Wrestling the Kraken

Bridgett

Bridgett

The food didn't last long, with nothing but crumbs left behind. Gathering around a fire now, they laughed and hollered, while someone had pulled a guitar out, strumming a few cords. A few men stood up and did a tumbling act, one they must have known by heart. Bridgett watched from outside the circle, feeling a sense of comoderie with this group that she barely knew. Some familiar faces were present, like Elena, Giovanni and Marco. They were from the auditions last week and trudged along with her, during the walk of shame.

At the other end of the circle, Lanz was talking with a group of friends. Waving his arms and moving about, he was animated when he talked, she noticed, and seeing him in his natural habitat, he was but one part of a boisterous gang. Fitting neatly into the puzzle that formed them collectively, the years of separation did nothing to hinder it. The whole group was a bunch of tight-nit, laid back, joyful lot. It felt like family.

Elena and Marco stepped off the aerial rig. "Bri!" Elena called out to her, hands cupped around her mouth. "It's your turn! Let's see you get on!" She waved her over with a large smile.

Other heads had turned and were calling out now. Lanz looked up at her, a smirk across his face. They cheered her on as she walked toward the rig. The guitar player had stopped, waiting for her to get positioned. The moment she sat in the hoop, he started to play a different tune. Right from the intro it had a Mediterranean flare. Marco stood off to the side, cranking the hoop slowly up into the air.

After the intro, tambourines and hand claps joined in. She leaned back in the hoop, her legs holding on from the top, twirling a few times. Then she sat up, and did a few somersaults through the hoop, finishing in a horizon pose. Someone found a few boxes and began beating along to the rhythm in their make shift bongos. Re-positioning into a standing pose, the hoop swung back and forth, before she dropped. The hoop spun a few times as she hung by her feet, her arms tucked in for momentum. Then she opened her arms out, positioned the hoop on the back of her right knee and pointed the other leg straight up.

She could hear clapping and cheering as she kept going. This was no routine. Listening to the highs and lows of the melody, she let the music fill her and her body interpreted it into motion. She sat up, no longer spinning and looked out. All the faces, happy faces, watching her... except for one.. two.

Lanz was off to the side talking to someone. The hoop spun around slowly, then she saw who the someone was. The detective. She kept moving, kept re-positioning, kept posing, and kept looking at the two. After a short while, the detective was leaving. She made a nod to Marco and he began to lower her down. The music followed suit. Stepping off, they all cheered and she bent forward in a bow, smiling. She walked off to the side, her head light and her stomach jittering.

That was thrilling!

Marco patted her on the back. "Bellissima! That was beautiful!" He said, walking off.

"Thank you." She replied, but he had already left out of ear shot. She skirted the outside of the group, with people praising her or the performance, or both. Ahead, she could see Lanz. He rejoined the group he was with earlier, but he stood quiet, looking at the ground. Occasionally he looked up, when a round of laughter erupted. He managed a forced smile, when someone grabbed him by the shoulder.

We weren't being kicked off, so that wasn't the problem. What could he have discussed with the detective that would change his mood like this?

The man leaning on his shoulder spoke first. "Bri, I swear, that was like watching doves fly."

"Thank you, Ricky." She smiled a bit embarrassed now.

Popcorn flew at Ricky's face. "Ah, he's sucking up!" A man with his feet up on a log, teased. "I mean he's right, he's totally right, like doves." He dropped his feet, kissing his finger tips, sending it up in the air. "But he thinks he's got a chance with you."

"Shut up Angelo!" Ricky barked, straightening up. Lanz shook his head, grinning. A genuine grin.

"Alright, alright." Lanz stepped in between them. " Let's not forget that I saw her first." He wrapped his arm around her. Leaning in, he whispered, "Let's get out of here, before they make me duel for you."

"My hero." She said with mirth.

They walked through the wooded path, which now had a gate at its entrance on both ends. Away from the crowd, from the noise, they walked in silence. The moon was rising, not fully above them yet. Lights were strung along the trees, illuminating the way ahead.

Almost reaching the tent, Lanz stopped and looked around. "You know, I think I'm ready for a more permanent place to live." He said, breaking the silence.

"You'd give up being the beach troll?" She teased, giving him a smile.

"I'd give it up." He spoke decisively, staring off into the grass field behind the tent. The grass was sparsely laid out and few trees stood on the plot, mainly sticking to the thick treeline further back.

"What would you build? I'm not sure I'd peg you for the cottage type."

"I'll leave that to you. It would be nice to have a woman's touch." He looked down at her, "I mean, you know, the house."

"Yeah, I got what you meant." She laughed, pulling a strip of hair off her face that the breeze had blown. She took a step forward toward the plot in question. "Well, there should be large windows here along the back, a patio, and a balcony up top on the second floor looking out at the water." She kept her gaze on the future house being built in her head. Lanz watched her, amused as she spoke. "How's that sound?" She turned toward him.

"Perfect." The gleam in his eyes, sent her stomach fluttering... and her mother's voice sounding... 'You don't deserve this. You'll end up ruining him too.'

She changed the subject, mainly to focus away from her thoughts. "I saw you talking to someone earlier. I saw him before. A detective right? Is everything okay? You seemed pretty upset afterwards."

"Yeah, it's alright." He put his hands in his pockets, looking down. "He's an old friend. That one I told you about the other day." He pointed a finger towards her.

"The one you promised to look after." She put in.

"Yeah, that's the one."

"Everything okay with him?" She was trying to be careful not to pry too much, but he wasn't being too forthcoming.

"Yeah, oh yeah, he's fine. It was nothing really."

She knew she couldn't press it any further and that he was choosing to hide whatever it was. Whether it was something big and important or something insignificant, she had no clue. If it had been nothing, why wouldn't he share?

She tossed her thoughts aside, realizing that she was being paranoid. Still could she really trust him? What if this was all a trick? She could feel her mother's snicker in the back of her mind. The space hovering over her ear, warming up at the thought.