Chapter 3 #2
‘Yeah, probably,’ she replied, with a shrug of her own.
And right on cue, the emcee walked onto the ‘stage’ – which consisted of four wooden pallets pushed together in the corner of the room.
‘Thank you, everyone, for coming tonight to the Thamesis inaugural open mic night. We’ve got a great variety of acts for you tonight …’
Ruby cringed at the word ‘acts’. It only reinforced her fear that this was the sort of crowd that were hoping for an acoustic guitar cover.
‘And first up we have …’ he squinted down at the sheet of paper in his hand ‘… Ruby Tongue.’
Her heart sank as the people in the room clapped enthusiastically. She was about to bring the mood tumbling down.
Ruby downed the rest of her beer and avoided making eye contact with either Jude or Cindy as she wove her way to the front.
The emcee handed her the mic and the static momentarily deafened the crowd. Once everyone had stopped wincing she began.
‘This piece is called “Your cock is not a sword”.’ Her nerves had evaporated the moment she’d stepped up, as they always did, and now she wasn’t Ruby Wallace anymore. She locked eyes with Jude as she spoke the first line.
‘You wield yourself like a knight,
I lay and take a joust,
There are no cheering spectators watching.
I’m rammed and wounded but not delighted
Why can’t you forget the fight?
Me, a crop of conquered flesh,
I lie and take a joust,
Not a worthy opponent, but a win
a hole for your enjoyment and triumph,
Does this have to be a fight?’
At some point Jude walked out the room, and Ruby felt victorious. Maybe him being there that night had been exactly what she needed. She also noted with satisfaction that Cindy remained.
‘Your cock is not a sword,
I lie and take a joust,
my pleasure, it’s taunting, doesn’t move you
neither does my asking to come
A fight always has a loser.’
When she was done, the room remained stiffly silent for a beat too long. Finally, just as Ruby Tongue gave way to Ruby Wallace, she was heartened to hear at least two sets of clapping hands in the audience.
Others reluctantly joined in as she left the stage and made her way back to the bar, trying to avoid any eye contact as she went.
She reminded herself, as she often did in the moments of ritual humiliation that being a performing poet entailed, that she was not for everyone.
That in fact her very refusal to pander to the pleasant rhyming that her audience expected was what made her a real artist. Or at least, not a sell-out.
‘That was amazing.’ Ruby looked over to see Cindy weaving towards her.
She had delivered the compliment over the heads of the crowd around her.
Next thing Ruby knew, she was being enveloped in a musky-scented hug.
When Cindy pulled away, Ruby thought she detected a hint of embarrassment in her face as well.
The overfamiliarity couldn’t really be excused away by the single bottle of beer she’d consumed.
‘I mean Jude said you were good, but I don’t know, I just …’ Cindy trailed off, as if only just remembering that their social connection to one another was tangential. ‘Let’s just say, I loved it,’ she concluded.
‘Not sure the same can be said of Jude,’ Ruby added wryly.
‘No, well, men don’t often like very much to be said about their cocks, unless of course it’s to marvel at how huge they are.’
Ruby laughed and immediately the atmosphere between them settled back into the electric flow of conversation they’d enjoyed earlier.
Eventually Jude came sulking back into the bar, reeking of the dozen roll-ups he must have been chaining outside.
‘I think I’m going to go soon.’ This was directed at Cindy, and he seemed to be making an effort not to look in Ruby’s direction.
‘Oh really? Well I’m having kind of a nice time so I might hang around here a little longer, if that’s all right?’
A loaded silence nestled between them, as Jude fixed his face into an expression that decidedly said: No that is not all right, before storming off, without another word.
Cindy’s shoulders fell, as she breathed a deep sigh. She turned to Ruby. ‘I suppose I better go after him.’
Ruby shrugged, but she found herself feeling disheartened at the prospect. ‘I suppose.’
Unexpectedly, Cindy reached out for Ruby’s hand. Her palm was soft, her skin the warmth of a summer breeze. Ruby caught her breath.
‘It was really, really nice to meet you.’ Cindy’s dark eyes held Ruby’s and then each took a small step forward.
‘Hopefully I’ll see you around.’ Ruby’s voice sounded softer and more suggestive than she’d intended. But then again, maybe she had intended.
Cindy leant in, and Ruby could hear her heart in her ears; her lips parted slightly and her eyes fluttered closed.
When the pressure of Cindy’s mouth landed lightly on her cheek, Ruby was at once devastated and relieved. She opened her eyes and caught Cindy’ s shy smile. At least she knew this wasn’t all in her head.
‘Bye, Ruby.’ Her words lingered long after she had left, and far into the night, following Ruby to all her usual haunts and then onto the night bus back home.