Her hands full with takeout bags, Ruby pushed the entry door open with her shoulder. “Sorry it took so long. The lines were crazy…” Her explanation ceased as soon as the music reached her ears. Amber and Vanessa were sitting on the stage with their eyes closed. Clearly, they were in their own world because they hadn’t heard her come in. She could only roll her eyes and try not to burst out laughing in spite of herself. “Of course, why am I not surprised?”
Alejandro was busy stocking bottles behind the bar so Ruby took one of the stools while she waited for them to finish. She placed her bounty on the counter. He purred, “Something smells good. I hope you got something for me in there.”
“Don’t worry, Alejandro. I didn’t forget.”
She managed a grin as she handed his order to him, but her dejected mood didn’t escape his attention. “Sorry, Ruby. Had I known they’d take it this far, I would have headed you off at the door.”
“No, it’s ok. By now, I should have expected this too. The moment I leave, something interesting happens.” Turning an eye to the bags, she suggested, “We really should invest in a microwave or toaster oven for occasions like this. At least our sandwiches will be okay for a bit.”
“I can look into a microwave,” he humored her, “but toaster ovens are easy fire hazards and I already have Amber’s props to worry about. She’s generally really good with them, but I always have a fire extinguisher on standby just in case.” He paused a moment to look at the pair on stage. “I gotta say, though… I try to keep busy on my side of things to make sure everything is ready before each night. It’s been a little difficult today.”
“More than when Talia is rehearsing?” She stammered, a squeak escaping from her throat.
“It’s hard to explain without anything concrete, but I have a really good feeling about this. I think the crowds are going to love it.”
The rehearsal had begun with basic cha-cha and samba steps as they tried to gauge the right vehicle for the music. By the midpoint of the album, though, they wound up giving up on that exercise entirely. All they could manage from that point going forward was enjoying themselves.
One of the songs piqued Vanessa’s interest right now; she turned to Amber, who shrugged as if to say ‘yeah, so what’. It had served as the backing track for one of Ruby and Scarlet’s twin routines where their movements are a perfect echo of one another. Concurrently, there were also elements that strayed from their typical style. When asked for clarification, Amber confessed it was an idea she gave away. Talia had rejected her last three routines prior to this so for extra insurance, she insisted her contribution remain anonymous.
Scarlet had concerns she wasn’t bringing enough to the table in the partnership with her sister. Amber offered her something she’d been turning around in her head for a while, stating, ‘I’m not sure how much further I’d be able to go with this myself. Maybe you could make something special out of it.’ Her idea involved two thieves who discover they’re after the same prize and they have to thwart each other while making a clean getaway with their conquest. But as far as steps were concerned, the flamenco sequence in the final seconds of the number was all she had.
By the album’s conclusion, they were both completely spent. They fell on their backs, catching their breath. Vanessa finally mustered up the strength to speak first. “That was awesome…”
“I know! I’ve wanted to come back to this album forever to form a concept around it, but there are so many great songs. I don’t know which ones I want to use.” Amber sat herself back up and took a quick look in Alejandro’s direction. He simply inclined his head forward and that was all the encouragement she needed.
Since coming back to Calypso, Amber kept her interactions with Alejandro to a minimum in order to maintain the façade of her new identity. Instead, they communicated from across the room with looks and signals. If she needed something extra for a performance, she would sit at the bar with her back to him and push a note with instructions in his direction. The most recent of these “conversations” was over a month ago and she decided tonight was the perfect night to take it to the next phase. She created a ring over her head with her arms. He flashed a smile showing the top row of his teeth and he ran off to begin the preparations.
“Oh, it looks like Ruby’s back with our food.” Vanessa got to her feet as well. “Awesome! I’m starving.” She dashed off the stage and grabbed her order out of her bag.
Amber’s attention drifted, again, to Ruby. Despite the hostility she always showed toward her, Ruby always made sure she got the food orders right when it was her turn to make the run. Amber never had the courage to say it out loud, but she appreciated that very much. It was hard to determine whether the levity in her mood was from the music, getting an extra night to perform, or the fact she had a gal pal to bounces idea off of, but she found herself in a generous mood that day. “If you already ate, Ruby, you can have the stage next. It’ll take Alejandro a while to hook everything up for me anyway.”
