THE SSQQ WESTERN ERA

CHAPTER FOUR:

VICTORIA

Written by Rick Archer 

THE VICTORIAN ERA: LABOR DAY 1978 TO LABOR DAY 1979

There is an old saying that behind every successful man is the woman who put him there.  That is true for me.  I am in great debt to a woman named Victoria for teaching me how to run a dance studio.  The story of the SSQQ Western Era would not make a bit of sense without her. 

Saturday Night Fever debuted in January 1978.  I spent the first eight months of 1978 building my Disco program completely on my own.  At the time I was very proud of my accomplishment.  Then one day I discovered I still had a lot to learn.  The 'Victorian Era' began with Victoria's appearance at the studio on the day after Labor Day 1978.  It was great while it lasted.  Unfortunately, due to problems caused by Urban Cowboy, things came to an unhappy end one year later on Labor Day Weekend 1979. 

During the good times, I watched in awe as Victoria worked tirelessly to help make my Disco dance program the largest in the city.  Along the way, Victoria taught me business tactics that quite frankly I had never thought of before.  At the time I thought I would never again meet a woman quite so unique.  In Hindsight, I can confirm my original impression was correct.   Victoria will always be one of the most remarkable women I have ever met.  There has never been another woman quite like her.

Victoria was like the cat who walks into your house and makes itself right at home.  She was a complete stranger when she joined my class on the Tuesday after Labor Day.  She watched for five minutes, then proceeded to offer me suggestions on how the men could improve.  I was not sure what she meant, so Victoria grabbed me and made me demonstrate her idea in front of the whole class.  The students were impressed.  So was I.  At the end of class Victoria asked if she could be my official assistant on Tuesday.  Given the dramatic impact she had made on my class, I quickly assented. 

Strange as it must sound, by the end of the month, my new assistant was more important to the program than me.  Did I object?  No.  Why not?  Victoria was unbelievable. 

Beautiful and charismatic, over the final four months of 1978 Sunshine Victoria doubled the size of my dance program.  Not once did she ask to be paid.  She did this on a voluntary basis because she loved to dance and thrived on the attention she was getting. 

I mentioned Victoria was beautiful.  Victoria was tall at 5' 7".  Exquisitely well-curved with brown eyes and blonde hair, Victoria turned heads wherever she went.  In high school Victoria modeled, entered beauty contests, and was named Prom Queen.  As one might gather, Victoria was very comfortable in the limelight.  She was a people person who loved attention and craved popularity. 

Were there sparks between us?  Yes, later down the road, but at the start we were strictly friends.  Victoria was happily married to Michael, a highly respected cancer researcher.  They had one child, a beautiful home, and lots of friends.  However, Victoria was tired of being a stay-at-home Mom all the time.  She loved organizing social events and dance parties, something I was not very good at.  Sensing my woeful inadequacy in such an important area, Victoria adopted my studio as her hobby and put her talent to good use.  During the last four months of 1978, Victoria doubled the size of my dance program. 

In January 1979 Victoria picked up where she left off.  Over the next four months Victoria doubled the size of my program again.  Thanks to her, I now owned the largest Disco program in the city.  However, I feared it could all be gone in a flash.  What was my problem?  I had become far too dependent on Victoria's help.  Although I taught all the classes and people made their checks out to me, Victoria was the reason my students kept signing up for more classes.  What was her secret?  Right from the start, Victoria understood that I was in the 'Boy Meets Girl' business. 

Silly me, I thought all I had to do was teach dance.  Wrong.  Victoria was a master at the social side of my occupation.  She scheduled huge meet and greet parties that allowed students from different nights of the week to dance together.  Countless friendships and romances ensued. 

Prior to the Victorian Era, people learned to dance so they could meet the love of their life 'at the Disco'.  Thanks to Victoria, people realized they could also meet the love of their life 'at the dance studio'.  The thought of meeting the love of their life in a dance class gave the students an excellent reason to sign up for a follow-up class whenever their current class ended. 

