pies descalzos

crashed a birthday barbecue this evening.
a new professor who is affiliated with mexican american studies invited my friend cristina.
cristina recruited me and olga. i recruited another friend, faedah.
we figured that if we arrived bearing wine, nobody would notice the extra people.

this young professor has a beautiful house. she's painted the kitchen a cheery yellow, her bedroom a tranquil blue. the walls are adorned with mexican art, some rustic, some more modern. atop the long case that housed her CD collection was a collection of small religious articles. candles bearing the image of la virgen de guadalupe, large and small clay virgins with rosaries around some of their necks, patron saints, thick mexican coins.

in the kitchen, she had more food than i've seen at a party in a long time--ribs, chicken, grilled veggies, elotes, spinach strawberry salad, grilled pineapple, coleslaw, etc. and practically a full bar--hard liquor and sodas for mixed drinks, wine, blended margarita waiting in the blender to be served.

half the party sat outside, braving the nips of mosquitos. my party sat in the yellow kitchen and enjoyed our meals, conversation, and the music blaring from the professor's ipod, hooked up to speakers.

as i settled into my margarita happiness, a salsa song began to sound through the speakers. i looked at the young professor standing in the corner of the kitchen, stood, and held out my hand to him.

"what?" he asked and laughed, knowing what i wanted. he took my hand and we made the tiles of the kitchen our dance floor.

i was wearing inappropriate shoes. as he turned and spun me, i felt my shoes slipping precariously on my feet. my toes gripped the soles as we continued to dance. by the second song, i had kicked my shoes off and was happily dancing barefoot in the kitchen with my skilled salsa partner even as the rest of the room was engrossed in conversation.

the ipod granted us only those two songs, but it was just as well. the outside party goers began to drift inside and say their good-byes. my party was also ready to call it an early night. early or not, any night i get to dance barefoot in the kitchen is a good one.

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