#rico.

“alright,” noel claps his gargantuan hands together with a note of finality, materializing behind rico at the outskirts of the buzzing room. “i have scouted the premises and come to you with two eligible candidates for rico’s big comeback tour 2021.” bachelorettes, if you will, but he can’t bring himself to say that out loud – makes him sound a little too much like chris harrison and not enough like a single, curmudgeonly father’s wingman.

“the first one is very tall, very blonde, seems like the type of woman who might enjoy high-brow literature and, like, ethically-sourced coffee. the other one, she’s short and brunette, a bit – dare i say mature, you know, right up your alley.” he pauses for a a breath. “they’re both ringless. i double-checked.”

Flag of Bayamón, Puerto Rico. Lived there for my whole childhood and recently found out about its flag, beautiful in my opinion.

Flags in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Flag of Washington DC in the style of Puerto Rico.

where: a ballroom dance class

It’s not that there wasn’t any dancing in Spain, because of course there was. But Penelope Hartt knew she belonged in New York, learning how to dance in a rundown building that offered the free classes.  Dancing is an art form, and Penelope has always been an artist. Painting and dancing were kind of similar, a lot of fluidity in both of them, if you did them correctly. 

Being back to her old dance class felt special, like stepping back into her old life. She wears a red dress, far too dressed up for such an event, but how does one make a reapperance without making a show of it?  She flounces in, as if she’s the most important part of the class, and in her mind maybe she is. She spots a familiar face, and gravitates towards it. Rico.  The only worthy dancre partner, who she sort of abanonded. Still though, she finds herself next to him. “All right, break it to me, you found a new partner since I’ve been gone, haven’t you?” she tries to break the ice. “I guess I can bare that pain, it is due to my own negligence, afterall.”