Por Una Cabeza

All good things must come to an end. Not really referring to the cruise itself (that dragged on long enough), but listening to the string quartet's music and talking to Natasha. She strolled into the Cova Cafe a few minutes past 10pm, and as soon as she saw me sipping a Blue Moon at the bar, came and apologized for not keeping our appointed dinner. Turns out Natasha was at the cruise director's office taking care of some stuff. Surprise, surprise - they were back in full force tonight. A Turkish waiter was cajoled into lending his violin (albeit not a professional quality one) to the quartet, and that'll just have to do for tonight's performance before the broken one could be repaired in Vancouver the next day.

Determined to make a grand exit, the Vivaldi string quartet played with intensity, egged on by the sizable crowd, some of whom started making requests (the theme from "Titanic", anyone?). Diehard fans that we were, Emma and I joined in the act, and even Marlon chimed in with his own choice. I asked Natasha if they could play a tango song. After crinkling her forehead for a few moments, she replied, “Una cabeza?” and hummed a few bars. Bingo! Exactly the one I was thinking of - although I didn't know the title. After a few songs into the next set, Natasha looked in my direction, beamed, and the opening strains of "Por Una Cabeza" filled the cafe. We applauded with much gusto, and their delight was apparent at our enjoyment. (If the song sounded familiar, it's because it has been used in many Hollywood movie soundtracks. Here's Al Pacino doing the tango in "Scent of a Woman").

After some late night pizza on Deck 11, Natasha and I went back to Cova Cafe to talk - there was simply too much ground to cover, stuff like family, life on the ship, future plans - the list is endless. And talk we did until 230am when rest beckoned and the moment came for goodbyes. I dreaded the inevitable, yet relished our friendship forged in so short a time. Memories will fade, and further contact is uncertain, yet a wide smile breaks on my face every time "Por Una Cabeza" is played.