MAYA
I glanced around the dance studio at the students in my mother’s Zumba class as they waited for her to cue the music so they could begin. The health club where she taught the Saturday-morning class was packed with men and women who looked like they were excited to see one another, as well as ready to enjoy the class. Anna and I were both there because our mother had forced us to come. It wasn’t like Anna and I were out of shape or dealing with teen obesity or some other horrible medical condition. It’s just that my mom was a fitness maniac and wanted to make sure we took our health seriously. I’m positive that between Anna and me, we’d heard her health speech at least a million times.
“Diabetes and high blood pressure runs in the family. Take care of yourself now because no one ever says that they want to grow up to be old, sick and tired,” she’d say. Both Anna and I would just let her blabber on until she ran out of gas. I, for one, knew that I’d always be thin and shapely like her. I had a very high metabolism and I healed up quickly, so my mother was really preaching to the choir when it came to me. Now, Anna, on the other hand, loved junk food. Chocolates, cake, ice cream and anything made by Dolly Madison. Zingers and Donut Gems were her favorites. When it came to candy she loved Pixy Stix, Lemonheads and Chick-O-Sticks, Nerds, Now and Laters, taffy candy, and everything gummy. She kept a stash in her top drawer and was known to get up during the night to eat candy. Like me, Anna had a high metabolism, but she always had dental cavities. I just knew one day she was going to wake up and not have a single tooth in her head.
If you asked me, life would be so much more bearable if Anna were dropped off at an orphanage. I glanced at myself in the mirror and thought my workout gear looked perfect on me. I had on a blue-and-black Nike tank top with matching blue-and-black spa pants. I looked marvelous. Anna, being the annoying little sister that she was, copied my style. We were practically wearing the same outfit; the only difference was that her tank top was green-and-white. I wanted to choke her for trying to be chic like me.
One of the reasons I wasn’t complaining too much was because I knew that Misalo was going to be at the gym. Ever since he had seen Carlo flirting with me, he had felt threatened by him. I told him that there was no need to, but my words weren’t enough.
“So, you want a man with a little more muscle, aye?” he asked later that day after he had seen Carlo flirting with me at the swimming pool.
“Stop being so jealous.” I tried to ease his fears, but my words offered him little comfort. Although I had to be honest with myself, if Misalo wasn’t the love of my life, I’d definitely want to get to know Carlo a lot better. There was just something about him. He had swagger and the looks to go along with it. If Carlo could sing, he’d probably have girls chaining themselves to his ankles.
“Okay, guys, are you ready to Zumba!” my mother said as she adjusted her headset, which had a microphone attached to it. When she heard a chorus of voices answer she pressed the play button on the stereo remote and we began.
“We’re going to work hard today, but we’re going to have so much fun,” she said as we all marched in place.
By the time the Zumba class was over, I was in need of a shower. When I exited the dance studio on my way to the locker room, I saw Misalo and two of his soccer-team friends over in the free-weight area. Before my mother could give me the evil eye or tell me not to go by Misalo, I was walking briskly toward him. He was lying on his back about to do the bench press. He had two giant forty-five-pound weights on each side of the bar. It looked to be way more than he could lift, but that wasn’t going to stop him from trying. His friend helped him lift the bar off the rack.
“I’ve got it,” I heard Misalo grunt the words. His friend walked to the other side of the gym.
Misalo’s arms were wobbling as he held the bar above his head. I wanted to say, “Are you crazy? That’s obviously too heavy,” but I didn’t want to startle him. I stood at a safe distance and watched him try to lower the bar to his scrawny chest. He tried to push it back up, but he couldn’t. The bar fell onto his chest and rolled up toward his neck. I stood frozen with horror as I watched Misalo struggling. Just as I was about to run over and help him, Carlo appeared. He lifted the bar back up and placed it on the rack. Misalo coughed and took a few deep breaths before he sat upright.
“Thanks, but I had it,” Misalo said.
“Yeah, you were about to kill yourself,” Carlo said, shaking his head disapprovingly. Carlo was wearing a black tank top with dark blue gym shorts. His skin glistened with sweat from running on one of the treadmills. He looked like a god and wore his muscles proudly. For a moment I found myself wanting to place sweet kisses on his neck and nibble on his strong shoulders.
