They sat quietly after the last notes had faded. Alonso put his guitar aside, took a sip of his brandy and stood up.
“Where’s the music department?” He scanned the room.
Luz looked at him, puzzled. Since the night her husband Leon disappeared, she’d been suffering from brain fog.
She pointed at the antique mahogany cabinet. “There’s a vintage record player in the cupboard, if that’s what you mean.”
She gave Alonso a scrutinizing glance.
“Our vinyls are still in a moving box in Leon’s study. That tells you something about us, doesn’t it,” she said, creasing her forehead. “Are you going to psycho-analyse us based on our music collection?”
Alonso beamed when he carefully pulled the stunning record player out. “Get those records. I’ve got Rumba on my mind.”
This was the first time in weeks that Luz laughed out loud. She laughed so hard that she wondered if Alonso’s brother, who was at work in the shop below, could hear it. Alejandro would probably think she’d lost her mind for good.
Alonso exuded confidence when she handed him her favourite vinyl. “La danza cura. That’s how we fix things here in Havana,” he said, winking at her.
Luz hesitated when he beckoned her closer.
Her first movements were shy, subdued. But as she let the music carry her forward, her hips began to sway as her feet obeyed his lead.
“I give you my waist. And my lips for whenever you want to kiss them. I give you my craziness, and the few braincells I have left…” Shakira sang.
Luz blushed at how accurate those words seemed.
“You’re a natural!” Alonso exclaimed.
She smiled at the mix of surprise and admiration on his face. If Leon could see her now, wearing Alonso’s shanty shirt, dancing barefoot and her hair in a girly braid, wet with sweat… he’d curse her.
Eyes closed, arms loosely over Alonso’s shoulder, she started humming to the rhythm.
“The power of my voice, the feet with which I walk. That’s you, my love…”
Just as Alonso wanted to pull her closer, Luz chuckled, making an expected move. He bumped into the table and tipped the brandy off.
“Crazy girl, take it easy,” he mumbled in her ear.
She steadied him when he almost slipped on the sticky liquid that now spread across the floor.
“You are, love, my will to laugh,” Luz sang as she put her hands on Alonso’s chest, “the goodbye I won’t know how to say, because I’ll never be able to live without you.”
***
On the bench in front of the shop sat Alejandro, smoking a cigar while scratching his head over Luz’s high pitched giggles and the loud music that floated through the open balcony doors.
Mi hermano, what’s going on?
Shoppers passing by looked up in amusement: Party, ey?
Alejandro shrugged and smiled in return.
The romance between Alonso and Luz didn’t make it into the book. Instead, Luz embarked on her quest to uncover her family’s secrets alone, growing more confident with each step. Want to read more?
