After the lunch we had all separated as Florence had confirmed the dinner to be at her place, as they had not managed to find a baby sitter on such a short notice. I had asked her if I could help with the cooking and Florence had agreed with surprised delight, so I had gone home to get the little black dress I had just recently bought together with four inch black heels to change into later and then gone to find Florence’s home and help with the dinner preparations. It is hard for me still to describe what joy I felt doing this. On one hand I was going to have a dinner over negotiations that would seal my future, but on the other hand I had a thoroughly enjoyable girly time with a new female friend, who enjoyed it just as much as myself, and we were cooking like good wives should, at least in that macho world we were still sort of part. Florence more than I though.

“So what is Abi’s hubby like, Florence?” I asked while I was cutting veggies, having covered myself with a frilly white apron that had made Florence giggle as she had handed it to me.

“He is a nice person as such, I mean, you know Abigail, she’d never be content with a boring man, but he is an old school Etonian. You might have to seriously fight some very old prejudice there. But then, since you seem to have at least as good a classical education as he has, that might not be a problem at all.”

“I really surprised you with knowing about Lysistrata, didn’t I?”

“You sure did. Specially since you did not only know about it, but you did know what could be done with it, which means you’ve actually read it, did you not?”

“Not the original text, though,” I laughed “I never advanced that much with the ancient Greek language.”

“No shit?” Florence asked “You studied ancient Greek?”

“Only one year.”

“Well, that will certainly pull the plug on any objection Walter might ever have about your education. He never did.” Florence laughed “Oh Monique, you cannot imagine how much I enjoy your company.”

We had fun cooking and setting a really festive table when Florence’s husband came home. The two of them kissed very lovingly, before James took both my hands and looked searchingly straight into my eyes. I returned the gaze openly, letting him see all my emotions, the insecurity, the pride, the joy of the almost sisterly love I felt for his wife and the sadness about my unrequited love for Josephine. He didn’t blink but started to smile.

“Well,” he said “I can certainly see the woman Florence described. You are beautiful, Monique.”

That made me blush like never before.

“Thank you,” I whispered “you have no idea what that compliment means to me.”

He chuckled.

“Well, Madam, if your professional qualities are any match for the femininity you exude, I think we have struck a gold mine.”

Florence, who had been watching with interest now pulled us apart laughing and saying:

“That’s enough, you two! You can go on flattering each other later. Monique, we are nowhere near finished yet and that doesn’t even take into account that we still have to shower and change.”

Evidently she had realised that I had been close to tears. I was happy for her to brake that very emotional moment. Encounters with men as a woman were very disconcerting to say the least. Not with men like Will, old enough to be my dad, but with men like James, who was probably not even forty and so ‘eligible’ for a woman my age … That was a completely different matter. Especially as I did not lean that way at all.

As soon as were alone again in the kitchen Florence took my hands, looked into my eyes and said:

“You evidently have no defence yet against male flattery, poor thing.”

“No, Florence, that was very disconcerting.”

“Well, tonight you’ll need to be prepared to fend off two of them. James means well. He thinks he is helping if he makes you feel appreciated as a woman and I can understand his reasoning. But he is coming from a thoroughly male point of view. To be sure, how could he possibly understand where YOU are? He grew up to believe, that any woman needs to feel appreciated by a man to feel herself validated.”

“Did you do a minor in psychology?” I giggled.

Florence laughed.

“No, Monique, all of that is just common knowledge among women. You just are in for a real crash course, dear.”

“Yes, quite a challenge, I think.”

“Well, you are certainly woman enough to master that.”

“Thanks, Florence, your help is absolutely invaluable.”

“Well, I like you very much, Monique.”

“I feel like your little sister.” I laughed.

“Yes, she said. In a way you are.”

We hugged for a long moment after that.

That being sorted we had no problem finishing all preparations and we were now primping in front of her full length mirror. So I was to encounter Abigail’s husband Walter and in a short body hugging LBD with four inch heels, made up for a gala dinner. Florence had gone a little over board with my make-up I though, but part of me had to admit that I looked very attractive. Not a look I would have gone for in a business meeting. There was no way out any more now, though. Florence gave me an appreciative slap on my cute tush (as she called it). I almost squeaked and she giggled. She was just as bad as Sandra.