“You need to lift a lighter weight, little man,” Carlo said as I walked up.
“Are you okay, Misalo?” I asked as I stood by his side.
“You didn’t just see that, did you?” he asked with embarrassment in his eyes.
“Yes. Thank goodness Carlo was nearby,” I said, without giving a single thought to his fragile ego.
“I didn’t need the dude’s help. I had it. My hands were in the wrong position. That’s all,” Misalo said unapologetically as he stood.
“Whatever, little hombre. You can thank me later. A word of advice, though—stick to girl weights before you try playing with the big-boy toys. Maya, it’s good to see you again, baby.” Carlo smiled and then winked at me. I couldn’t believe that I actually felt butterflies prancing around in my belly. Carlo had eyes that I couldn’t help but get lost in.
“Hey, man, Maya is my girl. I can’t have you disrespecting me like that.” Misalo’s feathers were clearly ruffled and he wanted to fight. His soccer friends came over and stood by his side and asked what was going on.
“Guys, just calm down. Nothing is going on.” I immediately tried to defuse Misalo’s hostility toward Carlo. Carlo was the essence of macho. He wasn’t the least bit afraid of Misalo or his friends. Carlo puckered his lips and blew me a kiss.
“Keep your damn eyes and lips off of my girl or else!” Misalo’s pride was on the line and he wasn’t about to back down.
“Or else what?” Carlo turned toward Misalo and called out, “Hey, Sonny and Felix, come here for a second.” What neither Misalo nor I knew was that Carlo was there with his older brother, Sonny, and his cousin Felix. They were just as handsome as Carlo and had bodies that were just as sculpted. They also looked like they’d punish Misalo and his friends mercilessly if provoked. I don’t know why or how Carlo’s cockiness had cast its spell on me, but it had. I found myself wanting to stand behind him and press my cheeks against his back. I wanted to inhale his scent, feel the heat of his body and let him whisper sweet things in my ear. I was literally in some type of trance that I couldn’t explain.
“Hello, Carlo.” Anna walked up and I snapped out of my daydream. I panicked a little because I knew my mother wasn’t far behind. I looked toward the dance studio and saw that she was busy talking to her students.
“Ah, cómo estás, Anna. It’s good to see you again. Where is your cousin?” he asked.
“She went home,” Anna said with a smile that was bigger than her body.
“You still haven’t used the phone number I gave you,” Anna tried to whisper, but I heard her. I rolled my eyes because Carlo was so out of her league.
“Guys, look.” I finally found my voice. “We just have a big misunderstanding here. No harm has been done. Anna, we should go before Mom comes,” I said, wanting her to step away from Carlo.
“Mom is busy,” Anna said defiantly.
“Anna, I’m not playing with you,” I said a little more aggressively.
“Wait a minute. This cute little woman here is your sister?” Carlo asked.
“Oh, Carlo.” Anna giggled uncontrollably. She obviously had a ridiculously huge crush on Carlo.
“Beauty runs in the family I see.” Carlo smiled. At that moment, the worst thing in the world happened. My mother walked over. I wanted to go and stick my head in the ground.
“Ladies, what’s going on?” my mother asked as she looked at Misalo and his friends and then at Carlo and his crew. When she took a glance at Carlo, she flinched a little as if she had to make sure that her eyes were not lying to her.
“Is this your mother?” Carlo asked me.
“Yes,” Anna answered before I could.
“Respect, señorita.” Carlo, his brother, and cousin nodded their heads in a show of respect to my mother. “You have beautiful daughters. If Maya continues to hang around guys like him—” he pointed to Misalo “—she’ll get into trouble. He has a very short temper. I have two sisters. They’re only nine and eleven, but since I’m their big brother I make sure they know not to hang around boys with tempers.” I couldn’t believe how easily and smoothly Carlo had tossed Misalo in front of a big-ass bus.
“Why are you talking to Misalo when your father and I have asked you not to?” My mother started in on me.
“Mrs. Rogers, I wanted to apologize for—” My mother tossed up her hand and made Misalo talk to it. I glanced at him. I could see the humiliation taking over his prideful heart.