Not once did I breathe a word about 'Contracts', standard procedure for most dance studios.  Nor did I need to use any sort of strong-arm persuasion.  Our students got in the habit of signing up for the next 'group class' of their own free will.  Why?  Although learning new patterns was important, the chance to continue seeing a person's friends plus their latest love interest became the major incentive to sign up for more classes.  Victoria was sheer magic for emphasizing the 'Slow Dance leads to Romance' angle.  Thanks to Cupid, the dance studio averaged one new marriage per month throughout my career. 

I had mixed feelings about Victoria.  One part of me was filled with gratitude.  I would have never achieved this level of success without her help.  However, I was intimidated by her brilliance.  Due to a very difficult childhood, I had grown up a loner.  In addition to being an only child, my mother was forced to skip out once a year to avoid paying her mounting rent bill.  These constant moves meant not making friends in the neighborhood or the chance to attend nearby schools.  Thanks to a scholarship, I became the token poor kid at a rich kid's private school for nine years.  However, just because I attended a posh private school did not make me part of my affluent classmates' social circles.  Pretty much ignored throughout high school, I had trouble making friends.  Sad to say, I managed to graduate without a single date in high school. 

College was a near-repeat of high school.  I dated very little in college.  Since Johns Hopkins was a men's school, finding girls to date was always a serious challenge.  I tried visiting other colleges in the area, but didn't get very far.  In particular I found it very difficult to approach college girls who were strangers.  Sad to say, the gift of small talk and flattery escaped me.  Given my lack of experience around girls, I botched so many early attempts that I developed a fear of rejection.  As my frustration mounted, I gave up and concentrated on my studies instead.  Unfortunately I paid a serious price for remaining a loner throughout high school and college.  By the time I entered graduate school, I was many years behind my peer group in social maturity and dating experience. 

I entered the 'Clinical Psychology' program at Colorado State University.  I planned to become a therapist, but immediately ran into trouble.  After spending 23 years as a loner, I was great at academics, but clueless at social interaction.  The head of the department took a dim view of my poor listening skills, my tendency to argue plus a bad habit of talking too much in class.  Concluding my social acuity was far too mediocre to be of much use as a therapist, he sent me packing. 

My professor implied that I flunked as a human being.  Seriously, how would you feel if someone said you were too emotionally disturbed to be of much use to your fellow man?  That was tough to handle.  I also managed to get my heart broken thanks to a deceitful girlfriend.  Failure in love, failure in career, I was a basket case when I returned to Houston. 

It took me over a month to work up the courage to try again.  One day I ran across a self-help book with an interesting suggestion.  The book said the easiest polite way to get a girl in my arms was ask her to dance.  Overwhelmed with loneliness, I began dance lessons in 1974.  Always fearful of rejection, I hoped to use dance as a way to get to First Base. 

Unfortunately, it didn't work.  I continued to strike out with women due to my acute shyness.  However I stuck with the lessons anyway since it was a hobby at this point.  After a period of four years I had learned enough about dance to be offered a part-time job as a teacher.  Although I had a knack for teaching, I had trouble connecting to students on a personal level due my arrested social development.  That is when Victoria came to my rescue.  Although my social skills remained limited, she had more than enough popularity for the both of us.  

What would happen if Victoria left the studio?  Perish the thought.  Unfortunately, at the end of 1978 something happened that left her badly rattled.  Victoria had arranged a huge Christmas Party at our favorite Disco.  Estimates suggest that close to 400 people visited that night.  To Victoria's dismay, a woman named Joanne stole the show with her flashy dancing.  Considering Joanne was dancing with me, Victoria was apoplectic.  It drove her crazy to see me, the beneficiary of all her assistance, turn around and help this stranger steal her glory.  I did not do it deliberately, but Victoria had a tough time forgiving me.

