"It's important to exfoliate," she explains with an academic seriousness.
Then she burst out laughing in a little girl voice.
Extending a brown wrinkled hand towards me, the seventy-one old beach queen radiates a sincere warmth.
"She's quite something," says the old man wearing nothing except a straw hat standing next to me. "She's really something."
Greg is Sandy Bottoms husband. He's almost eighty and is sipping a Pinna Colada through a straw from the coconut he's holding with both hands.
"Why don't you meet us for dinner and dancing tonight?" Sandy Bottoms says from the sand.
"Ah, that'd be great!" Greg says before sucking on the straw again.
"Dancing?" I ask.
"Oh," he says in a long drawn out way with a smile breaking over his face, "Sandy loves to dance."
Giggles erupts from the beach below.
"You dance?" I ask looking at the old woman with young smile.
"You betcha," she exclaims and I immediately know with everything inside of me that the woman can dance.
"Ever since I had my hip replaced," Greg explains, "I can't keep up with her. It would be much better if she dances with you."
"Me?" I say in wonderment more than surprise.
"Yes sir," Greg continues as he sits the coconut down, "we've seen you dance and Sandy likes the way you move."
"You're pretty reckless," Sandy Bottoms adds.
I am at a complete loss for words.
But that night I wander into the beach restaurant and there they sit, sipping Grand Marnier to top off a Lobster dinner. Sandy Bottoms flashes the blazing smile and Greg shakes my hand and pours me a glass of wine.
The music starts.
"Well," Greg says. "Go cut that rug."
Sandy Bottoms gingerly stands and I escort her to the dance floor covered in sand. My hand's on her curved back as she walks with the hunch that comes with age.
Let me tell you something!
Sandy Bottoms can dance!
We spin and twirl, shag and bop, twist and shout. She giggles the little girl sounds as her eyes flash energy.
Twenty minutes later we both soaked in sweat.
The music ends and I bow to her on the dance floor. People clap as I escort her to a beaming Greg. My friend Carlos is laughing as he brings me a towel. I collapse in a chair, drowning an entire glass of wine.
The next day on the beach, Greg is wearing the straw hat and sipping another Pinna Colada from the coconut. Sandy Bottoms is rolling in the sand.
"Good morning Micheal!" they joyfully exclaim as I stumble to the ocean so I can fall in and wake up.
Knee deep in the aqua Teel water of the Bay, I fall forward and float until I need air. My legs are sore from moving in directions they haven't moved before. I need to stretch. Maybe I need to go back to bed. Standing, I stumble back towards the studio for coffee.
"Micheal," Greg says as I stumble by, "Sandy wants to know if you want to meet us again tonight."
"Oh My God," I mumble.
But don't let appearances or old women fool you.
Sandy Bottoms can dance!
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An eccentric life dotted with eclectic characters pop from the pages of award winning author Micheal Elliott’s newest book Sandy Bottoms & Duct Taped Hearts. Over 200 pages of his musings immerse you in a world of headshaking wonder, gut wrenching laughter, heart touched tenderness and empathetic tears.
Never letting the truth stand in the way of a good story, Elliott’s ninth book takes you on a wild journey of “Wow! Really! I can’t believe that!” every day moments. Sandy Bottoms & Duct Taped Hearts exemplifies his gift of capturing common thoughts and painting them perfectly into words. Release date (pre-order books ship) is September 23, 2013.