“Come on, fellas. Let’s go,” Carlo said and politely excused himself. I watched Anna communicate with Carlo through her eyes. She wanted him to call her so badly. I once again got lost in Carlo’s swagger.
“Don’t look at him, look at me!” My mother popped her fingers in front of my eyes.
“I’m sorry. What were you saying?” I asked.
“I’m going to go, Maya. I’ll see you around,” Misalo said. I craned my neck in his direction, but he’d already begun to walk away, with his head slumped between his shoulders.
“Mom, I didn’t know he was here,” I explained as feelings of regret filled my heart. I was utterly confused by everything that had just happened. I didn’t know how to explain any of it. I thought my mother would be angrier, but she wasn’t.
“When you’re ready to talk about all of this, just let me know,” she said.
“Talk about all of what?” I asked, trying to pretend that I was completely ignorant.
“Don’t play dumb with me, Maya. I’ve had feelings like that, too, and I know everything you’re thinking. You’re confused and you don’t know what to do.” I wanted to deny that she was right but I couldn’t. I glanced at Anna, who still had her eyes focused on Carlo as he entered the locker room.
“You need to talk to Anna,” I said, throwing her in front of a train so that my mother wouldn’t focus on me so hard. “I think she’s trying to date.”
“I am not!” My words got Anna’s attention.
“Oh, God. Don’t tell me that you both like the same boy?” My mother sounded disappointed.
“I don’t like Carlo,” I quickly said. My mother gave me a look that said she didn’t believe a word I’d just said.
“You need to talk to Maya about all of the secret rendezvous she’s been having with Misalo. She’s not staying away from him like you and Dad have asked,” Anna said. I looked at her and lowered my eyes to slits. That was to let her know that at some point I was going to get even with her for mentioning that.
When we arrived back home, my father and brother were in the family room listening to music. My brother, Paul, had made the mistake of asking my father how to slow dance. This was something he should’ve asked my mother.
“Raven, come down here so we can show this boy how to dance the right way,” my father yelled up the staircase from the basement.
“Herman, I’m tired,” my mother answered back as she walked into the kitchen.
“It will only take a minute. He has some girl he’s trying to impress,” my father said. Both Anna and I found that to be humorous and laughed loudly. Our little brother was such a video game nerd. The last thing that Anna or I ever thought we’d see him with was a girl.
“Oh, you guys think that’s funny?” my mother asked as she removed a chilled bottle of water from the refrigerator.
“Yes,” Anna and I both said as we kept laughing and making fun of our little brother.
“Come on. Everyone downstairs.” My mother directed us toward the basement and family room. When we came down, our father had moved all of the furniture against the walls so there was plenty of space to dance. He and Paul were in the center of the floor, where Dad was trying to teach him how to move his feet.
“Come on, Paul. You’re moving like you have two left feet,” Dad complained.
“I’m trying, but my feet don’t work that way,” Paul said. Anna and I snickered as we found a place to sit.
“Herman, your girls also need a birds-and-bees lesson,” my mother said.
“Huh?” Dad asked. I immediately stopped laughing, because the last thing I wanted was to have a conversation like that as a group activity.
“It appears as if all of our children are suddenly interested in romance,” my mother announced.
“I only wanted to know how to dance and look cool,” my brother quickly said.
“And why do you want to look cool?” my mother asked.
Paul shrugged his shoulders. “I don’t know. Just to look cool.”
“No. It’s because you want to get attention from girls.” My mother didn’t buy Paul’s line of bull for even an instant. My mother took a seat on the love chair. “So, tell our children what romance is like.” My father opened his mouth but no words came out. I could tell that he was searching for what he should say.
“Wow, I’m really on the spot, aren’t I?” my father said.
“Yes, you are. Tell them how you romanced me. Why don’t you start there,” my mother said. Although I’d heard the story before, I never grew tired of hearing it.
“Well, I met your mother when I was twenty-four years old and she was twenty. We were both in our second year of college and I was the most handsome man on campus,” Dad boasted, but everyone knew that wasn’t true. My mother laughed.
“You were cute, but you needed the touch of a woman.” Mom laughed.
“Don’t listen to your mother, girls. I was a suave man fresh out of the military, and I had the moves, the looks and—”
My mother interrupted him. “No money and no car. Your father was a disciplined man and he—”
“Do you want to tell this story or are you going to let me tell it?” My father broke up my mother’s version of events.