After the Holidays, Victoria took a turn for the worse.  Starting in January 1979, Victoria abused her authority by taking a very unhealthy interest in my love life.  Victoria's reign of terror began with Joanne.  She was my Monday night assistant as well as the best female dancer at the studio.  Our dance students met at the Pistachio Club every Friday night.  Crowds varied from 70-100.  Whenever Joanne and I danced, our students lined the floor to watch us.  Joanne made things worse by letting the world know she had a serious crush on me.  Given that Victoria expected the Disco Ball to revolve around her and no one else, she could barely control her temper.  Worse, Victoria feared being replaced if I were to start dating Joanne.  Nonsense.  Given Victoria's prominence in the business, I would be an idiot to replace my superstar with this meek, poorly educated young lady.  But Victoria did not seem to get this.  Instead she became intensely paranoid. 

Victoria also had her claws out for Patricia, my glamorous girlfriend.  Perhaps the Reader raises an eyebrow.  How exactly does a young man who has confessed to a lifetime of incompetence with women end up dating a beauty queen?  Hard as it is to believe, my unexpected success as a dance teacher worked wonders for my confidence around women. 

Patricia was the mirror image of the poised, highly intelligent young ladies I had gone to school with at St. John's.  Born to wealth, Patricia was a former debutante who aspired to marry a wealthy husband.  Considering I was not particularly well-paid, what on earth was Patricia doing with me?  That is a very interesting question.  It was a fluke, a very curious accident.  Or perhaps it was Fate.  We met at the dance studio.  Patricia was surprised to meet a man who was just as smart as her.  Even better, the moment she discovered I had gone to St. John's for nine years, Patricia [incorrectly] assumed I was rich.

She made a perfectly logical mistake.  All the other men she had met from St. John's had been wealthy.  By the time she learned the truth, Patricia liked me too much to cut me loose like she should have.  Instead Patricia decided to make me rich.  Taking note of my excellent education, Patricia did everything in her power to make me give up teaching dance and become a lawyer instead.  When I resisted, fireworks ensued.  This was a very strange relationship to say the least.   A rocky one as well.

Victoria resented Joanne and Patricia.  Due to her obsession with my love life, at first I assumed that jealousy was the reason.  However, during our first four months Victoria had never given the slightest hint of being attracted to me.  Considering Victoria claimed to be happily married to Michael, what was her problem?  Finally I figured it out.  Victoria thrived on attention.  Popularity and universal acclaim was her goal.  Over the past four months she had built my program into a juggernaut.  Aspiring to become the Supreme Diva of Disco, as of January 1979, Victoria had accomplished her objective.  She was widely admired for her beauty, dance ability and vivacious outgoing personality.  Without a doubt, Victoria was the central figure of the dance program, the hostess with the mostest.

Even though Victoria had it all, she feared losing her throne.  Why?  Back when I was her bumbling, stumbling sidekick, no woman bothered to give me a second glance.  However, a solid year of non-stop dancing had worked wonders.  I was now a top-flight performer who commanded the attention of a legion of single women every Friday night.  In addition, after studying Victoria like a hawk over the past four months, my social skills had improved dramatically.  Plus I was being given far more credit than I deserved for creating this ultra-successful dance program.  For the first time in my life, women viewed me as potential marriage material.  It had taken quite a while to reach my potential, but better late than never.  At age 29 I found myself surrounded by women on a nightly basis.

Now that my popularity rivaled hers, Victoria realized her constant tutelage had backfired.  Having shed my sense of inferiority, I now held the Keys to the Kingdom.  Victoria felt insecure because she needed me in order to succeed.  Which is kind of strange because I needed her to succeed just as much as she needed me.  What kept Victoria from seeing her position as Queen of the studio was totally secure?  Beats the heck out of me.  I cannot begin to tell you how many times I tried to reassure this beautiful, multi-talented woman that I had no desire to kill the golden goose.  However, it did no good.  Victoria went on the warpath to eliminate her rivals.

