THE FINAL PAS DE DEUX
BY JOY BASSETTI KRUGER
THE FINAL PAS DE DEUX
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
Copyright August 2014 by Joy Bassetti Kruger
Cover downloaded from the Internet with thanks
THE FINAL PAS DE DEUX.
By Joy Bassetti Kruger
As life in the retirement village was terribly boring and repetitive, the residents there looked forward to any form of entertainment that came their way. They especially enjoyed Nina’s dancing, even though she remained completely elusive and flickered in and out of their lives like the spirit of the dance.
Often to entice her back on stage after a performance they’d shout their encores endlessly and to try and court her friendship, they’d call out her name over and over again, -Nina, Nina, Nina, -until it nearly drove her crazy.
But nevertheless, after each performance Nina always mysteriously disappeared and nobody ever saw her leave the hall.
On stage too she remained completely out of their reach, as she never ventured down into the footlights to take her final bow. She preferred to remain at center stage while her admirers all sat looking up at her in absolute adoration.
Although Nina withdrew quickly after her performances and nobody had ever caught her backstage to thank her, she always left something behind. Be it a red rose that someone had tossed onto the stage, a length of pink satin ribbon or a tortoiseshell hair comb.
Afterwards, her admirers always clamoured to get hold of these abandoned treasures. Thinking that they somehow held within them part of her charm or possibly even a little bit of the magic that they imagined she possessed.
Only one woman called Claire, who was the physiotherapist at the retirement home, kept herself aloof from all this fuss and excitement, for she seemed to have no desire to possess the objects that Nina had left behind in her dressing room.
The residents and even Matron were often amazed at Claire’s serenity, poise and elegance, as well as her stamina, but she never once gave them any hint as to the secret that lay hidden behind her quiet manner and her dimpled smile.
But feeling puzzled why Claire never join them in their little adventures, Lillian once said, “Claire, tell me why you never join us when we go backstage to look for Nina, or ever bid for the objects that she leaves behind?”
“Oh, I don’t know, I guess it’s because it just doesn’t seem right, Lillian,” Claire said pointedly.
Showing her fierce side now, Lillian protested by saying, “And why ever not? After all, she does leave the objects there for us to find.”
Frowning now, Claire said, “I don’t know about that, Lil. Nina always seems to be in such a hurry to leave that she might just accidentally leave the things behind in her dressing room.”
“No, I’m certain she does it deliberately,” Lillian said with contempt, as her friends sitting nearby all nodded together in agreement.
Unfortunately, when Nina had performed for them at Christmas time recently, some of the residents had ventured backstage almost immediately after she’d taken her final bow. But as she’d heard them coming along the passageway that led to the stage, she’d hidden inside an air vent that opened into a recess behind the curtains, - all the while feeling furious that they’d dared to invade her private space.
When they’d burst into the dressing room and discovered nobody was in there, the residents had felt let down, especially since this was also the first occasion when Nina didn’t leave anything behind for them. They also felt hurt that she’d broken with a tradition that they looked forward to, as they enjoyed finding the bits and pieces that she usually left behind for them to find.
As a group of residents were determined to find some way of meeting Nina, they were presently sitting together and discussing the matter while they played Bingo.
Lillian, who’d already been very vocal, suddenly declared impatiently, “Come on chaps, we have to think of something. Personally I think we need to go backstage during an actual performance.”
This suggestion was met by a wall of protests, with only a few people supporting Lillian’s suggestion. But as tempers soon began to flare and a potential argument was brewing, Philippe the new accountant, who was in charge of the group for the afternoon, banged on the table with his knuckles, and said, “Quiet everyone, that’s enough. Now, have any of you ever considered that Nina might be angry with you, for barging into her dressing room?”
“Oh, do shut up Philippe. Maybe she is mad at us, but I can’t understand why,” Lillian said defiantly. Then looking behind her into the back row where the staff members often sat, she added, “Has anyone here seen Claire? I don’t believe I’ve seen her since Christmas and I want to ask her what she thought of Nina’s latest performance.”