“Go on.” She waved him off.
“True, I didn’t have much money or a car, but I had heart.”
“So, get to the part about how you guys met,” said my little brother as he sat on the floor next to my mother.
“Well, your mother was a cheerleader and was the best dancer on the squad. She could move like no other girl on the team. Whenever she danced she stood out from the crowd. She was whipping her hair back and forth long before Willow Smith was born. I went to all of the basketball and football games just to watch her perform.”
“Your father and his friends made a habit of hanging around begging girls for their phone numbers like sailors on shore leave. The only reason they were near us was because of our revealing outfits. We showed a lot of skin,” my mother added.
My father laughed. “Oh, yeah, because she had this one white outfit that hugged her body like a glove and—”
“Herman, they get the picture.” My mother caught him before he got too caught up in the memory.
My father smiled again. “Anyway, at the time she was dating one of the football players, and I was doing my best to steal her away from him.”
“Wait, you mean that Mom had a boyfriend and you took her from him?” asked Paul, who seemed to believe that this was an important historical news flash he’d missed.
“He was no good for her, son. She didn’t know it at the time, but I did. She was my woman, my soul mate, and I wasn’t going to allow her to get away from me,” my father said with pride.
“So, how did you take her from the other guy?” Paul continued with his questions.
“Well, as luck would have it, the following semester your mom and I ended up in the same chemistry class. I made sure that she wound up being my lab partner.”
“Your father insisted that I become his partner,” my mother once again interjected.
“I knew a lot about chemistry and didn’t want to see her struggling with the class, so I offered to help her with her studies. We ended up spending a lot of time together.” Dad smiled at the memory.
“Well, what about her boyfriend? Didn’t he get mad?” Paul asked.
“Oh, yes, he got very angry and extremely jealous if I remember correctly,” my father said, glancing over at my mother.
“Yes, he was,” she admitted.
“Anyway, she didn’t know it, but I was secretly talking to her girlfriends who didn’t like the guy she was dating. They were telling me all of the things that she liked and didn’t like. So by having the inside scoop, I knew I’d be able to win her over.”
“Wow, that is so special,” I said as I tucked my legs beneath me.
“But, Dad, wasn’t that disrespectful?” Paul asked.
“All is fair in love and war,” said my Dad.
“Huh?” Paul was completely clueless.
“I didn’t take her, son. I was a total gentleman during those days. I treated your mother like a queen. Her boyfriend, on the other hand, well, that’s another story.” My father turned to my mother.
“Yes. The guy I was dating and thought I was in love with turned out to be a real monster,” said my mother.
“What did he do?” asked Paul.
“He was an abusive guy. At the beginning of our relationship he would tell me that his jealousy was a sign of his love for me. Then he started questioning who I was with during the day and who I had been talking to.”
“Then his suspicions were right, because you were talking to Dad,” Paul pointed out.
“At that time your father and I weren’t romantically involved at all. We were just friends. But my boyfriend at the time had been acting this way long before your father came around. He’d accuse me of flirting with other men when we’d go out, which of course, I wasn’t. Then it got to the point that he didn’t want me to ever leave his side because he feared that I’d meet someone and leave him. He’d call all of the time and come to my dorm unannounced. He was very insecure and I stupidly tried to change him.”
“So, you guys kept dating?” asked Paul.
“Yes,” my mother answered.
“I’d hoped they’d break up, but your mother hung in there with him. I think she believed he was going to get drafted into the NFL and she’d marry him and live a life of luxury.”
“No, I didn’t,” my mother disputed that claim.
“That’s not what your girlfriends told me,” Dad countered.
“They were just nosy gossip girls,” Mom said, not giving any weight or validity to their perception of her during that time period.
“Right after our graduation ceremony in spring of 1990, I got her alone and told her how I truly felt about her,” said my father.
“By that time your father had become a very dear friend. I had feelings for him, but I was torn because I also had feelings for my boyfriend, in spite of all his flaws,” Mom said.
“Your mother left me holding my heart in my hand,” said my father. “And, Paul, let me tell you. It’s not easy for a guy to watch the woman he loves walk away.”
“Why did you break his heart, Mom?” Paul turned to look at her.
