Isabel's Texas Two-Step (10 page)

Was Mom part of the “we” who picked that song? I wondered. From her reaction—a tight-lipped smile and a polite nod—it didn't look like it. No big mystery there: Everything about the
quinceañera
seemed to be decided by Uncle Hector and Aunt Inez, the producer/director/set decorators for this whole production.

“Antonio,” my uncle called, then spoke to the group. “Allow us to demonstrate.”

“Aw, Pop!”

“
Ándale, ándale
,” he said, beckoning Tony with his hand. “This is no time for shyness, son.”

They both assumed the lead dancer's position, holding up their right arms. Uncle Hector tried to raise Tony's left hand, but Tony wouldn't budge. Tony countered by putting his hand on his father's waist, which confused my uncle even more. It was too funny. Andy and Scott jumped up and started dancing a polka. I almost fell over laughing. Even Elena Maria was laughing her head off. It felt great to see my sister back to her upbeat, friendly self.

“Get serious, please. Stand there and let me be the leader, Antonio.” He took a few steps. Tony pouted but followed. “Scott, are you watching? This is how you will lead Elena Maria. Step, two, three. Step, two, three. And when the music changes, stop, hold her hand high, and let her twiiiirl like a ballerina.” Tony rotated awkwardly and I stifled a giggle. “Yes, like that! And then it's back to step, two, three, step, two, three.” He gave the signal to Ricardo to stop the music. “And there you have it. Think you can do it?”

Tony bowed. Everybody clapped.

“Wonderful. Everybody find your partner and let's give it a try. I'll count out loud so we can keep time.” He took Ricardo's place at the CD player so that Ricardo could join me. “And a-one, and a-two, and a—”

The music began. Everybody started step-two-three-ing and bumped into one another. None of the girls twirled in the proper direction. The boys awkwardly stuck their arms out when the girls spun. Of course I was paired with Ricardo. We were both so exhausted that we could barely move our feet, much less keep time with music.

Soon the dance was total chaos. Uncle Hector stopped the music.

“Ahem. Let's try it again. Form a circle. You,” he said to Andy, “stand there. Delia, get closer. Tony, Irma, stand in the center and show everyone what to do.”

He started the music again, and instructed loudly, “Step, two, three, step, two, three, step, two, three, twiiirl!”

Ricardo was a terrible dancer to follow. His glasses
kept slipping off his nose, and when he stopped to fix them our timing went off even more. It was a bad scene. If our performance hadn't been so funny, it would have been on my list of most embarrassing moments.

“How'd it go with your father this morning?” I whispered between giggles.

“Oh, man! He was upset, but he was grateful I wasn't hurt. He said he would decide on what my ‘consequences' would be later. I'll probably just have to do more chores and stuff. No big deal.”

I felt terrible. Why should Ricardo have to do chores, but not me? “What did he say about the cave paintings?”

“I didn't tell him! I don't think he even really knows what happened to us. He was just relieved that my mother didn't know. I think we're home free.”

“How long can we keep the truth from our moms? They're bound to figure out soon that we spent the night in the cave. My sister might even tell. I'm sure Enrique told Fidencia, and if I know my sister, she probably got Fidencia to tell her.”

He glanced around nervously. “Not if we can help it.”

“But the cave art—”

“We can bring it up after the party. Everybody will be all chilled out. We don't want to upset your sister's party any more.”

I agreed and looked around for my mom, but her chair was empty. She was gone. That was weird. Why would she walk out in the middle of the rehearsal? I thought I knew—my aunt and uncle were taking over all the party planning,
and leaving her with nothing to do. But would my mom really get jealous like that? That wasn't her style.

Ricardo and I kept on waltzing but after a few rounds we got dizzy. We were both so tired it was getting hard to stand up. After a while we just plodded in a circle. The “twirl” became a chance to drop my arms and rotate absentmindedly. I tripped over my own feet.

“Isabel, stay sharp,” my uncle shouted. “Ricardo, grab her by the waist. Don't be afraid of her, son.”

Ricardo's brothers hooted. I felt my cheeks burn, and Ricardo turned as red as a cherry. Why did adults always have to be so embarrassing? To distract myself from our humiliation, I checked out everybody else. Only Irma and Tony seemed to know what they were doing. The worst was Scott. With the ankle support still strapped to his foot, he could not step-two-three smoothly enough. Elena Maria kept tripping over his foot. Soon she was sprawled on the floor.

“Pardon me!” Scott said. He imitated a gentleman's moves and put a hand on his stomach. He bent over and held out his other hand to help her up. Elena Maria did not think he was funny at all. In fact, she looked like she'd had about enough.

“
Ayeeeeeee!
” She ran screaming from the room. You could tell Scott felt really bad. He looked totally crushed.

“Oh, she's hurt! Should I follow her?” He took off, stomping like a peg-legged pirate.

