Elena Alvarez sat in the back of her abuelito's red pickup truck on a warm, September morning. They sped down the highway, towards the airport. Victor, Elena's father, was going on leave from the Army for one month and the five-year-old couldn't wait to see her papi again. She hadn't seen him in over six months, and she longed for his embrace, the kisses he would place on her face, and the comfort he brought her.
Her mami and abuelita were busy taking care of baby Alex that day. Well, he wasn't really a baby anymore, he was almost three, but Abuelita sure did treat him that way. It didn't bother Elena though, because she was her abuelito's favorite. She would sit on his lap every night after dinner and read the newspaper with him. He would read the articles aloud and signal for Elena to turn the pages. The smell of Old Spice and Cuban cigars made her feel safe and loved.
Berto gladly volunteered to take Elena with him to pick up his son-in-law; he liked spending time with his granddaughter. She was the only one in the family that didn't roll her eyes when he told stories about Cuba, which was a common occurrence. A smile came across his lips as he thought about Elena drinking in every story from the newspaper he would read her each night as he pulled into LAX. "Mi niña, we're here," Berto said softly and smiled into the rearview mirror.
When they parked, Berto got out of the car and walked around to Elena's side, opened the door, and lifted her out. He stood her up on the pavement and took her hand. When his Lupe was Elena's age, she wanted to be carried everywhere, but not Elena; she wanted to walk and be independent.
They walked in silence to Victor's gate and found a spot out of the way of passing travelers to stand. It was only a few minutes later when they saw the soldier come up the escalator. He carried a small duffle bag and wore his green, Army uniform. Before he could spot the pair, Elena erupted, "Papi!" Her little voice rang through the airport as she pulled away from her abuelo and sprinted towards her father. Victor smiled at his little girl and knelt to greet her, and she almost knocked him over upon colliding into him. He held his little girl with everything he had in him. He stroked her hair and whispered, "Hi, mi amor, Papi missed you so much."
Elena finally pulled away from him, tears streaming down her little face, "I missed you too, Papi."
Victor wiped the tears from her cheeks and said, "What's wrong, baby?" He placed both hands on her arms. "Papi's here."
A look of anger suddenly appeared on Elena's face. "Not for long," she spat. Berto had finally caught up with the pair and Elena turned to him, raised her arms for him to pick her up, and buried her head in his shoulder once he lifted her. "I want to go home, Abuelito. And see Mami," she whimpered. Victor and Berto looked at each other in bewilderment.
"Mijita, what is the trouble?" Berto asked while Elena continued to cry. "You were so excited to see your Papi."
Elena raised her head and whimpered, "Yeah but he's gonna go back to Afpanistan soon."
Victor gave a small smile at his daughter mispronouncing where he worked. "Mija," he placed a hand on her back. "Don't worry about that right now. I'm here with you."
Elena ignored him and asked her grandfather, "Can we please go home, Abuelito?"
Victor took charge of the situation and began to pull Elena out of Berto's arms, asking him, "Give us a minute?" Berto simply nodded and made his way into the coffee shop across the way.
Elena struggled in Victor's arms, but he held her tightly and made his way to a bench next to one of the terminals. He sat down with Elena in his lap and she continued to fight him. He ignored her efforts and wrapped his arms tightly around her, whispering, "It's okay. Papi's here, mi amor. Shh. Papi loves you so much, baby. Shh." Elena's fight gave out and she melted into her father, weeping softly. When she stopped fighting, Victor pushed her little glasses on top of her head and wiped the tears from her eyes. He placed the lenses back on her face and asked, "Now, talk to me Elena. What's wrong?"
Elena looked up at him with those big, brown eyes that he could never say no to and sniffled, "You missed my dance last week."
Victor felt as if a dagger had been thrust into his heart. He was supposed to be back in time to take Elena to the father-daughter dance at her school, but a last-minute mission came up in Afghanistan, forcing him to push his leave back a week. He had forgotten about it until now. He sighed heavily and said, "Mija, I am so sorry. I wanted so badly to come to your dance, but I had to stay for work."
Elena ignored his apology, "Abuelito took me. He's not as good a dancer as you are."
Victor chuckled at his daughter's honesty and kissed her forehead. "Mi amor, sometimes we have to make sacrifices for our jobs. My job is to protect this country and the people in it, so sometimes, I'm going to miss a few things, like dances and holidays. But that doesn't mean I don't care about you. You're all I think about when I'm gone. You and that goofy smile of yours." He tickled her belly briefly to elicit a smile. "Can you forgive me?"
Elena nodded and wrapped her arms around her papi's neck. He kissed the side of her face and whispered, "Te quiero, mi vida."
She responded, "Te quiero, Papi."
The following Friday, Elena raced from her classroom at school to the parking lot, where her mami was waiting to pick her up. Her papi had promised her they would do something special tonight after school, just the two of them. Her mami would pick her up and take her to Papi.
Elena hurriedly got into the car and tossed her backpack into the backseat. Penelope raised an eyebrow at her little girl, "Elena, what's the rush?"
The little girl smiled, "Papi has a surprise for me."
As Penelope pulled out of the school, she said, "I know, you're going to love it."
About twenty minutes later, the mother and daughter walked into their apartment building and Elena raced ahead of Penelope to press the button on the elevator. When they reached their floor, Elena hurried to the front door and waited for her mami to unlock it. Penelope nodded at her, "Go ahead in, it's unlocked."
What Elena opened the door to was unlike anything she had ever seen before. The lights were out, but small, white lights had been strung around the room, creating a soft glow. The couch had been pushed back and the rug taken up, leaving nothing in the living room but the hardwood floor. Flowers in vases had been placed all over the room; the apartment looked like a grand ballroom to Elena. Abuelito, Abuelita, and little Alex stood in the back of the room, smiling and wearing their church clothes, Schneider stood in the corner with his iPod, and Victor stood in the middle of the floor, wearing a suit and black tie, holding a single rose.
Elena stood there in awe as her papi approached her and knelt in front of her. "Elena, I know I missed your first dance, but I hope this makes up for it." He extended his hand out to Elena and offered her the rose.
Elena took the rose and smelled it, then smiled at her Papi, "This is better than the other dance because I don't have to wear a dress!" She leaped into his arms as the family laughed at her comment.
Victor kissed her cheek and said, "I'm so glad you like it, baby." He stood her up on the hardwood floor and bowed in front of her. "May I have this dance."
Elena giggled, "Yes, Papi."
Victor glanced to the corner of the room and said, "DJ Schneider, hit it." Music began to play through the speakers Schneider had set up and the father and daughter started to dance. Victor looked down at his little girl and smiled as the music played and they swayed back and forth. Around them, Penelope danced with Berto and Lydia held up Papito to dance with him.
It was the best night of Elena's life: she danced with her Papi the entire night. They slow danced, spun around in circles, and even did the choreography from "We're All in This Together," Elena's favorite song from High School Musical.
When the final song of the night played, Victor lifted Elena into his arms and swayed with the music. Partly because he could tell she was getting tired, partly because his feet were sore from her standing on them for hours. She rested her head on his shoulder as he sang softly to her. When the song ended, Victor raised his head from Elena's to find her asleep in his arms. He placed a soft kiss on her forehead and whispered, "Te quiero, mi niña, te quiro." He smiled down at his little girl and prayed she would stay like this forever.