The Dance Of Changes - Part 18

OTHER PARTS | ALL STORY LIST

Having now accepted to myself that I would be going clubbing with Richard on Saturday night, I was anxious to get the next couple of days at work over with as soon as possible. My weekend would begin when I went home with Helen on Friday evening, and I was looking forward to the two of us spending the following day together getting ourselves ready to go out.

Both Rob and Richard were out of the office for the whole day on Thursday, and Helen had a number of appointments to show clients around houses during the morning. Thus only Sarah and I were in the office, and we were both kept fairly busy. I now had my own desk diary, and having first checked that Helen was likely to be in the office the following morning, I arranged for me to show another couple around a number of our properties in Luton before I came into the office. I also asked Sarah whether I might therefore take the office pool car home with me after work so that I'd be able to meet them and then drive them to a second address. She agreed, which was also useful as I would also be available when I met Alan for a practice session at the Dance Studio that evening. Thus, when he rang to confirm the arrangements during the morning, I told him that I had no need for a lift.

'That's fine then, Michelle; I'll see you there. We are going to be giving a couple of demonstrations and masterclasses in Bristol.' by the way, there are two dates to mark in your diary - 15th November and 13th December.

'So you didn't frighten them off with the fees, after all,' I commented.

'Apparently not; we will each receive two hundred and fifty pounds for each session, plus our reasonable expenses.'

'Wow!' I said, a little surprised that they'd agreed to such a sum.

He was about to go into more detail, but I noticed the Johnsons, currently my favorite clients, coming through the door.

'Can I call you back later, Alan? Things are a little hectic here at present?' I said.

'Don't worry, I'll tell you all about it when I see you this evening.'

'We didn't want to interrupt you dearly,' said Mrs. Johnson as I put down the phone and gave them both a broad smile.

'No problem, it was just my dance partner; I'm sure he can wait. Now, what can I do for you both?'

There turned out to be no great problem regarding the Johnsons, just a couple of questions before the exchange of contracts that I was quickly able to answer. In fact, all seemed to be going well with their house purchase, and we seemed likely to earn our fee and perhaps other commissions to sell houses for the same vendors.

Things did quieten down a little after 11.00am so I used the opportunity to make Sarah and myself a mug of coffee.

'I do like your nails, Michelle,' she said as I handed it to her.' They look very smart.'

'Thanks, but do you think they may be a little too bright for work?' I replied, inspecting them.

I had been regularly wearing nail varnish but usually with fairly subdued colors as I was conscious of Sarah's previous guidance as to what was an appropriate dress for work.

'No, of course not; that color looks good on you. You shouldn't be afraid of wearing strong colors if they suit you.'

'Thanks. Actually, I'm planning to wear a dress of this color for one of the next demonstration dances. It belongs to Mum, but you never saw it when you came round to our place. She had forgotten that it needed to be repaired, but she has done so now.'

'What do you think?' I asked as I showed her a picture Mum had taken of me the previous night, on my mobile phone.

'Wow, Michelle, you look so lovely. You really will be the 'Queen of the Dance' at the coming demonstration,' she commented wistfully.

I colored slightly and thanked her. Her comment struck me as she had been the acknowledged local 'Queen of the Dance' for some time past. Perhaps she was beginning to realize that she would have to give way to a younger woman? I had always admired Sarah as a dancer and liked her as my boss. It was sad that it seemed to be me who had taken her place, and also in such circumstances.

'Sarah, it now looks as if Alan and I are going to be earning some extra money from giving dance demonstrations in a week or two. I think I should therefore pay you the cost of the breast forms that I'm wearing.'

'No, that's alright; I've already discussed it with Rob. When we get the bill from Joan, we will treat it as a legitimate business expense – after all, they are necessary for you to fulfill your new role at work.'

'You might have a difficult time explaining why this should be so to a tax inspector,' I replied, laughing.

'In that case, I hope we are never called on to do so,' she replied.

At that point, the office phone rang, and so we both resumed our everyday work.

Helen came into work after lunch and announced that she'd also succeeded in negotiating a sale, which put us all in a good mood.

'I can see you've already started embracing life as Michelle; I do like your flashy nails,' she said during a quiet moment. 'I am sure Richard will approve when he sees them.'

I colored a little and attempted to change the subject.

'Mum did them for me,' I replied.

'So, have you told her about the coming weekend?'

'Mostly, and she guessed the rest.'

'How did she react?'

'Remarkably well, in the circumstances. She appeared to take the news quite calmly and just told me to take care.'

'So, are you now willing to acknowledge your femininity and enjoy a girly weekend with me?'

'I guess so!' I replied, examining my nails and smiling.