We went downstairs together and I noticed Abigail’s eyebrows going up as she looked me over.

“Wow!” she laughed “Monique, you look absolutely ravishing for a roadie.”

James laughed.

“That, I think, is the least important part of her, Abigail.”

“The roadie or the ravishing bit?” Abigail teased back and I could see that her husband was getting uncomfortable. That was the last thing I wanted. Fortunately he decided to take things in his own hands. He came towards me and held out his hand.

“Bonsoir, Mademoiselle Monique, je suis enchanté faire votre connaissance.”

“Bonsoir Walter.” I replied “C’est à moi l’honneur.”

My immediate and unthinking reply in French had already passed me the first test evidently, as his face now showed a really pleased smile.

“I am happy to find, Monique, that my prejudices against people from the Rock industry seem completely unfounded. You are beautiful and cultured and, if my wife is to be believed, very talented too and on top of that have a solid business sense. I do not think I have ever encountered a woman like you.”

“I do not now what to say, Walter, you are so very kind.” I said with a blush “How does one thank someone for so many compliments in just one sentence?”

That seemed to clinch it, as he took my hand and kissed it like in an old movie saying:

“Vous etez un tresor rare, Madame.”

And I blushed even more deeply to both Abigail and Florence laughing.

“Well,” James broke the awkward moment offering his arm to me “May I lead you to the table, Madame?”

I could not help a giggle. Florence took my other arm and we went into the lavish dining room, that had large patio doors looking out over the garden towards the heath. These two certainly had it nice. But before we went to the table James led us to a small bar at one side and asked what I would like for an aperitif. I gracefully accepted a Kir Royal as did Florence.

As we stood with our drinks looking out over the garden both men flanked me and Walter opened the interrogation with:

“So, Monique, Abigail told me, that you came much better prepared to today’s meeting than any of them.”

I smiled.

“That, Walter, was no surprise. None of them has any experience what it means to take a show on the road.”

“But you have?”

“Yes, that is why Abigail called me a roadie. Before I became the technical director of two theatre festivals I was producing sound and lighting equipment for bands and some of the major hire companies in Germany.”

“May I ask what bands or events you worked for?”

“Equipment of my design was used for example for the Rockpalast broadcasts from Lorelei, during David Bowie’s ‘Lets Dance’ tour through Germany and the Arachnids first tour of the US.”

I don’t think either of them had expected anything like that. It wasn’t surprising. Who would have thought that at the age of 27 I had helped create Germany’s first flying PA system by designing the mid-high section of the Amptown Concert System? That system I had also modified for the Arachnids for their first US tour. It had been shown first in 1980 at the worlds most famous music fair in Frankfurt. Had I really done all that already? I was sometimes hard put to believe it myself.

“That is really impressive.” James said finally overcoming his surprise. “I think we have a bit of catching up to do, Walter, as to the nature of the business our ladies are now involved in.”

“I think, James, I have nowhere near the technical mind to understand any of it, to be honest.” Walter replied “I think we’ll have to trust this young lady as to be competent enough to handle all that. But first of all I’d like to hear her arguments on the business side of things. That at least is something I do comprehend.”

To my surprise I gently put my hand on Walters arm as I said:

“Thank you, Walter, but I think we’ll leave the business side of things for after the meal, while we have our coffees. Florence and I spent too much time cooking to let it go cold.”

“Oh,” Walter said with a grin “You do cooking, too?”

“Even a working girl has to eat properly, Walter.”

On that cue Florence asked us all to be seated. She had placed James at the head of the table and, to my surprise, me opposite, with Abigail and Walter on either side, while she sat next to her husband and her little daughter on her father’s other side. I had not seen the little one before, evidently she had been taken care of by an au-pair I had not seen either, who was now serving the meal. The meal passed with pleasant small talk and afterwards, when the table was cleared and coffees served, James offered me a cognac, but I asked if he had a Grappa, which he had. We repaired to the lounge now, that was equally lavish as the dining room and with similar views. I settled on the edge of a sofa crossing my legs carefully not to let the short skirt ride up too much, expecting the next round of questions.

