Dances
I opened the door and stepped out onto the wooden ramp that led to the front door of our house. I looked back to see if my dad was coming through the door after me. When I turned around, I could see him still in the kitchen talking to my mother.
“Dad, come on.” I said. “I don’t want to be late.” I called into the kitchen.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He said, coming down the hallway and out the front door. He shut it behind him and we continued down the ramp. When I got to the end of the sidewalk, I climbed in the side of his gold pick-up truck and he climbed in on the drivers side. He started the engine and the floorboards vibrated underneath my feet. The ride to church was a short one, but at least my dad was here to take me this time. I didn’t like asking people for rides; it made me feel like a burden.
The ride was as silent as it was short and we barely said a word to each other the whole of the time. It didn’t exactly bother me. This was normal. It just reminded me of the not so great relationship I had with my parents.
“We’ll be here around one o’ clock to pick you up. Be waiting outside for us.” He said as I climbed out of the truck at the back of the church. I knew the routine well.
“I’ll be there.” I said. I would probably be talking to Niki on the front steps when he pulled up. I walked into the church and went down the hallway to the youth room. Niki was already there, but she was the only one. “Where’s Tod?” I asked.
“He’s coming with my mom.” She said. She took a deep breath and sighed loudly. She looked at the floor and then back at me. She suddenly gasped and I instinctively checked my braces for bits of anything that could’ve gotten stuck in them, forgetting that I hadn’t had time to get breakfast.
“What is it? What are you all excited about?” I asked. I couldn’t help but smile. Despite being almost four years older than me, she suddenly looked like a six year old that had just discovered the hidden location of the cookie jar in an empty kitchen. She put her hand over her mouth and instantly took it away, exposing her smile, as though she could not yet decide where all of her limbs should be.
“I have someone for you to meet.” She said. I sighed.
“Niki, I appreciate it, but I really don’t feel like meeting anyone right n-” She cut me off.
“Please Ali, will you just meet him? For me? This is just what you need. You need to get out and meet some new people.” She said. She sounded convicing, but I was still skeptical.
“If I do meet him, how do you even know I’ll like him? How do you know if he’ll like me?” I asked. I had no clue what this guy was like, or even his name.
“Because you guys are perfect for each other. You have the same kind of humor, and he’s a real gentleman, and he’s cute, and he’s nice, and he is the best dancer.” She said, counting on her fingers all of his good qualities.
“Okay, okay.” I said, laughing. “If I meet him, will you stop talking about him?” I asked. She smiled slyly.
“I might.” She said. “Probably not.” She paused and put her hand on her chin, as if thinking. “Once you meet him, you won’t be able to stop talking about him.” She said.
“What makes you so sure?” I asked. She thought about this for a moment.
“He’s just…I don’t know, he’s just…” She giggled. “I could see you guys dancing the waltz together.” With this comment, she doubled over laughing, and I had to join in. With my two left feet, I could not see myself dancing with a mop without stepping on it several times.
“Niki,” I said, in between laughs. “You know I can’t dance.” I said, still laughing. She held her sides, trying desperately to stop laughing.
“I know,” She said, trying to regain her composure. “but I bet with him as your partner, you could.” I started laughing all over again. When I finally stopped laughing, I asked the question that had been on my mind ever since I agreed to meet him.
“So when will I get to meet this…” I said, allowing her a chance to tell me his name.
“Matthew,” She said, filling in the blank. “and if you want to meet him, he’s coming to church today.” She said, smiling and biting her bottom lip at the same time. My mouth fell open.
I was about to say something when Nichole walked in. I closed my mouth instantly, although I’m not quite sure why I did. Coming in at the point of the conversation that she did, she wouldn’t have understood any of our senseless rambling anyway. Niki giggled at my sudden attempt to compose myself in front of Nichole.
