by Mandy Baggot
‘The Civic Hall might close. I just found out today. Oh God, what am I going to do?’ Samantha spoke, lifting her head and stepping slightly away from her sister’s embrace.
Cleo looked at her momentarily and then she pushed her away with a hiss.
‘What?! Is that all?! I thought you had some terminal disease or something, or that Mum and Dad had died in some horrific motorway pile up or that Darren had dumped you before you’ve even been out with him. I suppose I should’ve guessed it was something to do with that flaming place. You don’t go anywhere else or do anything else,’ Cleo blasted, furious at her sibling.
‘This is serious! We had a visit from the council today and there might only be room for one entertainments centre. One! What if they close us down?’ Samantha questioned, her eyes wide, hoping for support from her sister.
‘Oh so what if they do? I only go there because you get staff discount and let’s be honest - it doesn’t really attract the greatest acts - the ice show and that hotty Jimmy Lloyd are the only exception,’ Cleo responded bluntly.
‘Cleo, we went there as kids to see all the pantomimes. Mum and Dad used to go to all the shows there, you had your thirteenth birthday party in one of the conference rooms. Doesn’t that mean anything to you?’ Samantha asked her.
‘Things change and time and people move on. The place is outdated and the people that go there are past their best. It’s stuck in a time warp in acts and furnishings and the food in the restaurant sucks. I’d say it was an open and shut case that it needs tearing down. Maybe they’ll put something decent in its place, like a big Primark,’ Cleo told her, making herself a cup of tea.
‘How can you say that?’ Samantha asked, her heart bursting with fear and panic.
‘Because it’s the truth and I think you should start looking for another job and try getting a life, because when the hall closes, gone are all your excuses for avoiding the real world,’ Cleo told her.
Samantha stood stunned. Her sister had never been so harsh with her before. She was unable to respond, her voice choked. She just stood and watched, like she was having an out of body experience, as Cleo calmly made herself a cup of tea. Without uttering another word her sister turned and left Samantha alone in the kitchen, with the table soiled in bodily fluids.
Nine
Her uniform was creased. It was the only time in all the years she had worked at the Civic Hall that she had ever gone to work with an un-ironed uniform. What was worse still was that she didn’t actually care. Imagine, going to work at your favourite place and not caring that you looked like a vagrant.
What’s more, Samantha’s nose had now turned a reddish purple. It had started to ache when the water hit it in the shower but now it was bruised and swollen and twice its normal size. Gobby had also ambushed her on the way in, covered her in hair and dribbled on her un-ironed trousers. Those things and the agony she felt at the possible closure of her beloved Civic Hall, made the evening ahead seem practically unbearable. She didn’t want to be there, everything felt insecure and uncertain. She had forced a smile on her face when selling programmes but her heart just wasn’t in it like it should be. Now she was stood in her position at one of the rear fire doors as the ice show played out before her.
Two skaters had just performed to a piece from Guys & Dolls and now it was Jimmy and Dana taking to the ice to perform to ‘All that Jazz’ from Chicago. It was one of Samantha’s favourite routines because it was fast paced and full of lifts and difficult moves. She couldn’t deny that Dana was an excellent skater and she was envious of her ability.
She was so graceful and Jimmy held her above his head like she weighed nothing. She probably would if she didn’t have so much hair. She was the same build as Posh Spice but with Ginger’s colouring.
And then suddenly, as they turned immediately in front of her, Jimmy went to lift Dana above his head and she seemed to hesitate. As she was elevated she fell forward and came crashing down onto the ice. There was a thud, sequins were shed and the whole audience gasped.
Samantha put her hands to her mouth in shock. But then, as quickly as she had fallen, she was back up on her feet to continue the routine. Samantha watched as they caught up with the timing of the music and ended the performance as smoothly as if the fall had never occurred.
The audience applauded graciously and the partnering smiled and waved as usual, but as they turned to leave the ice Samantha could see that Dana’s expression was thunderous.
