The month flew by quickly. Before long the anticipated night arrived.
“Dirk, why does Julia wait until the rainy season to host this dance? It seems like she would have it in the summer when it stays light later and the weather’s dry?”
Dirk heaved the final satchel onto the bed of the wagon before turning to answer Selena. “The crops keep farmers too busy in the summer. Now that the last of the fields are harvested, the chores lighten and there's more time for socializing. Besides, after a month or more of rain people are ready to get out of their houses and visit. Years ago, Julia decided the winter months were too long and she began to open her home every few weeks for a dance.
“She has the dance in the house? My word, I assumed she had it outside. Where do you find room to dance in that house?” Selena lifted her basket of baked goods over the backboard and secured it tightly between Dirk’s miscellaneous paraphernalia.
“We make it work. The boys move the furniture out onto the porch. Have you ever noticed the large piece of linoleum in the living room under the rug?”
She nodded hesitantly unsure whether or not she really had noticed it.
“The night of the dance, the boys roll up the rug, and the celebration begins.”
“It seems like all that dancing would be pretty hard on the floor.”
Dirk nodded. “After a few years the linoleum wears out from the excessive pounding. When that happens, everyone contributes whatever they can afford, and Julia buys a replacement.”
“I didn’t see a piano. Who plays the music?”
“You’ll see,” Dirk replied mysteriously.
They arrived early that day to help with any last minute preparations. Dirk and the boys moved the larger pieces of furniture: some onto the front porch, some temporarily out into the barn. After years of practice, Julia looked ready. “I’ve learned to keep it simple,” she tutored Selena, “and then I enjoy the night as much as my guests.”
After the men finished the final barn chores, they tromped upstairs to wash. Thomas accomplished the task first and headed back outside to situate the wagons in the muddy yard. As each family arrived, the men maneuvered the horses up close to the front steps. This allowed the women and children to keep out of the mud before entering the house. Circling the horses back across the yard, the men lined the wagons up like train cars, readying them for a smooth departure later that evening.
As the sun dipped behind the horizon, the guests began to stream into the house. Food in hand, they placed their prospective bowls of abundance on the big kitchen table. Selena’s eyes brightened when she saw Barbara and Cindy arrive. Matt barged into the room behind them. Selena wasn’t surprised to hear that Evie decided to remain home. As the influx of neighbors and friends swarmed through the doors, the noise intensified.
Hearing the throng, Johnnie swung himself down the stairs two at a time grinning from ear to ear. He looked quite dapper. A thin narrow necktie held up a high stiff collar. Black suspenders pinned a crisp white shirt to his chest. She suspected he wore them out of necessity judging by the pants’ baggy appearance. What surprised Selena most though was his hair. He had meticulously parted and waxed it down firmly in place. She wondered how long it would last after the dancing began. Selena turned away to hide her smile; men were as vain as women and there was no denying it.
She looked down at her own simple attire and wondered if she’d dressed appropriately. She hadn’t even thought about fashion. She rarely had, giving up those dreams and expense years ago in lieu of necessities to live. Tonight she had selected a light cream blouse with loose sleeves that narrowed at the wrist. The blouse tucked in at a three inch waistband flowing into a very simple blue-grey skirt. Well, it would have to do. It was the best she had. She turned back to the kitchen in time to see Jacob and Dirk heading down the stairs. Jacob came first. Judging by his appearance, he looked like he expected someone special to attend this dance tonight. She’d never seen him look so nice. She’d have to watch and see if she could figure out who prompted such fastidiousness in the young man. Jacob stepped aside at the bottom of the stairs and Dirk came into view. She stepped backward to blend into the crowd. A wave of disappointment swept over her. That’s silly, she reprimanded herself. For although Dirk looked as handsome as ever, she could tell he had not gone to any extra effort to impress her or anyone else for that matter. Granted, she’d never seen the shirt he wore. He must tuck that away just for the dances. Looking from the way it pulled tightly across his broad chest, it probably had been years since it had last been worn. Before she melted back into the parlor, he caught her eye. Exposed, she flushed. Embarrassed by his recognition, she set her mind to finding their son. It didn’t take long. Aware of the brooding excitement to come, Wade ran in circles around and through the maze of legs.
Before long, several men arrived with fiddles and banjos, and the house erupted with the sound of squawking strings as the musicians tuned their instruments for the night ahead. Within minutes the grating sounds crescendoed into music, and the house rang with “Oh, Susanna”, “Turkey in the Straw”, and “Soldier’s Joy”. There were no inhibitions; people danced around the room with enthusiasm. Selena held Wade up to watch the thrall of people twirl around the dance floor, but that lasted only a moment before he wanted to run back and forth performing his own variation of the pulsating excitement.
