Page 65 of Dancing Fools and All That Jazz
‘I not even asking why you do that but offer accepted.’
At theOpéra Bastille, I get Max through security without a hitch and deposit him in the amphitheatre before dashing back to the changing rooms.
I’m a little regretful I haven’t told Max about Vince, but I figure I don’t need to. After all, Monica is the past. Max is the future.
18
Ingrida
The competition has started, and we have only one hour until our first dance. We are eating the delicious French snacks Monica has brought as we watch the other dancers on the television screen high on the wall. The teams all look very glamorous in their costumes and with the special lighting, different effects for each number.
Sheila’s group, who are now ready for their first dance, they wear tight pink sparkly leotards with bunches of large pink feathers on both their heads and sticking out in a clump on their behinds – I smile when I recall what Ruby say at the airport, that they look like flamingos.
‘Wouldn’t be out of place in Las Vegas,’ Cath mutters to Bonnie.
We all watch the screen and Sheila talks very loudly, giving a commentary on each performance.
‘Look at this lot.’ Sheila points to the screen where a group of women in wide peasant-style skirts are turning full circles on the stage with little variation in the routine. She snorts with laughing. ‘Totally uncoordinated. Like the Sound of Music on speed. How did they get into the bloody semis?’
Although I agree the dance is not very good, I do not nod like the dancers in Sheila’s group. They bob their heads up and down every time she speak; it make themlook even more like flock of birds.
Fay whispers to me that Sheila has verbal diarrhoea, and this make me giggle so much I have to pretend to blow my nose to cover the sound. Sheila’s language is full of swearing. Bonnie calls it effing and blinding and this also creases me up as this is probably not correct expression knowing Bonnie. I am quick to laughing as I am feeling a combination of being nervous and also of being excited.
I look at Monica as she glances up at the screen now and then. She was very quiet when she returned from what she said was a good walk to clear her head. She did not say much at all, although she is now smiling more. Fay say she has a spring in her step.
Maybe Asha make a mistake when she tell us about Ruby and her husband?
I think perhaps it would have been a good idea if I had gone out on a walk too but I do not want to miss Neil’s call if he rings me. I am hoping he will ring when we are inside the Opéra House; the theatre has wonderful Wi-Fi so I will not be charged for taking a call here. The cost of using phones outside is very high. After Kazimieras called last night at our hotel without any Wi-Fi, there was a large fee added to my bill. I checked before bed.
I also checked my bank account which is not yet closed and can see I do not have much money left. Perhaps I will stop my nurse salary going into the new joint account? I think I will need it. I can always tell Neil it takes the NHS a long time to do the changes, but I know as I think it, I cannot lie to Neil – not if I do not want him to lie to me.
I finish my baguette and thank Monica again forgetting us all lunch. Fay asks her for the receipt, saying she will deduct it from Monica’s total and divide it up, adding it onto what everyone else owes.
I must have frown again as Fay says, ‘Ingrida, you must not worry about these costs. Janine will be paying us back. I will ensure this happens.’
I am tempted to tell Fay I hand all my worries to God, but I know she does not go to church anymore, so I keep quiet.
Now we have eaten something, I am eager to get ready for our first dance. But it is a bit squashed, and we are pushed very close together. Sheila’s group, they are taking up a lot of the space. Asha says we can change when they leave for the stage.
Monica has her phone in one hand all the time and looks at it almost continuously. She must be waiting for a call, as I am waiting for Neil to call. Her mobile buzzes and she reads a text message before smiling and typing in a reply.
‘Happy message?’ Asha asks.
‘Oh, just planning a surprise get together.’
‘Lovely. Er… Monica, do you know when Ruby is coming back?’
Monica shrugs. ‘No, and if she doesn’t, we can manage without her.’
I am not at all sure we could do this. We have not practised the dances without Ruby, and it would leave a gap for all the times we move together. “Dancin’ Fool” especially would not work correctly. Even Asha say it would throw the dance out and this is exactly what itwould do.
Sheila’s group finally leaves the dressing room in a flurry of feathers to go to the stage.
‘Thank goodness for that,’ Bonnie says. ‘Those blasted feathers have got everywhere.’ She pulls a feather from her hair.
‘And finally, we have room to spread out,’ Cath sighs.
‘Time to get changed,’ Asha grabs her costume. ‘I just hope Ruby will be back in time.’
