A Legendary Love

“I wish we could stay here forever,” Althea said, staring into Mesa’s hazel eyes.

He pulled her close and pressed his soft lips on her forehead. “It really is a beautiful place,” he said warmly. “We’ve been coming to this secret spot in the jungle for years, and every single time…you make me want to stay.”

One look at Althea’s cocoa eyes, and he knew it was true. She always had a tender way with her love; it was a precious gift he would never take for granted.

“You make me want to stay too, Meu Tesouro.”

Althea’s nickname for Mesa meant my treasure, and every time she said it, his spirit soared to new heights. Her blue floral dress was drenched, but she didn’t care. The sun was shining, the birds were singing, and the red lilies were fluttering in the light breeze. The love of her life was by her side, and nothing else mattered.

A small drop of water rolled down Mesa’s cheek, and Althea quickly kissed it away. “Oh, my love… You are soaked to the bone! Do you ever tire of coming here in the rain?”

“Ha!” Mesa laughed. “Are you kidding me? This is our special place, and we have shared many good memories in the rain. Getting drenched with you is an honor, my sweet sweetie.”

“Momma, Papa! I knew I’d find you here!”

“Delilah!” Althea bubbled. “How did you find us here?”

“Papi told me,” Delilah said, pulling her long black hair into a ponytail.

“He did?!” Mesa said, kinking his eyes. “Well, I’ll have to speak with my grandfather because he knows better. The jungle is not a safe place when it rains.”

Delilah had her Papa’s hazel brown eyes and nose and her mother’s black hair and amazing smile. She was the best of both of them, and no one would expect anything else from a love so pure.

“Is this where your accident happened, Papa?”

Mesa crossed his well-defined arms and said, “Yes. It happened six years ago. The rain was hammering down that day like the oceans and sky had traded places. The ravine was about to burst, and the thunder crackled like a roaring dragon. Your mother and I were on our way back for dinner when the ground gave way, and I fell down the trench and landed on some boulders.”

“That’s right,” Althea said, remembering that disastrous day. Her chest grew heavy, and her heart skipped a beat. “Your papa hit his head really hard, and I thought I had lost him.” A solemn tear fell from her right eye.

“I know the story, Momma. Papi never stops talking about it. He said it was a miracle.”

Althea wrapped her daughter in a loving embrace and said, “Indeed it was.” Delilah’s citrus perfume tickled her nostrils. “Have you been sneaking in Grandma Mona’s fragrances again?”

Delilah pulled away from her mother’s arms, pursed her lips, and shook her head. Her small, button nose flared three times, and her brown eyes danced like the fireflies soaring in the distance. “No…”

Mesa placed his hand on her shoulder and said, “Delilah…your nose is giving you away again. Are you telling the truth?”

Delilah folded her hands behind her back and swayed. Her purple dress followed her rhythm. “Yes. I wasn’t sneaking. Grandma Mona said I could.”

“Well,” Althea said, “If my mother said it was alright, then I guess we can’t argue about that…but you need to be careful. Some of those scents are too strong for you and will make your sensitive skin itch.”

“I was careful, Momma!”

Mesa lifted Delilah to his shoulders and asked, “So, my little one…what’s the big hurry anyway?”

Althea scuttled her fingers on Delilah’s side and reveled in her laughter. “Yeah, what’s so important that you couldn’t wait for us to return?”  

“Ha, ha, ha, ha!” Delilah laughed. She reached into her dress pocket and pulled out a brown piece of paper. “This is what I wanted to tell you about.”

Mesa unfolded the soggy parchment and handed it to Althea.

Althea raised her eyebrows and gleamed, “This is the invitation to The Annual Fall Dance Contest!”

“Oh, my goodness!” Mesa beamed. “How did we forget about that?”

“I knew you would forget,” Delilah admitted with wide eyes. “Papi reminded me when we saw the poster in the market. He started talking about his dancing days and got me excited to see you two at the competition.”

“Of course he did,” Mesa laughed.

Althea folded the invitation and tucked it away. “I know why we forgot! It was raining the day we signed up for the contest, and our groceries were getting soaked, so we rushed home and must have forgotten all about it.”  

“That’s right,” Mesa said. “We love new challenges and thought it would be fun even though—”

“Even though what, Papa?” Delilah asked, bouncing in his arms.

“Well…mi ángel,” Althea said. “You see…your Papa and I can’t—”

“Can’t what?”

Althea’s eyes met Mesa’s, and they said in harmony, “We can’t dance.”

Delilah’s eyes grew two times larger. “What?! You guys are so funny! You and Papa are always dancing in the rain!”

