One
Christmas
lights decorated the windows as the interior of the dance studio was awash with
the bright lights and laughter of the class.
Miguel looked over the group of dancers and smiled. Now that it was winter, less time would be
devoted to farming, and a bit more time could be spent teaching.
“Señor
Miguel.” Ana looked up from the floor where the troupe was resting. “Are we
going to do something for the fiesta?” Ana
had recently moved up into the advanced class and was looking forward to the celebration. The small West Texas town of El Speth was
home to ‘Final de Año,’ a seven-day winter festival from Christmas to New
Year’s Day. Traditionally, a performance
by the dance group was one of the highlights of the celebration.
He
smiled at his student. “I’m glad you asked that Ana. We are going to perform a waltz. Simple, yet elegant. And you and I will be the featured dancers.” He chuckled at her surprised look. “It’s your time. You’re good and you’ll be fine. We’ll schedule lots of rehearsals.” Miguel glanced out the window toward Trudy’s
Good Eats and shook his head ruefully, “Lots of rehearsals indeed…”
Two
Trudy gathered her drink into her hand and walked out to
the back patio of the café, turning out the main lights along the way. She made her way outside and when she got to
the back rail, she turned to look back toward the building and sighed.
‘It’s a good life, isn’t it?’ she thought. ‘I have the café,
a nice clientele, good friends… but is this it?’ She sighed, pushed a stray hair back into
place, then turned to stare out into the moonlit night. ‘Is this all there is?’
A
gentle touch on her shoulder startled her and she spun around. A voice said, “Miguel isn’t here, is he?”
=
Some twenty minutes later, Trudy stopped to catch her
breath. “Well, that was fun.” She smoothed her dress and blushed a
bit. “I’m sorry, it’s just been a long
time since…”
“It’s okay…”
She gave a little smile.
“I just don’t want Miguel to find out…”
“Don’t worry, it will our little secret…”
Three
Ana called out from the crowd of students waiting to go
on for their fiesta appearance. “Señor
Miguel, I’ve twisted my ankle! Someone
else will have to take my place.” Ana limped
toward her teacher, then moved aside. Aghast,
Miguel spun around then stopped short, a shocked expression on his face. There, standing behind Ana and dressed in an
elegant ball gown, was Trudy. She
blushed and curtsied.
“Ana is actually okay; this is just her plan for getting
me to dance with you. We’ve been
practicing for weeks,” she whispered. She hesitated then continued, “I never
got to go to prom, I never get this dressed up.
I feel a bit silly.”
Miguel regained his composure and said seriously, “Trudy,
you shouldn’t feel silly. You look wonderful.
And on top of that, you’re an amazing woman. Look at all you’ve done and how far you’ve
come in your life.”
“I couldn’t have done it without you, Miguel. You gave me a chance to stand on my own.”
“Maybe so, Tru...”
Miguel cleared his throat. “After
all these years though, it’s not standing on your own I’m thinking of. All I want right now, is to give us a chance
to dance.”
As
the familiar strains of “The Blue Danube” began, Trudy closed her eyes and
Miguel took her into his arms and whisked her across the hardwood dance floor.
One
two three, one two three…
They
floated through the night, rising gracefully across the hardwood. Then if by magic, they rose above the neon
lights of Trudy’s Good Eats, then above the bright lights spilling from the
dance studio, and finally above the snow dusted streets of the West Texas town…
One
two three, one two three…
They
danced among the stars.
=
“Mama,
papa… This is Trudy. And I love her very
much…”
