MONDAY,
OCTOBER 2, 1978, the disco years
Victoria's
HALLOWEEN PARTY
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The first week of October was
jam-packed with important moments. On Monday
Victoria caught me totally off guard.
Earlier I mentioned how much I resented being
three moves behind Victoria.
Well, make that five steps behind. Over the
weekend Victoria came up with two new initiatives, both
of which she implemented without consulting me.
With a sense of irony, the words "easier to beg
forgiveness than get permission" crossed my mind.
Victoria was putting her advice to good use with me.
Joanne and I had a standing
private lesson every Monday from 6-7 pm. Without
knocking, on the first Monday of October, Victoria
barged in our room at 6:45. Joanne and I were
in the middle of practicing new moves.
Victoria took one look at Joanne and realized she must be the Monday assistant I had told her about. Without bothering to
introduce herself or say hello, Victoria asked Joanne to
leave the room so we could have some privacy.
Seeing Victoria's peremptory expression, Joanne
turned pale and wordlessly left the room.
I was
irritated at Victoria's brusque treatment of my friend,
but said nothing. Besides, I was worried about
what Victoria was up to. Noticing
Victoria carried a briefcase and a card table, I asked, "What are you
doing here on a Monday?"
"Rick,
if we are
going to have a big party at the end of the month, then we need to get organized!"
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Organized for
what? Victoria pulled leaflets out of her briefcase and
handed them to me. The flyers announced our Graduation Party.
I was surprised when I saw the word 'Halloween' added
in. "What is this all about?" I asked.
"In order to
get the message across, you need a flyer. You need
something physical to hand to people so they know you're serious."
"I'm confused.
I thought our Graduation Party was going to be held on
Tuesday."
"Oh, heaven's
no. Friday is a much better dance night. Plus it
is so close to Halloween, I decided to make it a Halloween
Graduation Party. Good marketing!"
I shook my head
in consternation. I could not fault her logic, but I
also wondered why I had not thought of the Halloween angle
myself. This woman was light years ahead of me. Victoria did not
stop there. She unfolded her card table and grabbed a
chair. Placing her card table at the door, without explanation she
promptly sat down.
"What are you
doing, Victoria?"
"I am preparing to register
your 7 pm Monday students as they enter the room tonight."
"Okay," I
answered, "but would you mind explaining?"
"If you
intend to go into business for yourself, then you need
to become more professional. That starts with a
thorough registration process."
"But these
Monday students belong to Lance Stevens."
"So what?
They also belong to you. You are their teacher.
Let them register twice."
"Why are you
doing this?"
Just then a
student walked in early for the 7 pm. Victoria said,
"I don't have time to explain it now. We'll talk
later."
This was all very odd.
Her surprise decision meant every Monday student would need
to register once with Stevens in September and now
again with Victoria in October. As my Monday students
entered the dance room, Victoria was waiting to
register them a second time for her own purposes. Victoria had prepared a
roster sheet with spots for phone number and address.
She handed each new student a name tag, handed them a
Halloween flyer and welcomed them to
class. Mind you, these people had no idea who Victoria
was, but she was so confident that they cooperated without
hesitation.
I was very put
out because
Victoria had not bothered to ask. I also wanted to know
why she had been so rude to Joanne. There was no reason why
Joanne had to leave the room. However, I decided it was better to let Victoria conduct her business and ask
questions later. I begrudgingly admitted Victoria's effort
added a definite 'professional' feel to the
registration process. However, I still wished Victoria
had asked first. I was so flustered by Victoria's take
charge attitude that it wasn't till halfway through my 7 pm
class that I noticed Joanne was nowhere in sight. Not
a problem. I simply let Victoria help instead.
As usual, she charmed everyone. I might add that she
generated considerable interest in her Graduation Party
initiative.
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Victoria stuck
around to register my 8 pm Super-Advanced class as well,
promoted the Graduation Party, then called it a night. "See you tomorrow, Rick!
Don't forget to plug the Halloween Party!"
Now I was even
more put out. By chasing Joanne off, I did not have
her to demonstrate tonight's acrobatic patterns.