Joanne and Patricia had a lot to do with her fears of being replaced.  I don't enjoy admitting this, but I had never learned how to stand up to strong women.  Victoria knew how easily she could manipulate me, so she assumed her rivals could just as easily manipulate me against her.  Every Friday night our students met at the Pistachio Club.  With crowds approaching 100, Patricia was the only woman more beautiful than Victoria.  Joanne was the only woman who was the better dancer.  Victoria was unwilling to settle for second best.  In addition, Victoria knew Patricia hated her and wanted me to get rid of her.  Unwilling to tolerate any threat to her throne, Victoria went about eliminating Patricia by spreading vicious gossip.  And while she's at it, let's get rid of Joanne too. 

VICTORIA'S ACHILLES HEEL: WEDDING RING

My dance career worked wonders for my confidence.  After years of feeling like the Creepy Loser Kid, a fear greatly reinforced by my demise in graduate school, I came into my own thanks to dancing.  I was not a natural dancer by any stretch of the imagination.  However, even a turtle can get somewhere if you give him enough time.  It took five years, but once I got the hang of it, the ladies began to take notice.

Dancing six nights a week throughout 1978 helped me develop into one of the best Disco dancers in the city.  Each Friday when the studio met at the Pistachio Club, there I was showing off.  It is a well-known fact that women are attracted to excellence.  Using the dance floor as my stage, I could tell by the smiles of appreciative young ladies that they were impressed.  Surrounded by beautiful women, I began to feel attractive for the first time in my life.  This was the moment I realized I would never have trouble meeting women again.  It was an amazing discovery to be sure.  Who would have ever guessed that learning to dance would one day heal my deep-seated sense of inferiority? 

Unfortunately, I was not the only one who noticed the change.  I believe it was my unexpected emergence that unsettled Victoria the most.  Even if she got rid of Patricia and Joanne, there seemed to be no end to other potential rivals.  Not only were these attractive women interested in me, they were SINGLE.  To her dismay, this was the moment Victoria realized her wedding ring acted as her Achilles Heel. 

Victoria decided her status as a married woman left her at a serious disadvantage... or so she thought.  There was one mystery about Victoria that I never quite solved.  Why would Victoria fear being replaced? 

Victoria was the reason I owned the most successful Disco program in the city.  I could list 20 things that Victoria did to bring this about, but we don't have all night.  Just take my word for it that this woman was PHENOMENAL at creating excitement with her dance parties.  I suspected I could go my entire life and never find another woman quite her equal.  Considering Victoria was a human dynamo, I had absolutely no desire to replace her.  But Victoria could not seem to get that. 

One reason for Victoria's misconception was her inability to express her fear.  Rather than sit down and talk to me about her concerns, Victoria operated in the dark as to where I stood.  As for me, I was also completely in the dark.  At the time, I had no idea regarding Victoria's unnecessary fear of being replaced (most of my insights are based on things I learned further down the road). 

Given our lack of communication, Victoria decided to handle things her own way.  Trust me, Victoria had considerable sexual allure of her own.  But as long as she kept it chained up due to her wedding ring, Victoria feared she would never be able to keep my admirers at bay.  So what did she do?  Stage One was clean house.  Victoria was a master at using the telephone to turn public opinion against Joanne and Patricia.  A stay-at-home mother, Victoria amused herself by talking to her legion of studio girlfriends throughout the day.  Victoria's malignant gossip stirred up so much hostility that Joanne left the studio in March.  Patricia left at the end of June.  Patricia I did not miss, but I had a soft spot for Joanne.  I felt terrible when Victoria chased Joanne away.