I blocked him. “Scott, you stay here and practice”—I looked around—“with Ricardo. I'll help my sister.”
I slipped out of the room before Uncle Hector could stop me.

I searched the house but couldn't find her. She wasn't in her bedroom, the living room, or the kitchen, where I almost stepped on Freckles, who squawked and flew up near my face, nearly giving me a heart attack. Finally I heard her, sobbing quietly from behind a bathroom door. I waited a moment before I knocked.

“Who is it?” she asked, her voice thick with tears.

“It's only me. Can I come in?”

“Go away. I'm not in the mood.”

I took a deep breath. “Elena, please let me come in.”

She unlocked the door and opened it a crack. I squeezed through the narrow opening. The tiny bathroom was barely big enough for both of us. She stood with her back to me, and I heard her choke back tears.

I very carefully put my hand on her shoulder and said, “Elena, I know you're superstressed. And I'm really sorry if I made you even more stressed than you already were. I'm sorry I've been such a pest.”

She whirled around. I instinctively hugged her. She cried into my shoulder. I felt so sad, but grateful to be hugging my sister again.

“Izzy, it's not just you. It's Papa. Where is he? He was going to teach us the waltz. Not Uncle Hector, who's kind of klutzy if you ask me. And Papa's supposed to be my partner for the first dance. This is turning out all wrong.”

This was an important moment, so I chose my words carefully. “No, it's not wrong. It's just not turning out the
way you imagined it. You had all these dreams, and nothing is the way you thought it would be. But Mom promised that Dad is coming…and all your friends are having an incredible time. A week on a ranch in Texas is very cool. You'll see, they'll be talking about your party for weeks.”

She snuffled and gave me a kiss. Her tears were ending. “Scott is a terrible dancer! How was I supposed to know?” She noticed herself in the mirror. “Eek! I look like I'm melting! Now what do I do? Everyone's going to know I was crying.” She tried really hard to hold back some big tears.

I stroked her hair. “I know what you mean about Scott. I don't get it. He's so athletic. Maybe he's just nervous because he likes you so much.”

“Do you think so?” she asked, dabbing at her eye.

“Yes, I think that's it. Look, why don't you take a break? I'll tell everybody the rehearsal is off for now. If the boss needs a break, then everybody gets a break too.”

“Me, the boss.” Her mood lightened. “You're so funny, Izzy. The only boss around here is…” She looked around suspiciously.

“Tía Inez,” we said together. We cracked up and hugged. My sister was back!

I
marched back to the rehearsal room, ready to make up for all my mishaps of the past few days. “Everyone, my sister's not feeling so hot right now,” I announced. “She's totally stressed about this whole party and whether my dad's going to make it. So, she asked me to tell you rehearsal is postponed until later today.”

The honor court reacted slowly to the unexpected change of plans. Alisa and Sonia suggested swimming. The boys decided to visit the calf pens, where Tony promised to show them some rope tricks. Soon the only ones left in the room were Ricardo and me. Finally. This was the perfect opportunity to get in touch with the BSG!

“Amigo,”
I said, “I need some technical assistance. Show me the way to the computer.”

He led me to his father's office. Sitting on the desk was my dream computer. I'm into computer animation as well as hand-drawn cartoons, so I know a little about computers, and this one had the works: a huge, flat,
wide-screen monitor with a built-in webcam and a very cool-looking silver keyboard. I could hardly wait to get my hands on it.

“You're so lucky!” I breathed, sitting down at the huge desk. I felt like Alice in Wonderland after she drank the shrinking potion—my feet didn't even come close to touching the floor!

“I guess,” Ricardo said, shrugging, as I clicked on the browser icon. The little hourglass appeared on the screen, and we waited…and waited. Finally a blank Web page showed up with the message: “Connection timed out.”

“Okay, what now?” I asked. Ricardo stared at the screen, waiting for something to happen. Nothing happened.

“Is your system slow, or is there a problem?” I asked. “Should I restart it or something?”

“What do you need the computer for, anyway?”

More frustration. “My sister is starting to go nuts because my father can't tell us exactly when he's coming. I want to e-mail him. I think he can read it on his cell phone.” Almost as important, however, was the BSG. “And my friends, too. I promised I'd keep in touch and tell them about life on the ranch. I'm also dying to see if any of them have sent me anything.”

“Hold on,” Ricardo said. He clicked on the icon again, then leaned forward on the desk, resting his head on both hands just inches from the giant screen.

And I held on. I waited again. I leaned back in the giant
chair and swung my legs. I eyeballed the room repeatedly, noticing a huge landscape in a big, gold frame hanging on the wall opposite me. Was that a Diego Rivera too? Even in an office this family had priceless art!

Ricardo continued to stare at the “Connection timed out” message.

“You know, you really are lucky to have all of this,” I told him again, while we waited.

