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Themusic changed again, female and male voices intertwining.Thedancers parted, so that a path appeared in the middle of the pavement.Awoman in a gold top and gold lycra bottoms drifted down the centre.
Krishdid a cartoon double take and his eyes popped out of his head.ItwasFrancesca!
Skippingthrough the centre of the dancers,Francescahalted in front ofKrish, trying hard not to reach out and touch him.Thelook on his face made her want to break down in giggles.Whata sight.
Instead, she turned her back to him, slinking her body up and down like she was doing a lap dance.Shedropped her chin over her shoulder and winked at him before bouncing back to the others.
Behindher, she could hearKrish’sbeautiful laughter.
Butshe couldn’t let herself get distracted!Thischoreography demanded all of her attention.Sinceshe’d calledJaiveeronThursday, she’d been practising the moves non-stop—the plus side being that it made the time fly by.
Jaiveerhad come through.Hewas rehearsing dancers anyway for the nextYRFproduction, aLondon/Indiacrossover, so it wasn’t too hard to pull something together.Hereused some of the bits from the wedding.Theonly bugger was thatFrancescahad to pay the dancers £50 each for their time today.
Itwas worth it just to see that look onKrish’sface.Likeit was his birthdayandhe’d won the lottery.
Themoves flowed through her and her body responded in a way it never had before.Forthe first time—maybe ever—she was rejoicing in her own physicality.Herleft arm worked with her right arm which worked with her right leg which worked with her left leg.Andall of them were connected to her heart, which beat with the dual purpose of life and love.
Thiswas her body.Takeit or leave it.Yes, it caused her pain and frustration, but it also allowed her to live, love, learn, jump, run and dance.Shewas alive.
Tomorrowmight be another day, but today…today she loved herself.
Krish’sshouldersmoved along to the music.Hestill couldn’t believe this was all for him.
Hehad never seenFrancescalike this.Whirlingand happy, with her arms up in the air and her feet moving like the ground was too hot to stand on for too long.Tohim, she could have been the only one dancing.Hisheart beat merrily in his chest.
Heloved her.Lifewould be a never-ending adventure with her by his side.
Anew song replaced the old, andFrancescadisappeared into the middle of the group.Allhe could see of her was a flash of gold here and a flash of gold there.
Nextthing, she was lifted high onto one of the male dancer’s shoulders.Theother dancers carried on counterclockwise around her while her partner turned slowly the opposite way.Krishgrinned so hard that his face felt like it might crack down the middle.
Hewanted this go on forever and wanted it to end as soon as possible.Thegrass was now covered in onlookers filming the event, and he wished that he’d thought to record it, too.Hewould never get tired of watching that film.
Butthen again, experiencing it in real life was good, too.Hedidn’t need a recording to remember his joy as he watchedFrancescadancing her heart out.
Hecould feel the finale coming.Thebeat of the music sped up; his heart with it.Thedancers in front started doing a hook step that involved a shimmying motion on top and then banging their feet on the ground.Rowby row, the dancers started copying this move,Francescaglowing with an inner light among them.Hewas so impressed with how well she was doing, surrounded by what he would call professionals.Sheblended in perfectly.
Therewas nothing amateur aboutFrancesca.
Thefirst few rows crouched down, shaking their show hands inFrancesca’sdirection as the final drum beats thwacked through the air.Shestood bang in the middle, whereParamjeetandIshanihad stood in the original dance.Asthe final notes sounded, the company called something out.Hecouldn’t make out what it was.
Asquickly as it had appeared, the mass of dancers melted back into the crowds.Theoriginal woman reconstructed her trolley and carted the speaker away, like it never happened.
Exceptit had.
Francescahad done this for him.Hehoped that he understood her message.
Theonly dancer remaining was her.Shetook a few hesitant steps toward him, her hair damp with the effort of her performance.Shehad a question in her eyes.Hedidn’t even need her to ask it.Hejust nodded.
WhenKrishnodded,it was like cutting a taut rope;Francescaran at him and leapt up into his arms, just like she used to, like she’d wanted to do since he came back into her life.
Shewrapped her legs around his middle and her arms circled his neck.Inone smooth move, she pressed her lips against his.Everythingelse disappeared from her consciousness.Thecrowds, the smell of roasting nuts, the cry of a kid shouting, ‘Mummy, what are they doing?’
Theonly thing in the world wasKrish.Andhe was hers.
Pullingback from the kiss, she found his brown eyes with her green ones and said, ‘Ichoose you.’
Itwas better thanIlove you.Choiceimplied so much more.Shewas choosing to be with him.Choosinghim as her friend.Choosinghim as her lover.Choosinghim as the person she came home to every night.Choosinghim as the one person she shared her soul with.
