Chapter Three
Friday, Saturday, and Sunday were uneventful days for Mirasol. She tended her animals, watered her crops, and sat around the house when she had nothing to do. She made several attempts at picking up some of her old favorite books, but her mind kept wandering. She couldn't stay focused. She was filled with the urge to get up and move, as if she had some driving energy in her limbs.
Is this why people like dancing so much? She asked herself. Is this what it does to you?
She sat on her bed, an Ellen Hopkins book resting against her stomach. Wonder what Sanjay's up to…
Stop. He isn't interested.
Before she could think too long about it, she hopped up and was out the door. She passed her beehives and her crop plots, and the barn. She followed the path all the way past Hanna's shop, past Neil's house, and to Allen's salon, where she barged inside and ran up the stairs.
Allen was sitting at the table, looking over a bowl of herb soup.
Mirasol helped herself to a bowl, seating herself across from him. She shoveled soup into her mouth, Allen watching without a word. He sat back in his chair, hands folded in his lap, awaiting an explanation.
He never got one. When she'd finished her bowl, she pushed it away from her, and laid her head down on the table.
He reached over and patted her head. "Hey, Mirasol. Tell me what's wrong."
She answered him with "Umph."
"Hm?"
She shrugged her shoulders.
Allen checked his watch. "You know there's a flower festival today at twelve, right?"
She lifted up her head. "No."
"Will you come with me?"
"Yes."
Allen and Mirasol paced through the grass, waiting on the festival to begin. Villagers milled around, chatting with each other, discussing flowers and fragrances. A stray dog trotted around the grounds.
Neil eventually made his way over to the two, looking unhappy. "I don't know why I visit these festivals."
"Because you want to see your two best friends," Allen joked.
Mirasol smiled, distracted once again. Would Sanjay be coming today?
Neil and Allen started up a conversation on swimsuits and wives, although Mirasol had a hard time paying attention. Why did she keep thinking about Sanjay? Why couldn't she get over the fact that he was simply dancing with her because his master told him to do so? Why was she still even thinking about it?
Neil was saying something along the lines of, "Why would I want to see her in a swimsuit?" when she broke in.
"Guys, I need to talk to you about something."
They both paused and looked at her, as if just remembering she was there.
She sighed before beginning, glancing around. "This isn't the greatest place… whatever. I, um. Well, guys. I sort of… I need to get this off my chest." she looked at the two. Why was she even telling them? They're guys. They won't understand, or even care! "Uh, ah, nevermind."
Allen spoke up. "No, Mirasol. I want to know what's bothering you."
Neil chuckled. "Actually, I don't really care."
Mirasol ignored the comment. "Well, it's just… I don't know how to say it. I'm nervous. I've never had this happen to me before."
Neil interrupted. "I know what it is."
She looked at him, crossing her arms. "What is it then?"
"Pfft. It isn't like your googly eyes aren't noticeable, Mirasol. You've got a crush on Sanjay. It's fine. I don't know why you're so worked up over it."
Allen and Mirasol's eyes widened. As Allen gasped, Mirasol screeched, "Shhhh! Neil!"
Neil crossed his arms. "What?"
"You do?" Allen was grinning.
"Guys, quiet down!" she whispered frantically, glancing around. No one had noticed them, but Dunhill was approaching the competitor's platform. "I'll talk to you about it later." She tugged on Allen's sleeve, leading him to a bench in the back row, leaving Neil to find a seat himself.
He was still grinning when they sat down. "Mirasol, I totally support you. He has the nicest hair. I've been waiting for the day he comes in and asks for a cut."
As Dunhill made his speech at the podium, Mirasol tuned him out, fiddling with the hem of her shirt. She hoped Neil or Allen wouldn't say anything. But guys don't care about that kind of thing, right? Even though she sometimes questioned Allen's sexuality, she was sure he wouldn't spread it anywhere. She was almost a hundred percent sure Neil would have forgotten by tomorrow.
Suddenly Allen nudged her. "Your man just arrived, but without His Royal Highness."
Mirasol glanced up, excitement filtering into her stomach, as she watched the man take a seat three rows ahead of where she and Allen sat. She also noticed Neil sitting on the same row, who after noticing Sanjay's entrance, turned to wink at her.
