Let's Call the Whole Thing Off

Posted on Wed 1st May, 2019 @ 4:26pm by Commander Mikaela Locke

1,266 words; about a 6 minute read

Mission: A Diplomatic Affair
Location: A holosuite... somewhere
Timeline: MD-01: 2000 hours.

"Why did I ever let Jade talk me into this?" Mikaela snapped, frustrated at herself. "It's a stupid idea!”

Daneel Olivaw entered the holosuite in time to hear the words the woman spoke, but he pretended he hadn't. It gave him a good glimpse of the mind-set she had, and he knew his work would be challenging. She was pacing away from him, so he cleared his throat to be sure she knew he was there.

"Good afternoon, Commander Locke, I presume?" To give her a little time to collect herself, he went to the programming console and plugged in the programming chip he'd brought.

"Computer, enter program into files as Olivaw 13 and start program." As he turned back toward the executive officer, the lights softened and a room came up around the pair. A twelve-piece orchestra sat on one side of the room, and a refreshment table on the other. Between them was a large oak floor with a high polish, suitable for dancing and a small comfortable-looking sofa.

He motioned for her to be seated before seating himself and turning toward her. "The orchestra won't begin until one of us tells them what to play. Miss Lantz told me you wished to learn to dance. Do you have a preference for which dance instruction is first?" Daneel asked her, noticing a little pink color on her cheeks. It contrasted nicely with her blue eyes and black hair.

Mikaela sighed. As much as every fiber of her being wanted to get up and leave the room right there, Jade had gone to the trouble of organizing this for her. She at least owed her the courtesy of giving it a try. “I don’t know,” she said, slightly resigned. “Why don’t you tell me what’s easiest and we’ll go with that.”

Daneel nodded. "If you want slow and close and graceful, we can go with a classic waltz. Something a little faster might be salsa. This is something Mr. Velasquez taught me one late night at the jazz club, and with the right partner, you can throw in a lot of individuality and nuance. We can do either or both this afternoon. They're standard Terran wedding fare, so they'll be good at embassy parties, or whenever you need them."

"Okay," Mikaela said and then took a deep breath. "Why don't we start with the waltz?" She took a small black band off her wrist, scraped her hair back into a rough ponytail and secured it with the band. She had gone for a simple, but comfortable outfit, a black tank top and loose black track pants. She had no idea what to wear on her feet for a dance lesson, so she had gone for a pair of comfortable red sneakers. She took another deep breath, moved to the middle of the oak dance floor and then extended her arms out sideways, almost in resignation. "Seems I'm in your hands, Mister Olivaw."

Smiling, he moved across from her. "Call me Daneel. You are completely safe, Commander. First, let me show you the foot movements, and the hand signals for letting you know which side as I'm leading you. First, you will always be going backward when I go forward, and forward, as I go backward. The object of the waltz, properly done, is to gracefully turn and sweep around a room, traveling, in other words. You don't have to worry about where we're going, or how we'll get there. That's my job."

Taking both her hands in his, he said, "Remember, you are going backward when I step forward. Imagine there is a square drawn on the floor. I'm stepping forward with my left foot, so you are stepping back, enabling me to avoid your toes. They are far too tender for me to mash them." He grinned at her. "Bring your other foot briefly together and then step to the side. That's half the box. Then I'll step back with my right foot and you will step forward. We finish the box by bringing the other foot briefly together and then to the side. Can you see the box in your mind? Let's try it slowly, and feel the pressure of my hand on yours telling you which side is going to move first. Think only about completing the box with me."

Mikaela took another deep breath and followed Daneel's lead - first stepping backwards with her right foot and then bringing her left to briefly touch next to it before extending her leg to the side. However, just as she thought she might be getting the hang of it, she paused a bit too long and Daneel stepped back before she was ready, pulling her forward and slightly off balance. "Shit," she muttered under her breathe. "I'm sorry," she added quickly, not entirely sure whether she was apologizing for messing up the steps or for swearing or for both.

Olivaw simply smiled, and said, "That's why they call this practice. You can make all the mistakes you need to make, and no one will ever know. Let's try it again ... as often as you need until you feel confident about this part."

It didn't actually take that long before the two were making a beautiful box. Daneel added the little dip and a three count to help achieve smoothness. After a few minutes, he said, "Now we'll add the music, a little Elton John, I think, because the count is so easy to hear. Computer, play Elton John, House, no lyrics."

The music began and he added, "You can hear the beat in the snare drum. 1-2-3, 1-2-3 - hear it?" He took her in his arms again and began with a slight pressure on her left hand, moving her backward and counting softly, "1-2-3, 1-2-3, 1-2-3."

Mikaela followed Daneel’s lead as best she could, and for the most part was able not to stand on his toes or, indeed, indeed, have him stand on his. “Hold on a second,” she stopped after a few moments and took a step back. “I’m struggling with the whole ‘counting to three’ thing... Surely this song’s in six-eight?”

Surprised, Daneel nodded. "It is, so you are counting twice per measure. We could count ONE-two-three-FOUR-five-six, but that is more confusing for most people. If you listen to the snare drum in the background, you will hear the heavier beat every three counts. Mostly, you follow the pressure of my hands, and move with me. Don't overthink it," he advised with a smile. "Try again?"

"Musical theory isn't my problem," Mikaela smiled with a deliberate air of faux-smug, "It's more getting my feet to do what my brain is telling them to!" She took step away from him, took a breath, exhaled and moved her hands down the side of her body, mimicking the breath leaving her and finally stepped back towards him. "Okay," she said, "Let's go again."

"No pressure. We can do this as long as you need," Daneel smiled, pulling her a little closer and beginning with the right hand pressure to push back. This time, things went a little better, and no toes were wounded.

They danced all the way through the song, and he felt her relaxing a little, which always made a waltz easier. As the song ended, he said, "There, that wasn't so bad, was it?"

Mikaela took a step back from Daneel and nodded. “No,” she said, the surprise evident in her voice, “No, it wasn’t... Who knew?”

 

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