Chapter 17: Juntos Los
Dos
“You
dance love, and you dance joy, and you dance dreams. And I know if I can make
you smile by jumping over a couple of couches or running through a rainstorm,
then I'll be very glad to be a song and dance man.”
― Gene Kelly
― Gene Kelly
http://youtu.be/54ZPQxf-yhU
Anton
could hardly believe a whole month had passed since Sami had been attacked by
her husband. This was the week….the week
he could finally ask her out. Samantha
had filed for divorce from Darryl the following day after the dreadful night. She just couldn’t see how she could ever live
in the same house with a man she was afraid of, not to mention, she had
actually stabbed him in the leg! She had
seen too many women stay with their abuser and she had always promised herself
that if anyone ever hurt her…she would be out of there! No questions asked! Her divorce attorney filed the paperwork
quickly under the circumstances. Darryl
was happy to be done with the marriage too.
Samantha found out that he had cheated on her with some girl while
working in North Dakota. The divorce was
uncontested and Samantha was required a mandated waiting period of 20 days as
per Montana law. Anton knew that timing
would be everything. He didn’t want to
be callus to her emotions by pressuring her into dating before she had adequate
time to grieve. Even when a relationship
has deteriorated to nothing but abuse, a spouse is still in a state of shock at
the turn of events. Anton knew this full
well and so he left Sami alone, at least romantically, until a full month had
passed.
Anton
was establishing a beautiful friendship with Sami. He helped her with the legal proceedings
against Darryl and was there for her as a shoulder to cry on. Sometimes Sami would text him in the middle
of the night and he would rush over to help console. She had horrible nightmares and was afraid to
be alone. Anton got used to sleeping on
her couch and his daughters got used to waking up and finding him not home. His daughters would see a note taped to the
fridge that said, “Sami needed help last night…see you after school. Love, dad.”
The girls finally asked their dad to invite Samantha over for dinner so
they could get to know her. “All in due
time,” Anton told them. “I don’t want to
rush into anything too fast. I really,
really like her.” Anton had learned that
a relationship has to be built on trust and patience, neither of which his
previous wife had. If he was going to
get back in the game, he was determined to do it right.
Samantha
walked into the aerobics room with a spring in her step. Anton noticed how much more beautiful she had
become in the last month. It was as if a
huge weight had literally been unstrapped from her back. Samantha stood taller, looked more
determined, and was always laughing and happy.
She and Anton shared the same sense of humor so they were both getting
stronger abs from laughing all the time.
Samantha no longer wore black to try to make herself appear thinner, she
wore beautiful shades of purple accented with glitzy blingy gold. Her tummy had flattened into rock hard abs,
and her calves were like rocks. She
still was what some would consider a hefty woman, but she looked healthy,
energetic, and physically fit. She loved
the new her! Anton had surprised her
with a gift card to Kohls to buy herself some new clothes. All her old clothes were hanging off of
her. The note had said, “Please accept
this gift as a symbol of the new you.
From the looks of it, your clothes have outgrown you;) The new you could use a well earned new
wardrobe that shows off how beautiful you’ve become through hard work and
dedication. Your friend, Anton. PS-Just so you know, we’ve always been able
to see your true beauty.” Taped to the
gift card, was a Hershey’s Symphony chocolate bar.
Anton had wondered if
he had been too forward, but he had always been generous with his money. He had been shocked to receive a refund for
Danielle’s tuition from the school, and he figured the money was just burning a
hole in his pocket any way. He wasn’t
expecting Sami’s reaction. She just
threw her arms around Anton and sobbed saying, “Thank you! Thank you!
Thank you!” Since she had moved
out of Darryl’s house, she was living in government subsidized housing with no
money from her grocery cashiering job to spare.
The day after her shopping spree, she had invited Anton over to check
out her closet. They then took all her
old clothes behind the apartments into a field and burned all the old
clothes…all the old memories. She
watched the remnants of her former life filled with low self esteem and abuse,
literally go up in smoke. Anton thought
she was a little crazy for burning it all, but he had recognized how important
this was to her so he is the one who actually lit the match but she had been
the one who had thrown the burning match onto the pile.
Lucy had also
celebrated Samantha’s changed physique by buying her a purple zumba t-shirt
with ZUMBA written on the side in Gold.
Lucy had remembered how her daughter Jazzy had said that purple made her
look like a queen so Lucy couldn’t think of anyone better to gift a purple
shirt to. The shirt looked great on Samantha
along with the new purple yoga pants she had bought on her shopping spree. Anton couldn’t wait to ask her out on their
first official date. But first, they
would dance…zumba that is. Lucy started
a Cumbia called Juntos Los Dos which means
the two together. Lucy explained the beautiful lyrics,
“Baby
creo en mis sueños estas esta noche
Juntos
como estrellas brillan”
You are in my dreams, we two are
together like shining stars.
Lucy
noticed that while Anton was doing his cumbia move, he was traveling closer and
closer to Samantha. Anton was behaving
like a little school boy and Samantha was reciprocating with a young contagious,
laugh. Anton proceeded to grab Samantha
by the waist and held her in a romantic cuddle as they danced. Their feet were in complete harmony, as were
their hearts. Forward, back, forward
back, their feet cumbia’d all over the room to the beat of the music. Samantha loved the attention and Lucy loved
the extra energy being brought to her class.
Nick Weldon followed suit, and soon was dance-cuddling his sweetheart as
well. Soon the whole class was spinning
in a circle as the lyrics dictated, “Darle la vuelta no pare a gozar” (Spin
around and don’t stop enjoying).