“Um, sure… thanks, Amber.” They passed like ships in the night, one going down the stage steps and the other going up. Amber looked away after a second or two. Although it could have been her imagination playing games, Ruby thought she saw a hint of a smile. Once inside the dressing room, she gazed into the mirror and thought to herself, “Maybe a friend was all she needed… and maybe things will turn around now? I really wish I could believe that…”
“So, what’s the basic idea overall?” Vanessa asked Amber between bites. “Other than the wardrobe, of course.” Her eyes panned up and down. “Leather has infinite possibilities. Definitely a good choice.”
“Leather is also in the album artwork and mentioned in one of the song titles.” She reminded her. She put down her sandwich so she’d have the full use of her hands. “What I really want to do is string a bunch of the songs together into a story. Almost like a mini-Broadway show. And I want it to be about what we do here. How we all dance our problems away. Hmm…”
“What is it?”
“Funny how things in life tend to go full circle. I forgot that was my vision for this place from the beginning. We tell our stories through dance and pair it with the right music.” She stifled a groan, “Before Talia came and made it into a self-gratifying spectacle.”
“Yeah but remember. It’s the extra funds from those nights that pay the high rent around here. Not to mention your legion of ostentatious props.” Amber glared at her, but Vanessa didn’t back down. “You know I’m right.”
“Yeah, you are right.” She let down her guard and decided it was best to return to the point of this rehearsal. “So what are your thoughts so far about this show?”
“I don’t even know which one I’d pick. I could do several, but we’d have to flesh out a story before I know which one is right for it.”
Amber leaned forward, resting both elbows on the counter. Between the two of them, their food laid on the bar, forgotten. “I think I know one that’d be perfect for Scarlet. But I’d have to spend time with Emilia to figure out hers.”
“Maybe when she starts to volunteer music, I might have a better idea for suggestions. I’ll let you know if anything comes to mind, ok?”
“Thank you… Vanessa.” In addition to a growing smile, she felt a choking sensation in her throat and quickly wiped her eyes. Ruby’s heels contacting the empty stage snapped her out of her daze immediately. “Well, it looks like Ruby is ready to go. Let’s finish up so we can prepare for our next act.”
* * *
“Everything’s all set, Amber. Go and kill it out there.” Because she had her eyes closed, concentrating on what she had to do, she only felt the breeze as Alejandro swept past and a hint of his sandalwood cologne. She rarely had nerves before performing, but when the stakes were high, her only protection was shutting her eyes and everyone else out.
Her corset sported vertical yellow, red, and black stripes. This was accompanied by a short black pleated skirt, fishnet tights and steel-toed leather stilettos. She had various props hiding in plain sight: inside of star-crested barrels on both sides of the stage. To add to the overall difficulty, she gave Vanessa the task of distributing them and she’d improvise with the two items she picked at a random. Then there was the elaborate entrance she had planned, and she relied heavily on Alejandro to help her pull it off.
The curtains had been drawn. The entire room was silent and dark except for the stage. Amber’s heels hit the hardwood floor until she reached the large hoop in the center of the stage. Taking a seat and grasping it firmly with gloved hands, she gave a slight nod to signal she was ready to go up. Alejandro flipped a switch. A strong rope raised the ring until it was 20 feet in the air. When she opened her eyes and nodded again, he cued the music. Vanessa and Ruby opened the curtains.
The rest of the room gasped when they found Amber high above the stage. She swayed her figure for the first couple of lines, but soon after, she embarked on her most ambitious choreography to date. She auditioned with the idea of being a ringleader in a circus, but this was the first time she performed aerial acrobatics for a Calypso audience. She’d done it several times in rehearsal over the past several months, but she always changed her mind come ShowTime. The time was never quite right until now.