Furthermore, by leaving
early, Victoria denied me the chance to discuss what she was
up to. That would have to wait till tomorrow. In
the meantime, when my Super-Advanced class ended, the
students swarmed me. They were really excited about
the Halloween Party.
"Gosh,
Rick, what a great idea! We are so glad you
thought of this!"
I was hit with a
flood of mixed emotions. They were
thrilled and I was terrified. Victoria dominated me so
effortlessly. At a time when I thought I was
building a business, she made me feel like a mere figurehead.
On the other hand, I was being hailed like a hero for my
clever Halloween Graduation idea. Only one problem...
this party had not been my idea. I took no pride in
their praise.
The following
night, Victoria repeated her efforts. First she
registered the brand new church people at 7 pm. Then
she helped me
teach the class. Victoria repeated her efforts at 8 pm for the Tuesday
'Merger' class. While Victoria got everyone's
name and number, the students went nuts over the Halloween Flyer.
Meanwhile, since Victoria did her registration behind the closed doors
of the side room, Lance Stevens had no idea she was
developing a secret Registration List. I wondered how
long it would take for him to catch on.
Once Victoria
was finished, I stood aside while she addressed the group. With a big
smile, Victoria exclaimed, "You didn't believe me when
I told you about a party last week, did you? I am very
serious about my 'Graduation Party' promise!
Even better, now it's a Halloween Party too!"
Victoria made the
upcoming Halloween party sound like so much
fun, their loyalty was unquestioned. A man standing next to me
whispered, "Rick, where did you find Victoria?
That woman is pure gold."
I nodded in
agreement. I had reached the same conclusion, but with
an asterisk. Fool's Gold. Victoria was turning
me into a fool.
Although my appreciation for her skill was off the charts,
at the same time I was having trouble suppressing my growing
depression.
My interpersonal skills were in the Dark Ages compared to
Victoria. She truly had the gift of popularity.
Once upon a time, I was the one telling the jokes in dance
class. Now
I was the straight man while Victoria told the jokes, many
of which were directed at me in a teasing way. I was
swiftly becoming court jester to Queen Victoria's
Johnny Carson.
There was
something else bothering me.
Earlier I had concluded Joanne was a Fated relationship. Now
I had a strong hunch Victoria was a Fated relationship as
well. Although I had no way to prove my hunch, my
Supernatural Alarm Bell was ringing off the hook.
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Although I felt
increasingly overshadowed by Victoria's brilliance, I did my best to
keep my ego in check. I decided to hide my feelings of
insecurity and try to learn something. The first
thing to do was thank Victoria profusely
for her efforts.
"Oh, no, Rick, I
need to be thanking you. I am so glad to help.
You are the one who deserves the thanks. This is the most fun
I have enjoyed in ages. I want so much for this Pistachio Party to be a success. By the way, I
will be back tomorrow, Thursday and Friday to complete the
registration process."
"What is this all
about, Victoria? What is your plan, what are you trying to do?"
"It is my goal
to create a List of everyone who currently takes a class from
you. Once I finish, next week six of the women from
our Tuesday class have promised to help me call every single
name on that list to promote the Halloween Party. That
reminds me. I want you to announce the event in your
classes any time
I am not here. And don't forget to hand out the flyers
I am leaving behind."
"I appreciate what
you are doing, but isn't this a lot of time and effort?"
And money too.
Victoria had printed all these flyers on her own dime.
"I don't mind at
all. This is what I like to do. The opposite of
useful is useless. It is high time
I start making a contribution. I feel like I am alive
again."
"But all those
phone calls! I hate the phone!
That sounds like work to me."
"Heaven's no!
What's wrong with you? It's fun to talk to people.
I carry my dog Precious around and chat on the phone all day.
By the way, don't forget about my private dance class this coming
Friday. We are going to have a
pretty big class."
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"That's great,
Victoria, thank you for all you are doing for me.
One more thing. Since Lance Stevens made me cancel my
Jewish Community Center classes on Wednesday, I now have an 8 pm
time Wednesday slot available for your private class. Would you
prefer the Wednesday time slot to Friday?"
I was certain
Victoria would grab the more favorable Wednesday slot, but I was
wrong.
Victoria smiled. "No,
thanks,
I am happy with Friday at 9 pm. That's perfect!!"
