Chapter 24: New Coach, New Problem

WE SAID GOOD NIGHT to Nicole and our spotters, Jon and Steffan. It looked like we’d be seeing a lot of them over the next month or so. I took Sydnie home and we went in to tell Eva the good news. She was truly overjoyed. I hadn’t seen so much life and excitement in her since Sydnie and I started training together. They insisted I make a call to tell my family.

I hadn’t really told my family I was auditioning for a show. I mean, why get them all excited when I might be eliminated in the first round. I called Mikey first and she wondered why I was calling her in the middle of the night. Oh. Midnight was no big deal in Las Vegas. It was two in the morning in Minneapolis.

“I did a thing,” I said. “A pretty big thing. My partner and I auditioned for a Las Vegas Revue and we passed the first round of auditions. The next round will be broadcast on TV.”

“What partner?” Mikey asked sleepily. Trust her to get to the interesting part.

“A few weeks ago, I ran into a woman I trained with at the academy in Florida. We decided to put together an act that could be in a Las Vegas show. It’s really good. That was what we auditioned tonight.”

“Am I about to have a sister-in-law?”

Mikey was suddenly wide awake and alert. I had a feeling she didn’t care in the least about our audition. She wanted to know about my partner.

“Heavens, no! She’s my acrobatics partner, not my lover.”

“Well, that can change.”

“No, it can’t. She’s married and I love her wife, too. They are both listening in on this call. Sydnie and Eva, say hello to my one-track-mind sister.”

“Hello, Mikey!” they chimed in.

“Oh! Married. To each other. I understand. Wonderful! I’ll just welcome you both to the family. So, you auditioned and it went well?”

Once the interpersonal stuff was taken care of, Mikey wanted to know all about our act.

“I heard someone say the most popular acts would probably be posted online by sometime tomorrow,” Sydnie said. “It’s possible you’ll be able to see it.”

I hadn’t heard that and it sent a shiver down my spine for some reason.

“I suppose I should call Mom and Dad and warn them,” I said.

“Not until morning! Remember what time it is. Mom and Dad have been going to bed earlier every night it seems. Old people!”

“Well, I normally go to bed early, too,” I defended them.

“Bet that changes when you’re in a Vegas revue,” Mikey laughed.

We got our goodbyes out and I said goodnight to Eva and Sydnie. I half expected to get one of Sydnie’s friendly kisses, but when I turned at the door, I saw her and Eva engaged to the exclusion of the rest of the world.

I went out for Sunday brunch when I got up around ten the next day. I was alone, but not particularly lonely. I was happy for a little time to just absorb the high from what had happened the previous night. I had a nice slab of prime rib, a couple of eggs, fried potatoes, and just to celebrate, a mimosa.

When I got home, I started looking through social media posts and searching the web until I found postings of the acts from the previous night. Sure enough, I found ours. It was a little terrifying to watch through the eyes of the camera. I hadn’t actually seen a video of what we were doing. Our coach told us what we needed to know.

I decided I’d better call Mom and Dad immediately.

It was Sunday afternoon and Mom and Dad were in the entertainment room relaxing. They immediately found and watched the video as I told them about the competition.

“Paul! This looks far more dangerous than anything you’ve done before! Is it safe?” Mom asked.

“Um ... Sure, Mom. You see the two guys dressed in black that scurry around on the stage moving equipment and watching us? They’re our spotters. It’s their job to catch us if we fall. You know, we aren’t working with the gymnastics rules for this. It’s a circus act,” I explained, only lying a little.

“It’s even riskier than what you did with your pairs partners or in cheerleading,” Dad said. “Why don’t you at least have mats?”

“Oh, you see that when we have a really high launch, one of the guys is there with a thick cushion for our landing. We just can’t cover the whole stage in the prep time we’re given. We can’t use a sprung floor, so we use a springboard. It can be moved in and out quickly,” I explained.

“Do you need an old engineer around to help with the setup and design? I could be persuaded to vacation in Las Vegas for a while,” Dad said.

“Dad, you know I’d always welcome you here,” I said. “I don’t know if there would be enough of a challenge for you to engineer the show. So far, it’s just a few mats and a couple of platforms.”

“But you got the vote? You’re moving to the next level?” Mom asked.

“Yeah. It was cool, Mom. I’ve never had so many people standing and cheering for something I did like this before. All four judges said ‘yes.’ The next round is in three or four weeks, depending on how many people get eliminated during the auditions. There are hundreds of acts auditioning.”

“I want to know exactly when it is so I can get tickets,” Mom said firmly.

“Are you sure you want to see it live?” I asked.

“If my son breaks his neck, I want to be with him,” Dad said.

Gee, thanks.

“Now tell us about this cute little girl who’s your partner. The titles said ‘Sydnie and Paul.’” Mom said.

