will hold up your left arm to let the
ladies turn under them.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Do the men always lead? Why can’t
the ladies ever lead?”
“Because. It’s the rule. The men are always the leaders,” Aunt
Lori said.
“That’s right. Every man should know how to lead and every woman
should learn how to follow, right, honey?”
“That’s right, sweetie,” Aunt Lori agreed.
Wendy and I held up our left hands and Paige and Aunt Lori turned
underneath them, Aunt Lori ducking to clear my raised hand.
Paige squealed, “I’m a lady!”
Next we worked on footwork. Step tap, step tap, rock step. This
was a bit more complicated but after practicing a while, we got the hang of it.
Uncle Butch kept directing us. “When you raise your hand, make a
bridge for the lady to turn under it, and then use your other hand to guide her
through the turn.”
We got lost in the music and soon, we were actually dancing with
each other. I was having fun.
“Let’s change partners,” Uncle Butch said.
I hesitated, but Uncle Butch grabbed my hand and Aunt Lori took
Wendy’s. Paige directed our turns.
Uncle Butch danced with experience. He lifted
his arm and his other hand on my back gently guided me through the turn. Then
he showed off some fancy footwork. I was following his lead and knew what he
wanted me to do through various hand signals. It was like a secret sign
language.
I got carried away, spinning and laughing. It was so much fun, and
I turned again, but my uncle’s hand never left my body, and his fingers brushed
against my breasts as I spun. I pulled my hand away from his and stopped
dancing. I looked around to see if anyone noticed, but they weren’t looking in
my direction. His hands always seemed to be reaching for me and touching me in
some way or another, like he was trying to figure out whether I was real or
not.
“Okay, that’s enough dancing for one day,”
Uncle Butch said.
“That was fun,” Paige said.
“Now what?” Wendy asked.
Uncle Butch walked over to the table and picked up the car keys.
“I’m going to drive Chris over to the house so she can call her
mom.”
“I want to come,” Wendy said.
“I think I’ll just take Chris myself so she can talk to her mom in
private. She doesn’t need you around bothering her when she’s on the phone.
Besides, you guys have been glued to each other all week. Give her some
breathing space.”
I hadn’t been apart from Wendy since the moment I arrived, except
for showers and bathroom breaks. I actually liked having her around. She was a
sister I never had. “She won’t bother me, really.”
“Let her go, she won’t get in the way. Plus, I need you to go to
the grocery store, and she can help,” Aunt Lori said, handing him a grocery
list that had been tucked into her apron pocket.
He hesitated. “Let’s go, then. I want to get
back before dark.”
We followed him out the door to the station wagon.
Wendy sat up front while I sat in the back. The ride was quiet. I
had noticed during the week that Uncle Butch didn’t talk much. He turned on the
radio, which was playing oldies. I didn’t know most of the songs, so I busied
myself by looking out the window. The sun was setting, turning the sky pink,
and the clouds looked like they were made of cotton candy.
He kept checking his rearview mirror every couple of minutes,
looking at me. Smiling at me like he was watching a private movie and I was the
movie star. All that was missing was the buttery popcorn in his lap. I got a
major creep vibe from him. I’m glad Wendy came along.
Blowing the horn, Uncle Butch yelled at the car in front of him.
“Get out of the way, you old bag!” He swerved the car into the next lane,
passed the Cadillac, and almost cut the driver off as he swerved in front of
her, muttering under his breath. The only thing I could make out was, “Too old
to be driving, hag,” and a lot more words like that.
After fifteen minutes he turned down a
ladies turn under them.”
“What do you mean?” I asked. “Do the men always lead? Why can’t
the ladies ever lead?”
“Because. It’s the rule. The men are always the leaders,” Aunt
Lori said.
“That’s right. Every man should know how to lead and every woman
should learn how to follow, right, honey?”
“That’s right, sweetie,” Aunt Lori agreed.
Wendy and I held up our left hands and Paige and Aunt Lori turned
underneath them, Aunt Lori ducking to clear my raised hand.
Paige squealed, “I’m a lady!”
Next we worked on footwork. Step tap, step tap, rock step. This
was a bit more complicated but after practicing a while, we got the hang of it.
Uncle Butch kept directing us. “When you raise your hand, make a
bridge for the lady to turn under it, and then use your other hand to guide her
through the turn.”
We got lost in the music and soon, we were actually dancing with
each other. I was having fun.
“Let’s change partners,” Uncle Butch said.
I hesitated, but Uncle Butch grabbed my hand and Aunt Lori took
Wendy’s. Paige directed our turns.
Uncle Butch danced with experience. He lifted
his arm and his other hand on my back gently guided me through the turn. Then
he showed off some fancy footwork. I was following his lead and knew what he
wanted me to do through various hand signals. It was like a secret sign
language.
I got carried away, spinning and laughing. It was so much fun, and
I turned again, but my uncle’s hand never left my body, and his fingers brushed
against my breasts as I spun. I pulled my hand away from his and stopped
dancing. I looked around to see if anyone noticed, but they weren’t looking in
my direction. His hands always seemed to be reaching for me and touching me in
some way or another, like he was trying to figure out whether I was real or
not.
“Okay, that’s enough dancing for one day,”
Uncle Butch said.
“That was fun,” Paige said.
“Now what?” Wendy asked.
Uncle Butch walked over to the table and picked up the car keys.
“I’m going to drive Chris over to the house so she can call her
mom.”
“I want to come,” Wendy said.
“I think I’ll just take Chris myself so she can talk to her mom in
private. She doesn’t need you around bothering her when she’s on the phone.
Besides, you guys have been glued to each other all week. Give her some
breathing space.”
I hadn’t been apart from Wendy since the moment I arrived, except
for showers and bathroom breaks. I actually liked having her around. She was a
sister I never had. “She won’t bother me, really.”
“Let her go, she won’t get in the way. Plus, I need you to go to
the grocery store, and she can help,” Aunt Lori said, handing him a grocery
list that had been tucked into her apron pocket.
He hesitated. “Let’s go, then. I want to get
back before dark.”
We followed him out the door to the station wagon.
Wendy sat up front while I sat in the back. The ride was quiet. I
had noticed during the week that Uncle Butch didn’t talk much. He turned on the
radio, which was playing oldies. I didn’t know most of the songs, so I busied
myself by looking out the window. The sun was setting, turning the sky pink,
and the clouds looked like they were made of cotton candy.
He kept checking his rearview mirror every couple of minutes,
looking at me. Smiling at me like he was watching a private movie and I was the
movie star. All that was missing was the buttery popcorn in his lap. I got a
major creep vibe from him. I’m glad Wendy came along.
Blowing the horn, Uncle Butch yelled at the car in front of him.
“Get out of the way, you old bag!” He swerved the car into the next lane,
passed the Cadillac, and almost cut the driver off as he swerved in front of
her, muttering under his breath. The only thing I could make out was, “Too old
to be driving, hag,” and a lot more words like that.
After fifteen minutes he turned down a
Similar Books