'Good! Bring an overnight case into work with you tomorrow, and we'll go home together after work.'

'Alright, but I still don't know what I'm going to wear on Saturday night.'

'I've had an idea, which I'll tell you about tomorrow evening, and if it doesn't work out, we will still be able to go into Luton on Saturday morning to find your something.'

My evening practice session with Alan went pretty well, and we ran through my plans for the American Smooth Tango and had one further go at the tap routine in the Charleston, during which we added a few more steps for Alan as he had been practicing hard. This was going to be our last opportunity to deal with any major issues before the next demonstration as, for various reasons, we were both going to be occupied over the coming weekend and for several days during the coming week. After this session, we would only have a brief opportunity to go through both dances the following Tuesday. However, by the end of the evening, we were happy with the way things had gone.

'Are we going to need a dress rehearsal?' Alan asked.

'I don't think that we'll have the time,' I replied. 'I assume that you will be wearing my father's suit for both the dances.'

'Yes. I've seen the dress you will be wearing for Charleston. Have you decided what to wear for the Tango yet?'

'Yes, I'm going to be wearing another of Mum's dresses.'

I showed him the picture of me.

'What do you think?'

'Wow, that really looks great. Exactly right for a tango.'

Alan also told me the details that he'd agreed about our forthcoming demonstration sessions in Bristol. Despite me being a little bit miffed about the assumption of my not being capable of discussing business matters, I was actually quite happy to leave such negotiations to him. After all, he was always willing to leave the details of the dance content to me.

'The two sessions will use the same music and choreography that we have already worked out for our solo demonstrations of the Foxtrot and the Quickstep, so they shouldn't create a lot of additional work for us, although we may need a practice session beforehand. After each demonstration, we have been asked to conduct a one-hour master class for some of their members. You will coach the ladies, and I will do so for the gents.'

'That sounds alright to me,' I replied, knowing that I have conducted several such classes in the past.

'In some respects is a pity you're only available until the end of the year as I suspect they may have been interested in a few more sessions early next year,' he continued.

I shrugged my shoulders but didn't say anything in reply, not wishing to think about the New Year.

'I've already mentioned the fee. In addition, there will be one hundred pounds per session to cover our expenses. I think that fifty of that should cover the cost of David's petrol if he drives us. The remainder can be yours to cover the cost of any hairdos and makeup you need.'

'Thank you. So far, people have been very generous, but if we are going to earn some money from our efforts, then it is only right for me to pay the correct fees. It is surprising how much makeup costs, and I may also need to have my hair extensions renewed by that time, and I can't keep expecting Joan to do them for nothing.'

Friday turned out to be an excellent day for me at work. During the course of the morning, I negotiated my second ever house sale, although I hadn't particularly expected to do so. The couple I was showing around had obviously been looking for some time and knew what was available and at what price. They had been just checking up on a few points before making an offer. By the time I had finished showing them around, I was surprised that they had made a very reasonable offer directly to me, which I knew the vendors would be willing to accept. I telephoned Sarah in the office, who was delighted. She promised to contact the vendors and have an answer by the time we all got back to the office. An hour later, their offer had been accepted, and I began to fill in the necessary paperwork.

'Congratulations, Michelle, that's our fifth house sale this week, and there are a number of promising inquiries; things are definitely improving.'

'Thanks,' I said. 'I wasn't really expecting a decision straight away. I suppose I was just lucky.'

'Two house sales in as many weeks, that is more than I was able to achieve when I started,' commented Helen.

'Thanks, but the second one was just good luck.'

'By the way, have you brought your stuff for the weekend into work?'

'Yes, I borrowed a weekend case from Mum. I've packed a nightdress, some makeup, and a change of clothes for tomorrow, but I've still no idea as to what I'm going to be wearing on Saturday night.

'Don't worry, everything is in hand,' she replied.

Richard arrived back in the office at about four-thirty. It was the first occasion I'd had a chance to talk to him about anything other than work matters since he had asked me out.

'I understand from Helen that I'm now going to be picking you up from her house on Saturday night, Michelle,' said Rich to me as we were all packing up to leave on Friday afternoon.

'Yes, please, but I could do with a lift back to my own home afterward if you don't mind,' I replied.

(After all, I had no wish to play gooseberry between Helen and her Joe if things worked out well between them during the course of the evening.)

'Yes, of course, I'm looking forward to tomorrow night.'

He looked as if he meant it.

'Me too,' I replied, smiling.

Helen looked on as if she was satisfied that her plans were coming to fruition.

Helen lived with her parents in a three-bedroomed semi-detached house in a 1970s development about a twenty-minute walk from our work. Her elder sister was now living in Croydon, and her parents had gone to visit her for a few days.