Each of her limbs stretched until each had a firm grip on part of the ring. She spun herself around for a couple of revolutions. Then she pulled herself inward, turned once more from a sitting position and slowly flipped backward until she was holding onto the bottom tight with both hands. In time with the bridge to the chorus, Alejandro gently lowered the ring to the ground and Amber timed her spins to help restore her equilibrium back to normal. Once her feet were firm on the ground, she let go and Alejandro took the ring back up to the ceiling.
She reached blindly in the closest barrel on her left. Out came her personal favorite prop, the one that had been with her since her audition: a leather-bound whip. She cha-cha’d a couple measures and cracked her whip left and right. One eyebrow cocked playfully as she winked at the crowd. She held it in front of her, sashaying smoothly across the stage, twirled it in the air and placed it back where it came.
The second verse focused primarily on flirtation with the crowd. There was more fancy footwork, but plenty of eye contact, smiling and body rolls to keep them wanting more. Then she turned to one of the barrels on her right and found two batons. To herself, she whispered, “This is going to be epic.” Continuing with the playful theme, she hid them behind her back as she strutted back to center stage. Following in time with the music, she raised them over her head and ignited them. Another roar, twice as loud as the previous two, ensued. They twirled at either side of her and quickly gained air and momentum as adrenaline raced through her.
However, when it came time to put them away, Vanessa’s face fell immediately. She hadn’t realized Amber had this weapon in her arsenal. She saw the batons but didn’t know the secret behind them. None of the barrels were filled with water or contained any means of extinguishing them. She cursed under the breath and ran to grab Alejandro. She whispered in his ear and he immediately grabbed the fire extinguisher behind the bar. Amber had just put the batons back into another barrel on her right and it immediately went up in flames. Luckily, Vanessa had the foresight to close her curtain before the audience noticed anything wrong. Amber finished the performance completely absorbed in the approval from the crowd; she didn’t realize there was smoke in the air until the final minutes. Upon striking the final pose, her hand high in the air, she turned her head and saw the aftermath.
Once both curtains were closed, Amber cast a murderous glare. “What happened?!”
Vanessa immediately recognized the accusatory tone she’d often used with Ruby, but she wasn’t about to back down. “Your batons catch fire?”
Newly dressed for her routine, Ruby stumbled into the confrontation and quickly rushed over to defuse it. “It’s my fault, Amber. I should have made sure the barrels had water in them to put out the fire.” Tossing her hair back towards her, Amber narrowed her eyes.
Given the urgency of the situation, Ruby couldn’t appreciate the position this role reversal put her in. Vanessa was usually the one to make peace because she was rarely involved in these disagreements. In these spats with Amber, things would get so heated she couldn’t think straight. Now, she had one clear path she hadn’t considered in the past. She forbade herself to blink. Like dealing with a caged animal, blinking portrayed weakness, so she stood her ground.
At the same time, Amber had extra time to think things through. She’d come to rely on Vanessa so much in recent days that she didn’t want to ruin what they had. She also contemplated how Ruby always made sure everything was in order before a show because it would reflect poorly on both of them if something like this happened. Her shoulders slackened as her anger dissolved and disappointment took its place. She managed a nod and turned to Alejandro who was on his way to dispose of the evidence. “Alejandro, I…”
He suppressed a groan, knowing the room didn’t need any more negativity. “Look, I don’t care whose fault it is,” he addressed everyone on stage, “we are in this as a team. It’s just too bad it took something like this for everyone to act like it.” He flashed a glance at Amber. “No more fire props for a while, Amber. Not until you can take the danger seriously.”
“I understand.” She dropped her head. Without another word to anyone, Alejandro departed through the back door, dragging the partially charred barrel behind him.
Once he was out of sight, Amber announced, “I need a drink… but first, I should change out of this.” As she strolled past Ruby, she wore an expression she didn’t recognize. Remorse? Gratitude? Whatever the case was, she decided it was best not to ask. She could only be grateful she kept her head because this could have gone a lot worse.
However, when Ruby locked eyes with Vanessa, she found her work wasn’t done yet. The scowl she received was enough to make her take a step back. She pled, “I’m sorry. I thought she told you. You’ve been spending so much time together.”