I looked at her
funny. Friday at 9 pm is perfect? This made no sense,
but I wasn't going to argue. Friday at 9 pm it is.
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THURSDAY, OCTOBER 5, 1978
PROBING THE MYSTERY
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Despite
my
desire to continue seeing Nancy, I
had reached my wit's end. Well aware I was
headed for a world of hurt if I did not let go soon, this had
to stop. So I came to a decision.
Convinced I was going to lose Nancy eventually, I
would at least like to know something about her.
Therefore, on the first Thursday of October I
decided to take a risk and ask Nancy a pointed
question.
Nancy revealed
she was
seeing a man named Steve in addition to me.
However, with a faint smile,
Nancy said she preferred not to
share any details about him. To reinforce her message, she
touched me on the arm. Since I had prepared myself to
hear this very thing, I handled it fairly well. Rather than
act possessive or give her a hard time, I smiled and thanked
Nancy for telling me.
Then I didn't say another word about it.
I was proud of myself. As Karmic Tests go, this was a major improvement over my temper tantrum with
Rachel four years ago. As a reward for my self-control,
Nancy chose to follow me home for our sixth night of
court and spark in
the dark. As
long as Nancy was nearby, I was able to control my feelings.
However, the moment she left in the morning, the heartache
hit like a sledgehammer.
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I did not do well in
the following week. Now that Nancy had told me
about Steve, I
thought about my mystery woman and my mystery rival non-stop. She had answered
one question, so now I wanted to known what she did
for a living. My fantasies ran the
spectrum from model to beautician to stripper to high-priced call girl.
However, I doubted she was a call girl. Nancy did not seem
'hard' enough to
sell her body.
Every question I
asked myself added to the mystery. Nancy had been comfortable at élan.
In fact, Nancy was so completely at ease with the commotion over her beauty that perhaps she was a model. Like she said, Nancy was
'used to it'. And where did she get the money to
buy that expensive dress she had worn to elan?
Adding to the
mystery, Nancy could change her appearance so
radically there were times when I did not immediately recognize her.
Her exquisite appearance and the fancy dress
reinforced my hunch that she used her looks in a
professional capacity. What else could explain the deft
skill with which she manipulated cosmetics?
The fact that I had
met Nancy at the Jet Set troubled me greatly. Perhaps
Nancy worked as an exotic dancer at one of Bernard's men's clubs. Perhaps
Bernard had
summoned her to the
Jet Set the night I met her. After all, why would a pretty girl like Nancy
show up unescorted at a tawdry place like the Jet Set? Since other
strippers in Bernard's employ had shown up in my dance class,
working for Bernard seemed a possibility.
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However, there was a
contradiction. The other women from Bernard's men's club
were bitter and mean. Stripping for a living had forced them
to create a thick shell. Nancy had a shell too, but it was
more like a mask. Is it possible to be soft and
invulnerable at the same time? I never saw Nancy frown or
seek comfort. If she was unhappy, she concealed it well.
In addition, there was something unspoiled about this girl.
If Nancy was indeed involved in Bernard's business, I wondered
how long her soft side would last. I took a deep
breath. I wished I could protect her. Then it
crossed my mind Nancy already knew how to take care of herself.
Maybe I should worry
more about protecting myself.
My only chance to hang onto Nancy was to continue pretending to be un-possessive.
But I was fighting a losing battle. Every waking moment I
tried to convince myself that hanging on to a small slice of the most
beautiful woman in the world was better than having her
disappear for good. Then in the next breath, I would ache
with longing. Back and forth. Keep her or leave her?
All the while I counted the seconds till I could see her again. I was a
nervous wreck.
I said to myself, "Enjoy Nancy while I can. Don't spoil it."
But it was hopeless.
Ultimately
it wasn't so much that I hated sharing Nancy with
another man as it was my inability to control
my emotions. I
was not mentally strong enough to
handle this relationship. I doubted I had
what it took to keep Nancy interested much longer, so maybe I
should say goodbye now while I still had some dignity left. It crushed me to
admit the truth, but the pain had begun to outweigh the pleasure.