'Mum prepared something for us to eat before she left; it will just be a question of our heating it through later,' she said.

'That's fine by me.'

'You can use my sister's former bedroom tonight; it'll have everything you need to get yourself ready tomorrow night. Just put your case inside the door for now and come through to my bedroom as I've had an idea about what you can wear tomorrow night.'

I did as she instructed and joined Helen in her bedroom. Both rooms seemed so much more comfortable and welcoming than my own bedroom at home, with their carefully coordinated color schemes, soft pastel furnishings, and thoughtful arrangement of mirrors and lighting.

'It was your fancy red nail polish that gave me the idea,' she announced as I entered. 'You will no doubt discover that a girl can sometimes get carried away and buy something that looks great in the shop but as soon as she gets it home, it turns out to have been a mistake.'

She reached into her wardrobe and pulled out a bright red mini-dress with a halter top. It was the same color as the one I was planning to wear next weekend to dance the Tango.

'This dress was one of my mistakes; it looks great but doesn't really suit my coloring. But I have a feeling it will look just right on you, though.'

'Helen, I can't keep borrowing other people's clothes all the time. I was prepared to find something for myself tomorrow and had taken out some money from my savings account for that purpose.'

'At least try it on. It has only been worn once and then for only half an hour or so. If it fits you and you like it, you are welcome to buy it from me for £25.00, which is less than half of what I paid for it.'

I had to admit to myself that it did look nice.

'I suppose I could try it on,' I offered.

'Good, take off your existing dress, and also your bra as you are going to need a strapless one. I'll loan you one of mine for now, and you could buy yourself one tomorrow.'

I did as she asked, and Helen handed me a bra from her drawer.

'How are your boobs these days?' she asked.

'They're fine thanks, most of the time, I forget that they are not the real thing. I'll leave them in place for the time being, but I plan to remove and re-affix them in time for next weekend.'

Helen helped me into the dress, which was rather skimpy and quite different from anything Mum or Louise had loaned to me, but it fitted me alright and felt nice to wear. Upon inspection in Helen's full-length mirror, there was no doubt that the color suited me.

'Well, what do you think?' she asked.

'I don't know; I like the color, but it is rather short. I would feel quite exposed. What do you think?' I asked.

'I think you look really great wearing it,' she replied, smiling. 'You look sexy but without appearing trashy. If you do decide to wear it, I can see that I'll have to keep a close eye on Joe.'

'But don't you think there is a danger that I might give myself away if I wore this tomorrow night?' I asked.

'Maybe we will need to undertake a little taping to ensure that there are no visible bulges down below, or perhaps you could get yourself some control briefs, but I think your boobs should be alright,' she replied.

'I suppose it does look nice,' I commented as I gradually got used to the sight of myself in the mirror.

'It looks great on you, but on me, it made me look as if I was suffering from some skin complaint. My sister commented that I looked like a raspberry with legs,' she said, laughing.

'In that case, I'll accept your offer, on condition that you help me to get ready tomorrow,' I said, handing over the £25.00 for the dress.

'It's a deal, but that doesn't excuse you from coming shopping with me in Luton tomorrow morning as there are a couple of things I will need. Also, I've had a few ideas as to how you might spend the money that you've just saved yourself.'

Helen's telephone rang at that point, and so we never did get to discuss her plans.

Now that I'd finally made up my mind to embrace life as Michelle, Helen was clearly determined to make sure that there would be no backsliding on my part, at least for the next ten weeks. Over dinner, we discussed our beauty regimes for later that evening and the following day.

'I'm going to need to de-fuzz my arms, legs, and armpits this evening, ready for tomorrow night; how about you, Michelle?' she asked.

'I did mine last Friday, and so I suppose it is time to do them again.'

(Fortunately, I only ever needed to shave my chin every third or fourth day, although I had been doing so a lot more often since the advent of Michelle, just to be sure.)

'While we are at it, we can also paint one another's toenails, as well,' suggested Helen.

Mine was already done, but the color would need to be changed as I planned in dancing in a pair of open-toed heels the following night. Fortunately, I'd brought with me both the lipstick and nail varnish that I bought with Mum. Helen had noticed they would match my new dress.

'What else will I need for my makeup tomorrow night?' I asked as I fished out the bottle of nail varnish from my bag.

'Don't overdo things; you will only need a small amount of foundation and concealer and put on a light blush.'

'What about my eyes?'

'You can use a little eye shadow, mascara, and eyeliner if you wish. Choose something a little subdued; a smokey eye would suit you and draw attention to your eyes.'

We also both washed our hair and then helped one another to style it ready for the following day.

