Page 75 of Dancing Fools and All That Jazz
‘All that bare flesh.’ Asha starts to titter. ‘And that horrible rhinestone thong. So crude.’
‘Krude?’ Ingrida gives a belly laugh that is infectious. ‘Ha ha. This word,krutis. In Latvian it mean breast or tits.’
I find myself laughing too and we all rock about guffawing as more witticisms are added.
‘You can definitely say it went tits up.’ Bonnie is dabbing her eyes.
‘They were busting out all over.’ Asha laughs.
‘I’ve heard of the bottom dropping out of your world, but that takes the biscuit,’ Bonnie adds.
Ingrida is now holding her cheeks as she laughs.
‘What? Ingrida, what is so funny?’ I ask, chuckling with her.
‘This… This words Bonnie say. Biscuit and bottom…it is very funny.’ Ingrida is shaking as she chortles aloud.
‘Oh Ingrida, you crease me up.’ Bonnie starts, but Ingrida goes into hysterics, which sets everyone else falling about with laughter.
‘That finale was a bit of a bummer.’ Cath is holding her sides.
Bonnie raises her water bottle and on cue we all shout, ‘Bottoms up.’
Our laughter starts to die down and we see on the screen that Sheila’s group is leaving the stage.
‘Quick. We have to go out.’ Asha announces.
‘What? We’re dancing in another hour or so,’ I say.
‘We do not want to be here when the Maggots get back. I, for one, will not be able to keep a straight face. Come on, we can go to the café. Give it twenty minutes – we will still have plenty of time to get ready – and hopefully Sheila’s lot will have left by then. They have done their last dance.’
We grab our bags and pull on our jackets.
‘We must find Clarissa and see what she wants to do about the theft of her number.’ Asha leads the way as we hurriedly leave before Sheila’s group returns.
‘You have really happy glow, Monica,’ Ingrida tells me as we head for the café.
‘I guess the dance, the laughter has been cathartic…’
Ingrida looks puzzled.
‘It means cleansing, liberating…’
Ingrida nods understanding and I repeat the words in my head. Cleansing… liberating… An image of Jean-Claude flicks across my mind and my buoyancy isinstantly accompanied by a pleasant flush of desire.
22
Ruby
I sneak into the amphitheatre to find Max. He’s in the back row, right where I left him. Creeping down, I slide into the seat next to him. He turns, and I’m rewarded with a beaming smile as he opens his arms to hug me.
‘My God, Ruby, you were incredible,’ he whispers into my ear.
‘Honestly?’
‘Honestly. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but your dancing was far better than anything I could’ve imagined. The “Dancin’ Fool” routine was inspired. I couldn’t take my eyes off you. You have real stage presence.’
I bask in his praise and cuddle in close.
