Katey Miller shook her head at the dresses her mother was presenting to her. Tokens, hoping her daughter would love the dresses and want to wear them out.
Katey glared at the dresses, as though they were the ones forcing her to go out tonight. But instead it was her mother. The society minded woman, who wanted everyone to know she was back. Her family, too. She picked out the red dress with the spaghetti straps, and was ridiculously clingy and low cut. The dress ended at mid-thighs. She wore the dress just to infuriate her mother.
Appropriately so, Mrs. Miller did freak. She forced Katey wear a knit poncho the whole night.
The Miller's were at a Social. Katey's father was kissing up to some corporate giants, her mother was gossiping eagerly with some other housewives. Suzy was being regular Suzy flirting away with some random young guy.
This left Katey to reflect on her life so far.
She had been a senior in high school when her father told her that the family was being transferred to CUBA! Not a town far enough away from her old one, where she could still see her friends, but not be able to attend her same high school. Another country. She tried to give her parents the silent treatment. Childishly slamming doors, screaming arguments, but nothing worked. They still were on that flight to Havana, Cuba. What Katey hadn't known, that while on that plane, pursing her lips and sulking, she would have the time of her life. And meet the one boy who she truly cared about. And possibly even loved.
God, she missed Havana, she missed him. An ache grew in her stomach as she thought of Javier Suarez. He showed her how to be free in dance, in life. Too bad it couldn't help her now.
Katey excelled in ballroom dancing. The foxtrot, the waltz, the mambo. After learning the spicy Latin dancing, she found American ballroom too bland, too routine. When Javier's dance was all about the music.
Katey was disrupted from her thoughts by a young man, about her age, tapped her on the shoulder.
"Excuse me, do you want to dance?" he asked. Katey stood up about to politely decline when her mother walked by behind the boy's back and subtlety glared at Katey. Katey accepted.
He led her onto the dance floor, he was dreadful at dancing, but quite charming, Katey concluded as she and her dance partner performed a waltz.
Mrs. Miller gave Katey a happy look when they returned it to their home.
"That's Mrs. Peterson's son that you danced with. That'll surely get me into her bridge club. Anything Mrs. Peterson's in is the club to be in." Mrs. Miller said more to herself than Katey. Katey left the room and quietly went upstairs leaving her mother to talk to thin air.
Mrs. Miller could schmooze her way into any club, society or organization she desired. It was a fantastically useful skill she acquired from her mother.
Katey, no doubt had inherited the gift with persuasion. If only she would use it.
Her Katherine, Katey, was seventeen years old. Katey, Mrs. Miller decided would have a huge eighteenth birthday party.
Katey would be thrilled!