“We’re serious,” Mesa said. “We honestly can’t dance.”

Althea smiled and explained, “Oh, my darling… You may see us dancing in the rain all the time, but we are only swaying back and forth. We don’t know any of those fancy moves like your Grandpa Crisanto. He was classically trained and knows how to cut a rug at all the church parties.”

“It’s true,” Mesa agreed. “The plan was to have Grandpa Crisanto teach us some moves before the contest, but it slipped our minds. How much time do we have to get ready?”  

“The contest is less than two weeks away!” Delilah squeaked.

“You know what, sweetheart?” Mesa said. “I believe that’s still enough time to learn a few things.”

“YAY!”

Althea raised her right eyebrow and gave her daughter a lopsided smile. “We shall do our best, mi ángel! And what about you, Meu Tesouro…are you ready for a new challenge?”

“Are you kidding? Of course, I’m ready. We should visit your dad as soon as we can because we will need all the help we can get.” 

“No, no, no…” Crisanto said. “You must be light as a feather—like the angels flying on golden wings!”

“Father…please save your sermons for the church,” Althea huffed. “We are trying our best.”

Mesa and Althea had been practicing their dance moves in Crisanto’s church for a week and a half, but no one would believe that because their progress was fleeting.

Papi patted his robust belly and nodded at Crisanto. He stood and stomped the yellow pinewood three times. The scent of pine tickled his nose hairs, and the multi-colored balloon lights that hung from the rafters shook. “I know you’re frustrated, my dears, but you can’t give up! All you have to do is put some umph into those steps!”

Crisanto stepped aside and grabbed his water bottle. “Yes, my lovelies, you have the passion; you just need the confidence to pull the moves off.”

“YES!” Papi beamed. “I remember a long time ago when I was a young man and all the beautiful señoritas lined up for miles to dance with me—Ouch!”

Lola, Mesa’s mother, slapped Papi’s arm and said, “Another one of your exaggerated stories! You should talk less and show more. The dance competition is only two days away.”

Papi rubbed his sore spot and nodded. Lola’s frown meant she wasn’t fooling around.  

Mona, Althea’s mom, sat next to Delilah and had the biggest smile on her face. She loved the unique workings of her family. “Lola is right,” she said. “We need to let them practice so they can be ready, but winning the contest doesn’t matter. The real prize is knowing that they did their best!”

Papi clapped his hands and said, “That’s very true, Mesa and Althea, but the grand prize of eighteen thousand pesos would be very nice! Now…watch my fancy moves and practice them well, for they will bring you that winning prize!”

He held his arms in an “L” shape and spun around the dance floor three times. When he leaped like a ballerina, his feet had forgotten how to fly, and he crash-landed on his belly. A slow and long flatulence soon followed.

Everyone held their noses and laughed. Papi was quite the character.

Mesa grabbed Althea’s tiny hands and pulled her into his firm chest. “Let’s keep going, sweetie. We still have two days to practice.”

“Okay,” she said softly. “I want Delilah to see we did our best and never back down from challenges.” 

“Yep…this is for all of us, my love.”

The Annual Fall Dance Contest was in full bloom, with dancers from all over the country. A colorful rainbow of dresses and suits filled the dance hall in the village gymnasium. Pink and blue ribbons hung from the rafters, and bright party lights filled the dance floor with a golden aura of energy. Balloons, big and small, littered the walls, and every round table in the building had a burgundy tablecloth with red lilies at the center. The smell of fresh food and good drinks meant the evening was in full swing.  

A wide assortment of tunes played through the speakers set up around the dance floor, and couples, young and old, were dancing to the beats.

The competition was pretty straightforward. A group of judges would walk around the floor and observe the best dancers. Every couple had a unique number, and at the end of each song, they would call out the winning numbers until only one couple remained. The losers would have to exit the dance floor and watch the others.

Althea and Mesa walked into the gymnasium and gasped. Everyone was dressed in their best clothes, and Mesa was glad he had his black tuxedo dry-cleaned. He truly was the king of the ball. Althea was wearing a green lace dress with matching high heels. Her black hair dangled around her long gemstone earrings, and her smile lit up the room. She looked like Cinderella going to the ball for the first time.

Mesa extended his hand and asked, “Are you ready to shake a leg, my High-Heeled Princess?”

Althea accepted his hand and kissed his palm. “To dance with you, Meu Tesouro…always.”

Delilah, Papi, Lola, Mona, and Crisanto sat near the dance floor so they wouldn’t miss the action. Their dinner plates were full of savory food, and fruit punch filled their red solo cups.