“Ah,” was all Vanessa could say before shutting her eyes. She took a few deep breaths to compose herself. Despite all of the complications that came with this line of work, it took a lot to rattle her and the vision of that fire was difficult to shake off. Ruby wisely hung back and waited for her to process everything at her own pace. Her heartbeat eventually calmed down and she allowed her face to reflect that. Then she attempted to dispel the awkwardness with a joke. “I’m kinda amazed you didn’t throw Amber under the bus just now. That would have been the perfect opportunity.”
“It’s like Alejandro said,” she hadn’t dropped her grave tone, “we’re a team. Amber may never accept me as a friend, but I always hope she’ll come to see me as an ally. It’s hard to tell if that was a step in the right direction or not.”
“Yeah, I’m not sure either. But the fact she didn’t act on her anger is at least a start.”
As the smoke cleared, literally and figuratively, they arrived at the same conclusion in their minds. Had Talia witnessed this herself, Amber, and possibly Alejandro for allowing the dangerous stunt in the first place, could have been fired right on the spot. And with everything going on, they couldn’t afford to lose anyone. Miraculously, the incident hadn’t marred the stage, so the only evidence it’d happened at all was being dispatched by Alejandro.
* * *
Back in her street clothes, Amber made her way to the bar, which had a growing line of customers. She rolled her eyes but agreed to fill drink orders until Alejandro returned. “This is the least I could do,” she decided. For as long as she’d known him, Alejandro never lost his temper and she couldn’t be more thankful that hadn’t changed. But even as she received compliments from several patrons who knew nothing of the drama behind the curtain, she berated herself, “I did all of those aerial moves without a net and this is what screws me up?”
Once she fulfilled the obligations, she poured herself a shot of tequila. She threw it down and slammed her clenched hand on the counter. “Damn it! Such an amateur mistake. I should’ve known better than that.” Suddenly self-conscious, she scanned the space around her to see if anyone noticed. There was only one person at the bar—a man around Alejandro’s age with a tad more muscle definition. “Sorry,” she mumbled.
He slid a couple of stools over until he was across from her. “Don’t be. You were a regular firecracker out there. I like that in a woman.”
Her cheeks flushed. Out of embarrassment or simply reacting to the compliment, she wasn’t sure. “Yeah, that’s what they tell me,” she quoted wryly.
“Here,” he pushed his money toward her with a single finger, “a couple of shots.”
“Sure.”
She poured them out and he pushed one to her. “Drink up. You look like you need it.” Three rounds followed. Finally, he extended a proposal, “how about going back to my place?”
“Good idea. I can hold my liquor better than Talia, but even I have my limits.”
“Hmm,” his eyes lit up at the mention of her name, “where is Talia, by the way? Usually, she’s the one here tonight.”
“None of my business,” she braced the bar, striking a defensive pose, “and certainly none of yours. I may not like her, but she is the reason I’m here.”
“Fine.” He backed off, but without an ounce of sympathy. “Do what you gotta do. I’ll meet you outside.”
She ran into the back room to grab her purse and a pen to leave a note for Alejandro. Noting the half empty bottle, she scribbled:
Sorry about the tequila. This should cover it.
Thanks again. Talia doesn’t give you enough credit for looking out for us.
One of her acquaintances offered to take me home.
See you tomorrow, Amber.
She used a rubber band to attach the money and note, slipped the bottle back on the shelf and followed her mystery man out the door. Beyond his familiarity with Talia, she had no idea about what to expect. And after the hectic night she’d had, she didn’t care. The shots of tequila hadn’t done the job she hoped they would. Maybe a one-night stand might…
* * *
Over a series of texts, it was communicated that Ruby, Scarlet and Emilia would be the line-up for the following night. Although she was copied, Amber didn’t check her messages until she was at the bar waiting for Alejandro. She cursed under her breath and buried her face in her right hand. With her particular specialty, she had grown accustomed to the difficulties that accompanied it. The previous evening, however, wound up being far more than she was equipped to handle. Images only came in flashes as she attempted to shove them into her subconscious, but they weren’t going away.
