Fiction
The Weekly Beach Dance
It’s a group thing
Francesca had been trying to get her new boyfriend Chad to come with her to the weekly Beach Dance since they first got together but it was not easy.
“I don’t dance. I’m not comfortable. I don’t know how to dance. Dancing out of doors? Who are these people? Are they a bunch of hippies? I don’t have the right shoes…”
Francesca kept begging him to go and Chad starting running out of excuses. Then Chad made the mistake of inviting Francesca to go with him to a basketball game. Francesca hated basketball. The sound of all those tennis shoes squeaking on the floor drove her nuts.
It was perfect.
A huge smile erupted on Francesca’s face.
“You’ll go?”
“Yes, sweetie, I will. I’ll go with you to watch a bunch of grown men playing with a ball but I’ll only go under one condition. I’ll only go if you agree to come with me this weekend to the Beach Dance.”
Chad felt trapped, “Okay I’ll go but does it have to be this weekend?”
“Yes! This weekend is the full moon!”
It was not a beach facing the ocean but rather just the sandy shore along a small lake. As they drove to the lake Francesca explained to Chad what the weekly Beach Dance was all about.
“It’s not like going dancing at a club or party. There is no ‘couples dancing.’ Instead of dancing with a partner everyone just dances by themselves as part of the whole group. It’s a group dance.”
“Sounds like some ancient African tribal dance.”
“No… well maybe a little. It’s all about releasing our walls, our boundaries; about going deep within ourselves and letting our bodies surrender to the joy flowing through them. As everyone does that and all the mental barriers are down we can connect in a purer way and create a collective mojo.”
“Wow, that’s a little scary.”
“But that’s the thing. If everyone releases their mental judgments and fears they can tap into that mojo. It’s really powerful. It’s like getting a humongous energy boost that lasts a long time. The more you do it, the more your judgments and mental barriers crumble. You’ll see.”
While looking ahead at the road Chad rolled his eyes, “So what kind of music do you dance to?”
“Well, it depends on who shows up. Usually there are at least a couple of bongo players, a guitar player or two, there are always some tambourines, and hopefully tonight Raymundo will show up with his saxophone. Even if there are no musicians everyone still dances anyway. People will clap or shout and just dance to the music inside them.”
Chad took his right hand off the steering wheel in order to slap his forehead with the palm of that hand.
“Okay, we’re here. Just park anywhere alongside the road.”
After parking, Francesca and Chad walked towards the lake shore. Francesca grabbed Chad’s hand firmly as she smiled and started skipping a little. She was so happy that she got Chad to come to the Beach Dance.
Once the ‘beach’ came into view they could see there were a couple of dozen people standing around.
“Fran?”
“Yeah?”
“Why is there no music playing and why is no one dancing?”
“Sweetie, that’s because the moon hasn’t risen yet.”
With his free hand Chad gave his forehead another slap.
As they reached the people standing on the shore of the lake they dropped hands and mixed into the crowd. Francesca greeted a few people that she obviously knew then turned to Chad, “When the moon pokes her delightful head above the horizon everyone stops talking and looking around. We all stare at the rising moon in silence as we take in that powerful lunar mojo. Then after the moon is completely above horizon that is when the music and dancing begins. Listen, once the dancing starts if you’re not comfortable yet you can just go off to the side and watch for a while until you’re ready to join in.”
“Uh… okay.”
Just then a murmur spread through the crowd. It was followed by silence as everyone turned to watch the first rays of moonlight beaming across the lake.
Francesca once again grabbed Chad’s hand.
As Chad stared at the rising moon he tried to remember the last time he had watched a moonrise. He could not remember when it was. It must have been early in his childhood. To him, the moon now seemed bigger than normal. A feeling of wonderment overcame him. He suddenly felt very relaxed.
To Chad it seemed like it took forever for the moon to be fully above the horizon. To Francesca it seemed to happen too quickly.
Abruptly, a tambourine rattled signaling the beginning of the dance. As more tambourines rattled and bongo drums thundered Chad walked out of the group of people towards higher ground further from the lake shore. He turned and watched.
Apparently Raymundo showed up because he was now playing his saxophone. There was also a woman playing a trombone. People were yelling and screaming and moving their bodies in exaggerated chaotic fashion. A few people were simply jumping up and down.
It was one of the most bizarre spectacles Chad had ever witnessed. He stared in disbelief and soon he realized that he could not stop staring.
After a while Francesca came running out of the mob toward Chad. Grabbing his hand, she said, “Don’t think. Just focus on your body and let the energy flow through you. Let your inner child come out.” She then pulled him into the middle of all the dancers. She then dropped his hand and disappeared into the crowd.
Chad stood there for a long minute feeling more awkward than he had felt since the very first time he danced with a girl back in junior high school. He then closed his eyes and focused on his body, giving it permission to move. At first he was very uncomfortable but he slowly relaxed and began dancing.
He would have preferred dancing to an actual song but soon he could find a rhythm and began to relax into the sound. It really was not so bad. As long as he did not start thinking he was able to begin enjoying the movement.
The dance seemed to go on forever but eventually all the ‘music’ stopped. Opening his eyes, Chad saw that everyone had stopped dancing.
Francesca was soon at his side, “So what did you think?”