'These hair extensions are fine for work or when you are ballroom dancing, but I think your hair could really do with a little more length and body when we go out clubbing tomorrow night,' she said as she curled my hair using a pair of tongs. 'Why not use some of the money you saved to buy yourself some clip-in hairpieces tomorrow? I could show you how to put them in.'

'Are you sure they would not fall out during the course of the evening?' I asked.

'Not if you put them in properly in the first place.'

'In the case, I'll let you decide; you are my mentor, after all,' I replied.

Over the next hour, while our hair was drying, Helen chatted to me as if I always had been Michelle and I always would be. We gossiped about her former boyfriends and our colleagues at work. There was absolutely no reference or acknowledgment of any other life.

'Rich is a great guy, but he's a little too serious for his own good. You're going to need to bring him out of his shell tomorrow night.'

'But I've never been clubbing before; I don't even know what to do,' I complained.

'Michelle, you are the acknowledged Dancing Queen even Sarah says so, and she should know.

'But that is for ballroom dancing, where there are strict rules about how to dance. Club dancing is entirely different; as far as I can see, there are no rules.'

'I know, and that's the attraction for people like me.'

'But what will I do? I've never been to a nightclub before.'

'Begin by sitting down, sipping your drink, making small talk, and enjoying the music. Keep an eye on what other people are doing, and don't leave it too long before you get up and start to dance. Don't wait to be asked; Rich is your escort, he has asked you out, so there is no reason why you shouldn't suggest to him that you should both get up and dance; if you sit around for too long, some other guy might try his luck.'

'But I won't know any dance steps. I'd be frightened of showing us both up.'

'Believe me, Rich won't be making a detailed critique of your style. He'll probably just be pleased to be dancing with such an attractive girl. He'll be far more worried about how his own dancing looks to you.'

'But what will other people think about me?'

'Who cares? If there are any bystanders who seem to be judging you, it is because they're too nervous to try it themselves.'

'I suppose so,' I said, sounding unconvinced.

'Try and move to the rhythm and blend into the crowd: that way, you won't feel insecure since nobody will be able to recognize that you're just practicing. Don't be too vigorous and always be aware of your surroundings.'

'I am not sure I will be able to blend in with the crowd in that dress you want me to wear.'

'There will be more eye-catching costumes than that one on the show. As far as your dancing is concerned, try to be low-key, to begin with. You can demonstrate how good you are and get invited to dance on the podium another time, once you've had a little more practice. It's okay to dance in a simple, repetitive way and just enjoy your friends' company.

'Don't worry, I won't try any crazy moves. I'll just blend in and be a bit boring and unoriginal.'

'If you like, we can practice a few basic moves tonight.'

'Yes, please.'

'I assume you'll be dancing in heels tomorrow night.'

'Yes, I'm now quite used to wearing them and dancing in them.'

In that case, put them on while I find us some suitable music.'

She docked her iPod into two speakers in her bedroom and began to play music with an insistent beat.

'This is known as house music; there are various types of electronic music, each one has its own beat. You will soon get to recognize them.'

I felt as if I'd missed out on a whole area of my education as a teenager.

'Begin by moving your arms back and forth in time to the beat. Now bounce up and down on your knees. Rotate your body a bit in time with your knee movements as if you're skiing. Keep your torso fairly loose and relaxed.'

I followed her instructions: it wasn't too complicated; it was nothing like some of the moves I'd been used to.

'Try relaxing your arms a bit and let them swing up and down with your knee bends and torso rotations.'

Once I'd got the hang of it, I started to enjoy myself.

'Don't just limply swing your arms; get your shoulders into it.'

It seemed odd to be following the same kinds of instructions that I would give to novice ballroom dancers.

'Good, that's right. Now take steps side to side, or back and forth, mix up your arm movements and nod your head. You'll be able to add some more fancy moves and sequences later if you want to.'

'Don't we get to move around the floor?' I asked.

'You can move a little and exchange places with your partner if you like, but it is considered bad manners to go wandering around the floor or to invade other people's dance space during any particular track. You and your partner find yourself a piece of the dance floor and then stick to it. '

Over the next hour or so, we tried several different musical styles: house, garage, electro, hardcore, giving each one a few minutes of practice. They all had their own distinctive style and beat, but none of them was inherently complicated.

'I'll never be able to remember all of these by tomorrow night,' I commented.

'Don't worry, just start to move your body to the sound of the music, and you will get further ideas for appropriate hand or leg movements from the other dancers on the floor or from your partner.'

I followed her lead.

'See, Michelle, with just a half an hour of practice, you are already as good as the majority of dancers. You really do have a good sense of rhythm.'

'This is fun,' I said. 'I really could get to enjoy this.'