She stuck an angry tongue out at him. She glanced around for Amir, past the heads behind her, around the half-hearted decorations strung around the place, but couldn't see him. It was rare to see one without the other in public. What could he be doing?
The contestants stood as Dunhill finished his speech, although there was no longer any hope that Mirasol would pay them any mind. She was busy staring at the back of one man's head, wondering just what was going through it at that moment. Had he noticed her sitting here? Had he seen that she was sitting with Allen, and been jealous?
Ah, those thoughts again. She shoved them away, trying to force away the unhappy feeling that came with knowing Sanjay would never go for her.
Sanjay's heart had leapt when he'd noticed Mirasol in the crowd of people at the Flower Festival. He wasn't so happy to see that she had gone with a male, however, Sanjay was mostly sure he was homosexual anyway. He'd half hoped the two would notice him and come over to say hello, although by the time it was over, Sanjay was on his own, looking around for someone to speak to.
It was awkward, being a foreigner, as he had never made many friends. Honest, Mirasol and Amir were the two he was closest to in the town.
He stole a glance backward from where he stood, to see Allen, Neil, and Mirasol deep in conversation on the other side of the grounds. What could they be talking about?
"Hello, Sanjay."
Sanjay turned around to see little Miss Hanna hobbling over to him, a sweet smile on her face. He smiled warmly back to her. "Good afternoon, Miss Hanna."
"Where is Master Amir?" she asked.
"Ah, home," he replied, looking around, forcing his eyes not to fall on Mirasol.
Suddenly, Hanna took the sleeve of Sanjay's robe firmly in her hand, and yanked him down toward her. She brought her face close to his and stared intensely into his eyes. "I've seen you looking at Mirasol."
His eyes widened. "What? No—"
She nodded, smiling. "Yes. I want to tell you, keep up your hope. I can't guarantee you anything, but I see potential." She tapped her temple with an old, wrinkled finger. "I know these things. Women have a sort of telepathy, you know." She let go of his sleeve, patting his bicep warmly before turning and walking off.
Sanjay's heartbeat strengthened. Thank you, Hanna, he thought, as he turned to begin walking home.
He risked one last look at the farmer the he hoped would one day be his, to see her eyes adjust in the slightest in his direction. Their eyes met, and for a moment, Sanjay was sure. It had to be her. It had to be.
Then Allen nudged her, and she broke their gaze to turn and head home.
Mirasol shuffled along the path with Allen by her side, chatting about scissors and razors.
She didn't know how to tell him about her feelings for Sanjay. She wasn't sure if he'd understand. But she had to try.
"Allen, would you mind if we hung out for a bit? I'd like to talk to you about the whole…" she glanced at him carefully. "Dude thing."
Allen laughed. "Sure, Mirasol. You can stay for dinner."
They walked back to the salon, climbing the stairs and taking seats at his table. Mirasol began as soon as she'd figured out how to say it.
"Allen, I really like Sanjay. I mean, I really like him. But I don't think he likes me."
Allen nodded. "You know, this is a very common misconception between two people looking to date. It could be both of you are interested but you're too focused on hiding it. I know just what you need to do. You've got to show him your feelings. Subtly, but enough to where he'll know." He chuckled. "Guys can be pretty dense sometimes."
Mirasol laughed, although she wasn't feeling any better. What if she showed Sanjay her feelings and it turned out he didn't feel the same?
Allen leaned forward and patted her hand gently. "You'll be fine, Mirasol. I saw him glance at you once or twice. At least you know he finds you physically intriguing."
Why didn't that make her feel any better?
At the exotic mansion, Sanjay was in trouble.
"Sanjay! I'm disappointed in you."
Sanjay sighed. "I know."
Amir waved his hands in the air. "Is it really that hard to speak to a woman? All you could do was look at her?"
He hung his head. "Yes."
"You're going to lose her, Sanjay. Another man is going to come around and snatch her up if you don't do it now."
He didn't reply. What could he say? Being a servant, he was used to having to speak to people. But he couldn't speak to this one woman.
"Listen to me. You're an attractive man. You're foreign. Exotic. You live with a prince. What is there not to like?"
"My personality."