“This is it,” Papi said with an eager smile. “Now we will separate the losers from the winners.”

“Mind your manners, Papi,” Lola scolded.

“We must pray that everyone has fun tonight,” Crisanto said, bowing his head.

“Amen,” Mona prayed. “That is the most important thing.”

Delilah wore a purple dress with matching slip-on shoes, and her black hair was styled in a wavy pattern behind her ears. She took a big gulp of fruit punch, stood on her chair, and yelled, “You can do it, Mom and Dad. You got this!” 

The place was jumping to the beats, and with each new song, Mesa and Althea took turns stepping on each other’s toes. There were so many people they hoped the judges wouldn’t notice. Three rounds had passed, and they were still in the running.

Suddenly, “The Year of the Cat” by Al Stewart blasted through the speakers. It was Althea’s favorite song, and she was ready to prance around. “That’s my song,” she yelled. “Let’s boogie, my King Mesa!”

“Ha, ha,” Mesa laughed. “You got it, sweetheart.”

Mesa grabbed Althea’s left hand and twirled her around. Her dress spiraled like a fully bloomed daisy falling from the heavens. When Althea came back around to meet Mesa’s hand, her pear-shaped wedding ring hit his finger and fell to the floor.

“Oh, no!” Althea cried. “I must get it!”

She bent over and spun around multiple times, trying to find the symbol of their marriage. Everyone stood back and watched her twirl. Mesa in turn, stooped over to help her investigation. Some people laughed while others cheered.

“Wow,” Delilah shouted through the gasps. “That’s the best new dance move I’ve ever seen!”  

“Go for the gold!” Papi shouted. His hands were clasped together, giving them the old hooray.

“Sit down!” Lola scolded. “You’re making a scene.”

Crisanto and Mona clapped their hands and smiled.

“It’s good to see our kids having fun,” Mona said.

“Indeed, it is,” Crisanto agreed.   

At long last, Althea found her ring and put it back on her finger. When she rose with Mesa, everyone, including the judges, cheered wildly. Another round and another victory were behind them.

As the night grew older, more dance couples were eliminated until only two remained. Mesa and Althea were still standing strong, along with Zion and Alberto, a professional dance couple from Brazil. They had won several dance competitions over the years and could practically taste another one.  

For the final dance, a slow ballad from the Commodores called “Three Times a Lady” played through the hi-def speakers. Alberto and Zion grabbed each other’s hands and spun around the dance floor. Zion wore a red dress that looked like a rose, and Alberto wore an orange suit with bell-bottom pants and white shoes. They looked like two lovebirds flying in the wind. Their moves captured the audience.

Mesa pulled Althea close and whispered, “This is it. Let’s do what we do best.”

She melted when his honeysuckle voice kissed her ears. “There’s no way we can beat that couple. What can we do?”

“Just pretend it’s raining,” he said, staring into her eyes.

Althea and Mesa enveloped each other like two flowers blooming as one. Their eyes were locked together, and as they swayed back and forth, their heartbeats provided the booming rhythm they needed to keep moving. Nothing else existed but their love. All eyes were on them, and a harsh hush fell upon the crowd.   

Delilah smiled like the half-moon and was mesmerized by her parents. She looked at Papi and gushed, “That’s it…they’re going to win!”

“Indeed, they are,” Papi said. “I knew sixty-five was a lucky number!”

When the song ended, the judges lined the couples together and thanked them for their efforts. An older lady dressed in blue stepped forward and spoke into a microphone. “Now, it’s time to declare the winner.”  

The audience was quiet as she concurred with the other judges.

Zion and Alberto were smiling ear to ear, and Mesa and Althea squeezed each other’s hands.

“This was a close one, folks, but this year’s winner is…number forty-three, Zion and Alberto!”

Delilah sank in her chair, and her eyes were flooded with tears. “I-I can’t believe this…” she stuttered.

Mesa and Althea pressed their lips together and walked towards their daughter. Delilah ran into her mother’s open arms and sobbed, “I’m so sorry you didn’t win…”

“It’s okay, darling,” Mesa said, kissing her forehead. “There’s no need to fret. We still have each other.”

“That’s true,” Althea agreed. “But still…it would have been nice to win.”

“This fleeting contest doesn’t matter,” Mesa said. “We rose to the challenge and conquered our fears. The real prize is here in my arms. My beautiful daughter and my High-Heeled Princess. A love like ours is forever.”

Althea pressed her lips to his and swooned, “You are so right, my King Mesa! I wish we could live in this moment forever.”

“We don’t have to wish that,” Mesa said. “I know we will live in this moment forever because our love is legendary!”