by Smith, Ava
“There’s £10,342,” Emily states proudly.
“And another £7000 from the website,” Sarah adds.
A few of the dancers who crowd into the office cheer but Daniel watches in silence from the back.
Felicity looks at the cash on the table and replies, “Well, £17,000 in ten days is a very valiant effort. And I’m truly amazed.”
The dancers murmur and smile to each other.
“However...” Felicity continues, “we are still £946,565 short.”
The euphoria of two seconds ago disappears and people stare at Felicity in stunned silence; Sarah looks worst of all, she glances helplessly for Daniel but he is nowhere to be seen.
That’s because he left the moment he heard Felicity’s grim words and is currently dodging pedestrians and vehicles to get to his car. Once he crosses the road he jumps straight in the Porsche and takes off in his usual way. The car speeds down London roads at breakneck speed as he expertly dodges traffic. His eyes are focused on the road and nothing can distract him. He turns left, then right, then left again. He travels through a street with shops on either side and onto a main road. The traffic lights ahead change from green to amber to red and he slams his foot on the brake and the car screeches to a stop. A woman waits to cross the road and Daniel gestures for her to do so and she crosses with extreme caution. As he turns to the side, he happens to see the reflection of his brand new red Porsche on a passing lorry and he watches it for as long as he can. In a split second the mirage is over and Daniel returns to his sombre state.
Meanwhile, Sarah is too preoccupied to care about why Daniel leaves her when she needs him the most. The only real thing on her mind right now is the theatre closing down – because she couldn’t save it. She steps out of the building and is alerted to a cackle of laughter. When she turns she sees two unruly-looking workmen pasting a poster on the wall. “Production closed with immediate effect” are perhaps the most devastating words Sarah can imagine. Yet there it is in plain sight.
“Don’t worry, darling, I’m sure it’s just temporary,” one of the men calls out. Sarah glares at him and runs away but she can still hear him chuckling in the background. She runs briskly down the steps and when she reaches the bottom she’s in two minds as to what to do. She needs to find Daniel and tell him about those awful words, but, as usual, time is against her and she knows she has to get home. She runs down the street having finally decided what to do.
A mere 20 minutes later someone knocks frantically on the front door of Daniel’s London home and he sighs as he pulls open the access.
“What are you doing here?” he snaps when he sees Claudia standing before him.
“I’m still your fiancée, am I not?” she remarks.
Claudia makes her way into the house and sits gracefully on the large sofa in the centre of the room. Daniel shuts the door and takes a seat on the small sofa opposite. They don’t speak, there are no gestures of affection, and the mood is painfully dull. Claudia pulls a cigarette from the carton and is putting it to her lips when Daniel suddenly responds,
“Do you mind?”
She puts the cigarette back in the carton.
“Why are you here?” he quizzes her.
“Besides being your betrothed? To offer some much needed help.”
“I don’t want your money.”
“Who said anything about money?”
She slips off her coat to reveal an elegant dress that looks more like an evening gown. One thing about Claudia, she has a knack for looking spectacular in the grimmest of times. She saunters over to him and sits snugly by his side.
“Thing is, I don’t know what’s happened to you lately,” she gripes. “You neglect me at the party,” she moves up a little, “you dance with a perfect stranger in front of 30 maybe, 40 people, and quite honestly, I don’t deserve this kind of treatment. Which is why I think you should give up the theatre as soon as possible!”
She thrusts forward and kisses him on the lips but Daniel pushes her away.
“I’m not going to give up the theatre!”
Claudia laughs at him. “Why ever not?”
“Because I’m going to finish what I started.”
“So, you’re really going to throw everything away? Everything?”
His silence says it all.
“Fine.” She stands up and marches to her coat. “Finish what you started.” She sweeps up the coat and drapes it over her shoulder. “Go after that skinny little usurper. But remember, Daniel, money is like a ‘class A’ drug. Once you have a taste for it, you never go back!”
She leaves the house in a hurry and slams the door so hard it makes the whole room shudder. Daniel grins at her hysterical behaviour but his mood sours when he catches sight of that document. It lies conveniently on the coffee table just metres ahead. So he snatches it up and, after several more minutes of consideration, he scrunches up the pages into an unrecognisable ball.
CHAPTER 18
Daniel stays away from the theatre for a number of days. No one knows where he is since he hasn’t been in touch. Sarah goes to the theatre every day expecting to see him but is always disappointed. His absence makes many of the dancers angry for leaving them in the lurch like that. For Sarah, however, it’s just a matter of time before he comes back; something tells her it’s inevitable. This morning, though, she feels particularly lost without him and she sits in her room gaping at her ballet shoes. The shoes were given to her as a present by Victor when she started to dance at the theatre. They are tattered and the ribbons frayed but Sarah stubbornly refuses to throw them away. As usual Victor notices something is wrong, but since he is not the ‘shoulder to cry on’ type Sarah has failed to give him any clues about her situation, although sometimes he does surprise her.
“Why not tell me what’s bothering you?” Victor asks from the doorway of her room.
Sarah looks up at him. “Nothing – everything! Everything’s bothering me!”
She is about to throw her shoes when Victor yells out, “No!”