I stepped over and whispered in her ear, “I guess I’ll meet him after class then?” She grinned from ear to ear and nodded. I laughed. In the many years I had known Niki, I had never seen her so jumpy and hyper and just…child-like before. It was funny, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but notice that Niki was still a child at heart, even if she didn’t show it so much that is was obvious.
Class passed pretty uneventfully. Nothing really happened that was strange, save for the fact that I was actually able to focus on the class. I had almost forgotten about Matthew until Niki took hold of my wrist and started pulling me up the stairs. When we got to the sanctuary, she scanned the crowd quickly and, after apparently finding him amongst the sea of people, continued dragging me by the arm. I could not yet see the person she was trying to point out when Jenna tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around instinctively and Niki let go of my wrist, deciding instead to pull Matthew over to me.
“Hey Ali.” Jenna said in her usual, high-pitched voice.
“Hey Jen. What’s up?” I asked, in no hurry to meet Matthew.
“I just wanted to say hi.” She said, holding her arms out for a hug. I giggled. As weird a tradition as this was, it was a weekly ritual for us. I gave her a quick hug and spun around to try and see where Niki had gone.
When I turned around, I nearly knocked into a boy just a few inches taller than me. “Oh, I’m sorry.” I said, looking at his face. When my eyes hit his lips, I came dangerously close to fainting. He had the most beautiful smile of any guy I had ever seen.
“The fault was mine entirely.” He said. “I’m new here. My friend Niki told me about her church and after I heard some of the stories about this place, I had to see for myself.” He held his hand out for me to shake. “You must be Ali. I recognize the hugging.” I took his hand to shake and tried to remain standing. “Niki’s told me so much about all of you. I feel like I’ve been going here for years.” He glanced quickly around the church, noting the large windows on the side walls, and the video screen at the front. He looked back at me and giggled. My ankles were threatening to give out, but this time, it was for a good reason. It was then that I remembered to answer him.
“Yeah, our church can do that to people, but you haven’t seen anything yet. Some of the people here are just plain crazy.” I said. I searched my mind for something else to say, and I drew a blank. Luckily, he beat me in the race to say something.
“You seem kinda normal.” He said, smiling. If this was what happened when he smiled, I didn’t want to know what would happen if he laughed.
“Thanks.” I said. “You seem normal enough yourself.” He laughed. It turns out what happened when he laughed was actually much better than when he smiled. When he smiled, I got weak ankles. When he laughed, I had an uncontrollable urge to laugh with him, and to keep laughing forever. It was obvious that I would never accomplish such a string of laugher, but the idea suited me for the present.
“You know,” He said. “you look like you would be a great dance partner.” I tried my best to suppress the giggle that was working its way up my throat.
“Oh, worse than you’d think.” I argued. He laughed.
“It’s not that hard.” He said, taking my hand in his. “Just follow my feet.” He said calmly, putting his other hand on the small of my back. I flinched slightly when his fingertips touched my side, but I relaxed quickly, and he smiled. I put my hand on his shoulder and looked down at his feet. He started by moving his right foot forward and I followed by moving my left foot back about the same distance. He made a sweeping motion to the side with is left foot, and I followed with my right. We brought our feet back together and continued in the simple box step until I felt confident enough to lift my head to meet his eyes. He was smiling and he looked completely relaxed. I wanted to dance with him for as long as possible, at least until my father came to pick me up.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard the piano music stop and I saw people taking their seats. “We should probably sit down.” I offered.
“That might be a good idea.” He agreed, stopping his feet and dropping his hand to hang beside his waist instead of clasping mine. We walked quickly over to the pew where I normally sat. I sat down beside Niki and Matthew sat beside me. When we had gotten seated, Niki elbowed me in the ribcage gently. I didn’t even look over. I knew what she was about to say.
“So?” She asked. I could not seem to formulate a decent reply with words, so I did the only reasonable thing.
I giggled.
