The Dance Of Changes - Part 4

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Rob arrived back from his appointment just as we were about to close the shop. He was carrying the dress in a cellophane wrapper.

Sarah and Helen took me to the back office and helped me to get changed.

‘Wow, you look lovely, Michelle,’ said Helen

Then turning to Sarah, she asked, ‘Is there anything I can do to help?’

‘You could put some lacquer on her fingernails while I do her hair and makeup,’ said Sarah.

I couldn’t help noticing Sarah’s use of the female form of the personal pronoun but wasn’t sure whether it was deliberate or not. However, given how I was dressed and had spent my day, I didn’t feel able to make an issue out of it.

‘You nails are rather short. I have some stick-on nail tips at home, which you would be welcome to use on Saturday,’ Helen commented as she painted my nails.

‘Great, bring them into work with you tomorrow,’ said Sarah without even consulting me.

‘You are rather assuming that this will be going ahead,’ I said.

‘I wouldn’t have gone to this much trouble if I thought the idea would be a non-starter,’ said Sarah.

‘Well, let’s hope Alan is of the same opinion when we meet up with him,’ I replied.

‘May I just remind you ladies that I am parked on a double yellow line outside,’ called Rob from outside the door.

‘Don’t worry, we’re almost done, and most of the traffic wardens will have gone off duty by this time,’ said Sarah.

A few minutes later, the three of us emerged, and Rob began to help his wife into the back seat.

‘Good luck tonight, Michelle, you look lovely in that dress, and I’m looking forward to meeting you again tomorrow,’ said Helen giving me a quick kiss on the cheek.

‘Thanks for all your help,’ I replied.

Rob then proceeded to help me get into the front seat without creasing my dress.

We arrived at the Dance Studio about ten minutes before we were due, so I’d taken off the coat that I’d borrowed from Sarah and had just brushed my hair when Alan arrived, looking smart in his black suit. He was in his late twenties, fair-haired, tall, and muscular-looking. He would have been a popular partner for several of the ladies if it were not for the fact that he was known to be gay.

‘Wow, Mike, you certainly look the part,’ he said on first catching sight of me.

I blushed slightly.

‘Alan, let me introduce you to Michelle, who I hope will be your dance partner on Saturday afternoon,’ said Rob.

He smiled and took my hand.

‘In that case, Michelle, let us now see how we get on dancing together.’

Rob was a competent amateur ballroom dancer, but he was not in the same league as Alan, who had an innate sense of musicality and could successfully translate this into movement. He was both strong and yet nimble on his feet, which are attributes that aren’t often found in the same person. From the first moment I allowed myself to be guided around the floor by him, we moved together almost as one. I forgot all about my heels or my dress and just followed his lead. We had not been dancing for ten minutes before I was sure that I wanted to be his partner and that together we could lead a creditable demonstration. We then switched from the Waltz to the Foxtrot, and once again, it was a new and pleasurable experience to be in the arms of such an expert dancer as we glided around the floor.

At the end of a typical set of dances, it is usual for the male dancer either to thank his partner or else to give her a friendly hug or kiss on the cheek if they were particularly friendly or related to one another.

‘Wow, you really can dance,’ said Rob to me with a degree of surprise in his voice. ‘Thank you very much.’

He gave me a little formal bow by way of acknowledgment.

‘You are most welcome,’ I said smiling and executing a small curtsey in return while thinking to myself, ’and so can you.’

‘So what do you think?’ asked Rob as Alan led me off the dance floor.

‘If you can clear things with Sonia, I should be happy to take your place and dance with Michelle on Saturday.’

‘How about you, Michelle?’ asked Sarah. ‘How do you feel about the idea, now?’

I suspect that she was pretty confident of my answer, or else she would never have asked the question.

‘I think we could make a pretty good team,’ I replied, trying my best not to show too much enthusiasm. ‘So if you’re willing to continue to house and clothe me until Saturday, I guess I’ll do it.’

‘It’s a deal,’ said Sarah, smiling.

Rob looked relieved and left us to go and telephone Sonia and explain the new arrangements to her. He doubted if there would be a problem for the coming weekend. Sonia knew that she was not yet competent enough to be one of the lead couples but would be pleased to be one of the supporters and also partnered by the chairman of the society.

‘Those two routines are just a little bit dull; now that we both know that the other one can dance, I don’t suppose we could try and spice them up a little to give the spectators their money’s worth?’ suggested Alan.

