her pace, tossing her hair as she went. I watched from the shadows. When she’d disappeared from view I sat back down on the concrete platform of the seawall. I held my hands in front of my face. They were trembling. I could still taste the salt water from her lips. And the honey. And the fire.
7
WHEREUPON THEY GATHER TO DRINK BITTER TEARS
Sunday was our start of the week. When I got to the theater for Pinky’s up-and-at-’em briefing most of the team were already assembled—Tony, Perry the assistant stage manager, George who ran the disco in the nightclub, and all the Greencoats except for Nobby. I was hoping that Terri would be up there on the stage in her cleaning whites, swabbing the floor with a mop. But she wasn’t. It was probably a good thing. I would have found it impossible to take my eyes off her.
Nikki was perched on one of the front-row seats so I went over and settled myself next to her. I said “Good morning,” but she didn’t answer me; instead she instantly got up and went to talk to George. I thought little of it at the time and anyway after a moment Nobby bustled in, huffing and puffing and blaming everyone but himself for his lateness. He crashed down in the seat Nikki had vacated and continued to talk nonsense about missing milk and no cereals and traffic and ducks waddling in the road until Pinky, unlit cigarwedged between his fingers, waved him into silence so that the various duties could be assigned.
The Sunday program was fairly light. Pinky nominated me to do the Treasure Hunt. I was hoping Nikki would volunteer to do it with me but she elected instead to run the Whist Drive with Nobby in the Slowboat. I was paired with another dancer called Gail, a pretty and dreamy girl who when not dancing spent most of her time examining the split ends on her long hair or studying her fingernail varnish. Before leaving the theater I glanced up at the stage, but Nikki had already disappeared behind the curtain.
The Treasure Hunt was for kids between ages five and nine. Gail and I led them around in a mob as they tracked down clues and locations that had been previously configured. The clues led to a set of plastic spades and then identified a spot on the beach where the treasure (a tin casket full of sticks of rock candy) might be dug up. I thought it was a bit lame so I suggested we tell the kids that Captain Blood the pirate was trying to beat them to the treasure and they should look lively. Of course there was no Captain Blood so I slipped off to the props room backstage. Behind the sword casket used for the magic act I found a head scarf and a belt with a huge buckle, plus a black eye patch and a hook. I crept up behind the thirty or forty kids and roared.
They turned and looked at me in complete silence.
I was regretting my input, and then they charged. I really had to run fast to get away. Luckily I knew the lay of the resort and gave them the slip. I have no idea what they would have done had they caught me. I took my pirate kit off, stashed it away, and went to rejoin the Treasure Hunt. Out of breath Itold the kids I’d just seen Captain Blood on the beach and off they charged again, screaming for his hide.
“This is brilliant,” Gail said. “We can forget about the clues.”
We rounded up the kids from the beach and I said I was going to look for Captain Blood but that I was a bit scared so if they heard me blow my whistle they should come to my aid. On my way to put my gear on again I was intercepted by Pinky and Tony.
“What’s going on?” Pinky asked.
I explained the game.
“This is like the old days,” Pinky said brightly. “Go up on the theater roof and when they see you, duck out of sight.”
There were stairs onto the roof of the theater and I went up there to slip on my pirate gear. When I blew my whistle the kids came running and spotted me on the roof. They pointed and shrieked. Pinky and Gail led them in a chant of “We want Captain Blood!” I ducked out of
7
WHEREUPON THEY GATHER TO DRINK BITTER TEARS
Sunday was our start of the week. When I got to the theater for Pinky’s up-and-at-’em briefing most of the team were already assembled—Tony, Perry the assistant stage manager, George who ran the disco in the nightclub, and all the Greencoats except for Nobby. I was hoping that Terri would be up there on the stage in her cleaning whites, swabbing the floor with a mop. But she wasn’t. It was probably a good thing. I would have found it impossible to take my eyes off her.
Nikki was perched on one of the front-row seats so I went over and settled myself next to her. I said “Good morning,” but she didn’t answer me; instead she instantly got up and went to talk to George. I thought little of it at the time and anyway after a moment Nobby bustled in, huffing and puffing and blaming everyone but himself for his lateness. He crashed down in the seat Nikki had vacated and continued to talk nonsense about missing milk and no cereals and traffic and ducks waddling in the road until Pinky, unlit cigarwedged between his fingers, waved him into silence so that the various duties could be assigned.
The Sunday program was fairly light. Pinky nominated me to do the Treasure Hunt. I was hoping Nikki would volunteer to do it with me but she elected instead to run the Whist Drive with Nobby in the Slowboat. I was paired with another dancer called Gail, a pretty and dreamy girl who when not dancing spent most of her time examining the split ends on her long hair or studying her fingernail varnish. Before leaving the theater I glanced up at the stage, but Nikki had already disappeared behind the curtain.
The Treasure Hunt was for kids between ages five and nine. Gail and I led them around in a mob as they tracked down clues and locations that had been previously configured. The clues led to a set of plastic spades and then identified a spot on the beach where the treasure (a tin casket full of sticks of rock candy) might be dug up. I thought it was a bit lame so I suggested we tell the kids that Captain Blood the pirate was trying to beat them to the treasure and they should look lively. Of course there was no Captain Blood so I slipped off to the props room backstage. Behind the sword casket used for the magic act I found a head scarf and a belt with a huge buckle, plus a black eye patch and a hook. I crept up behind the thirty or forty kids and roared.
They turned and looked at me in complete silence.
I was regretting my input, and then they charged. I really had to run fast to get away. Luckily I knew the lay of the resort and gave them the slip. I have no idea what they would have done had they caught me. I took my pirate kit off, stashed it away, and went to rejoin the Treasure Hunt. Out of breath Itold the kids I’d just seen Captain Blood on the beach and off they charged again, screaming for his hide.
“This is brilliant,” Gail said. “We can forget about the clues.”
We rounded up the kids from the beach and I said I was going to look for Captain Blood but that I was a bit scared so if they heard me blow my whistle they should come to my aid. On my way to put my gear on again I was intercepted by Pinky and Tony.
“What’s going on?” Pinky asked.
I explained the game.
“This is like the old days,” Pinky said brightly. “Go up on the theater roof and when they see you, duck out of sight.”
There were stairs onto the roof of the theater and I went up there to slip on my pirate gear. When I blew my whistle the kids came running and spotted me on the roof. They pointed and shrieked. Pinky and Gail led them in a chant of “We want Captain Blood!” I ducked out of
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