The Truth Behind a Smile
Chapter Three
Nameless
“Well, that'll be the day
When you say goodbye
Yes, that'll be the day
When you make me cry
You say you're gonna leave
You know it's a lie
'Cause that'll be the day
When I die …”
Linda Ronstadt crooned over the radio. Stephen and his mother danced to the music as they tried to sing along, but they could barely remember the words, let alone match the pitch of Ronstadt’s voice. They didn’t care though. They were enjoying the moment and putting their all into belting out the lyrics they knew and dancing. His mother moved elegantly, perfectly matching her steps to the rhythm of the music. Stephen had grown quite a bit from the year before, both in height and physique, from when he began slowly adding additional weights to his daily workout routine. With his accelerated growth, he became slightly clumsier and awkward as prepubescent boys are. Amelia tried to teach her son to do the same as her when dancing, but Stephen looked more like a person who was on fire than someone getting into a groove.
“Ooohooo …”
“OoOHoOoo …” Stephen and Amelia sang along as it wound down to its ending.
The DJ broke in, and Stephen’s mother turned the volume down. The two of them laughed as they put their dancing antics behind them—until the next song they both loved got them going again.
“Ohhh boy, that took the wind right out of me!” Stephen’s mother exclaimed.
“I love that song!” Stephen said jaggedly.
“Well, back to cleaning,” his mother said.
“That was fun. I wish we could always listen to music that loud.” Stephen was still struggling to breathe normally.
“I know, sweetie, but you know how your father is. He works around loud machines all day, so when he comes home all he wants is some peace and quiet. He likes music as long as it’s not too loud!” His mother told him.
“I know but it’s soooo boring dancing to quiet music. The louder it is, the more fun it is! You can just move around and not worry about anything.” Stephen held a basket of clean clothes that his mother was organizing, a troubled look on his face.
Smiling at her son, Amelia held his chin softly and brought his head up so that he was looking at her.
“I know how you feel, but if we danced around all the time, we’d never get anything done and eventually you’d get bored of dancing too. That’s what makes these little moments special—they’re rare and they give us a glimpse of genuine peace. I want you to remember that next time, okay? And then you’ll be able to live in the moment and enjoy it, truly enjoy it, even more than the last time.”
Stephen couldn’t help but smile since he knew his mother was right and just looking at her made him happy. She always knew how to cheer him up and, as far as he was concerned, her smile was the most contagious thing in the world.
“Okay …” he said reluctantly, still smiling.
“Okay!” Amelia mimicked her son’s tone and brought him in close for a hug.
“Go take a break before your father gets back. I can handle the rest of this.”
“Are you sure? I don’t mind helping.”
“Yes! Go watch some TV. I think the Olympics are on now. Go see all the different sports and root for team USA!”
“OKAY!” He rushed over to the big boxy TV at the center of their living room and tuned in just in time to catch the finals of the men’s gymnastics competition. Stephen had never seen gymnastics before, or really ever heard much about the sport. It was uncharted territory for the young boy but, the second he saw the performances and displays of strength those athletes were capable of, he fell in love. His family had never really watched the Olympics since Amelia wasn’t much of a sports person and Stephen’s father only cared about football and boxing. He was usually working during the Olympics anyway.
The first event that Stephen saw in the men’s gymnastics section was the men’s floor exercise, where six finalists had up to 90 seconds to perform a choreographed routine composed of acrobatics and dance elements. The gymnasts had to perform in sync to music of their choosing and express themselves in the most extravagant way possible to achieve the highest scores from the judges. There was only one American participating alongside two men from the Soviet Union, two from Japan, and one from East Germany. Stephen cheered on the lone American, who finished with a bronze medal, but he was entranced by the performances of all the competitors. Not knowing that they were performing on a spring floor specifically designed for the event, Stephen was amazed by the way the athletes vaulted around and effortlessly twisted their bodies. He didn’t know why but he couldn’t look away from the screen for even a moment.