Stage Two came in April.  Over too much wine at a dimly lit French restaurant, Victoria placed her hand on top of mine and announced she was in love with me.  A beautiful woman is hard to resist as it is, but I was caught completely off guard.  Victoria's bold move inflamed my passion.  The back seat of her car was outside, her home was just a mile away.  Take your pick.  Thank goodness I came to my senses at the last moment.  Hastily excusing myself, I lurched to the restroom for safety.  Once I calmed down, I came back and laid down the law.  I admitted I was very attracted to her, then added I was totally against having an affair.  Victoria reluctantly agreed and backed off.  However, in May Victoria resumed her pursuit.  This time she claimed her husband had given her permission to have an affair.  Yeah, right, like I believe that.  That forced me to put my foot down again. 

"Victoria, I have too much respect for your husband to fool around behind his back.  However, if you officially separate from your husband, you are welcome to move in with me and we can take it from there." 

In Hindsight, I confess I did not handle this properly.  So what if Victoria was beautiful and a great dancer, she was a married woman. Even if Victoria was good for my business, why would I seemingly welcome her advances?  This is a very sensitive subject, so let me explain.  I did not encourage Victoria to leave her husband.  But if they were having marital problems and Victoria wanted out, I would be foolish not to show interest, especially since we had so much in common.  Victoria responded by saying there was a good chance that she would leave her husband soon.  She was leaving town with Michael and her daughter Stephanie for a July 4th vacation.  When she returned, Victoria told me she expected to be separated. 

Now for a twist of Fate.  Over the July 4th weekend, Patricia and I entered a dance contest.  When a drunk woman lost her balance on the dance floor, she shoved me as a way to regain her balance.  This caused my elbow to catch Patricia right in the mouth, splitting her lower lip in the process.  Patricia was forced to race to the restroom with a bloody face.  It was a bizarre accident to be sure.  Humiliated, in pain and deeply frustrated, Patricia abruptly broke up with me when we reached her apartment.  Who could blame her?  Our relationship had been on life support for some time now thanks to Victoria's constant meddling.  It was for the best.

After the breakup, I was free to date whomever I wished.  I had a list of candidates, but hesitated.  Before starting something new with another woman, I decided to wait for Victoria's return and see if she was sincere about her promise to leave Michael.  If Victoria was free, I would be hard pressed to find a woman superior to her.  I had known Victoria for ten months at this point.  Talented, warm, sexy, fabulous dancer, Victoria was the woman of my dreams.  If Victoria was available, of course I was interested in dating her.  Given her business sense and dance ability, she fit my life like a glove.  However I did not trust her motives.  I had a hunch she was far more interested in fooling around than actually leaving her husband.  Furthermore I was still mad at Victoria for chasing off Joanne and Patricia.  I also hated being bossed around regarding the dance program.  Another problem was my lack of experience at dealing with a strong woman like her.  Given Victoria's dominant personality, I was not quite sure I could command her respect over time.  On the other hand, I might go a lifetime and not meet another woman more perfect for my unusual dance career.  For that reason, I was willing to see if we could make a romance work.  So I decided to wait for Victoria to return.

Did I feel guilty?  No.  Over the past ten months, not once did I attempt to entice Victoria.  Why should I?  I was dating Patricia the whole time.  However, I will admit I was strongly attracted to Victoria.  Now that she had opened the door, my libido had become pretty tough to control.  Fortunately I succeeded.  Let me add that I was more than willing to remain "friends" if necessary.  Leaving Michael was Victoria's idea, not mine.

When Victoria returned to Houston after her trip, I expected she would follow through on her flowery promises to seek a romance.  Guess again.  Thanks to a stern lecture from her father during her vacation, Victoria developed a sudden case of Cold Feet.  Victoria claimed she was still interested in me, but needed time to think about it.  This felt like the proverbial bait and switch.  Promise me a rose, lead me on, then pull the rug out.  Thanks a lot.  Irritated by her switcheroo, I suggested we stick to being friends and let me move on.  And what did Victoria say to that?

