The Night Salsa Died (A Prose Poem) Poem by Sonya Florentino

I knew there was trouble when she insisted that we go salsa dancing. Salsa? In Portland, Oregon? Me? Dance salsa? No! I quickly shouted. I don’t want to go.
It’s late, we already went out for dinner. Why can’t we just relax at home? But she was insistent. You’re on vacation. Why stay at home- the night is still young. But I don’t like to dance. And I don’t know salsa. Whatever gave you such an idea!

But she would not back down. You don’t have to dance. You can just watch,
have a drink. You and Cedric. He doesn’t dance - he has two left feet. I couldn’t back out and it didn’t help that Cedric my brother-in-law kept mum.

So grudgingly I went, cursing under my breath. Sometimes I hate my sister, sometimes I just hate her! All the while in the car, she was rattling off. About her girlfriends, her voice students, my nieces, the cat. Cedric, as usual, was quiet.

We reach the restaurant in no time. The music was deafening, the atmosphere boisterous. The people were mixed - Latinos and Caucasians. Me and my sister were the only ones who looked Asian.

We ordered our drinks and took our positions in the crowd. Not long after, a short Mexican guy approached my sister who quickly followed him to the far end of the room. For a while I couldn’t see them. The floor had become so crowded by then. Two couples had taken the limelight. Trying to best each other. The music was turned up so loud, my skin was throbbing.

Then I spotted her. The stranger. I had never seen her that way before. She was dancing with wild abandon, gyrating her hips, her eyes feverish, lust upon her lips. The man dancing with her was all smiles-like he couldn’t believe his eyes. He was short, the other women probably ignored him a lot. My sister, barely 5 feet, was a perfect partner.

Then suddenly I remembered Cedric. Could he have seen her? He was behind me so I didn’t know. I didn’t want to know. I was feeling sick and it wasn't the alcohol. The dance took forever but finally ended. I watch her approach us and I sigh with relief. But to my dismay she wasn‘t alone. The guy was trailing her. She had came back to ask me to join them. By this time one of his friends had come forward, asking me to dance with him. I was aghast. I wanted to kill her. She pulled me by the arm. I pulled away violently shaking my head. Cursing her under my breath. Finally she gives up. The two men end up dancing with her.

Now they were right in front of us. There was no way Cedric could not see her.
The music was as loud as it could be. The two couples competing were now in an orgastic frenzy. People were cheering, clapping. Some people were shouting what sounded like obscenities.

By this time there was a clear winner. I force myself to watch the best couple now whipping up a dance storm. The woman might as well have taken off her clothes. The man was sweating buckets like a hog. The music had turned frantic. Everyone’s eyes were on them, except for Cedric's, whose eyes were locked on his wife. The tension in the room, sharp as a knife.