“Right, Monique,” James this time opened the round and I noticed, that neither Abigail nor Florence were present “tell us about those ideas of yours.”

“Well, it is really quite simple, James. The girls want a tour of about a year after the initial year in the West end. I investigated what is available for hire in terms of lighting rigs for such an undertaking, and to be quite honest there is nothing we could hire that is entirely suitable for the kind of lighting I have in mind, as all there is is designed for Rock shows.”

“Could you not use the equipment already installed in the theatres?” Walter asked.

“That would have two difficulties, Walter. First we could only use Venues, that have lighting installed and secondly it would take a lot of time each showing in preparation and setting the lights, not to speak of the fact, that it would be almost impossible to make the show look the same in every performance.”

“So what is your solution, Monique?” James asked.

“I propose to design a rig, that can be slightly modified to fit a prearranged set of venues, including the original theatre. That way setting up will be quick and easy and involve a lot less working hours to start with. It would guarantee the quality of the show, at least where the technical side is concerned, to be identical every time and include the option, of hiring out the rig afterwards to pay for it even more easily.”

James smiled.

“And who, do you think, would be able to work such a rig later on when we hire it out?”

“Oh, I think at least two or three of my girls will be able to do that, once the tour is over. I intend to teach them as much as I can.”

“That certainly is very generous of you.” Walter said “But is it wise?”

“Wise?” I asked aghast.

James laughed out loud.

“Don’t you realise, Monique, that you are giving away your own professional future freely?”

I was shocked. What was he talking about? Wasn’t I going to work for them for three years? I suddenly felt Florence’s hands on my shoulders.

“Monique,” she asked “do you trust me?”

“Without question, Florence, you know that.”

“Then listen to my husband.”

I looked up at her and she gently touched my cheek.

“I know that it will be difficult for you to trust partners again, darling, but please listen, OK?”

Both Walter and James had watched our exchange intently.

“What I will be proposing to you Monique is what you want, only a slightly different version of it.”

He looked at me with an unreadable expression.

“From the business point of view for What Else you are more than just right. But … if we split the technical side off and hired the equipment to What Else at a fair price, the profits would be spread over two companies and thus the taxes would be less. Plus, after the tour of our musical, there would be a permanent income for the lady, that would be the managing partner of the hire company.”

I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Was he really offering me a partnership in a hire company? Would I ever be able to trust anyone again after my experience with Amptown? Now I knew why Florence had asked me if I trusted her. Yes, I did. And she knew about what had happened. Had she told James? Most probably, so he knew, Walter most probably did not.

“Monique,” James said “we are not asking you to take any decisions. Not yet, anyway. We offer you to do the job you signed up for with What Else and build your rig. But before we go on tour with it you’ll have to decide, if you want to become a partner and the managing director of the hire company or not.”

“Think about it Monique.” Walter said “We really want to help you as much as you are helping us.”

Now I felt Abigail’s hand on my shoulder, too.

“We won’t disappoint you, Monique. You are so incredibly generous with the talent you have. None of us would want to hurt you.”

And the flood gates opened. I do not think I ever cried as much in my life as in those days. Nobody was embarrassed, though, not even I. How had I been so lucky to find these incredibly kind people? I would have to work hard on myself to build the trust to sign another partnership, but I knew this was the one off chance to settle. All that was missing was someone to share my happiness with. Well, that was not quite true, though, was it? There already were Sandra, May, Florence and now Abigail, who wanted me to share happiness with them, and possibly even James and Walter. Josephine, would I ever win her love? Well, if I trusted my luck, I actually might. A lot of trust I had to develop. But it was worth it. I looked around at everybody, all of whom were smiling at me. I took a deep breath.

“I accept.” I said with a sigh and the cheers started.

Florence and Abigail hugged me and kissed my tear streaked cheeks and even James took me in his arms. Walter just gently touched my shoulder and said:

“Well done, Monique.”