Day 123 - Rebirth Story

Rebirth Story

Matthew Ryan Fischer

Tyson’s whole body was itching. It was insanely annoying. He had gotten a haircut and a hot lather and straight razor shave as a treat for himself. It was spring and the spring was always a time of great awakenings for him. The shave and haircut were supposed to make him feel shiny and new, but instead it gave him an itchy feeling all over. He knew the barbers at the barbershop were professionals – they had certainly charged him enough for the touch-up service. He knew they knew their business and wouldn’t have let some strange amount of loose hair get in his clothes and all over him. And yet, that was what he felt had happened. Perhaps it was psychosomatic, but perhaps not. Perhaps they had used a new shaving cream or aftershave that he was allergic to. Perhaps they had failed to rinse his hair properly or brush the back of his neck all the way. He was not the man to tell another man his business, but he felt he was on pretty steady ground here and something must have happened. Or maybe it really was psychosomatic.

It was also an abnormally warm day, and that did nothing to help his mood or his overall wellness of feeling. It had been abnormally warm, bordering on hot, for close to a week. The heat was making him tired and groggy and there was a particular clamminess that was covering him. All and all it made him feel incredibly undesirable. His back was moist and stuck to the chair. He had taken his shirt off to let his body air out and feel the wind from the fan against his skin. He lifted his arms up in an attempt to let the pits dry out. It didn’t matter. He kept sweating. It was fairly disgusting.

Ty’s sleep had been short and uneven. The heat was getting to him. His body couldn’t adjust and his dreams were sharp and claustrophobic and intense. He couldn’t remember them, but when he woke he knew the dreams were the reasons why.

Late afternoon was the worst, when the sun was at its full intensity and his apartment trapped the heat and the setting sun came in the living room window for several hours in a row. If it had been winter or fall he would have exercised at this time, while the evening news was on. It felt like it was close to a hundred, even if he knew that wasn’t possible for spring, but still, it was enough to make him want to nap, not spend an hour on the treadmill.

So far the rebirth of spring really sucked.

Ty’s favorite season had been spring. Always. It had always been spring. Maybe it was the change in temperature from cold to moderate. Maybe there were undetectable pheromones in the air. Maybe it was the extra vitamin D he received from the longer days. Whatever the case, he believed in the power of the rebirth of spring.

Tonight Ty was supposed to go dancing. He had signed up for a ballroom dance class during the winter as a way to get out of the house, get exercise and meet women. He had always had an appreciation for dance, even if he wasn’t very good at it, but the best part came when he got to put his hands on a women and spin her around. As a preteen he had learned the secret of school dances and the awkward excuse to touch another human being. He had never really developed many other tricks for flirting or talking to the opposite sex, but he had always kept the dance card up his sleeve.

Having a trick or not, you still had to be able and willing to play it. Ty was a shy guy and found that he usually ended up going to dance halls and sitting on the sidelines. He watched. He tapped his foot. He picked out who the best dancers were and focused on them. He made up little stories about them and why they were at the club that night. He knew which women he was attracted to and which women he wanted to dance with, and sometimes the two overlapped, but most frequently all they were were little lists in the back of his mind. He was too shy, too reserved, too afraid to make himself go over and say a word, let alone ask them to dance or something more. He told himself he was still having a good time. He really did like to watch people dance. It was amazing the skill and dexterity that some people displayed. But that sort of enjoyment only got a man so far.

The class was a way to make himself become proactive in his own life. That was the theory anyway. He made himself go to as many classes as he could. Schedule wasn’t the problem, he had plenty of time. But more often that not he talked himself out of even this activity. Fear is possibly the worst motivator of all. Ty didn’t know how to win that battle. Still, he did make it to a few classes a year. Especially in the spring. Natural talent aside, he always thought he should have gotten better by now. He had been taking classes for a long enough time. Certainly some muscle memory or rote memorization skill should have kicked in by now. But dancing didn’t work that way. At some point you have to feel it and be comfortable enough in your own skin to let it take you over. A skill Ty did not possess.

Tonight was an organized dance at a nearby community college, totally unrelated to his dance class. It was a test, to make himself get out there and try. He had to try. Every once in a while. Even if he did it poorly. He had to.

It could not have fallen on a worse day. The heat. The constant itching. The overall feeling of disgust. No, this was not a good time to go and try to be calm and relaxed and flirtatious. Ty was going to have to reevaluate his whole theory on the positive effects of the rebirth of spring.

“You don’t dance much, do you?”

“What?”

“In fact, you don’t dance at all.”

She had caught Tyson off guard. He hadn’t been paying attention and hadn’t noticed when she approached. His mind had wandered to sports and he just about ready to leave and go find a bar somewhere where he could get a beer and watch the evening highlights.

“I’m Elaine…”

Ty didn’t respond at first. He was still a little caught off guard and flustered. Elaine had light sandy brown hair that was cut short and styled with a classic side part, bangs that covered one side of her face, and curls all the way down. It was beautiful and elegant and breezy all at the same time. Ty knew the girl had panache just by looking at her. She was unapologetically dressed like it was 1940 and made it look suave and new. Suddenly Ty was a little embarrassed by his white dress shirt and tan slacks.

“You’re supposed to say ‘Hi Elaine’ or ‘Won’t you have a seat’ or something like that. Or you could just start with your name.”

“Ty. I’m Tyson, but you can call me Ty. Everybody calls me Ty.”

“I’m Elaine.”

“Ty.”

“Yeah. I think we’ve got that pretty well covered by this point.”

Ty was once again at a loss for words.

“So I was saying that you don’t dance and you were about to tell me why that was.”

For some reason Ty told her the truth. He thought he should have had a lie in place, something to make himself sound cool or aloof, but all he had was the truth about the heat and the sweat an the itching.

“You sound like you have a lot of problems.”

“Very attractive, I know.”

“Well, now that you mention it, it is every girl’s dream to meet a man with clammy hands that is too afraid to ask them to dance. They always say shy and awkward get the girl.”

“You’re really helping.”

“Because that was what I was trying to do.”

Elaine sat down next to Tyson.

“How’s that? You didn’t even have to invite me to sit down.”

“Why are you being so nice to me?”

“I don’t know. I’ve danced with half the guys here and they were all boring. I was hoping to be entertained tonight.”

“And?”

“Well, at least you’re weirdly interesting. Better than a lot of them can say.”

“Did I tell you about my spring rebirth?”

“No.”

Elaine stood back up.

“Did I… is something wrong?”

“I’m going to go out on the dance floor now. Because that’s what I came here to do. Dance floors are made for dancing. And everyone who dances gets sweaty and has clammy hands. You should know that by now. You would know that if you danced more. You can tell me about your spring renaissance if you want—“

“Rebirth.”

“Whatever. You can tell me all about it, but you’ll have to tell me out there. I didn’t come here to be a wallflower.”

Elaine walked away.

Ty sat there for longer than he should. He knew it was taking too long. He rubbed his hands against his pants to try and dry them off, and then stood. He walked to the dance floor, trying to keep an eye on her and the path she was traveling.

Spring was in the air again and not a moment too soon.