None of the crowd seemed to be concerned by the mishap and they began applauding the next group of ice skaters which was an ensemble, doing a song from Riverdance.
Samantha was thankful the rest of the performances went without a hitch. The last thing the Civic Hall needed was for people to stop coming to the ice show, it was its popularity that was holding the hall together.
But it was obvious that Dana’s confidence had been knocked by her fall. Her other skates were hesitant and not as assured as usual. The audience hadn’t seemed to notice though, in fact all the comments Samantha received when showing people out of the hall were complimentary.
It was well after midnight when everyone had finally left the building and Samantha and Felicity were left to shut everything down. Felicity was tending to the upstairs of the building and the bar area, while Samantha dealt with the main auditorium.
As she walked back into the hall, picking up sweet wrappers and discarded drink cartons on the way, she could see Jimmy was back on the ice. He was skating furiously round the rink at almost breakneck pace.
Samantha watched him. He was out of breath, sweating and he didn’t look in a good mood. She took her skates out from under the seat and looked at them. She wanted to skate, she wanted to lace up her boots and get out onto the ice. She wanted to do something to help her forget about everything. But Jimmy was there, she was supposed to be staying away from him. She was meant to be keeping him at arm’s length, remembering he was a performer and she was staff - forgetting he was hot.
But the rink was calling to her. She needed to skate. She needed to do something other than worry about the fate of the Civic Hall and what it could all mean for her. She took a deep breath, sat down and began to tie up her boots.
By the time she got down to the edge of the rink Jimmy was doubled over in the middle of the ice taking deep breaths to restore his natural rhythm.
She skated over to him and, hearing another pair of blades on the ice, he looked up.
‘Hey,’ he greeted still out of breath.
‘Hello,’ Samantha replied, stopping herself opposite him.
‘You good?’
‘Yes, I just wanted to thank you again for - you know - helping me out with the whole nose bleed thing earlier.’
‘No problem.’
‘And I appreciated your ideas about the hall,’ Samantha spoke in a businesslike manner.
‘You’re welcome.’
‘Well, I…’
‘See the show tonight? Hey, what am I saying? Of course you saw the show tonight - you and thousands of other people all watched me mess up,’ Jimmy responded frustration in his voice as he kicked at the ice.
‘You mess up? I thought Dana hesitated and she ended up in the wrong position when you lifted her. Well, not that I know anything about skating, but well - you know - I thought that was what did it,’ Samantha mumbled.
‘You really think that? Thank God, I thought I was going out of my mind. You should have heard her after the show. She was telling anyone who would listen that I dropped her, how it’s because I haven’t put enough hours in - how it’s because I’m drunk,’ Jimmy exploded angrily.
Samantha didn’t respond, not knowing what to say. She swallowed and looked at her feet. What was she doing here? This wasn’t giving him a wide berth. He was unsuitable and unobtainable, she knew better. Jimmy took a deep breath and tried to compose himself.
‘I don’t drink any more by the way. I did go to rehab, for alcohol rehabilitation - not drugs. I don�
�t take drugs, never have. Alcohol does enough for me - well too much actually,’ he said.
Samantha still didn’t reply. She felt such an idiot. She didn’t know what to say to him. She wished she did know what to say to him.
‘I’m sorry, I shouldn’t be laying all this on you. It just hasn’t been the best day you know. Did you want to skate?’ Jimmy asked her, running a hand through his hair.
‘Dave’s leaving,’ Samantha blurted out.
‘Shit, when did that happen?’ Jimmy asked her as he set off skating and encouraged her to follow.
‘I went back to work after the nose bleed, I meant it about reimbursing you for the shirt by the way, or getting it laundered or something…’ Samantha babbled as she skated alongside him.
‘Forget the shirt, it’s fine. You went to see Dave and…’ Jimmy spoke, wanting her to continue.
