He looks to me and smiles. I smile back, but he must see the sadness and uncertainty behind it because he leaves Alesso and comes to me. He slips an arm around my waist and pulls me into him. “You okay, lost girl?” he murmurs in my ear. “Because you know, you’re not lost any longer, right? You have a family and a home right here if you want it.”
As if to emphasize the point about how well we’re fitting in here, Mr. Bojangles comes tearing around the corner, his little legs working furiously as a giddy Gulliver chases him.
“God, Gully, careful,” Cassie admonishes as the dog nearly takes her legs from under her.
“Dinner is ready.” Violet appears at the double doors leading from the house to the patio area, and we all head to the table to sit. Bohdan takes my right, and the handsome one, Alesso, takes my left.
Feeling protected by Bohdan’s presence, I can enjoy the buzz and hum of conversation all around me as I lean into Bohdan and nibble at the delicious food and sip at the wine. The table is groaning with delicacies. There are vine leaves wrapped around rice. Deep-fried calamari, as well as deep-fried eggplant and zucchini slices. Two huge bowls of Greek salad punctuate each end of the long table, and warm bread sits temptingly in the center. There’s a variety of meat on one platter, and cheese on another. Olives in bright green bowls are scattered around the table, and people are piling their plates high and devouring the food.
There’s some white stuff in front of me, and I’m not sure what it is. Alesso glances at me and follows my gaze. He smiles. “Have you ever tried it before?” he asks me in excellent English.
“No, what is it?”
“Skordolia, but they say it is not for the faint of heart,” he says with a grin.
“Why not?”
“Find out. Try some, a little only, on some bread.”
I take a spoon, ladle a little of the dip onto my plate, break off some bread and taste. Oh, good God in heaven. Garlic. So much garlic.
“The vampires in the hills won’t get you tonight.” Alesso winks at me.
I take my wine and wash the dip down with a big sip. At this rate, I’ll be more than slightly merry. I don’t drink a lot, and this is my second or maybe third glass.
“I hear you’re a famous dancer,” Alesso says. “World famous.”
I sort of nod and shake my head at the same time, not sure how to answer. If I say no, it’s a lie, but saying yes is bigheaded.
“You’ve never seen anything as beautiful as Dasha dancing,” Bohdan speaks across me.
“I’d love to see you dance.” Violet sighs and hugs herself as if me dancing for her is some sort of personal dream come true.
“Dance for us,” Andrius says as he stands and strides into the house. He returns moments later, and music begins from the speakers out here. Flash bastard has an outdoors, as well as an indoors, sound system.
“Oh, please, Dasha, will you dance?” Violet’s eyes light up.
I don’t want to. I feel stupid here, in this intimate setting. I turn to Bohdan about to enlist his help in rescuing me, but I see such pride on his face that I suddenly want to do it. No one has ever looked at me that way. Not even Mother looked so proud when I was made Prima Ballerina.
“Okay,” I say softly. “I’m not sure how good I will be, as I’ve had a fair bit of wine. I’ll need my shoes,” I say to Bohdan.
He rushes off to the house we’re staying in and comes back a few minutes later carrying my shoes and a ruffled skirt I sometimes practice in. I pull the skirt on over my skinny jeans, then fasten my shoes.
I ask Andrius to see if he can find Camille Saint-Saens to play for me, and when he says he has, I go and stand in the middle of the candles, the lights flickering and casting shadows all around me. I have practiced this piece, The Dying Swan, so often as doing a solo show with this as the highlight was always my dream. It’s a dream that could come true for me now, thanks to Lilliana, but not one I’m sure I want anymore.
There’s silence as I raise my arms and then start to dance as the music fills me, the way it always does. The arms are so fluid at the start of this piece, they almost look like water if you get it right. I imagine it now, my arms as beautiful wings moving with grace and elegance. It’s an emotional and moving piece, and as I dance, I put all the heartbreak and pain I’ve suffered into it. I put the hours spent on that cold kitchen floor into the dance. I don’t look at Bohdan because he’s my sunshine, and for this, I need the pain.
Finally, the music ends, and I stop moving, chest rising and falling to nothing but total silence.
Oh, shit, did I make a mistake? I glance over to the table to see tears streaming down Violet’s cheeks. She pushes her chair back and starts to clap as she says a soft bravo. One by one every person at the table stands and claps.
Then Bohdan walks over to me, picks me up and spins me around, kissing me hard. “You’re astonishing,” he says. “My beautiful, talented, jewel. I fucking love you.”
I freeze for a moment in his arms, but then I say what I’m feeling. “I love you too.” He kisses me and kisses me, and I let him, not caring that we have an audience.
It’s one of the most magical moments in my life.
Much later, back in the house we’re staying in, the magic is still there, but so is a sadness. I can’t stay here locked away like those other women do. I need to dance. Yes, I would quite like to step back. Possibly maybe do the odd one-off tour or show, and the rest of the time work on something new. The more I’ve thought about it, the more I realize that I’d love to teach dance here. I’d really enjoy giving a whole new generation the bug that I caught so young. And whilst I might not want children of my own, for a variety of reasons, it doesn’t mean that I dislike children. I like them a lot and would love to work with young people, helping them discover the joys of dance. For the majority, it would be nothing more than a hobby, but one that will give them great posture and fitness foundations for life.
Bohdan comes up to me and wraps his arms around me. “You were magical out there,” he says. He scatters something over me, and I look up and laugh when I see the petals floating around me.
“Covering you in magical pixie dust,” he says with a smile.
“I meant it, what I said before,” I tell him. “I do love you, but things for us aren’t easy.”
He pulls me into him and kisses me before leaning back to look at me, his blue eyes dark in the dim glow of the hallway light. We didn’t turn the kitchen light on when we entered the room. “You think it’s easy for K and Cassie? Jesus. The shit they had to get through. Or Violet and Andrius?”
“I can’t be like those women,” I say. “They’re almost prisoners here. They don’t get to leave unless with their men, but the men get to leave any time they like.”
I’ve seen Konstantin go off on business for two days while I’ve been here, and Andrius flew to Athens to see the two men who were here tonight, but Violet? She stays here. So does Cassie. Their men say it is for their safety, but to me they seem like prisoners. I’ve been a prisoner for far too long to become one again.
Bohdan sighs and takes a seat, pulling me onto his knee as he plays with my hair.
“They are in danger because there are active threats against K and Andrius, and that’s why they stay here.”