“Well… uh… it wasn’t so bad. So is it over now?”
“No, we’re just taking a break. The sounds will start up again in about ten minutes and then everyone will do another round of beach dancing. But listen, you don’t have to go again. The important thing is that you tried it. I’m so proud of you.”
“So how many times does everyone do it?”
“Oh God, these weirdos will keep dancing well into the night. Each round is like twenty or thirty minutes. But we can leave now if you want.”
“Uh… hold on. How about if we do one more round then we can leave?”
Francesca’s face lit up as she fell into Chad’s arms, hugging and kissing him.
After the next round of beach dancing Francesca and Chad were covered with sweat as they walked hand-in-hand back to the car. At one point Chad turned around and looked down at the people on the shore of the lake. Then he looked up at the moon, which was now a little smaller and higher up in the night sky.
Francesca and Chad found their seats in the sports arena and sat down. Fumbling in her purse, Francesca pulled out an iPod with earbuds.
“Hey, whatchya doin’?”
“I agreed to come to the game with you but I didn’t agree to listen to it.”
“But that’s a big part of the excitement of the game. Last night I listened to those tambourines and bongos and the sax and the trombone.”
“Hey, I’m still gonna watch the game. I won’t miss any of the action. I just don’t wanna hear those damn squeaky shoes.”
“I don’t think this is fair. You know, I go to basketball games all the time and I never even hear the shoes. They just blend in with all the other sounds of excitement.”
“Sounds of excitement?”
It was time for some sarcastic payback, “Yeah baby, just push all your thoughts out of her head and just feel the excitement and the yelling and screaming and feel the rumble of the stadium under your feet. Focus deep into your body and feel the mojo coursing through your bones. Let yourself be carried away by the intense mojo.”
“Ha ha. Very funny. A competitive sports game is very, very different than what we experienced last night.”
“How so?”
“Well, first of all, it’s competition. Last night no one was competing against each other. No one was trying to beat and outdo others. The beach dancers were not polarized into teams or polarized between players and fans. It was all about coming together in oneness rather than coming together in polarized competition. Furthermore, all the players down there on the court are male. Any females are separated out into the stands or as stupid cheerleaders. There’s no mojo in that. Seriously, this arena is dripping in testosterone. And very importantly, last night there were no squeaky shoes on the beach. And furthermore we’re inside for crying out loud. We can’t see the moon!”
Chad did not slap his forehead but he very gently placed the palm of his hand onto it, as though soothing a pain. He was wishing he had not used the word, mojo. Filled with the competitive air of the arena, he wanted to fight back but he was quite sure that he would lose.
“Sweetie, don’t worry. I’ll enjoy the game. I actually played basketball for one year in high school. I know the game and I can enjoy it. I’m just saying that it is a very, very, very different thing than beach dancing, that’s all. I promise I’ll enjoy the game right along with you. It’s just that I can’t stand those squeaky shoes.”
“Okay, put your earbuds in. You can just watch like you let me watch the dancing last night before you made me jump in. I’m cool with it.”
“Yes, you are so cool. Just know that if you had painted your face or your belly I would have broken up with you immediately.”
Francesca and Chad laughed then kissed.
Then Francesca put in her earbuds.
It turned out to be a very close and exciting game. When the scoreboard showed that there were only a few minutes left in the game Francesca took out her earbuds. She did her best to ignore the awful sound of the squeaky shoes. It was easier than she thought, mostly because the crowd had gotten so loud the squeaky shoes could hardly be heard.
In the car on the way home after the game Chad was brimming with excitement. Turning to Francesca, he asked, “So did you have a good time?”
“Yes, I admit it. I had a good time. Boy that really was a close game.”
Chad slammed his hand on the steering wheel, “Yeah, but we beat their sorry asses!”
“No sweetie, we didn’t beat them. The players beat them.”
“Yeah but we cheered them on. We provided the energetic boost to propel them on. We won!”
Francesca rolled her eyes, “Sweetie, can you imagine going to the sports arena and watching ten grown men playing with a ball? Each man has his own ball. They’re just dribbling and shooting and having fun. No game is being played and there are no teams and no competition. It’s just ten guys playing with balls.”
“Fran, that would be the most boring thing in the world. It would be stupid. No one would go to watch that. I mean seriously…”
“Yeah, I guess you’re right. Men just can’t have fun without competition being involved.”
“Hey, that’s not true. I had fun last night on the beach without there being any competition. I think it’s possible for both men and women to have fun either with or without competition. It’s just two different kinds of fun.”
“Yeah, you’re right. You know, since there was no beach dance tonight I bet the lake shore is totally deserted. I bet no one is there.”
Chad laughed, “Of course there’s no one there. Everyone went to the basketball game.”
“So… uh… Chad?”
“Yeah?”
“Do you still have that blanket in the trunk?”
“Yeah, but why…? Oh…!”
Chad made a right turn and headed for the lake.
Completely naked, Francesca and Chad relaxed on the beach on that towel while in a state of post-coital euphoria.
Chad softly touched the tip of his finger to the tip of Francesca’s nose and whispered, “Wow. Now that was pure mojo.”
They both giggled.
Then Chad looked up into the night sky at the moon.
Copyright by White Feather. All Rights Reserved. Thanks for reading.
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