For some time now, the silence of my office radio has been a source of intrigue for my oldest rug rat. His is a very persistent character; the equipment had to be used somehow!
“There’s a dance party in here tonight, Mémère!” Nalou stated from the doorway. Then raising his voice to an announcer’s sing song, he chanted “Everybody gather ‘round! Great music to dance the night away! Only 25 cents for hours of fun!”
I made a show of searching my pockets.”Ah no!” I exclaimed. “I’m flat broke. I won’t be able to dance.” Was it my exaggerated pout or because his little brothers were totally ignoring him that made him revise his sales pitch?
“You, Madam, it’s your lucky night! You have a free ticket!!” He made a show of handing me the invisible paper to grant me entrance, then stood aside, waving me past him into the office. He had turned on a hip hop station; the tune was already blaring and my arrival prompted him to jack it even louder. I steeled myself not to grimace; this would be my last choice of music!
"This way,” he said, leading me through the narrow space between the desks. The French doors onto the gallery were wide open, and he slid the screen door back, beckoning me to follow him outside. “It’s a Soirée on the Terrace!” He grinned. “What a beautiful evening, ladies and gentlemen! We’re in luck – we’ll have the party outside! Dansez, Madame!”
I watched his hip hop moves – as fluid as a seven year old can make them - and imitated him as best I could. All the while I was aware that any car coming around the corner on the main road would be favored with a clear view of a pyjama-clad granny jumping and flailing her arms and jerking her head around like a robot. I hoped no-one would call the cops. It also came to mind that my neighbour was getting a change in music – from Ozzy’s hard rock to Hip hop. I wondered if he was a die-hard country fan, and had to laugh out loud at what his reaction could be this time!
Grump and Louka joined us; Smooch became part of the rhythm section with his yelps of frustration from behind the gate – his exuberant attendance would no doubt turn the area into a mosh-pit. Aware of the pup’s antics, Nalou has instructed the imaginary bouncer to keep that dude off the dance floor!
Madam was secretly relieved when Daddy came to fetch the animator for bath time – her legs were beginning to shake on their own! Expressing regret that the music would be shut down now, my host promised me that my ‘free’ ticket would be still valid for the next evening, adding that, because my fun had been cut short tonight, he would compensate by throwing in a few minutes of hip hop lessons. He was far too polite to come right out and say my dancing sucked.
I shook his hand and formally thanked him for his benevolence – assuring him that it was the greatest dance party in the whole world; I would be in attendance the next night if at all possible. My son, who had somehow disappeared when the doors for the dance had opened, winked and wondered aloud what kind of excuses I would come up with.
“You could always just tell him that you’re too old.” He suggested bravely.
“I am not!’ I retorted. “Look at this, I can still go! Hip...and hop...and hip, hop, hop...” He watched me go down the hall for a minute.
“Mom – that’s the bunny hop...not hip hop.” He said.
With my eyes wide, and an exact expression of sudden understanding on my face, I turned and exclaimed, “Oh! So that’s what I was doing wrong!”
Playing along, he nodded sagely. “Yes, Madam,” he said sotto voice. “Would you care for refreshment?” Then he was smirking again. “You look like you could use it. And guess what? They’re predicting rain tomorrow night...you should be safe.”
He heard my sigh of relief as we walked arm in arm to kitchen, and we both SMILED.
Luv from the Bush in Quebec
No comments:
Post a Comment