Aurora looked over her shoulder at the man she had found in her friend’s home. He was god-like in his beauty, though not her type. He was smiling at something. What it was she couldn’t be sure but he was certainly in for a surprise when he saw Seona flamenco. She drew to a halt outside the cueva where she had been dancing flamenco since she was probably about 6. She turned to the man.

“Let me do the talking, sí?” she asked him.

He nodded in reply, so she led him into the cueva. She spoke with the ticket master and he waved them in. Aurora gave the man behind her a nod and he followed her towards the stage. She sat him down on one of the chairs closest to the stage.

“Stay here,” she ordered him, though she could see being ordered by a woman chafed him. “Do not leave this seat. I must finish getting ready myself. If you leave, they will not let you back in. Comprendé?”

The man gave a single, short nod.

“Muy bien, hasta luego,” she gave him a wave and disappeared.

Aurora sighed when she reached the “dressing room” next door.

“I don’t know how you found such a good looking man, Seona, but I envy your talent for attracting good looking men,” she told the woman in front of the mirror.

Seona turned to her, mouth agape.

Aurora chuckled, “Don’t tell me you haven’t noticed that handsome man who is leading the dig at el Alhambra has been in the audience every time you’re on the bill?”

Seona turned a shade of red that had Aurora thinking of a lobster.

“I don’t pay attention to the audience when I flamenco,” she answered quietly. “I’m too lost in the music to notice anyone.”

Aurora nodded. She understood all too well what her friend was talking about. She went to the same place when she danced.

“Hurry up, hermana!” Alaia whined.

Aurora chuckled at her youngest sister.

“Ven aca, Alaia,” Aurora told her.

The girl did as she was bid. Aurora held out a hand and Seona set a sparkling tiara in her palm.

“My gift to you, Alaicita,” she murmured settling the tiara into her dark hair. “It was abuela’s.” Her voice cracked a little. “She was a famous flamenco dancer back in her day, before Franco. This was her greatest treasure. Abuelo gave it to her as a wedding gift. She gave it to me when I turned 15 but I was too afraid to wear it until it was almost too late. I wore it the night Arman proposed to me. It was the last performance abuela would ever see.”

Aurora wiped her tears away before continuing.

“She died the week before you were born. But she told me to give this to you so you would have some piece of her when you grew up. She may have gone, but she gave us you. And you look so much like her that sometimes it’s scary. Mamá has to do a double take sometimes, especially as you’ve gotten older. Tonight is yours, mi Alaicita. After tonight, everything will change for you. But remember, I will always be there for you mi hermana, whenever you need me.” She took a deep breath and wiped the tears from her sister’s cheeks with her thumbs. “No crying, you’ll ruin your make up.”

“Two minutes ladies!” a voice called to them.

“Claro!” Aurora called back.

The moment was broken by Seona’s frustrated groan. All the girls turned to her. Seona flushed when she caught their gazes in the mirror.

“Sometimes I really hate having long hair,” she quipped.

The girls broke into hysterical laughter before Zilla moved to detangle and plait Seona’s hair. She tucked the multitude of braids into an intricate style that only she could do and only Seona could pull off. Aurora shook her head and dressed quickly. She was putting the finishing touches on her make up when the call came for show time.

“Alright, everyone knows the order?” Aurora asked turning away from the mirror.

The others nodded.

“Vamanos!”

They filed out of the “dressing room” and made their way into the cueva.