The residents all looked around the room searching for her, but after a moment they all shook their heads and someone said, “No, I don’t think she’s here, Lil.”
Philippe responded immediately and said in a sarcastic tone, “Oh come on, surely at least one of you must have noticed that Claire never watches Nina dance.”
Turning around to look him in the eye, Lillian said, “Don’t be silly Philippe, Claire loves the dancing and she told me this herself. That’s why I want to talk to her, you stupid man.”
“Possibly she does love dancing, but she never watches Nina dance, of that I’m absolutely certain,” he said.
“You’re wrong you silly old codger and what would you know about dancing anyway? You always have your nose in a book, or else you wander around talking on your cell phone completely ignoring us, even when we come into the office to ask for your help,” Lillian protested.
At this point, Matron walked in and told them to all stop shouting. Then when everyone was quiet, she said, “I have an announcement to make, folks. Nina has agreed to dance for us again on Old Year’s Eve, but sadly this will be her final performance here. So as this will be a fairly late evening for all of you, please arrive down here wearing your pajamas, dressing gowns and slippers. Also, Nina has made me promise her that nobody will go on stage or venture backstage. So you’ve all been officially notified. The lady likes her privacy. Her performance will begin at seven thirty sharp, so everyone must be here inside the hall by seven fifteen. At seven thirty, all the doors will be locked, to ensure that people won’t be moving around and disturbing her performance.” Then hoping they’d all got the message, she glared at them from over the top of her glasses, before taking several questions from the floor. Finally, she warned them again about not going near the stage, before, during, or after Nina’s performance.
Before she left the podium, Philippe quickly put his hand up and asked, “How do you get hold of Nina, Matron?”
“I call her on her cell phone of course, Philippe.”
“I see. Another thing Matron, have you ever met Nina personally, either here or anywhere else?” He asked.
“Oh, for goodness sake Philippe, Nina’s a busy woman and she can only spare us a certain amount of time, before moving on to her next performance. Now please stop being so nosy and perverse.”
“Okay Matron, but I gather then that you’ve never met her personally, or ever found her flighty appearances and disappearances in the least bit unusual,” Philippe queried.
“Of course I haven’t Philippe. I just accept that she’s in a rush and also busy with her other performances. Now please tell me just where you think you’re heading with all this nonsense of yours?”
“I’m heading absolutely nowhere, Matron. It merely confirms an observation I’ve made,” he said with a grin.
Giving him a harsh look, Matron turned on her heels and then looking over her shoulder, she called out, “Tea has been set up in the
lounge today, so please all make your way there quickly before it gets cold.”
Immediately and as fast as she could swivel, Lillian spun her wheelchair around and wheeled it after Philippe and hissed, “Philippe, Philippe, psssst.”
“Yes, what’s it now, Lillian? I’m in a hurry. I need to get back to my office as I’ve got some urgent work to complete,” he told her.
“Please Philippe, I’m intrigued. So tell me exactly what observation you were referring to a moment ago,” she whispered.
“Oh, do let the matter go for now, Lillian. If you do, then maybe one day I’ll consider letting you in on the secret,” he said with a wink.
“No Philippe that’s not good enough. I want to know right now,” she pleaded.
He nodded courteously, but then after looking down his nose at her, he sauntered away lightly on his feet. Then walking into his office he quickly closed the door and locked it.
Defeated now, Lillian shouted out, “Drat that man, he’s so infuriating at times and he always imagines that his work in the office is more important than talking to us.”
For the next couple of days, Philippe shied away from Lillian but kept a sharp look out for Claire. He needed to speak to her urgently about something that simply couldn’t wait.
When he didn’t spot her anywhere, he even asked Matron if she’d seen her, but she said, “No Philippe, Clair’s taken a few days