Because the Night

the last day and the first

The end of the week of dancing arrived, and spoiler: Lily had not miraculously morphed into an excellent dancer. There was no "aha" moment in which her body stopped second-guessing itself. If she tried tango with anyone else, chances are, she would trip. 

But when she was in Diego's arms, Lily was adequate, even she could admit. Better than adequate. She almost seemed like she knew what she was doing. A big part of it was that, In Diego's arms, Lily knew she wouldn't fall. 

"You've come a long way," he said, when the music stopped abruptly. That the last dance could arrive so subtly, and without fanfare—it was enough to make tears spring to her eyes. She curtsied to him. "I had a good teacher." 

And with that, Diego was no longer her dance partner. She would no longer spin in his arms every morning, starting at 10. She'd no longer watch his constructive criticism that would either build toward delight, or slide to an eye roll, depending on how well she listened to his instruction. Or ask for him to translate a lyric in Spanish. 

"Time to give back the dresses," she murmured, thumbing the fringed beads at the bottom of this emerald green dress. 

Diego didn't answer. Either he didn't hear, or he didn't care. After all: He wasn't her dance partner, anymore. but her coworker. Her boss. 

After the last dance, Diego asked the couples showed off their progress in a short solo session in the middle of the dance floor. Annabelle and Tex had been working on a dip for the past few days. Annabelle was laughing when he dipped her, and laughing when he lifted her back up. She was laughing all the time, lately. 

Lily clapped through the rest of the performances, marveling at the couples—and at what Diego managed to do over the course of the week. He transformed them. It was like watching people learn to ice skate. There they were, in the middle of the rink, skating on their own. 

The surprisingly nimble elderly couple who had met, decades ago, while competing in the Olympics (Diego called them the Gold Medals). The two men who fought over which should learn the women's part on the first day of class, then decided they both would learn both. The boyfriend and girlfriend who seemed on the verge of engagement the whole time they were at Highland. By the last day, the girlfriend seemed salty that he still hadn't asked. She danced with some fire that hadn't been before. Diego noticed.

"Kendra, you're dancing better than ever," he said. "But Dave, you might want to ask her why ." Dave laughed, and got down on one knee—much to Kendra's surprise. 

"I never thought you were going to do it!" She squealed, and the barriers between the classmates melted. Everyone gathered with glee. 

"Come on, Diego. Your turn," Kendra said. 

"Yeah, Lily, go for it!" Of course, it was Annabelle who piped in.

Diego and Lily stared at each other. THey shrugged, almost at the same time. "Are we doing this?" He asked. 

"Are we?" 

Neither of them really knew what the other was referring to. If "this" was a dance, or something more.  

But a dance was easier to accomplish than something more, and so they just did that. She felt lucky to have another chance at a last dance. 

She savored it, her mind both in the moment and observing it as it occurred. Present Lily's heart was beating. Future Lily knew how the story would end. She was happy for both versions—happy for her, still in suspense; happy for her, who'd live to tell the tale. 

To Lily's surprise, Diego wrapped her up in a hug at the end of the dance, and yelped with joy. "My prodigy," he said, raising her arm with his in a victory pose. Diego was so rarely brimming with warmth. To see him like this—it was like a peek of the sun underneath the clouds. Was the sun always shining? Was this kind of joy always possible? And had she been the one to unlock it? 

"That was a good last dance," she said, when it was over.  

"Don't look so sad. It's the last last day of dancing, but the first day of everything else." 

"Everything else?" she asked. 

"You know," he said, whispering. The chatter in the room was so now so loud that they could only communicate through soft language, delivered close to her ear. "The rest of the summer." 

He was warm, his breath was warm. She had no idea what was going to happen next. But at least she knew she'd see him. 

"If you're going to capture me, you're going to have to tell my mom," she said. 

Annabelle and Tex were practicing their routine again, without music. 

"Something tells me she'll be okay with you going," he said. 

Lily would rather not think about it. Her mom having a tryst. While he was probably right, she shook her head. 

"No, you're going to have to help me." 

He laughed, and turned to her. "Did you really think I'd abandon you. Don't worry. I already have helped—I'll tell you, after this."

Dave gathered everyone in the circle and announced that drinks were on him. Diego flicked his head to the side, as if to say, Come on. She felt his command like a tug in her gut. After a week of being pressed up agains this body, she was attached to him, now. For better, and for worse.