‘And I asked him about the inspection, about Mr Radcliffe visiting and he tells me he’s leaving next week for some job with a fancy title on a cruise ship. Just like that, no warning, no build up to it, just like that. I mean how can he do that? The hall is in jeopardy, how can he just abandon it? Doesn’t he care?’ Samantha questioned desperately.
‘No, I’m quite sure he doesn’t,’ Jimmy replied.
‘But he’s been the manager here for years, it must mean something to him, it just must,’ Samantha continued.
‘Well, I don’t think it’s important whether Dave’s committed to his job or not. Someone like him is always going to be out for himself and someone like him isn’t going to be interested in safeguarding the future of the hall. I mean how can you trust a man who speaks bad French and thinks it’s clever and funny?’ Jimmy told her.
‘No one seems to understand that the hall isn’t just a building, it’s vital and it’s a lifeline to some - the OAPs in particular. I mean I know the bingo evenings and the special half price lunches aren’t money makers, but no other amenity provides that. I know there’s room for improvement, I know things need updating and we need new acts and more people through the door, but I want to maintain the hall as a centre for the borough’s community - that’s what it’s always been,’ Samantha blurted out passionately.
‘That sounds like fighting talk to me and you need to say all that to Mr Radcliffe and his council buddies,’ Jimmy answered as they skated alongside each other.
‘I can’t do that! I can’t tell anyone, that’s the problem. I don’t know whether you’ve noticed but I’m a little orally challenged. I have all these things in my head that I want to say and then when I go to say them I either laugh or throw up or want to pass out. Why am I telling you this?’ Samantha said as she desperately tried to suppress the nausea.
‘I hate to tell you this but I had noticed,’ Jimmy replied.
He skated in front of her and took hold of her hands, forcing her to skate backwards. His hands were warm and the feeling of his fingers in hers only served to make her feel even more ill and a little giddy.
‘When I tried to speak to Dave none of it came out properly and he just talked over me about his stupid new job. I get home and my sister is having it off on the kitchen table right in front of me and, once she’s clothed herself, I tell her about it, hoping for a bit of support, and she just says she’s glad the hall might close and she thinks I need a new life, with Darren and…’ Samantha began practically hyperventilating.
‘Who’s Darren?’ Jimmy queried.
‘You don’t know him. I don’t even know him! Goodness, what am I going to do?’ Samantha exclaimed as panic crept up on her, wrapping itself around her whole body until she was physically shaking.
‘You’re going to take on the role of managing this place and ensure its survival,’ Jimmy told her firmly, squeezing her hands supportively.
‘I’m not up to that job. It’ll be stressful and I’m not good with stress. In fact I’m not good with anything. But I do feel immense responsibility for it, I just don’t know if I’m strong enough to do anything about it,’ Samantha continued.
‘I believe you’re up to the job,’ Jimmy answered.
‘I’m terrified. I’m scared of trying to do something about it, I’m scared of not doing something about it. And why are you being so nice to me and caring? Why do you care anyway? I mean it’s just another venue on your tour to you and why should it be anything else? It isn’t where you live, you don’t know the history, you…’ Samantha spoke, getting herself into an emotional state.
She knew she was going on and on now, like a mental patient, but she couldn’t stop it.
‘Hey, I care. There aren’t enough facilities like this the whole world over. It isn’t easy to find places to stage a big ice show you know, not now half the original rinks have been closed,’ he replied.
He put a halt to their skating but carried on firmly holding her hands. It felt nice but it was torture. She liked it and she shouldn’t. It was a bit like trying not to find Mick Hucknall ever so slightly sexy. As hard as you tried you just couldn’t stop yourself.
‘As far as being scared goes, well these days I’m terrified every time I set foot on the ice. Dana’s just about stripped away every shred of confidence I have and that isn’t much when you’re a recovering alcoholic, but I was just about hanging on to some. And most days now she makes me feel about two inches tall and she tries to force her opinion of me on to other people. Anyway, you shouldn’t be scared, you’ve been given this great opportunity to save the hall and really come into your own here. I haven’t ever met anyone who believes so passionately about anything like you believe in this hall and you should have confidence in that passion,’ Jimmy told her.