"Oh no, Rick, you need to stick around.  My feelings for you are too strong.  You owe it to me to be patient while I sort out my future.  I would prefer you not date anyone else."

My heart sank.  I knew she would go ballistic if I tried to date someone else.  Although my personal life was none of her business, Victoria made it her business.  Should I defy her?  Every bone in my body begged me to say forget the romance and let me start my search for a new girlfriend.  However, due to Victoria's importance to my business, I agreed to her request.  Life is long; I could afford to be patient.  I figured a month at the most would be sufficient for Victoria to come to her senses and realize her husband, her marriage, and her home were superior to anything I had to offer.  Oddly enough, that is exactly what happened, but in a very ugly way.

THE INFAMOUS HUSBAND LIST

In mid-July Victoria asked me to meet her at a coffee shop.  Once we sat down, she handed me the notorious 'Husband List'.  Insisting that we review this List together, Victoria pulled out a pen.  She used it as a pointer to go over the List one line at a time.  

  Victoria said her father greatly admired her husband.  In her father's eyes, Michael was a Prince among men while I was a playboy/gigolo who would use her, then discard her when I was ready.

  Victoria compared my socio-economic status to that of her husband.  I came in second.  Make that a 'distant' second. 

  Victoria compared the social status of my job to her husband.  Again I came in second.  Michael was a much-praised researcher in an important field while I was a lowly dance teacher on par with gypsies, tramps and thieves (according to her father).

  Victoria compared our educational background.  I came in second.  Her husband had a doctorate, I had a bachelor's degree.  Victoria almost added 'graduate school failure', but bit her tongue at the last second.  I got the point.

  Victoria compared our job stability.  I came in a poor second due to Urban Cowboy.  I could lose my dance job any day now. 

  Victoria compared our houses.  My house finished somewhere around 100 in a two-house competition. 

  ictoria compared our track record as husband.  Michael was rated as superior.  Beside my name was "does not apply". 

  Victoria compared our track record as father.  Michael was an excellent father.  Beside my name was "does not apply". 

Was I superior to Victoria's husband in any way?  No.  I was stunned by the utter cruelty of her ambush.  Although I agreed with everything she said, was it really necessary to rub my face in her obvious disregard?  I was furious.  If Victoria thought so little of me, then what was all this nonsense about separating from her husband?  Stop wasting my time!  Victoria's ridiculous love proposal was her idea, not mine.  Angry at Victoria for deliberately humiliating me, I slammed my hand on the table so hard I made the coffee spill.

"Damn it, Victoria, don't you have anything better to do than find new ways to insult me?  For crying out loud, if Michael is so much better at everything, then what do you want from me?  Why don't you just leave me the hell alone and get out of my life!?"

I was ready to call it quits right there, but Victoria said not so fast.  She used her importance at the studio to force me to continue discussing the possibility of a serious relationship.  I was incredulous.  Victoria craved comfort, security and wealth.  Michael could provide these things to a far greater degree than me, so what prevented Victoria from following through on her own logic?  Any woman in her right mind could see that Michael was the better choice, so what was Victoria trying to accomplish with this bizarre stunt? 

If forced to guess, Victoria wanted us both.  She wanted to be married to Michael and use me for entertainment.  Given that I held the key to her Disco fantasies, I was more or less a means to an end.  I understood that.  But what I did not understand is why Victoria felt the need to pursue a romance.  I was more than happy to make her Disco Dreams come true on a friendship and business basis.  So why deceive me into thinking I was more important than I really was?  Victoria was playing a very nasty game.  However, since I saw no easy way to extricate myself due to economic dependency, I gritted my teeth and reluctantly continued to play along. 

That said, Victoria's Husband List was the final straw.  Yes, I was sexually attracted to Victoria, but I was not remotely in love.  I could have been in love, but I did not trust her.  Why not?  BECAUSE VICTORIA'S DECLARATION OF LOVE MADE NO SENSE. 

