Gwenny June

  Chapter 52 – Stirg Steams Again

  Next day Nev walked into the living room where Stirg was staring out into space. Nev looked in the same direction, but didn’t see anything out there of surpassing interest, just the harbor waters with the tide coming in and going out. He wasn’t sure he wanted to tell Stirg what he had to tell him, with Stirg’s tenuous hold on planet Earth; his inclination to voyage outwards.

  “I got an answer from the dancer guy. He asked if I’d killed any Chechens recently, and I told him I didn’t know of any here in Charleston. He asked me what I’m doing here, and I told him I’m with you. Then I told him you wanted to talk to him about ballet. He said sure.”

  Stirg nodded, said, “Maybe I’ll call him tomorrow. You got his number?”

  Nev said yes. Then he decided he had to tell Stirg the next part. “Guess what? This guy knows someone who’s coming to Charleston. An older dancer. Retired guy. I guess these dancer types don’t last too long. They’re like gymnasts; washed up by the time they hit twenty-eight. Two guy dancers and two girl dancers are coming here, and my guy knows one of them. And guess what else? The retired guy told my guy it’s a sweet deal. All expenses paid, for three months. They’re gonna be teachers here.”

  “What are they gonna teach?”

  Nev looked at Stirg, thinking, what do you think they’re gonna teach, soccer? He said, “Dancing. Gonna teach Americans to ballet dance. Said there’s going to be a new school here, with famous dancers.”

  Slowly Stirg turned away from the window and looked at Nev. “New school? Here?” He sat down in one of the overstuffed leather armchairs, and looked at Nev again. “You think, Nev? You think this is what Anna’s involved in? You think she’s part of this school?” Stirg’s voice had taken on a hoarseness to it.

  Nev had more to tell, which he didn’t want to do. “The retired dancer guy who’s coming here told my dancer guy something else. Something about the sweet deal.”

  “What?”

  “The guy said they’re going to live in a big house together, the four retired dancers. They’ll have the whole house to themselves, each have a bedroom, and the house is on the beach.” Nev paused.

  “What else, Nev. What else did the guy say about the sweet deal?”

  “The people here that are doing this school thing, that asked these four dancers to come and teach, they told the dancers about the all expenses paid, and the salary, and the big house, but the Russians still weren’t sure they wanted to come. Come all the way to a small place like Charleston and teach in a new school. So the people here said that the teaching time would be January, February, and March, and said the dancers could walk on the beach in front of their house, wear just a sweater. Said it’s warm in Charleston then, not like in Moscow.”

  “Yeah, and….”

  “And the last thing the people here said, try to persuade the dancers to come, was the house would have lots of Russian furniture in it. Real stuff. Old stuff. Would make the dancers feel like they were at home.”

  “They said that? Said the house would have old Russian stuff in it?”

  Nev nodded. Waited. Watched Stirg get up from the chair, stand there a minute, then slowly walk towards the wide door of the living room. When he reached the door he stopped and turned around. Said, “These Charleston fucks. Gonna put old Russian stuff in a beach house, huh? Like hell they are.”