Free The Pleasure Quartet by Vina Jackson Page A

enough in the bank, and a diminishing stream of royalties coming through from my old albums which were ticking over, so I wouldn’t have to worry about working for a few months at least. And then I would figure something out. Maybe I could learn Portuguese and work in a local juice bar.
    ‘The Network is willing to continue to take care of you, financially,’ she said.
    ‘Oh no,’ I insisted, putting my hand up. ‘You’ve done enough for me. I appreciate it, but it’s not necessary. Really.’
    ‘I’m not doing you a favour,’ she said. ‘We do the same for everyone. It’s pretty straightforward. Once a Ball employee, always a Ball employee. The Network is buying your discretion. Not quite to the level that you’re used to, perhaps, since you’re no longer being reimbursed for work, or working expenses. But you’ll continue to receive an annual stipend. And there’s no point arguing about that, as I have your bank details and will be making the deposits whether you like it or not. You can stay in the apartment here, so long as you look after the place. The rent was paid up front and there’s another few months on the lease. We won’t be needing it for other staff any time soon.’
    ‘Thank you,’ I told her. ‘You’ve been so good to me.’
    ‘It’s been a pleasure.’ She reached over the table and squeezed my hand. ‘Don’t fall out of touch. I mean it. And any time that you want to come back, there will always be a place for you. Travelling with the Ball, or staying put, in any city that you like, we’ll find something for you to do.’
    We ordered dessert, and one last round of drinks. I opted for a simple lemon sorbet, which came served with orange-flavoured, paper-thin crisps, and Aurelia chose the far more decadent devil’s food cake, a rich chocolate fondant with a firm exterior and glossy, melting-soft pudding within. She leant across the table and fed me a spoonful.
    The sun was setting by the time we finished and the sky was streaked with vivid stripes of red, purple and gold. Aurelia paid the bill and we gathered our things.
    ‘Your dress!’ I exclaimed. ‘I’ll change back into my own stuff.’ My damp shorts, vest and bikini top were stuffed inside the towel in Aurelia’s beach bag, and probably still wet.
    ‘Keep it,’ she said. ‘We’re flying out tomorrow, and I won’t be needing a kaftan in Iceland. Besides, it suits you better than it ever did me.’
    She asked for a plastic bag so I could carry my clothing home.
    We embraced on the steps, and turned in opposite directions to walk to our respective lodgings. I wheeled back again, one last time to wave goodbye. Aurelia was still standing there on the step, flirting with the waitress. She had a white card in her hand, probably like the one she’d given me the first time we met, with her Network contact details written on it. Probably recruiting another dancer, I thought. Trust Aurelia to make the most of every opportunity. The Ball wouldn’t miss me. Of that I was sure. I was by no means indispensable.
    She looked up and noticed me watching her, and raised her arm in a final gesture of farewell.
    I carried on walking. I felt light, as though a load had been lifted from my shoulders. If I had been wearing proper shoes, and had a bra on, I would have lifted my feet quicker and run all the way home, just for the pure joy of it.
    What would I do now? I could do anything that I liked. I would start to explore South America, I decided. I’d been too busy working to see any but the closest sights. I hadn’t even been up to see the statue of the Christ that overlooked the city. I was too off-put by the big crowds of tourists that swarmed there during the day, and had been too lazy to get up and go first thing in the morning when it would be quieter. I noticed a paraglider sailing past on the winds above me, coming down to land on the beach. Maybe I would hang-glide over the statue instead, see it from the air.
    It was time I