I opened the door and stepped out onto the wooden ramp that led to the front door of our house. I looked back to see if my dad was coming through the door after me. When I turned around, I could see him still in the kitchen talking to my mother.
“Dad, come on.” I said. “I don’t want to be late.” I called into the kitchen.
“I’m coming, I’m coming.” He said, coming down the hallway and out the front door. He shut it behind him and we continued down the ramp. When I got to the end of the sidewalk, I climbed in the side of his gold pick-up truck and he climbed in on the drivers side. He started the engine and the floorboards vibrated underneath my feet. The ride to church was a short one, but at least my dad was here to take me this time. I didn’t like asking people for rides; it made me feel like a burden.
The ride was as silent as it was short and we barely said a word to each other the whole of the time. It didn’t exactly bother me. This was normal. It just reminded me of the not so great relationship I had with my parents.
“We’ll be here around one o’ clock to pick you up. Be waiting outside for us.” He said as I climbed out of the truck at the back of the church. I knew the routine well.
“I’ll be there.” I said. I would probably be talking to Niki on the front steps when he pulled up. I walked into the church and went down the hallway to the youth room. Niki was already there, but she was the only one. “Where’s Tod?” I asked.
“He’s coming with my mom.” She said. She took a deep breath and sighed loudly. She looked at the floor and then back at me. She suddenly gasped and I instinctively checked my braces for bits of anything that could’ve gotten stuck in them, forgetting that I hadn’t had time to get breakfast.
“What is it? What are you all excited about?” I asked. I couldn’t help but smile. Despite being almost four years older than me, she suddenly looked like a six year old that had just discovered the hidden location of the cookie jar in an empty kitchen. She put her hand over her mouth and instantly took it away, exposing her smile, as though she could not yet decide where all of her limbs should be.
“I have someone for you to meet.” She said. I sighed.
“Niki, I appreciate it, but I really don’t feel like meeting anyone right n-” She cut me off.
“Please Ali, will you just meet him? For me? This is just what you need. You need to get out and meet some new people.” She said. She sounded convicing, but I was still skeptical.
“If I do meet him, how do you even know I’ll like him? How do you know if he’ll like me?” I asked. I had no clue what this guy was like, or even his name.
“Because you guys are perfect for each other. You have the same kind of humor, and he’s a real gentleman, and he’s cute, and he’s nice, and he is the best dancer.” She said, counting on her fingers all of his good qualities.
“Okay, okay.” I said, laughing. “If I meet him, will you stop talking about him?” I asked. She smiled slyly.
“I might.” She said. “Probably not.” She paused and put her hand on her chin, as if thinking. “Once you meet him, you won’t be able to stop talking about him.” She said.
“What makes you so sure?” I asked. She thought about this for a moment.
“He’s just…I don’t know, he’s just…” She giggled. “I could see you guys dancing the waltz together.” With this comment, she doubled over laughing, and I had to join in. With my two left feet, I could not see myself dancing with a mop without stepping on it several times.
“Niki,” I said, in between laughs. “You know I can’t dance.” I said, still laughing. She held her sides, trying desperately to stop laughing.
“I know,” She said, trying to regain her composure. “but I bet with him as your partner, you could.” I started laughing all over again. When I finally stopped laughing, I asked the question that had been on my mind ever since I agreed to meet him.
“So when will I get to meet this…” I said, allowing her a chance to tell me his name.
“Matthew,” She said, filling in the blank. “and if you want to meet him, he’s coming to church today.” She said, smiling and biting her bottom lip at the same time. My mouth fell open.
I was about to say something when Nichole walked in. I closed my mouth instantly, although I’m not quite sure why I did. Coming in at the point of the conversation that she did, she wouldn’t have understood any of our senseless rambling anyway. Niki giggled at my sudden attempt to compose myself in front of Nichole.