For the past ten months, Victoria had told me time and again what a great husband Michael was.  Having met Michael, I believed her.  Michael was a great guy, a man I respected very much.  Not just that, I had seen the love for him in her eyes many times.  I speak from the heart when I say that Michael and Victoria were the best-matched couple I have ever met.  So what went wrong?  To be honest, you would have to ask Victoria.  I can offer a theory, but please take it with a grain of salt.  My guess is that Michael got tired of seeing his wife spend 4 nights out of 7 at the studio.  It was fun at first, but at the seven month mark Michael wanted Victoria to cut back.  I suppose Victoria refused to do so and things turned bitter.  They both had a point.  Michael wanted his wife at home, Victoria wanted to continue her career.  Be that as it may, I was convinced that sooner or later they would find a compromise and work it out.  Where would that leave me?  I kept careful guard over my heart for fear of getting burned. 

In a sense Victoria did me a favor with her Husband List.  Everyone says that Love does not have to make sense, but I disagree.  In my book, Love has to make sense.  After viewing the Husband List, I could not fathom a single reason why Victoria would prefer me over Michael.  Okay, maybe Michael did something bad.  Cheating.  Drinking.  Gambling.  Lying.  Nope.  Not once in ten months did Victoria suggest even the slightest shortcoming.  The worst thing Victoria complained about was Michael's tendency to work too hard.  I was aghast.  Of course the man works long hours!!  How else can he afford to give Victoria her life of luxury?  And look how she repays him!  Indeed, I was so disgusted with this woman that the Husband List became the end of any illusion that Victoria was the woman of my dreams.   I NO LONGER HAD THE SLIGHTEST DESIRE TO MARRY THIS WOMAN.  Nor did I ever change my mind.

The thing is, I agreed with Victoria's List.  Michael was a great guy.  I liked him.  And I agreed with every one of her points.  Michael provided the status, affluence and security that Victoria craved.  In addition he was a great father.  Okay, maybe Victoria was infatuated with me, but I would never come in FIRST in her mind.  At best I was 'Mistress Material'.  Or maybe we should call it 'Mattress Material'.  I was unwilling to accept this role.  I wanted to find a woman who would put me FIRST. 

But that could wait till later.  Right now my priority was to protect my dance program.  So far Victoria had not made any threats.  However, I had seen what she did to Patricia and Joanne, so I knew what Victoria was capable of.  If I tried to remove Victoria by force, I would be taking a huge chance.  So I had a better idea.  The Husband List made it clear that Victoria was nowhere near as in love with me as she claimed.  Once the rose-colored glasses were removed, I would be out in the cold.  Given that Michael was BY FAR the better choice, I decided that sooner or later Victoria was going to come to her senses and choose Michael.  Rather than break it off and risk infuriating Victoria, I decided to wait her out.  Time was on my side.  Or so I thought.

So what happened next?  Just when I thought nothing could make things worse, Victoria and I found ourselves haunted by a Dance Curse.

THE DANCE CURSE

In August, Victoria and I had three accidents in a row while performing.  The strange thing is that each accident was due to a problem totally out of our control.  Let me add that these were SERIOUS accidents.  Twice Victoria narrowly escaped breaking her neck.  The third time Victoria nearly broke a spectator's neck with an accidental Karate Chop to the woman's jugular during a performance.  A woman named Benita had moved too close to the dance floor and Victoria never saw her.  It was horrifying to see the poor woman collapse to her knees and grasp her throat in pain.  Fortunately Benita recovered, but Victoria fell to pieces afterwards.  Talk about a bad omen! 