He hunched up his shoulders. “All of what?” he mumbled.

Um, hello. “All of
this,
” I said. “The amazing art collection. A ranch with an amazing cave. This incredible house!” I jumped up and stood in the middle of the room, throwing out my arms. “Not to mention this fabulous computer, which doesn't seem to want to connect.”

But Ricardo just hunched up even more and wouldn't look at me. “Yeah, I'm a lucky guy,” he said a little sarcastically.

I didn't understand my cousin. It was like sometimes he loved to show off all the great stuff his family had, but then other times he wanted to act like it didn't exist.

“Hey,” I shook his shoulder. “I want to talk to my friends.”

“Hold on, Izzy,” he said. “We don't have the best connection out here sometimes.”

“Sometimes? Like, how much of the time?”

“Like…you know, sometimes.”

“Should we restart it?” I asked. My frustration was mounting.

“Uhh, it's my dad's computer…. He told me not to mess with it.”

Here we go again. Ricardo was messing with something he wasn't supposed to mess with. “Don't you have computer of your own?” I asked impatiently. “Elena Maria and I share one at home.”

“My parents say I'm not old enough,” he grumbled.

“I can try again later,” I said quickly. I felt bad that my cousin was being treated like a baby, so I changed the subject. “I just can't understand why it's taking so long for my father to get here,” I whined. “Aren't you so tired, Rico? Last night was too
crazy
! And I'm dying to tell somebody about our discovery.”

“Me too. Isabel, this could be something big…really big.” His eyes actually glowed as he talked. “But we really should wait until after the
quinceañera
. Your family will still be here. Everyone should be more relaxed by then, and Elena will be chilled out after she has her star moment.”

“You know, you're right, Rico.” I stared up at a painting of a dancer. “We have to chill. This party is getting intense. But I think I can help get this waltz on the road. Go tell everyone to regroup in an hour. I've got a great idea.”

Rocking the Waltz

I practically skipped back to the rehearsal room. The boys were sliding around in their socks. I noticed that Scott had finally removed the ankle brace. Excellent sign!

I clapped my hands and took charge. The success
of Elena Maria's most important birthday party ever depended on me. I decided to channel my Aunt Lourdes. “Listen up, people. We've got a program to put on. And my sister is going to be very unhappy if you guys don't
get the dance right
.”

The boys exchanged uncomfortable glances. Most of the girls nodded, but I noticed that Jill was standing with her arms crossed and her head tilted to one side, looking skeptical.

“So I am going to give you a quick lesson in how to master a new dance in record-breaking time. First, we need—”

“
You're
going to teach
us
a dance?” Jill sneered. “Um, sorry, Isabel, but we really don't have time to play with you right now. We have to do a real dance at the
quince
tomorrow, and I think we should work on that. Not something a twelve-year-old just made up.” She looked around to see who was with her. “Right, guys?”

Lauren looked at the ground. All the boys looked at one another uncomfortably. Not even one of my cousins spoke up for me! I could feel my face turning red. Maybe I couldn't help Elena Maria. Maybe this was all a big mistake.

“Actually…,” Scott started. Jill glared at him, but he went on. “Actually, I think Avery told me that Isabel was a dancer. And I even saw her dance in this talent show at their school one time.”

I smiled. No wonder Elena had such a huge crush on Scott. He was one solid guy.

“Welllll…I used to be really into dancing,” I told everybody. “I took a lot of classes for years. Mostly ballet, but other styles too, like jazz and hip-hop. But then I hurt my knee so I had to stop doing it. Now I just dance for fun, whenever I feel like it.” I held my head high and looked at Jill. “Like now. So if anybody wants me to teach them a dance we can do for the waltz that I know my sister is absolutely going to love, we have to practice—now.” I turned around, crossed my fingers, and hoped my dance troupe would follow my lead.

To my amazement, everybody started taking their places with their partners. I couldn't believe my speech had really worked! Jill was kind of still sneering a little as she took Alfonso's hand, but at least she didn't say anything else.

“Scott, I noticed you were playing indoor hockey without your foam brace. Does this mean your ankle's better?” I asked.

“Could be, Isabel. I just took it off a while ago to see how I can hold up. And look, I can skate!” He pushed off on one socked foot, sliding toward me.

“Good work, Michelle Kwan. Now everybody pay attention. I think it's time to give this waltz a hip-hop spin.”

Fonzie snickered. “Hip-hop waltz? No such animal.”

“What I mean, Alfonso, is that you take an old dance”—I started with a heel-toe—“and give it a cool makeover,” I finished as I spun around and snapped.

My cousin Irma fell in step with me. In a matter of
minutes we choreographed a series of moves that culminated in the spin: We froze. She krumped, I popped. We both hit a dime stop, then started again. The crowd whooped.