Amir recoiled, giving him a somewhat horrified look. "Sanjay, are you serious? You've got the personality all women look for in a guy. Charming, sweet. You're quiet and gentle in a good way. I know she wants you, it's just the both of you are chickens."
"You can't know that."
"I can. Now you listen to me. When she comes over this Wednesday, I will be watching. That's all I'm going to say. Be prepared."
Sanjay was even more scared now. As he waited at the front door for Mirasol's arrival, he imagined the scenarios Amir might have planned for the two today with a look of horror on his face. He almost wanted to force himself to throw up in order to get out of it.
Maybe that would even make him feel better.
Knock knock. Too late.
He opened the door with a cheerful smile that hid so much. "Hello, Miss Mirasol."
"Hi, Sanjay."
They made their way to the ballroom, carrying themselves the same way as the previous lessons. Although, when Sanjay opened the door for Mirasol to enter the ballroom, he heard Amir call, "Hello, Mirasol. I thought I would stop in on your dance lesson today, to see how you're doing."
Sanjay entered behind Mirasol, shooting looks at Amir. Amir smiled defiantly back.
"It's good to see you, Amir," Mirasol said. "Try not to laugh too hard."
Sanjay could see him forcing down an even bigger grin. "Oh, I won't."
What tricks did he have up his sleeve?
Sanjay and Mirasol took each other's hands, and began swaying, stepping, and half-twirling. She'd gotten down the patterns fine by now, and knew when to move where. It was just the flow that was getting her, now.
After a few minutes, Amir stood, clapping. "Very nice, very nice! How about I go ahead and call Dancing With The Stars?" He had to bite his tongue not to add, Or Dirty Dancing.
Mirasol laughed.
"How about you guys try something new? A little more… interesting, shall we say?"
Neither Mirasol or Sanjay said anything, both being hesitant over the situation.
Continuing, Amir said, "Sanjay, add the dip and the twirl please. I'd like to see it."
Mirasol looked awkwardly to Sanjay for help.
"It's okay, you won't have to do anything," he said, with more confidence than he felt. "I won't let you fall. Just hold on to me."
The assumed their positions, and began dancing. Amir watched, the flow still a little off, but very much improved since the last week's lesson. Although, as he studied their bodies, he realized something.
He held up a hand. "Stop."
They stopped, without parting.
"Don't move."
Amir walked over to the two, looking them up and down, studying. Then, matter-of -factly, said, "You're not close enough. Hold her like a man, Sanjay."
Sanjay was used to having to hide his irritation, but this was much more difficult. Did Amir have any idea what he was putting on the line here? Although his face showed nothing but calm, his eyes were shooting lasers straight for Amir's plotting brain.
Mirasol felt Sanjay's arm tighten around her waist, until their hips were pressed together. She was blushing profusely, willing her hand to not get sweaty. Through Sanjay's tan complexion, she thought she glimpsed a red tint as well. He wouldn't look her in the eye.
Good signs, or bad?
"Sanjay, back straight. Straighter. Little more. Good. Now, Mirasol, you need to lean back just a tiny bit, but you and Sanjay must remain… pressed together." He smiled, making a clasping motion with his hands.
After they were done adjusting, Amir said, "Good, continue. And be sure to add the dip and the twirl."
When she felt Sanjay's movements begin to change through their dancing, and he lifted her hand above her head, letting loose her waist, she knew what to do. She'd seen it in the movies.
Amir watched, grinning wide. If only he could take a picture to show Sanjay later.
Mirasol was surprised that, when he'd lassoed her back into him, he dipped forward, forcing her to lean back and let him do the work. She took a glance backward and caught a glimpse of Amir's huge smile.
Jeez, she thought. You'd think he just got asked to visit the queen of England.
When he brought her back up, she couldn't help but smile at him. "That was cool," she said.
He looked her in the eye, smiling back. "Very good."
Amir clapped his hands together once again. "Yes, very nice, very nice. Shall we take a break?"
They all went to the sitting room, Sanjay trotting off to prepare some tea. While Amir and Mirasol waited they sat in the sitting room, Amir striking up conversation.
"Have you ever been to a ball before?"
Mirasol shook her head. "Sadly, no. But this one will definitely be interesting. Thank you again for allowing me to help you host."