I stepped over and whispered in her ear, “I guess I’ll meet him after class then?” She grinned from ear to ear and nodded. I laughed. In the many years I had known Niki, I had never seen her so jumpy and hyper and just…child-like before. It was funny, but at the same time, I couldn’t help but notice that Niki was still a child at heart, even if she didn’t show it so much that is was obvious.
Class passed pretty uneventfully. Nothing really happened that was strange, save for the fact that I was actually able to focus on the class. I had almost forgotten about Matthew until Niki took hold of my wrist and started pulling me up the stairs. When we got to the sanctuary, she scanned the crowd quickly and, after apparently finding him amongst the sea of people, continued dragging me by the arm. I could not yet see the person she was trying to point out when Jenna tapped me on the shoulder. I turned around instinctively and Niki let go of my wrist, deciding instead to pull Matthew over to me.
“Hey Ali.” Jenna said in her usual, high-pitched voice.
“Hey Jen. What’s up?” I asked, in no hurry to meet Matthew.
“I just wanted to say hi.” She said, holding her arms out for a hug. I giggled. As weird a tradition as this was, it was a weekly ritual for us. I gave her a quick hug and spun around to try and see where Niki had gone.
When I turned around, I nearly knocked into a boy just a few inches taller than me. “Oh, I’m sorry.” I said, looking at his face. When my eyes hit his lips, I came dangerously close to fainting. He had the most beautiful smile of any guy I had ever seen.
“The fault was mine entirely.” He said. “I’m new here. My friend Niki told me about her church and after I heard some of the stories about this place, I had to see for myself.” He held his hand out for me to shake. “You must be Ali. I recognize the hugging.” I took his hand to shake and tried to remain standing. “Niki’s told me so much about all of you. I feel like I’ve been going here for years.” He glanced quickly around the church, noting the large windows on the side walls, and the video screen at the front. He looked back at me and giggled. My ankles were threatening to give out, but this time, it was for a good reason. It was then that I remembered to answer him.
“Yeah, our church can do that to people, but you haven’t seen anything yet. Some of the people here are just plain crazy.” I said. I searched my mind for something else to say, and I drew a blank. Luckily, he beat me in the race to say something.
“You seem kinda normal.” He said, smiling. If this was what happened when he smiled, I didn’t want to know what would happen if he laughed.
“Thanks.” I said. “You seem normal enough yourself.” He laughed. It turns out what happened when he laughed was actually much better than when he smiled. When he smiled, I got weak ankles. When he laughed, I had an uncontrollable urge to laugh with him, and to keep laughing forever. It was obvious that I would never accomplish such a string of laugher, but the idea suited me for the present.
“You know,” He said. “you look like you would be a great dance partner.” I tried my best to suppress the giggle that was working its way up my throat.
“Oh, worse than you’d think.” I argued. He laughed.
“It’s not that hard.” He said, taking my hand in his. “Just follow my feet.” He said calmly, putting his other hand on the small of my back. I flinched slightly when his fingertips touched my side, but I relaxed quickly, and he smiled. I put my hand on his shoulder and looked down at his feet. He started by moving his right foot forward and I followed by moving my left foot back about the same distance. He made a sweeping motion to the side with is left foot, and I followed with my right. We brought our feet back together and continued in the simple box step until I felt confident enough to lift my head to meet his eyes. He was smiling and he looked completely relaxed. I wanted to dance with him for as long as possible, at least until my father came to pick me up.
Somewhere in the back of my mind, I heard the piano music stop and I saw people taking their seats. “We should probably sit down.” I offered.
“That might be a good idea.” He agreed, stopping his feet and dropping his hand to hang beside his waist instead of clasping mine. We walked quickly over to the pew where I normally sat. I sat down beside Niki and Matthew sat beside me. When we had gotten seated, Niki elbowed me in the ribcage gently. I didn’t even look over. I knew what she was about to say.
“So?” She asked. I could not seem to formulate a decent reply with words, so I did the only reasonable thing.
I giggled.
No comments:
Post a Comment