Victoria flipped out and began ranting about my 'Dance Curse'.  She knew about Patricia's busted lip plus a previous bizarre failure.  Given that the Karate Chop incident was my fifth failure in a row, Victoria accused me of being cursed.  Gee, thanks a lot.  But then Victoria decided she was cursed too.  Convinced her three accidents were a sign that God was angry at her, Victoria decided to chuck it all.  She told me she was done with Annabelle's on Sunday, done with dancing at Pistachio on Friday, done with performing, done with our private lessons, done with dancing period anywhere but at the studio.  However she still wanted to teach in September.  Victoria was determined to hang on to her two classes, one on Tuesday, one on Thursday.  She also intended to keep me around.  When she said that, I wondered how I would ever get rid of her. 

The Karate Chop proved to be a death blow for my dance program.  Disco was already on its death bed thanks to John Travolta's Country-Western dance movie.  Now my so-called business partner was abandoning me at the worst possible time.  My gut warned me that losing Victoria's presence at the weekly social events was a death knell.  Everyone knew Disco was on its last legs.  Given how the story of the Victoria's lethal accident spread like wildfire, I feared people would take this as a sign that it was time to move on in September (unfortunately, I was proven correct).  I was furious with Victoria for quitting.  Since I expected her September classes would be small, I wanted to cancel both of them.  What was the point of Victoria sticking around when it was obvious her heart was no longer in it?  We needed to part, so let's get this over with.  

I stopped breathing.  I did not realize the rift was that serious.  Does Michael really want Victoria to move in with me?  Is Victoria bluffing or telling the truth?  I hated to say it, but she might be right.  What man can tolerate two months watching his wife pursue her dance instructor?  What goes on at night when Victoria comes home two hours after classes have ended?  Victoria explained that it was all very innocent, that all we did was sit in her car talking (which was the truth).  But why should Michael believe that?  It might be true that Michael was so fed up with Victoria that he didn't want her anymore.  Well, that was Victoria's problem, not mine.  However, given her rage, I did not dare say that out loud and hope to leave the coffee shop alive.

"Then get a divorce, Victoria.  That's what grownups do when they have unhappy marriages.  You have a college degree and a teaching certificate.  Keep the house, get a job, receive child support for your daughter Stephanie.  You will do just fine.  After your divorce, come see me if you still want to.  We can talk about our relationship then [I wasn't serious].  But right now I am looking at three dance accidents in a row.  These accidents are not only frightening, they are weird.  Stuff keeps happening beyond our control.  To me, these bad omens suggest any future relationship is a big mistake.  Don't you see?  The Universe is telling us to walk away!  As far as I'm concerned, we are star-crossed lovers."

I was positive this argument would bring Victoria to her senses.  First her father had told Victoria it wouldn't work.  Now I was telling her it wouldn't work.  Even God was telling her it wouldn't work.  What more did Victoria need to see the light?

"Rick, I don't agree with your conclusion.  I still want to be a part of the studio, but right now I am very confused.  Michael says he wants to talk to me over the upcoming Labor Day weekend.  Stephanie is spending the weekend with a friend so we can be alone to hash things out.  Please don't force me to make any decisions until I have my weekend talk."

I wanted to tell Victoria to leave the studio in the worst way.  If so, there was little she could do about it.  What did I have to lose?  The energy on Friday nights was already down to a mere trickle and I expected the diminished attendance in September would mark the beginning of the end.  Thanks to her Karate Chop decisions, she already had one foot out the door.  Losing Victoria would not make enough difference to matter, so why not pull the plug and get it over with?  However, when she promised to discuss it with Michael, I hesitated.  Given her vast contributions to the program, I felt Victoria deserved the right to leave on her own terms.  Since I expected her to depart of her own accord following her upcoming talk, I preferred to part on friendly terms. 

"Okay, Victoria, have your Labor Day talk with Michael and let me know what you decide."

THE DANCE CURSE: FIVE ACCIDENTS IN A ROW

Serious

Strange Accident
Dance Curse 5

Serious

Strange Accident
Dance Curse 4

Serious

Strange Accident
Dance Curse 3

Serious

Telekinesis
Dance Curse 2

Suspicious

Cosmic Blindness
Dance Curse 1