Amir nodded. "Sanjay and I both think of you as a good friend of ours. You were one of the first people we met here."
At that moment, Sanjay entered the room, carrying a tray of tea. He passed out the cups, pouring the tea, adding sugar when asked to. When he finally settled down to drink his own tea, Amir said, "I have an idea, if you both have no plans for the rest of the day."
Sanjay made a point of not looking at his master.
"Mirasol, you could assist Sanjay in passing out the invitations for the ball. If you both begin after your tea, you could be done quite early. Does that sound fine, Sanjay?"
"Yes, that sounds fine, Master Amir."
"Yes, that'll be okay," Mirasol said. "I didn't have plans."
"Great!" Amir stood, pulling out a small bag from somewhere behind his chair. "There's about thirty or forty invitations here. Be sure to tell everyone that if they'd like to invite anyone else, they'd be welcome to."
Sanjay had to be thankful for what Amir was doing for him, although it was difficult. He wanted it to not be so obvious that Amir was setting them up, and by now it was definitely seeming suspicious from the outside. Surely Mirasol knew something was going on. To go to her for the ball made sense, considering they honestly hadn't made many friends, but all of this? He couldn't be so sure.
Nevertheless, he couldn't deny his master's orders. And he couldn't deny that he did have fun when he was with the farmer.
"Okay," Mirasol said, reading the names on the first few invitations. "First up, we have Charles and the travel agency group. Since that's around Hanna, Allen, and Neil, we can go ahead and get those knocked out of the way." She fished out their invitations, putting them in order.
When Sanjay knocked on the door and Charles answered, he seemed somewhat surprised to see the two together. When Mirasol explained the event, he seemed excited. "I'm sure my wife would love to go to this with me," he said. "Thank you."
Next up, Hanna's. Sanjay was sort of nervous to see Hanna, hoping she wouldn't suggest anything, but when the two walked in the door she acted as if it was totally normal. "Ah, Mirasol and Sanjay! Two of my favorite people." She gave the two of them a hug. "What do you two need?"
Mirasol handed her the invitation. "You're invited to Amir's masquerade ball."
Hanna's face brightened, and Mirasol tried to picture her around thirty years younger. She must have been such a great woman, as she still was today. "I know just who to bring!" She shuffled off toward a phone in the corner.
Next they approached Allen's house. Mirasol couldn't help but smile with the way Allen looked at her when he saw who she was with.
"Sanjay! Hey, how are you? Haven't seen you in a while. You two come in."
They went inside, standing around the counter. It was Allen's business day, so he had an apron on. Mirasol handed him an invitation, mentioning that Sanjay was teaching her how to dance.
Sanjay noticed the gleam in Allen's eye when Mirasol mentioned it. "Really? Think you could give me some lessons too, Sanjay?" Allen laughed.
Yep, Sanjay thought. Definitely homosexual.
"Yeah, I'd love to go to this. I'll put on my best clothes and see if any young lass wants to join me." He smiled, and Sanjay and Mirasol went on their way.
"No, he isn't gay," Mirasol whispered to Sanjay on their way out the door.
For the rest of the day, they continued to pass out invitations, explaining and answering questions. Everyone seemed generally excited for the event, except for Dunhill, who seemed somewhat displeased with the fact that they'd organized an event without him. He said something about seeing if he could find anyone to join him.
As they walked away from Klaus' clinic, Mirasol opened up the small bag. "Well, I think that's it. Funny, Amir made invitations for you and I." She handed Sanjay a small white card, with elegant red writing on it reading, "You're invited to Amir's Masquerade Ball". She tucked her own safely inside the bag.
Sanjay looked at it a moment, before gazing off into the sky. The sun was going down, casting pinks and purples along the clouds. "Shall I walk you home?"
"Yes, that would be nice," she replied.
They walked in silence. Sanjay studied the surrounding area, having not come down to the farm often. Bees buzzed about near the entrance, where her beehives were set up, and farther down the path he could see the fenced-in barn. To the left of her home was a chicken coop.
At the door, Mirasol turned to him, looking at her feet. "Well, I had a good time today. I'll see you again tomorrow." She handed him the invitation bag.
Before he could bid her farewell she'd turned and ducked into her home.