Cuttin' A Rug

LM can be quite smooth with the ladies. Quite smooth indeed.

Tonight we went to a 50s themed dinner at my father-in-law's retirement home. They served hot dogs and hamburgers and had a live band come and play oldies. The girls who serve the residents at dinnertime are mostly high school age, and LM was quite taken with them. After dinner he found a group of the girls hanging around the root beer float station, and went over for a little chat. We couldn't hear what he was saying, but when a few of them doubled-over in laughter and a third started fanning her crimson face I decided it might be time to intercede.

Me: "Hey, LM, whatcha doin' over here?"

Girl 1: "He's entertaining us!"

Me: "I'll bet he is! Is he using his manners?"

Girl 2: "Oh yes! He's sooooo funny!"

Me: (looking at LM for any signs of guilt) "Mmm-hmm."

LM: "I was just sayin' I'd help them finish off all this pop!"

Me: (I glanced at the numerous 2-liter bottles) "I don't think so, bud. One glass is enough."

LM: "But who will help us then? Maybe we need to get some old people over here."

Girls: (laughing again).

Me: "Well, I don't think it's anything we need to worry about."

Soon after this exchange the music began, and LM really, really likes to dance. He sidled up to a cute little gal and started to fidget, eyes darting everywhere but at her. I'm not used to seeing him so nervous-- usually he has no inhibitions, and certainly no shyness to speak of. Hmmmmm. But I soon found out what the cause of all the anxiousness was. "Mom, can I ask her to dance?" he asked me, loud enough for the girl to hear. I looked at her questioningly-- I wasn't sure if she'd be up for it. But she just smiled and nodded her head. So I leaned down to LM and told him what to say.

LM: "Hi, my name's LM, would you like to dance with me?"

Girl: "Sure!"

He took her hand and led her to the dance floor. Elderly eyes sparkled in amusement. They began to dance, and LM was stiff and jerky, trying to study the other dancers to see how it was done. He coaxed the girl into a spin, and she never stopped grinning. (Neither did I.) I heard her ask, "do you like dancing?" To which LM replied frankly, "No, not really." And that set her to giggling once again.

When it was over LM marched off the dance floor, leaving his "date" behind (I reminded him to go back and thank his sweet partner). "Were you nervous the first time you danced with Dad?" he asked me. "Yep, I think I was," I answered, "but you won't have to be nervous next time, right? 'Cause you've already done it now." He thought about that a minute. "Right!" he finally answered.

Ruby was aghast at this entire episode, but I just smiled at her knowingly. "Babe, don't feel left out-- next time I'll see if one of the boys wants to dance with you." Her eyes shot daggers at me. "You wouldn't really, would you?" she asked as menacingly as she could fake. I didn't answer, just looked at her with mischief written all over my face. I'm sure going to enjoy these next few years....