“Hey Amber,” Scarlet called out to her. She flinched and spun around. The twins had just arrived and she was so lost in her thoughts that she hadn’t noticed. “Are you ok? You look like you have a lot on your mind.”
“I’m fine…” She turned the other cheek, not feeling up to what could potentially be a long and painful discussion. And she certainly didn’t want to come apart in front of Scarlet of all people.
Ruby put a hand on her sister’s shoulder. “You go ahead and get everything ready. I can take care of this.” Acid burned in Amber’s throat and she forced it down as Ruby took the stool next to her. “Don’t worry, I didn’t tell her anything about last night. Vanessa and I agreed to keep it between us.” She nodded but refused to give her any further acknowledgement. “Ugh! I thought we were past all of this evasiveness. I’ve really been trying to make an effort here.”
“Look, I appreciated everything yesterday. Maybe I just have a lot on my mind and I don’t want to talk about it, ok?”
“Talia may be as stubborn as you, but she at least has the guts to say when something is bothering her…”
At the sound of her name, Amber’s mind spiraled through the events again. The man saying how Talia hadn’t been returning his calls and he was getting tired of waiting for her. Her nails dug into the bar as she tried to shut everything else out. “I don’t need someone else telling me how I’m not like Talia!” Blindly, she reached over, trying to shove Ruby off her stool, but only succeeded in catching her off guard.
“What the…” Then she looked down and gasped. “What happened to your wrists?”
Sneering with antagonism, Amber pulled them back as she reached for a closer look, “Mind your business! If you tell anyone…”
“You’ll do what? Not talk to me? You already do a bang-up job of that, Amber!”
“Ladies, what’s going on?” Alejandro emerged from the storage room. “What happened to all that progress last night? Amber, did you come here to see me about something? You’re not on the roster for today.”
“Right…” She hopped off the stool. “I should probably get out of here. You know how Talia doesn’t want me in the same room with Emilia.”
“Amber,” he persisted, “you will call me later if there is something to talk, ok?” She fought not to let the anger of disappointment engulf her. As much as she needed to talk to Alejandro about last night, she didn’t want anyone else to be a witness to her weakness. More flashes returned to her. How pleasure quickly gave way to discomfort and pain. Pulling desperately at the zip ties until they cut through her skin and drew blood. She repeatedly screamed her safe word to make him stop, but he refused until he was through. Once freed, she knocked him off his feet with a kick to the stomach. It took everything in her not to give him exactly what he deserved. Once back to the present, she managed a nod before her swift departure.
Sitting back down, Ruby sighed, “I really thought I was starting to get through to her.”
“Don’t give up.” He crossed his arms. “Your time will come, trust me.” He looked through the shelves under the counter and noticed the tequila bottle with a rubber band around it. “What’s this?” He observed the attached cash with confusion. But when he read the note, his breath caught, “Dios Mio.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Amber left with someone last night.” The gears in his head kicked into high gear. “Did anything else seem off to you?”
“Yeah, she had scars on her wrists. They looked really fresh.”
He suddenly turned toward the exit. “I need to go take care of something. Not a word of this to anyone, ok?”
“But…”
His panicked exterior softened to soothe her. “I understand you want to help, but unless Amber gives us the ok, there’s nothing we can do.”
Taken aback, she conceded, “The siren code, right…”
“I’m sorry. Please excuse me.” Alejandro slipped through the backdoor.
Wringing his
hands, he vigorously paced in the alleyway until he was out of breath. Despite the risks that came with her
particular specialty, this was the only second time Amber had been in a precarious
position like this. The aggressor in the first incident was no more than a bad memory
now, a vestige from Amber’s life in the Underground. But if Alejandro’s instincts
were right about the guilty party in this case, he would have to take action
sooner rather than later. For the time
being, he could only shake his head. “I tried to warn Talia for years he was no
good. I just hope I can put an end to this before he hurts someone else.”
***
Music: "Circus" by Britney Spears
***
Music: "Circus" by Britney Spears
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