“Yeah. She’s cute, but she’s no little girl. She’s just two years younger than I am. We met at the academy in Florida and had a chance to work together there a little. We became good friends, but her women’s group was on a very different path than I was, so they left the academy for a school in Montreal the second year I was there.”

“A women’s group?” Dad asked. “You mean one of those trios we saw performing when you were with Tara?”

“Yes. They competed and then toured and performed all over the world. They won a couple of World Championships. They were on their way here to train for the same audition Sydnie and I took. They were in an auto accident between LA and here and one of the girls, Lena, was killed. She was really a ... She was...” I struggled a little as the pain of losing Lena washed over me again. “We were really close at one time. But ... anyway ... the base, Eva, was also hurt and felt she needed to retire, which left Sydnie with no support. I mean, she and Eva still live together. They’re married, but Eva isn’t going to perform. When I saw Sydnie in the gym it was like a compulsion to ask her to perform with me. I think she’s a real star. We really work well together.”

“Yes, you do. Remember, Sydnie and Eva will be welcome here, too, if you all want to come to visit.”

“Thanks, Mom. I’m afraid we won’t be going anyplace as long as we’re in this competition. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

“Good luck, son.”

Sydnie and I were in the gym early Monday morning and started stretching and working out. Jon and Steffan were our spotters and when they got in, they immediately started rolling out mats on the hardwood and marking out the stage dimensions. Nicole came in with a sheaf of papers and directions regarding what equipment we’d need to start with besides our platform and springboard.

“I’ve cancelled all your massage and coaching for the duration,” she told me. It had been pretty limited over the past three weeks. I’d still massage Eva and Sydnie whenever they needed it, though. “The show is covering your expenses while you prepare the next performance. But that doesn’t include a salary. I’m putting you both on a scholarship that will put enough in your pockets to pay the rent and food for the next month. This is as important to the gym as it is to the revue.”

“That’s very generous of you, Nicole. We won’t let you down,” I said.

“I’ve been certain of that since the first day I met you. And you, Sydnie. A flyer like you could join about any act in Vegas. Are you sure you want to go through with this?”

“Oh, yes. There is nothing any act in town could offer me that could compete with what I have here,” Sydnie said.

“Then let’s start by going over a critique of your performance on Saturday. Staff! Let’s review.”

Apparently, everyone who worked at the gym had been at the event Saturday and took notes. They ranged from Jon and Steffan needing to either disappear or take part, to suggestions for another more difficult throw. Some liked our use of the full stage and some felt it diluted the performance. There was something we could take away from nearly every comment, though.

“Okay. I see our guest has arrived. Staff can go about your work. This is the acrobatics director for the New Trop Revue, Tara White.”

My head snapped up and I looked straight into the eyes of my former lover. It was like being punched in the gut. Sydnie saw my reaction and realized at once who this was. She grabbed my arm and squeezed.

“Tara,” I choked.

“Long time, Paul. You’re looking great.”

“You, too.”

In fact, Tara looked incredible. I noted that she had left a pair of walking canes by the front desk and walked across the floor unassisted. She was just so damned beautiful. It broke my heart all over again.

Sydnie jumped up and moved beside Nicole, who had a puzzled look on her face.

“If you two need a minute, we can take a break,” Sydnie said, pulling at Nicole.

“No. It’s not necessary,” Tara said. “I’m on a tight schedule and just wanted to stop by today to congratulate you on the performance Saturday. You really kicked it up a notch. I was impressed.”

“Paul is a wonderful base. I’d be flat on my face if he wasn’t so steady,” Sydnie said.

“I hear you. Let’s just sit down a minute and I’ll go over a couple of notes. I’ve looked over the list of acrobatic acts that made it to the live auditions over the next three weeks. I actually reviewed a couple of the acts myself and invited them to audition. Seeing your names pop up was a real surprise. Sydnie, I heard about the accident and I’m so sorry for you. I’m familiar with what that can do to you and I know the pain never goes completely away. I’m so glad you found Paul.”

“He’s a rock,” Sydnie said.

“Paul, you’ve made quite a name for yourself over the past few years. You can’t expect the judges to have known who you are. They aren’t gymnastics professionals. But you impressed them.”

“Thanks. I don’t really know what they are looking for,” I said. “We just followed Nicole’s advice and it worked.”

“Nicole is a fantastic coach and you’re lucky to have found her,” Tara said. “As to what the judges are looking for, they want a balance of acts that will play for a year or more together. Unlike some of the talent shows you may have seen, this isn’t a contest to arrive at the one best talent among the hundreds we’re auditioning. As good as your act is, you couldn’t survive doing ninety minutes of it.”

“I’ll say,” I said.

“For the show, you’ll probably have to put together about ten minutes of a dedicated act—maybe twice during a show. In addition to that, the troupe will interact with the other performers and may do a stunt or two that is not in their principal routine. We have a rough guideline regarding how many acts of what kind are needed for the revue. The final selection will include the mix for the production.”