“Nice moves, Iz, Irma,” Tony said. “Like a Texas two-step, but with a lot of style. Hip and elegant.”

“It's Isabel's Texas two-step,” Scott declared.

The boys formed a line and started to work the beat. The girls stood to the side and shadowed the boys' steps. Delia and Alisa assumed a couple's position and improved the spin routine that Irma and I had performed. Things started to heat up.

Everybody practiced, then assembled as a group. It happened so naturally. The boys nailed their moves and helped the girls fall into rhythm with them. Ricardo and I had it down in minutes. Piece of cake! I wanted to try it with the music.

Just then Uncle Hector walked in, surprised by all the activity. I signaled him to shush. Ricardo stood at the ready by the CD player.

“Maestro.” I motioned to Ricardo. The music started.

The column of dancers started the procession with a glide. Every fourth step the boys made an intricate heel-toe move and the girls followed with their own cool shimmy. When it came time for the spin, the boys popped their arms over the girls' heads while the girls circled delicately beneath them.

I made the “cut” signal to Ricardo. The honor court cheered. Uncle Hector clapped wildly.

“
¡Muy buen hecho!
” he said. “I like it! It has an old-world feel with a modern touch. How did you come up with this so quickly? Three hours ago you were all falling over your own feet!”

“It was Isabel,” Scott informed him. I suddenly felt shy and looked down at my feet. “She totally whipped us into shape!”

“
Muchas gracias
, Isabel,” Uncle Hector said to me, giving a slight bow. “Your sister will be thrilled. She is so lucky to have an
hermanita
like you to help out at her
quince
.”

Now I was beaming from ear to ear. At last I had gotten something right!

The Romance of a Lifetime

That night, after dinner, Mom let me help her with the paper decorations again. She pulled out stacks of paper and cutting tools. She showed me how to fold the thin, colorful tissue and how to cut it with a pair of tiny, sharp scissors and a special knife. My breath caught when I opened up the folded square. I'd made random cuts, but when I laid it out the effect was dazzling.

Then I watched her lay a pattern on top of a stack of tissue paper and use a small chisel and hammer to cut through the whole stack at once. “After we finish, we can ask Mercedes to iron out the creases. The last step is to string them together and, presto, we have another banner of
papel picado
.”

We worked in silence for a while, then I asked, “Mom, tell me again how you met Dad.” I'd heard it so many times before, but I wanted to hear it again.

She looked down at me and smiled. “You like that story, don't you? Well, I met Jorge Maximiliano Martinez, your father, three years to the day before we married. We were both in our second year at university, and we met at a big local dance. My friend Nina kept talking about some boy she was supposed to meet there, but as soon as we arrived, she took off to dance with the first person who asked her.

“So I was left alone. I went to get some punch, and that's when I first saw him, but only from the back. He was helping a little old lady with her drink, and it was obvious she was very flattered by your father's attention to her. Your dad, he knew it too. I couldn't hear them, but I could tell by her face that he had her completely bewitched.

“My first thought was, ‘What an egotistical guy.' So I leaned in to listen to them, and noticed that he smelled
terrific
. This got me interested. He was going on and on that the girl he was supposed to meet was dancing with somebody else, and so he asked the
viejita
if she would dance with him. It was funny to see, Isabel. The little old lady did not want to dance at all. She kept reassuring him that there were plenty of young ladies for him to choose from, and that's when I knew it was time to act.

“I just put myself right between them and coolly asked, ‘Do I hear a request for a dance partner?' and that was it. He took one look at me and I saw it in his face: He was hit with the lightning bolt of love. Which made me feel like the queen of the universe, by the way. And he was just so handsome, I wanted to melt.”

I loved looking at my mom's face when she got to this point of the story. She was looking off into the distance, smiling. “He was just about to ask me to dance, too, when who shows up? Nina! Oof, I wanted to strangle her for her bad timing. When he saw her, of course he asked her to dance instead. It was only proper—after all, she was supposed to be his date. Even after he asked her she acted all offended, accusing him of not looking for her when he got there. But I knew the truth. Nina just wanted to cover up for the fact that
she
hadn't looked for
him
! So I spoke up. ‘Is this the boy you said you were going to meet here?'

“He said, ‘You two know each other?' I ignored his question and said to Nina, ‘Why, he's been here at the punch bowl since we walked in. You're the one who went straight to the dance floor as soon as we got here.' Another song was starting, and sure enough, who walks up right behind her but another boy—saying she had already promised to dance this one with him!

“That left just me and your father. He took my hand, led me to the dance floor, and by the time Nina was able to get away from that other boy, well…we were already dancing, and dancing, and dancing. And before we knew it, the evening was over. Nina had already left, he walked me home, and I know as sure as the sun rises that he would have asked me to marry him that night, except your father wanted to do the right thing and
court me.
And so he did. For two years! We got married on the third anniversary of our first dance.”