Enthralled, Selena watched. She had not experienced anything like this since she was a young girl. Her eyes wandered around the room trying to capture everything at once. To her left, Jacob shook a jar full of his mother’s spoons to the beat. Behind him another young man thumped a wooden spoon on some type of leather strap. Those visitors not dancing, clapped and stomped their feet to the music. Her heart raced with the exhilaration.
A tapping on her elbow made her turn. Johnnie mimed for her to join him on the floor. She shook her head vehemently, but he insisted and pulled her where she dreaded to go. His lanky legs moved with ferocity and agility across the floor. Selena let him guide her forward and backward with the swell; she had no choice. Swirling, she let the music sweep her into the revelry. When the music stopped, the room erupted in applause for the musicians followed immediately by requests for more.
As she stood catching her breath, she looked frantically around the room for Wade. She found him in Dirk’s arms in the far corner of the room. Dirk nodded and pointed her out to Wade. Her face flushed to think they saw her antics, but before she could think, Johnnie grabbed her waist and whirled her away to the beat of the next song.
“Johnnie, no more” she pleaded, but her demands held little sway over the energetic young man. Yelling above the din, she pointed to a pretty girl with blonde hair standing by the wall. “Why don’t you ask her?”
That’s Sally Anne,” he retorted with a nod in Jacob’s direction. “I might not survive the night, if you know what I mean,” he bellowed out the remark before twirling her toward the next corner of the room.
When the song ended, Selena quickly distanced herself from her unflagging partner to look for her son. She found Dirk on the porch talking to Walt. She scooped Wade from his arms.
“Mommy danced,” he exclaimed.
“Did you see Mommy dance with Uncle Johnnie?” she asked.
“Mommy dance with Papa?” he questioned innocently, tipping his head ever so slightly to one side as he looked into her eyes with his large, dark ones.
“Mommy doesn’t know if Papa dances,” her eyes twinkled with the lingering exhilaration.
“Oh, he’s a great dancer.” Walt chimed into the conversation. Grabbing his friend’s elbow, he gently directed him towards the dance floor. “Won all kinds of contests in his heyday.”
Dirk brushed off the fictitious compliment with his steady manner. “Don’t believe a word of it, Selena.” Directing his next comment to Walt, “Besides, Selena looks tired.”
Selena looked at him earnestly. “I’m not tired if you’re willing, but you saw my poor skills. You’ll have to do all the work.”
“Selena, where’d you go?” Johnnie swung his head around the side of the door. “Don’t desert me. You’re my only hope for a partner.”
“Looks like she might have just got herself a new partner.” Walt intercepted the young man. “Why don’t you take Wade for a spin?” Herding the hesitant couple toward the floor, he grabbed Cindy’s hand on the way by and signaled for her to join him. Catching on quickly to her husband’s intention, Cindy grabbed Selena’s hand, and they formed two lines for the Virginia reel. Selena found her husband as good a dancer as Johnnie and realized that these family dances must have been an integral part of their growing up years. She found she learned the steps quickly and mastered the flow of the reel within a few short repetitions. Eventually, it was their turn to be the head couple and chasseʹ down the center row. As she side-stepped up and down the aisle, she saw Wade laughing at his parents from Johnnie’s shoulders. Selena reeled her way down the line of couples until the room swam around her. Taking Dirk’s hand, they slid back up the aisle and then peeled off behind the line of dancers forming a parade. When they reached the back of the line, they formed an arch and watched all of the other couples duck under their arms. She loved the feeling of her husband’s strong grip as their fingers intermingled. Laughing, she looked up into his eyes. Instantly, he diverted them to the stream of dancers. She looked away, but her spirits could not be dampened.
The evening swirled by in a blur of enjoyment. Exhausted after the reel, she went to check on Julia in the kitchen. Finding her talking with a friend, she slipped out the back door for some fresh air. Behind her the house swelled with the thundering music, but looking far out into the dark night, the stars shone brilliantly in deep solitude. She noted the Big Dipper and looked fervently for the North Star. Intent on her search, she didn’t notice that Dirk stood next to her. “Clear night, isn’t it?”
Turning to him she exhaled her enthusiasm, “Oh, Dirk, I’ve not had this much fun in years!”
“I’m glad.” He peered down into her eyes. They glimmered with excitement. The music abruptly ended in the house. Unlocking his penetrating gaze, he looked back at the house. “Looks like the party is over for tonight. Now the clean-up begins.”
“Let’s send Julia to bed and do it ourselves; what do you say?”
Her exuberance made him smile. “I’d say you’d be a persuasive lawyer if you get her to agree to that.”
True to Dirk’s prediction, Julia would have nothing to do with the suggestion and within an hour, Selena gladly admitted that she was glad she had failed in her attempt, and Julia had stayed up to help.
It was the wee hours of the morning before Selena flopped into bed. She hoped with all her heart that the excitement would cause Wade to sleep in longer than normal. She drifted off to sleep with the echoes of squealing strings skipping across the strands of her dreams.