Wednesday, December 3, 2008

The Dance of the Snowflakes



“You know what I love about the ballet?” she said.

Snow sank through the lamplight.

“The tight tights?” he said, shoulders hitched near his ears. “The bulging . . . bulges?”

She puffed on her hands, and eyed the auditorium doors.

“Close, but no.”

“I mean, it is called The Nutcracker.”

She jerked her knee towards his groin.

“Christ!” He laughed and shook his head. “You're no Sugarplum Fairy, my dear.”

Her smile spread beneath the scarf. He brushed some snow from her hair.

“No, it’s the passion I love,” she said. “But passion harnessed. And balanced on the tip of a toe.”

His brow knitted.

“But passion isn’t that plotted. Or that surgical.” He threw his chin toward the chattering crowd, some sucking on their nicotine fix. “This is why I don't like ballet. It seems like someone’s idea of passion. Some agreed upon plan that we’re all just going along with. And I’m supposed to engage with it like it’s the real thing?”

The outside lights flickered. Intermission was over.

“Yeah, but if it weren’t so tightly choreographed, there would just be a mess,” she said, taking his arm as they filed toward the door. “And people might get hurt.”

“I can see the honesty in that, at least. It would be a beautiful mess.”

She dragged him away from the line of people trekking inside. Pressed him against the cold stone of the auditorium’s wall. A fused breath melted the snowflakes dropping between their lips.

“Just what do you think you’re doing?” he said.

Her hand found someplace warm.

“I like it when you argue with me,” she said.

His arms discovered a waist buried beneath the layers.

“But you’re proving my point,” he said. “Right now. With your very impulsive hand. And my very impulsive. . . you know.”

She stood on her tiptoes, her mouth finding his ear.

“Nope. I've been staging this since the start of Act One.”


13 comments:

Aine said...

:D She is quite a minx, that one!

This was fun, Sarah. Just the way love should be!

Anonymous said...

The brilliance of passion balanced on the tip of a toe...I'm with her on that one. Especially if it's a prelude to the heavier passion crashing afterward.

Sarah Hina said...

Aine, I'm not quite sure why I'm so suddenly obsessed with warmth. Must be winter!

(yeah, yeah...that's it. and no checking my archives to test me on that. ;))

Jason, I can see both sides of their argument. I suppose that's a kind of balance, too. :)

But control and compromise are sometimes necessary for two to meet in the middle, and truly embrace those depths.

Charles Gramlich said...

This reminds me of a date I once had. I'd been dating a woman for a while and she'd made a semi-joking comment about how I wasn't spontaneous. So I carefully planned out a seemingly random drive through a park, in which I just pulled over and said, lets swing on the swings. She was impressed with my spontenaity and I didn't tell her for a long time the truth.

Sheri Perl-Oshins said...

Of course she has!!!! Brilliant. It's our feminine way! We plot and direct and dream since we are born... Very good. Love the interplay and again - you could write an entire novel in just dialogue and I would understand everything between the characters. You show that excellent dialogue makes narrative almost obsolete!

Sarah Hina said...

Charles, I'm just impressed with your effort. It's not easy to push past our innate tendencies, but I would imagine that the greatest motivation comes from the opposite sex. ;) And swinging is great, planned or not!

Sheri, that's a huge compliment. Thank you!! I have been working on making dialogue natural, yet layered, so I'm very pleased that you said that. :)

And yes, we do have our ways... ;)

the walking man said...

My wife and I have oft had the same conversation about her love of football, young boys tight pants.

This scene played out so stunningly well...just loved it.

David Cranmer said...

Well done! I agree with Sheri that this had exceptional dialogue.

Vesper said...

:-)

Delicious!

:-)

Sarah Hina said...

Walking Man, thank you so much! And a big LOL on your wife's fascination with tight pants. :) I'm glad you found something in this little scene.

David, that means a lot to me. Thanks for coming back for more. :)

Vesper, I'm glad you found this yummy, my friend. ;)

Hoodie said...

Very Cheeky!

You have such a beautiful gift. I really loved this and the last line was PERFECT.

K.Lawson Gilbert said...

Oh, this was soooo good! You are an amazing writer. You add all those small descriptive elements that make reading a lovely experience.

I'm going to the Nutcracker this weekend. I am going with a really hot guy. You have given me something to consider here, Sarah.

(To quell any rumors - yes, the hot guy is my husband.) :D

Sarah Hina said...

Hoodie, thank you! Of course, it was all planned out. :)

K, go for it!! :D

I am thinking of taking my daughter to see the Nutcracker, too. It really is a magical performance--both for its present charms, and its link to some deeper nostalgic chord in us.

Thank you for the kind words, K. :) And have fun this weekend!