike.  It looked as if it might need a bit more than just a tire fixed.  “You might be able to find someone in town though.”  The approaching storm kicked up a little dust and blew it through the open door.

            Eddie looked up at the darkening sky and asked, “Do you mind if I stay here out of the rain?”  The bike was getting heavy and he badly wanted to set it down.

            Miguel raised an eyebrow.  “Why here?” 

            “Why not here?” Eddie snapped back.  Normally he was more polite, but the middle-aged man standing in the doorway was beginning to irritate him; he had a flat tire with no spare tube, a bent wheel, his knee ached where it had banged against the pavement, and now it looked like he was going to be rained on out here in the middle of nowhere.

            Quietly, Miguel’s voice broke through Eddie’s thoughts. “Why indeed,” he said with a little smile.  “So, you need a place to rest up?”

            Eddie looked up tiredly and sighed. “Yeah,” he mumbled apologetically.  Miguel motioned him into the house.  “Thanks…” said Eddie.  Setting the bike down, he limped past Miguel into the house.

            They walked down a hallway and Miguel pushed open a door to a darkened room.  Pulling the covers off a sleeping shape and gently shaking the bed, he said, “Hey you guys…you’re out.  It’s time.”

            Two sleepy bodies tumbled to the floor, mumbling, “Gracias, señor.” and “Okay, okay.”  They gathered their things and smiled as they stumbled from the room and out of the house.  Eddie watched as the men crossed the road and climbed into a battered pick-up truck.  The engine coughed and the truck lurched onto the road.

“Illegals,” Miguel looked at Eddie and shrugged.  “They needed a place to sleep.”  He pulled the sheets from the bed. “It’s not much,” he said, “but you can stay as long as you need to.  I’ve got some clean sheets up there in the closet.”  He looked Eddie up and down and shook his head.  “Let’s take a look at that knee…”

=

            Eddie listened to the rain dance across the roof, and flexed his sore knee.  “This isn’t a complete disaster,” he thought to himself, “At least I have a place to stay out of the rain.”  But taking stock of the rest of his situation didn’t give him much hope.  He had a flat tire and a bent wheel, no money to speak of, no home to call even if he had the means to do so.  Not that his dad would even care, considering they hadn’t talked in years. 

Somehow, Eddie figured that life on the road would be easier, more exciting, and for the most part it had been.  For someone with hardly any experience with bicycle touring, he was doing okay.  Until now that is.  With a bent rim, unless there was a bike shop in this town, he figured he was stuck.  He closed his eyes and lowered his body painfully onto the bed.  The steady drumming of the rain soon comforted him and before long, Eddie drifted off to sleep.