She puts her hand down and explains. “The theatre’s probably going to close which means I’ll have to find another job. And you know how picky they are about my preferences? And on top of that... you wouldn’t understand.”
“You’d be surprised,” he mumbles.
She looks at him curiously. “Don’t tell me you...”
“When a woman who must not be seen after sunset, makes herself seen, something is up.”
“You little scallywag! You’ve known all along.”
“Pretty much.”
“Well, it makes no difference. When he finds out about me he’ll run a mile.”
“Not if he’s the one.”
She watches him a moment. “So if it does happen. If the curse was broken. Will you be upset?”
Victor ponders the question carefully.
“If it does happen? I’d be delighted!”
Sarah is astonished by what she just heard. She never thought her Uncle would wish her to be human since he always preferred the company of birds. With her Uncle’s words still ringing in her ears, Sarah goes to the theatre to savour the atmosphere one last time. She walks down the now immaculate-looking corridor and stares up at the glimmering new bay window. The light shines right at her and makes her blink slightly so she quickly meanders into one of the rooms. When her vision improves, she is startled to find Emily, Isobel and Robert sitting on the floor, looking up at her. Sarah joins them but sits well away from Robert and Isobel. It is 2.00pm on a Wednesday afternoon and Sarah should be dancing with Ian by now. As it is, the dancers are dressed in casual clothes and left to ponder recent events.
“Never thought I’d see the theatre close down,” Isobel remarks.
Emily speaks with a slight anger in her voice. “Mr MacGregor, he gave me hope, you know? I really thought he was going to do something.”
“I suspect MacGregor didn’t have a head for business,” Isobel comments casually.
“Or maybe he’s stupid?�
� Robert adds before both he and Isobel chuckle.
Sarah perks up. “Say what you want but he’s coming back.”
“He’s been absent for nine days, dear. He’s probably halfway to the Bahamas by now.”
Isobel’s comments make Sarah fume and she is about to give Isobel a piece of her mind when they hear someone running down the long corridor. Amy barges into the room a moment later.
“You have to see this!” she declares catching her breath.
The next second, five dancers dash down the same corridor, down the steep set of stairs, and through the foyer. Sarah reaches the theatre doors first and rushes out, closely followed by the others. When they reach the top of the steps, they are shocked to see Daniel arriving in a beat-up old car, the kind that should’ve been declared illegal years ago. The doors are rusty, the windscreen is cracked and there are wires protruding from its tyres. Daniel gets out of the car and makes his way up the steps. He can see the five dancers waiting for him but he doesn’t shy away from looking right at them. Emily breaks the ice.
“Afternoon, Mr MacGregor.”
“Afternoon, sir,” Isobel adds.
“Afternoon,” Daniel replies.
Robert runs to the doors and holds them open and Daniel walks through, Sarah also rushes through. She can see he’s close to the auditorium doors and yells out.
“Stop!”
Daniel stops and turns and they both face each other.
“Tell me what’s happening. I want to know,” Sarah demands.
“You’ll still have to give up part of your salaries. But it’s enough to put the show back on track.”
The couple look at each other a moment before he turns and walks through the doors. Sarah starts to feel lightheaded because things like this never happen to her. She recovers and walks outside to meet with the other dancers. No one speaks and Sarah glances at them before marching to the wall and tearing down the poster “’Production closed with immediate effect’” . Emily and Amy jump with joy while Robert and Isobel hug, Sarah just stands at the top of the steps and merely watches them.
The very next day Sarah dances with Ian in Rehearsal Room Two, but she makes a crucial mistake and Ian falls awkwardly to the floor.
“Miss Mitchell, although today has brought lots of excitement it’s no reason for us to neglect our work,” Elizabeth cautions from the side.
“Yes, Miss, it won’t happen again.”
Sarah offers Ian her hand and helps him back up. It’s back to the old routine and the young dancer can’t help feeling grateful for every second she spends in the theatre. She leaves the building a little earlier than five but frowns when she hears a familiar voice.
“I’m sensing an uncontrollable urge to go out and celebrate,” it says.
She turns sharply to see Daniel sitting on the theatre steps.
“Funnily enough – I do want to celebrate,” she replies frankly.
So Daniel and Sarah leave the theatre together and drive to the heart of London. She can savour the journey because Daniel behaves himself and doesn’t speed through the streets like the first time. They pass a variety of famous streets and monuments but it’s not until they reach ‘the London Eye’ that Sarah leans forward to get a better look.
“Do you want to go there?” Daniel asks.
“No.”
“No? Or yes?”
“Yes,” she says.
Daniel’s composure doesn’t even flicker at the thought of being suspended 135 metres in the air in a tiny capsule. As far as Sarah is concerned everything is fine.
The queues are not long so Sarah and Daniel manage to get a capsule all to themselves. The gigantic structure starts to turn and Sarah dashes to the window to get a better view. She’s walked past it many times but always believed her bird’s eye view was much better than the Eye’s. Today it seems Daniel has made the right decision.
“This is brilliant!” she exclaims, “I never thought it would be like this!”
Daniel replies with an unenthusiastic, “Me neither.”