‘I originally intended to put in a couple of arc-turns and a free spin at the end of the Waltz and some triple steps and a twisted turn for the woman in the Foxtrot, but we took them out after Sarah hurt her leg as they are not strictly necessary,’ I said.

‘How would you feel about re-instating them?’ he asked.

‘We could give it a try if you want.’

‘In that case, let’s see what we can do,’ he said, leading me back onto the dance floor.

By the end of Thursday night Alan and I had pretty much got our demonstration routine sorted, although, of course, we would also need a final run-through on Saturday morning with the three other couples involved. Sarah, who had remained with us to watch while Rob went to talk to his new partner, also expressed her approval.

‘See, Michelle, I knew you would be able to do it,’ she said.

‘Well, let us at least get through Saturday without any disaster before you start offering me any congratulations,’ I replied.

‘Unfortunately, the Dance Studio is booked for tomorrow evening, but there’s a hall near to us where you two could practice together with a CD player if you wish to do some more.’

‘What do you think, Alan?’ I asked

‘I think we’re probably good enough, but I’d be happy to come along for an hour or two after work if you wish. Maybe we could also try out one or two other dances as well?’

I suspected that he was right, but the idea of seeing how we got on together with other dances also had its attractions.

‘That sounds alright by me,’ I replied, smiling.

‘I’ll pick you up after work tomorrow,’ he offered.

‘In that case, it might be better if I went to my home tomorrow night to pick up a tracksuit as I don’t want to risk getting this costume dirty before Saturday,’ I suggested to Sarah, who was standing with us.

‘No, don’t worry about that, Michelle, I’ll find you something else of mine to wear for tomorrow. I think you’re going to need as much practice as possible dressed as a girl before Saturday,’ she said.

Alan agreed with her, and so I accepted their advice.

Thus the following morning, I turned up at work wearing a dress, tights, and high heels, once again courtesy of Sarah. Rob had dropped the two of us off outside the office and proceeded to an appointment in Luton. Richard was already out of the office when we arrived.

‘So it is going to be Michelle again today,’ said Helen, smiling, as I went in.

‘Yes, I’m afraid so,’ I replied.

‘Does that mean that you’ll definitely be dancing on Saturday?’ she asked.

‘It looks that way,’

‘Well, young lady, I must say that you do look good again this morning.

‘Thank you, Helen,’ I replied, pleased to receive such a compliment. ‘It’s mainly due to Sarah’s help. I wouldn’t have been able to manage my hair and makeup on my own.’

‘But you are only a beginner; it is only a question of practice,’ added Sarah, as she hobbled over to one of the desks.

‘By the way, Sarah, I’ve brought those nail tips for Michelle to wear, would you mind if I stuck them on for her?’

‘Go on then, you two, do it in the back office while Rob is away, but please hurry up; otherwise, he’ll only complain that we’ve been wasting time. I’ll hold the fort for you both in the meanwhile,’ said Sarah smiling.

Half an hour later, I had a set of elegant glued on nail tips covered with a fresh layer of nail polish so that they were virtually indistinguishable from my originals.

‘Now that looks a lot better,’ said Helen.

I held out my fingers for Sarah to see.

‘Good, your hands will now look more elegant when you’re dancing tomorrow,’ she said. ‘It is important to get the details right.’

‘Maybe, but I just hope I’ll be able to operate the keyboard in the meanwhile,’ I replied as I turned on my machine.

Friday morning turned out to be pretty busy at work, and at one point, I even found myself dealing with a couple of potential clients who wandered into the office, as both Helen and Sarah were occupied on the phones and the two guys were both out of the office. I was a little hesitant at first, conscious of how I was dressed and anxious that my stammer might suddenly return. However, once I realized that the elderly man and woman concerned were not treating me as if I were some kind of freak, I began to relax and adopt a more confident and business-like approach to dealing with their inquiries. I let the woman do the talking, and she explained what they were looking for, and I told them about several houses in their price range which we had on our books. I listened carefully to what they were looking for and provided them with the printed details of several of the most likely candidates. They promised to look through them and return after the weekend. All in all, I found that I’d enjoyed the encounter, and it wasn’t until after they’d left that I realized that my two colleagues had finished their phone calls and had been watching my performance.

Richard returned shortly before one o’clock, followed by Rob soon afterward, so Sarah suggested that Helen and I take our lunch break.

‘Shall we go next door again, Michelle?’ Helen asked.

‘That’s fine by me,’ I replied, pleased to discover that yesterday’s invitation wasn’t a one-off.