Relationships are supposed to make a man
happy, not turn him into a whining, whimpering black hole of misery. I had to break it off with
Nancy for my
own sanity or find some way to see if she was willing to get more serious. Truthfully, I didn't
think it would work asking her to become more serious. Our
worlds had failed to intersect so far, so what chance did I have?
None. And with that thought, I knew I was doomed. I had two choices -
I could back off now and keep my pride. Or I could
allow myself to get hopelessly involved and make a forlorn fool of
myself when the end finally arrived. Since the future was
hopeless and I was in considerable pain, I decided to throw in
the towel next Thursday.
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FRIDAY,
OCTOBER 6, 1978, the disco years
Victoria's
PRIVATE DANCE CLASS
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On Friday,
October 6, I stared in shock as Victoria greeted 32 people.
They were here to attend her 9 pm private class. Who has the ability to persuade 32 people to show up for a
dance class at 9 pm? On a Friday night, no less, the
start of the weekend.
I felt a shudder. This woman has powers so far beyond
me that I was increasingly afraid. Recalling my Greek
Mythology, I recalled how the Gods turned anyone they were
mad at into trees, flowers, spiders, stone, whatever.
Given her occult powers, what would happen if I ever dared
to defy Victoria?
At the same time
I was also grateful. 32 people wrote their checks out
to me, including Victoria. She insisted on paying for
herself and her husband. Since each person paid me directly, I made
$800. This was a powerful moment for all kinds of
reasons. These were the first checks from a group
class that had ever been made out to me. This was also the largest payday of my
new career to date.
By comparison, I made $1,600 a month at my Child Welfare job. Holy smokes, I
was making half a month's salary for one hour of work per week. This idea of
working for myself was really paying off. With a
smile, I realized the risk I had taken to ask Stevens for
permission to rent rooms had been
prescient. Although Victoria was the undisputed master
of good ideas, I had a few of my own.
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Speaking of
Stevens, he was nowhere in sight. Stevens left early
on Fridays. That was a good thing.
The less he knew about this lucrative class, the better. On a whim, I taught Victoria's large
class on the Main Floor. I still could not get over
the size of this class. Thank goodness Stevens was not around
to see
this group. Stevens was not much of a
businessman, but how could he miss the ramifications of what
was going on here? As it stood, September had come and
gone and Stevens was still completely in the dark about
my secret weapons. He had no idea about the deal I had
made with Deborah at Class Factory nor did he have a clue
about Victoria Sunshine, the human dynamo. I shook my head in wonder.
How was it possible for someone to be so blind?
As I surveyed
the crowded dance floor, I wondered how Victoria had persuaded 32 people
to take a class so late on a Friday night? She
said she was on the phone all week long, but this was
ridiculous. For the
umpteenth time in recent days, the competing emotions of intense
elation and sheer terror swept through my body. The
woman was making me rich, but at the same time I
hated my growing feelings of dependence on Victoria's
immense charisma.
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Victoria's
friends
were the brightest of the brightest. The men were
colleagues and acquaintances
of Michael. Doctors,
researchers, hospital administrators, some professors too. Considering they all came from an academic background, these were my kind of people.
I spoke their language and bonded instantly with everyone.
That included
Michael, Victoria's handsome husband. I liked Michael
very much. Like Victoria, he was warm and outgoing.
He too had the gift of popularity. Together Michael and
Victoria made a striking couple. I could see Victoria was overjoyed to have Michael here. She
admitted
she had to twist his arm, but added Michael did not have a
prayer when she insisted. Oh really?
I had no trouble believing that. Fortunately
Michael was a good sport. By the end of the night, he was clearly
enjoying himself.
I asked Victoria
where all these people came from. Victoria shrugged.
None of this group had ever gone Disco dancing, but they were curious to see what this crazy phenomenon
was about.
One person told another and pretty soon word of mouth kicked
in. Like Michael, the other men were skeptical about
this class. They weren't sure what they were getting
into. However, Victoria had not played fair.
Calling on her tight circle of girlfriends to help, Victoria
had organized the wives into putting their collective foot
down. "Take this dance
class or else!" Like sheep, the men had given in.
Fortunately the
first class was a big hit with everyone. Victoria was
thrilled. So was I.
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