She looks at him and sees him grasp the bar with both hands. It makes his knuckles turn white and her eyes widen as she cries out, “Oh no! You’re scared of heights!”
He breathes quickly and holds the bars even tighter. “Just a little.” The capsule reaches the top and he asks worriedly, “Are we at the top yet? We are, aren’t we?”
“Don’t worry, the construction’s very safe.” She says jumping up and down. “See?”
“Please don’t! Better if it doesn’t move,” he retorts as he tries to steady himself.
Sarah somehow pries his hand from the bar and holds on to it tightly.
“Nothing will happen to you I promise,” she says. “Open your eyes.”
Daniel does so and is rewarded by a spectacular view of London.
“Goodness!” he exclaims as he sees the landscape for the first time.
“Amazing, isn’t it?” she asks.
“Amazing!” he answers.
He looks down and sees she still holds his hand. They stare at each other when the capsule wobbles a little.
“Whoops!” he remarks as they steady themselves and Sarah starts to giggle.
When the ride is over they leave the capsule still holding hands. With the first part of the celebration completed, Daniel and Sarah walk down the street together and he seems to walk especially slowly as though he savours being on the ground again. The couple passes several stalls pitched on the waterfront and where spirited vendors sell everything from tea-towels to top hats.
“A beautiful scarf for you, madam. Or perhaps an umbrella?”
“Why don’t you buy your girlfriend a nice necklace, sir? I’m sure she’ll love you even more.”
She likes it more than he does since Uncle Victor never allows her to go anywhere. He has become too cautious over the years and has even started to question Sarah’s need to dance. They make their way to a quieter section and finally have time to themselves. All’s well until she sees a gull turn and look at her accusingly and it compels her to walk faster. Even Daniel has to run to catch up.
“Don’t worry, it’s not sunset yet,” he reassures her.
She glances at him and thinks about Daniel being ‘the one’. She wonders how he might react when he finally finds out about her. She even thinks of telling him right then and there. But where would she start? She was the stuff of myths and Swan Lake was just a tired old fairy tale. All the while he walks beside her, not knowing anything, but her thoughts turn to other things and she appears to snigger for no reason.
“What?” Daniel asks looking puzzled.
“I was just thinking about you hanging on for dear life,” Sarah comments.
“I won’t be doing that again. I was terrified.”
“Then why did you?”
Daniel answers glibly. “Because I didn’t want to seem like a coward.”
“Especially not in front of a woman,” Sarah adds.
“That’s the thing. You weren’t the least bit scared.”
“Must be genetic.”
“About what you did the other day,” Daniel says in a cautious manner.
“I know I overstepped my boundary. I was completely out of my league.”
He stops walking and questions, “Overstepped your boundary? You stood up for what you believed in. You were the only one.”
“I love to dance that’s all.”
“I know you do. Why?”
Sarah appears deep in thought as she explains. “When I’m on that stage and that haunting music starts to play,” she sees herself dance solo on an empty stage. “I feel there’s no one else on earth except me. It makes me come alive.” Her body twists and turns through intricate manoeuvres and she escapes into another world. “It’s like freedom,” she continues, “but not like any kind of freedom you experience in life. It’s much more real.” The music reaches a crescendo and she looks up and cowers... A bird man dressed entirely in black is standing over her and as he op
ens up his ‘wings’ she watches her fingers become longer.
“Sarah?” She turns sharply and she sees Daniel standing beside her. “You lost your train of thought for a moment. You were talking about ...”
“Dance!” she answers firmly.
Daniel nods. “Dance.”
She turns to the river.
“What’s wrong?” he asks her.
“Nothing’s wrong. Everything’s fine.”
“You’re lying.”
After a few seconds she confesses, “I have a secret. A remarkable secret that’s been ruling my life since the day I was born.”
“Is this the ‘“you don’t know who I am”’ secret? Because that would seem repetitive.”
“Don’t make fun of me!” she snaps turning to him.
“No, I should never make fun of you.”
“I can’t talk to you right now so...”
She starts to walk away when Daniel pulls her back.
“Then perhaps you should listen... You are the most aloof human being I have ever met. You spend every waking moment trying to avoid people. You keep your emotions hidden; you never let your guard down. And most frustrating of all, you actually seem to enjoy putting people down. Yet for some absurd reason I like you. And it’s not infatuation, or admiration, or even lust. It’s something more. So if you don’t like me, tell me now so that we can move on with our lives.”
There’s a long pause before Sarah finally answers, “I do like you. You have no idea how much.”
Daniel seems surprised by her words but he nevertheless moves in and kisses her. It’s more passionate than the other time and she wraps her arms around him just like before. Thunder rumbles in the distance and it’s followed by the inevitable heavy rain. They continue to kiss while people run for shelter but the rain proves too much of a distraction for Sarah and it’s also getting closer to sunset, and she pulls away from him.
“I have to go home,” she says softly.
Daniel nods and they make their way back to the car.
By the time they’re on the country road again it’s only18 minutes before sunset. It still rains and the windscreen wipers swish back and forth on their highest setting. They are drenched from the thunderstorm and haven’t said a word to each other since that kiss. The silence is broken when Daniel starts to sneeze.