“His heart wasn’t that broken,” she said.
“Yes, it was,” my father said. “A few weeks later I was called up for duty.”
“That’s when you went to the Gulf War, right?” I asked.
“Yup. I was shipped off to Texas, where I did some specialized training with chemical weapons. I had to do another two years in the military before I was able to get out. When I finally got out, I moved to Chicago and stayed with relatives until I got a job and my own place.”
“Oh, here comes the good part,” Anna said.
My father chuckled. “I was out one night with some military buddies who had taken me to a dance club where bachata dance competitions were held. Of all the places your mother could have walked into, that night she walked into that one. She was with her sister, Salena, and they were both dressed to kill. Once they sat down, I sent a drink over to their table. When the waitress pointed to me to show your mother who the drink had come from, she couldn’t believe that I was there. When I looked into her eyes they sparkled like diamonds.”
“That is so romantic.” I sighed.
“Your father surprised me,” my mother said, picking up the story. “I never expected to see him again. The first thing I asked him when he came over was if he was still single. I was happy beyond words when he said that he was.”
“So, the guy from college, what happened to him?” Paul asked.
“She’d broken up with him—duh!” Anna said, poking fun at Paul.
“A bachata song came on and I asked your mother to dance with me,” my dad explained.
“I was very nervous, because the Herman that I knew in college did not know how to dance at all. So I told him that he shouldn’t embarrass himself.”
“Oh, I got your mother real good that night. I pulled her out of her seat and walked her onto the dance floor. I told her to make sure she kept up.” My father met my mother’s gaze, and I could still see the love in his eyes that he had for her.
“Your father didn’t tell me that while he was in Texas he’d learned a lot about Mexican culture, dance, music and everything.”
“Your mother forgot that before I was in college I spent four years in the military traveling around the world. I’d been to Spain, Japan and Africa. I learned as much about other cultures as I could.”
“So there I was, standing on the dance floor with my sister, Salena, glaring at me as if I’d lost my mind,” said my mother.
“Come here, baby. Let’s show them how to bachata,” said my father.
“My feet hurt,” my mother whined.
“I’ll rub them when we’re done.”
“Go on and do it,” I said, getting up and placing their favorite dance CD, which contained the song they danced to, in the stereo. I pressed Play and took a seat. My father slowly grooved to the rhythm of the melody being played by a Spanish guitar. My mother joined him. They took each other’s hands and began to dance. Their bachata dance was filled with spins, turns and lots of hip movement by both partners. I enjoyed watching my parents dance with each other. They’d been together for so long that they knew each other’s moves. Even though they hadn’t practiced, they moved with flawless precision. They smiled at each other, they laughed with each other and they enjoyed each other. My heart started to swell. I wanted to have a romantic marriage just like theirs.
Later that evening I ran an errand with my mother. While we walked around the grocery store she got a phone call from my grandmother.
“What do you mean Salena has disappeared?” my mother said as I stood near her and listened with great interest.
“Viviana has no idea where she could be?” she asked.
I could hear my grandmother’s muffled voice say, “No.”
“Why would Salena just leave like that? It doesn’t make any sense,” my mother said. She was clearly getting upset as we moved down the aisle where all the bread was shelved.
“Who got into a fight?” my mother asked. I glanced over at her because I wanted to know, as well.
“What do you mean you got into a fight?” She stopped walking and so did I.
“Mama, you should’ve called the police. You can’t allow Viviana to drag you into her drama.” My mother paused as my grandmother spoke. “I know you’re too old to be fighting.” My mother paused again as my grandmother spoke to her.
“Mom, I’ll have to talk to Herman about having Viviana stay with us. I just can’t spring this on him all of a sudden.” I got involved at that moment. I stood in front of my mother and got her attention and whispered loudly.
“I don’t want Viviana to come live with us,” I said with a grave sense of urgency before she agreed to do anything.
“Mom, Viviana has a reputation and she…” My mother paused yet again. “I know your health isn’t the best and I know you’re on a fixed income. You don’t have to remind me.
“I’ll talk to Herman tonight about it,” my mother said. I walked away at that moment, because I knew that Grandmother Esmeralda was going to win and Viviana was coming to stay with us for an indefinite length of time.