Dirty Dancing: A Diana Story

Hey! Baby

When I saw you walking down the street
I said that's a kind of girl I'd like to meet
She's so pretty, Lord, she's fine
I'm gonna make her mine, all mine
- Hey! Baby

Diana:

I walked through the resort munching on an apple as I enjoyed the beautiful summer day. The sky was a brilliant light blue without a cloud in sight, and I was feeling the joy that seemed to be taking everyone for a ride.

It had rained last night, which seemed to bring everything to vibrant life today — and the guests were taking full advantage of it as they walked around in their shorts and summer shirts, going from activity to activity, or simply going with the flow of whatever the day had to offer them.

I didn't have practice today, so they left me with an entire empty morning that quickly blurred into an afternoon of lounging around in the sun and wasting the day away.

I'd finished a big portion of the book I'd otherwise deserted, and now I was aimlessly walking through Kellerman's with a half eaten apple in one hand and Go Tell It to the Mountains hanging low by my hip with the other.

It was a nice day to find a quiet place under one of the many oak trees and be lazy — and I had to admit, after the past few days that I had, it was a nice break.

Michael hadn't specified why we weren't practicing today, and I didn't ask. I was sure that he was busy with other lessons or getting things ready for a future show, so I took what he'd said without question and disappeared into the town of Harlem as I read about John Grimes and his relationship with the church he'd grown up in.

My sunglasses sat on my nose as I looked around the property, trying to see if I could find Lisa or even my parents as I wondered around. I was kind of hungry and wouldn't have minded a midday snack to hold me down until dinner that wasn't an apple.

Time had a way of slipping through your fingers when your nose was buried in a novel, and soon I felt my stomach growl.

I wondered through the resort, dodging mischievous children and older men and women as they went on their afternoon strolls arm in arm. I always liked seeing people like that, and often times wondered what it was like to have someone in your life for that long. I was sure at that point it was less like a partnership and more like two people making up one.

I hummed the tune to our mambo dance as I skipped into the dining hall, pausing in my tracks when I locked eyes with Jermaine. I hadn't talked to him since I'd poured water down his pants, and it seemed as though Lisa Marie was giving him the cold shoulder too after they golf course incident.

He wasn't exactly making waves with the Houseman sisters, which was fine by me. I hoped I'd never have to see him after our vacation here.

He paused as he set the table, watching me as he slightly bent down and put rolled silverware around their designated plates.

It's like we were in a dance of our own as I slowly began walking again towards the snack bar to find something to munch on.

"Hey, Baby!" Nelson's voice distracted me from the other corner of the room.

Oh, geez... Did every guy I knew at Kellerman's decide to be here at the same time?