It is summer in South Texas. Something has happened on the road ahead. The four lane highway has been compressed into two. My old car’s air conditioning is struggling in the triple digit heat. I know I need to give it a small rest or it won’t survive the rest of the season. I decide to turn it off while I’m stuck here.
I can see the bay from where I sit unmoving. I roll my windows down and inhale the salty air. I hope for a slight breeze to float up off the water. I long for some fresh air to flow into this hot cramped space. Between the crush of cars and the heat, I feel as if I might suffocate.
A catchy tune comes on over the air waves. I turn my radio up and glance around. It seems all of us have given up hope for the moment and put our vehicles in park. To my right, there is a big black pick-up truck. A burly dark haired man sits alone inside. He looks angry. Our eyes meet. He raises his eyebrow. I shift my gaze. He slides his window down, and barks out a loud, “Hey!” I let out an exaggerated sigh as I turn back towards him. He turns up his radio. We are listening to the same station. The eyebrow lowers and his scowl disappears. “Would you care to dance?” He asks. I smile and shrug.
We start out hesitantly, tapping our steering wheels and bobbing our heads in time to the beat. Before long though, the energy of the music overtakes us. We’re really grooving now. Both of us are laughing and moving our upper bodies as much as the restrictive spaces of our respective driver’s seats will allow. Our styles and movements are similar and complementary. We are in sync with the music and each other.
The song nears its end. The traffic ahead begins to creep forward. I check my rearview mirror as we dance to the last few chords. The people in the cars directly behind us are grinning. The song fades out. Our dance is done. Someone a few cars behind us honks. Truck guy and I smile, wave and move on.
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