‘So what is with the dress today?’ asked Helen as we took our food to sit down. ‘You looked smart enough in that suit that you wore yesterday.’

‘It was Sarah’s suggestion, as I shall be going to dance practice straight after work.’

‘How did you find the new dancing partner?’

‘He’s good; in fact, he’s very good indeed. I could almost wish that I could dance with him on a regular basis,’ I said, only half in jest.

‘In that case, I’m sorry that I won’t be seeing you dance together tomorrow afternoon.’

‘Sarah has asked Richard to come along with his video camera and film the proceedings, so you still may get to see us dance.’

We then moved on to other topics.

‘I think that Sarah was quite impressed with the way you dealt with the Johnson couple earlier. You were friendly and persuasive and had them eating out of your hand. You even managed to interest them in looking at that property at Houghton Regis that no-one else seems to want.’

‘Persuading them to take away the details of a house is quite a long way from making a sale. However, I’ve been listening to the way that you and Sarah deal with clients recently and have done my best to learn from both of you,’ I replied.

It was nice, though, to receive a compliment about the way that I did my job and not just about the way I looked.

Nothing unusual happened during the course of Friday afternoon. However, I noticed that Richard was gradually getting a little more used to dealing with me as Michelle rather than as Michael, and he was happy to chat during any quiet periods. I may have freaked him a little bit after we’d finished our mid-afternoon coffee, when, at Sarah’s suggestion, I refreshed my lipstick and mascara and dabbed some powder onto my nose while sitting at my desk. He didn’t say anything, but the look on his face was a picture. Helen noticed it as well, and we exchanged glances and smiled at one another. However, he must have gotten over the shock as he came over to wish me the best of luck for the next day at the end of the afternoon. Helen also stayed behind for a little while after work.

‘Good luck, Michelle. I’ve only known you as a girl for a couple of days, but it has been good fun working with you, and I’ll look forward to seeing the video of you dancing when I come in next week.’

I smiled and thanked her.

Alan brought his partner with him when he picked me up after work. I assumed that this was his way of demonstrating to both of us that he and I would be dance partners only and nothing else. In some respects, this was a relief to me, as I was unsure of my own sexual orientation, especially when I was dressed as Michelle. I only knew that I tended to prefer the company of women in most social situations. Most of my teenage years had been spent in the company of people who enjoyed ballroom dancing which is one of the few areas of life where whether someone is gay or straight is not a particular issue.

Alan’s partner was called David, who was a few years older than he was, probably in his early thirties. He didn’t seem to feel particularly threatened by my presence: no doubt he was pretty used to his partner dancing with attractive young women, although I doubted whether they had come across exactly the same situation before.

David had also been a ballroom dancer, and so he was able to make several helpful comments as we went through our planned routine together.

‘So what do you think, Dave, will we be good enough tomorrow?’ asked Alan.

‘I should think so. I must say that I’m very impressed with you, Michelle, given your background and all the circumstances that I’ve been told about.’

‘Ah, but I can only dance so well because I’ve such a good partner,’ I responded, smiling.

Alan seemed pleased by my comment, and Dave knew enough to realize that it was probably the truth and not mere flattery.

‘I’d better leave you now to go and prepare our evening meal,’ he said. ‘Will you be joining us, Michelle?’ he asked.

‘I don’t know,’ I said, surprised to be asked.

‘I can give you a lift home afterward if you wish,’ said Alan.

‘All right, but I’d better ring, Rob and Sarah, to let them know what I’m doing, as I will be staying at their house tonight.’

‘In that case, I’ll see you both at about eight-fifteen,’ said David and left us.

I explained about the invitation to Sarah, who was quite happy with the change of plan, as it would save her from attempting to prepare a meal. Rob was also going to be out, going through the routine with his new partner, and so she was pretty happy to have a ready-made dinner out of the freezer for once.

‘Ok then, Michelle, we have just over an hour and a half to spare; how would you feel about trying one or two other dances, such as a Tango or a Quickstep?’ asked Alan.

‘I don’t mind having a go, but please don’t expect me to be as good as for the Waltz or the Foxtrot,’ I replied.

‘From what I’ve seen of your dancing so far, you should be fine.’

For the next ninety minutes, we embarked on a series of dances without particularly worrying too much about detailed techniques. It was just for the pleasure of being able to dance with one another. As a result, we made remarkably few mistakes, and I don’t think I remember a time when I had enjoyed ballroom dancing so much, so I was almost sorry when it was time to finish.