The Dance

On a rainy day in May, many students felt relieved that finals week had finally ended. Lisa, a freshman in college, put the finishing touches on her beautifully youthful, exuberant face.

"Lisa!" yelled her mother. "Are you ready?"
"I'll be down in a minute, Mamacita."
"Rolando will be here soon, Baby."

The loud drops of the hard rain falling on the house made it necessary for Irma, Lisa's mother, to shout despite her sore throat. Irma, thrilled for her daughter, recalled her own excitement when she attended her first college dance. However, tonight something tugged at her soul. The terrible weather and something else made her feel like telling her daughter not to go to the dance.

A loud knock on the door startled Irma. She opened it and smiled at the elegant young man.
"Rolando, you look so handsome."
"Thank you, Mrs. Valentin." He gave her a long stemmed white rose.
"Why thank you. And please call me Irma."
"I notice that your voice is a little hoarse. Do you need anything?"
"Oh, no thank you, Rolando. All I need is rest."

At that moment, they turned to the stairs, where Lisa walked down. She looked exquisite, wearing her new long red evening gown that accentuated her shape nicely. It had a slit up the side, revealing her sexy legs. Her long hair, nicely styled, glowed as red as a sunrise on a Caribbean beach. Her silky thick eyelashes illuminated her blue eyes. Her lips were inviting and a perfect match for her dress.

Irma said, "Baby, you look amazing. What do you think, Rolando?"
Grinning from ear to ear, he said, "Lisa, I'm so lucky to be escorting the most beautiful girl that'll be at the dance."
Blushing, Lisa answered, "I'm the lucky one who will be with the best looking man."
Rolando handed Lisa a long stemmed red rose, opened an umbrella and escorted her to his Classic '66 Mustang.
Irma shouted, "Be careful, kids!"
"Don't worry, Mamacita," said Lisa.

Irma couldn't shake the feeling that she was making a terrible mistake.
"Oh, stop it; she'll be fine," she said to no one in particular as they drove away.

Rolando glanced at Lisa and showed her a smile that radiated sheer joy. Looking at Rolando, Lisa asked, "What?"
"You look so happy and beautiful," replied Rolando.
"I'm happy because I'm going to my first college dance and it's with you."
Suddenly, an object appeared in front of the car.
Lisa screamed, "Look out!"

Rolando steered away from a dog that hogged his path. He lost control. The Mustang started to spin out, so Rolando overcompensated and the car turned over, crashing into a utility pole. The rain pounded on the shattered glass and blood spilled all over the road.


A year later, on a beautiful May Saturday night, Samuel Aponte dressed for his first college dance. It had been a difficult semester, but his mother, by buying him a white '66 Mustang, had made life more enjoyable. Sam kissed his mother and started on his forty-minute ride to the university.

Thirty minutes into his ride, Sam noticed a lovely tall redheaded girl with a long evening gown walking on the side of the road. He pulled over and asked, "Do you need a lift?"
"Great, thank you, you're a lifesaver." She got in the vehicle and they headed toward the college.
"Are you going to the dance?" Sam asked.
"Yes, are you?"
"Yes; why are you going alone and on foot?"
"It's my first college dance."
"Mine too," he said.
"Well, I'm not alone anymore. Will you dance with me?"
"Of course."

Sam could not believe his luck. He knew his friends would envy him. This girl was drop dead gorgeous and he couldn't believe that she did not have a date.

"Where are my manners? I'm Samuel Aponte."
"Hi, I'm Lisa Perez."
"Lisa, you can call me Sam."
"Okay." Lisa replied. Then a look of concern consumed her.
"What's wrong, Lisa?"
"It's just that I left my Mamacita home alone, and she had a sore throat."
"Oh, don't worry. You can call her when we get to the dance."

They arrived at the dance and quickly started dancing. Sam, pleased that Lisa seemed genuinely interested in him, did not pay any attention to his friends. The beautiful girl had a way of making him feel more important. She even laughed at all of his jokes. The two were inseparable, dancing and laughing the night away.

After the dance, Lisa asked Sam to drive her home. When they arrived in front of her house, Sam asked, "Can I have your number?"
"You already have it. I put a slip of paper in your pocket."
"Can I call you later?"
"I'd like that."

They kissed passionately, and then she went to her door and waved good-bye. Sam drove away. He tried to sleep when he got home, but he couldn't. The excitement kept him awake the rest of the night. He waited until noon to call the number Lisa gave him. After the third ring a female voice answered.

"Hello," the voice sounded like it belonged to an older woman.
"Hi, my name is Samuel Aponte; can I speak to Lisa please?"
Irma's heart started to race.
"Who are you?" Irma asked.
"I'm Sam. I was with your daughter last night at the college dance."
Irma dropped the phone and started to pray.
"Hello, hello, are you there?" Sam asked.
Shaking, Irma picked up the phone.
"D, describe my daughter please."
The request seemed odd to Sam, but he obliged and described her perfectly.
Irma asked, "Do you know where I live?"
"Yes, I dropped Lisa off there this morning."
"Please come over."
"Okay. I'll be there in twenty minutes."

When Sam arrived, a very lovely older version of Lisa answered the door.
"Hello, I'm Samuel Aponte."
"Hi, I'm Irma, Lisa's mother. Please come in."
"I know, I can see the resemblance. You are just as lovely as your daughter."
Irma looked at him with penetrating eyes.
"Would you like some coffee?" Irma offered.
Sam accepted, and as they sat in the living room, Irma said, "Tell me everything that happened last night, every detail."

Sam felt uncomfortable when he noticed her blue eyes piercing through him. He looked away and saw a picture of Lisa on the wall.
"That's her picture right there," Sam said, pointing at the frames. He then described where he met Lisa and the events that followed.
Sam said, "I'm sorry. I didn't give Lisa the opportunity to call you, like she wanted. It's just that Lisa is special and I didn't want to let her out of my sight."
"What do you mean she wanted to call me?"
"She said in the car that her Mamacita was home alone with a sore throat."
Irma felt the blood draining out of her, leaving her face pale.
Sam noticed that Irma was distraught and asked, "What's wrong? Do you need a doctor?"
"No," Irma whispered.
She gathered her composure, looked at Sam and said, "Lisa is dead."
Sam was stunned. He couldn't believe this woman.
"Wh, When? How?"
"She died a year ago in a car accident, about ten minutes from the university."
"That's impossible!" Sam cried. "Where is she? Is this some sort of sick joke?"

Tears rolled down Irma's cheeks as she told him about that horrible night one year almost to the day. She blamed herself for not listening to a premonition she had just before Lisa left that night. She had to resort to showing him videotape of the news footage of the accident to convince him.

A somber Sam whispered, "But I was with her. She was real. We kissed."
With his heart shattered and his eyes filled with tears, he felt the soft touch of Irma's hands on his head.
"Thank you, Sam."
"For what?"
"For making my daughter's wish come true. You see, that college dance was very important to Lisa. So important, that her spirit couldn't rest until she experienced her first college dance."
A bewildered Sam left in amazement and shock, grieving for the love he will never forget.

A little while after Sam said his good-byes, Irma was on her way to her bedroom when something told her to go inside Lisa's room. The room, exactly the way Lisa had left it, had something new in it. One long stemmed red rose lay on the pillow. Feeling a mixture of sadness and relief, she lifted the rose and smelled it. Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks. Irma then whispered, "Rest in peace, Baby."