He was holding her hands tightly and looking at her. All thoughts of the Civic Hall were evaporating second by second as Samantha was unable to concentrate on anything but his face.
‘I’ll help you,’ Jimmy spoke, breaking the silence that hung in the air.
‘What?’ Samantha questioned, trying to direct her gaze away from the Minstrel eyes.
‘I’ll help you save the hall. We’ll come up with an action plan. I have friends in this industry, I can call them and we can put together a proposal to the council that will knock their socks off,’ Jimmy carried on almost excitedly.
‘No, no I couldn’t. I mean that isn’t why I told you. I don’t know why I told you, I was just venting and I shouldn’t have I…’ Samantha gabbled, trying to gain control of her speech.
‘There would be conditions. I actually have my own selfish agenda for offering assistance,’ Jimmy admitted as he made them recommence their skating.
‘It’s OK, thank you for the offer and everything but you’ve so much to do with the show and everything and I don’t really know you and I wouldn’t want to burden you with…’ Samantha started again.
‘Just hear me out. I’ll help you try and save the hall if you let me teach you to improve your skating,’ Jimmy suggested to her.
‘That doesn’t sound right. I mean I’d be getting all the benefit,’ Samantha spoke as she thought about his idea. More time with him, looking into the gorgeous face, lots of handholding. It sounded great and completely perilous at the same time.
‘Not true. I think teaching is kind of what I’d like to do long term. I get amazing satisfaction out of seeing the progression people can make. I hoped you might agree to be my guinea pig,’ Jimmy said with a smile.
‘Oh I don’t know,’ Samantha spoke nervously, still feeling the warmth of his hands in hers and enjoying the sensation a little too much for her liking.
She tried to think of something gross - Worcester sauce, Bruce Forsyth, licking Worcester sauce off Bruce Forsyth.
‘Come on Sam, what have you got to lose? I help you keep this place open and you help me develop my coaching skills,’ Jimmy stated and he pulled her arms hard making her fall forward and bang into his chest.
It made Samantha gasp and when she raised her head he was smiling down at her.
‘First lesson, always keep your head up,�
�� Jimmy spoke with a laugh.
Samantha smiled but inside her stomach was churning with a plethora of emotions. Concern about losing the Civic Hall and fear about accepting assistance from someone who could make her feel physically weak just by being in the same room.
Ten
Before she knew it she’d agreed. What was she thinking? She couldn’t let him teach her to ice skate! It meant spending more time with him. Him touching her and her touching him. She must be out of her mind! But he did have knowledge of the entertainment industry, he had a lot of influential friends and that could be absolutely key if she wanted to ensure the Civic Hall stayed open.
She’d left him half an hour ago and now it was almost 1.00am. The place was in a state, Milo hadn’t tidied up properly, not to her standard anyway, and there were three cans of Red Bull suspiciously hidden away at the bottom of one of the bins. She’d hoovered and emptied the bins in the foyer and now she was sorting out the bar.
She was enjoying skating again. It was so long since she had done it properly she had forgotten how much fun it was. It was like being set free from who she was off the ice. She could forget about everything and concentrate on the moment. It wasn’t often she got to do that.
She bent down to restack the crisp boxes in order.
‘Hey, I know it’s late but can I get a tea?’
Jimmy’s voice in such close proximity shocked her. She got up too quickly and banged her head on the edge of the bar.
She took a sharp breath inwards and put her hand to her head, holding the injury.
‘You OK?’
‘Yes, I thought you’d gone. You said you were going back to the hotel.’
‘I am, but the tea’s not all that. Can I have one?’
‘Well we’re not really open and…’
‘Come on Sam, it’s just a tea. Have one with me, then we can share the guilt of contravening the council regulations?’
Samantha knew she had started to sweat. On the ice when there was skating to practice she could pay attention to her feet and half ignore the gorgeous being dancing with her. But here there was nothing else. Just her and him and conversation.