Lucy absolutely loved
it when the people in her class made the music their own. She would always tell them to bring honor to
the song by adding ethnic flair, and right now…it truly felt like a
fiesta! Samantha and Anton were really
living in the moment. Anton would
exaggerate his dance moves and Samantha would start her uncontrollable giggle
once more. You could almost feel the
endorphins fill the room as they all danced.
“Next up,” announced Lucy at the conclusion of the cumbia, “Let’s take
it back to the 70’s…disco style!”
“That’s the way,
uh-huh, uh-huh, I like it….uh-huh, uh-huh” the whole class was singing
along. Anton did his best John Travolta
impression which made everyone else try to keep up with him. The fiesta had now turned into a groovy disco
scene. Samantha locked eyes with Anton as
he boogie-woogied around her. She had
never seen him so carefree and silly and she loved every second of it. He had told her once, while she was crying,
that life was meant to be lived out loud.
Samantha hadn’t quite known what he was talking about, but watching him
be a dancing fool, not caring what anyone else thought about him, she finally
grasped the concept. Why couldn’t she
have married a guy like Anton instead of Darryl. She imagined how different her life would
have been, and even though Anton was quite wealthy, in her daydream…the
differences had nothing to do with wealth.
Samantha longed to be loved just for who she was flaws and all. Anton made Samantha feel so free to express
herself and he motivated her to try new things and think outside the box. Anton had encouraged her to take an art
class. Samantha had always wanted to
learn to paint but Darryl had told her it was just a waste of time and
money. Now, Samantha felt like the whole
world was her canvas. With Darryl, she
wasn’t allowed to think for herself and she had felt more like she was trapped
inside the proverbial box. Now, on her
own, Samantha felt stronger and braver and knew nothing would hold her back
from fulfilling her dreams. The only
thing she couldn’t figure out was as loyal and true a friend as Anton was
becoming, he had never asked her out on an official date. If he didn’t ask her soon, she was toying
with the idea of asking him.
Sami’s need for
companionship had also started healing Anton’s wounds left by Liv, his
ex-wife. Last month, his wife had pulled
a fast one on him by trying to manipulate his younger daughter to go live with
her. Liv found out she was pregnant and
was insistent that she would need her daughter’s help to nanny the new
baby. She further argued that the new
baby wouldn’t be able to know his sister if she didn’t move in with them. Anton had recognized the plot for what it
was. Liv had gone back to her unhealthy
habits and wanted a babysitter so she could go out and party. Bo was already long gone once he found out
she was pregnant. Liv dreaded being a single-mom
and was just selfish enough to try to pawn off her responsibility on anyone but
herself. As sad as Anton was for his
ex’s situation, there was no way he would allow his daughter to finish high
school anywhere near the egotistical influence of her mom. His daughter saw right through the ploy as
well and kindly told her that she wanted to graduate from high school
first. Anton was proud of his daughter
for making the decision on her own however, he wished that his girls did have
some sort of female role model in their lives.
Someone like Sami.
Anton and Sami brought
out the very best in each other’s personality.
When he was around her, he thought his noblest thoughts, and desired to
be a better person. He wanted to protect
her and take care of her…ah, but first he must ask her on a date. He reviewed the details of the plan his girls
had helped him come up with. After
class, he would sneak to her car and put a rose on the windshield. The note attached to the rose would say,
“Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I’d sure love to go on a date with you!” Although he thought it was a bit cheesy, his
daughters assured him that girls love that kind of thing. Then when Sami opened her car door, she would
find a box of Lindor truffles with another note that said, “You may eat these
chocolates while you think about your answer and in the meantime, check your
glove box…” Inside the glove box would
be an envelope with two tickets to Throwback Thursday Theatre, now showing
Singing in the Rain. Anton had always
been a fan of Gene Kelly, and he figured that a rom-com, would definitely be
the way to go for a first date. His
daughters liked the way their dad talked about his new friend and hoped that
this would be the start of a lasting relationship.
Samantha showered up
after Zumba and headed to her car not expecting anything. She had been disappointed that Anton had left
during the cooldown song. She was dying
to tell him about her first painting class.
She had painted a girl holding an umbrella, standing in a storm. Out in the distance was a beautiful
rainbow. Yes, she had been thinking of
Anton with every brushstroke. Anton had
come into her life at exactly the right time.
Samantha believed that everything happened for a reason and she couldn’t
help but be thankful for the happy coincidence of Anton needing milk for his
cookies at just the right time that fateful night. As Samantha neared her car, she saw the rose
on the windshield. Her heart started
thumping out of her chest, as she read the note. She looked around but couldn’t see anyone
else in the parking lot so she opened her car door and found the chocolates
with the note. She excitedly opened the
glove box and found the tickets. Darryl
had never allowed her to go to Throwback Thursday Theatre stating it was too
cheesy. Darryl had convinced her that
romance was dead. Anton, however,
convinced her that romance was indeed alive and well. Samantha pulled her phone out of her gym bag
and texted, “Roses are Red, Violets are Blue, I can’t wait to go on a date with
you!” As Samantha popped a creamy milk
chocolate truffle in her mouth on the way home,
she thought that perhaps Anton didn’t symbolize the rainbow in her
painting afterall…maybe he was the pot of gold!
Zumba Original. Juntos Los Dos. Rec. Oct. 2013.
Zumba Fitness, 2013.
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