I put my hands on my lap and my whole body relaxed. I had played at Lincoln Center! And I had felt the music, like Doña Dulce and Sarita had said I should. Now all I had to do was get off the stage without tripping. I stood up and faced the audience. I bowed the way I had practiced at Doña Dulce’s. My earrings from Tía Nona dangled when I bent my head down. I put my hand to my chest and felt Tío Lalo’s necklace around my neck. I stood back up and held my head up high. For once, I knew my hair was perfectly in place. Abuelita had brushed and brushed it that morning, then twisted it up into a fancy bun held in place by a thousand bobby pins, and she put my new headband on like a tiara on a princess. And, of course, I was wearing the beautiful red dress Mami and Gracie had made for me, the dress Mami stayed up late to hem and Gracie got up early to iron.
I looked over at Doña Dulce. She waved her arms like she was pressing something down to the ground. She was telling me to take another bow. I turned back to face the audience. They were still clapping, even the other performers, who were sitting up front. Sarita was at the end of the row, since she would be playing last. She clapped loudly with her hands over her head. But the group in the third and fourth rows was going wild. I bowed again especially for them. Claudia waved at me and Ruben gave me two thumbs-up. My sisters and Chichi’s girls were standing and shouting “Bravo!” Gracie put two fingers in her mouth and whistled loudly. Rosie pointed at me as she spoke enthusiastically with some strangers sitting in front of her. Then Connie joined in Rosie’s conversation, jumping and pointing at me and then at herself. Even Tío Lalo was there, his arm around a teary Abuelita. She blinked and blinked as she cradled Marisol, who looked comfortable with her pink-and-white polka-dotted ear protectors. Papi had the camera up to his face. He was snapping away, and I could see his proud smile.
I laughed out loud when I saw Mami. Her head was on Papi’s shoulder, and she was sound asleep. It was a good thing we had ordered the DVD.
Acknowledgments
Special thanks to:
Stacy Whitman for being an early and zealous advocate of this book;
Cheryl Klein for working tirelessly to provide me with pitch-perfect edits and insights, and helping me fine-tune the story;
Joyce Magnin for suffering through my entire first draft without complaint, and giving me wonderful advice and writing tips;
Marcia Everett for her upbeat answers to my many questions about sewing (and other things);
Laura Parnum, Amy Sisson, Nicole Wolverton, Glenn Benge, Jon Cohen, and Jon Miller, for reading early drafts and giving me great feedback;
All the generous writers I have met personally and online for selflessly sharing their knowledge and expertise, especially Kell Andrews, who introduced me to “the Mayhem”; and
My family and friends for their majestic love, support, and encouragement, especially my daughter, Claudia, whose enthusiasm and IT assistance have been invaluable, and my son, Ruben, who should stop blaming himself for the many years between my completion of the first draft of this book and its publication — I made a choice to spend those years mothering (or smothering, as he would say) instead of writing, and I would gladly make that same choice again. Still, I thank him and his sister for growing up. Now I choose to write again, and the timing is perfect.
Ana Maria Reyes Does Not Live in a Castle Page 20
