Dance till you drop

Grace is 59 years old
She just beat cancer
Had one of her breasts removed
She has a tired round pleasant face and a big stomach
She’s 17 days sober

She’s polite quiet gentle and kind
Sometimes I forget she’s there

Tonight I walked into the women’s house
She was in there alone
Sitting on the couch
Staring at nothing
Still and silent

I asked her if she was okay
She didn’t respond
I asked if there was anything I could do for her
It took her a minute to notice me
She apologized
And then said she wanted to hear music

I grabbed my phone and asked her what kind?

She said Pitbull
I had never of heard of it
I put it on and turned it up
It was awful overproduced club music for 20 year olds with no taste
But Grace liked it

She got up and started dancing
It made me uncomfortable
Strange offbeat awkward moves
Grinding sexual moves
Her shirt would rise up exposing her big gut
Her one breast swung side to side
She was completely uninhibited
As if she was alone

When the song ended she plopped back down onto the couch
She was out of breath

I lied and told her I liked the song
And I liked her dancing
She ignored me
She was breathing heavy

I wasn’t sure if I should say anything
I wasn’t sure if I should leave
So I just sat there

Grace eventually caught her breath
And went back to staring at nothing
We sat together in silence

Finally she stood up
She said, “My marriage is over”

And then she went to bed