Love on the Bosphorus

CHAPTER 1

The bills were due, and once again Lou-Ann had almost no money, almost no job, and soon she would have nowhere to live. She definitely had no husband. Not anymore. The lying cheating bastard. Things were looking very dismal. One could say things were bordering desperate with no way to resolve her problems.

Louise Annabelle Hopkins, previously Masters, had married her college sweetheart, Zak Hopkins, at the tender age of 20. She had meet him at a party whilst still at college, and he turned out to be her one of classmate’s handsome older brother. He was her first true love. Her first intimate relationship. She had dated before, but nothing like this.

Zak was a bit of a ladies’ man with his film star good looks and swagger. He had been the college heart-throb even after he had finished his education. He would pick his youngest sister up in a flashy car and the girls would all blush and coo. For some reason, he had picked the shy Lou-Ann. Her girlfriends were all envious. She had never understood why he had chosen her. But she was naive and had fallen head over heels in love with him and his charm. What’s more, she had trusted him and given him her heart.

The Bastard

The Hopkins family was reasonably well off. They ran a well-established, very respectable haulage and removals company. They had paid for most of the wedding. She had used a small inheritance her grandmother had left her to buy a beautiful wedding dress fit for a princess. The wedding had been held at an old country manor house on a warm, sunny June day. It was a rather grand affair that had gotten out of control with his overbearing mother taking over the arrangements to make it the wedding of the year. However, despite Lou-Ann’s reservations, the day was a great success and went off without a hitch.

Zak’s parents had also insisted that they give the newly-weds a generous sum of money for deposit on a brand-new, glamorous, two-bed apartment a few minutes’ walk from the station. This would make commuting easy for the young couple. Life was sweet. Life was good.

At least for a while.

Lou-Ann wanted to work before settling down to have her own family. She always thought that she would further her education and go to university at some point, but that too looked less likely in her current situation. Meanwhile, she had taken a position in an employment agency in London.

Zak, much to his parents’ dismay, had taken a job in a bank in the city rather than helping run the family business or going to university. He guessed he always had that to fall back on. Lou-Ann, on the other hand, had studied international dances. It was a natural progression from the childhood dance lessons her mother had signed her up to at the tender age of three.

It wasn’t long before she began to help teach the youngsters tap and ballet. She loved to help out on Saturday mornings when she could. It was a change of pace to her weekday job.

When the honeymoon period was over, cracks in the marriage appeared. Zak started to be delayed at work by last-minute problems or quick beers with the lads from the office, and these became later and later and more frequent. Her father in-law had said it was normal for young lads who worked in the city to let their hair down now and then. She now knew that those beers and last-minute crises were Zak and the office tart getting hot and sweaty under the collar.

Lying, Cheating Bastard

The distraught newly-wed had left Zak and the marital home just after their first Christmas together after a rather compromising photo of him and his tart at the office party had appeared on a social media website. Devastated, Lou-Ann threw a few bags together when he couldn’t come up with a good excuse for his behaviour and went to stay at her BFF Jane’s tiny flat for a couple of weeks. Then Lou-Ann took up a six-month lease on a small, cramped, one-bed flat on the wrong side of her equally tiny budget.

She also had decided to change jobs. A clean break. The pay was marginally better and nobody would know her situation, which meant less gossip. But now that was all turning out to be as big a mistake as her marriage. Her new company was having some financial difficulties. With job cuts, it meant last in, first out and a two-week notice period. To top it off, her landlord gave her notice to quit with no chance of extending her lease.

Could life get any shittier?

Great! Fantastic! Life sucked big time.

People always say bad things happen in threes. Well, she had no husband, no job, and no home. Shit, shit, and shit!

The bastard’s wandering dick had really dropped her well and truly in the crapper.

What would she do next?

CHAPTER 2

There was only one more day left at work—and less than two weeks until eviction day and camping out back at Jane’s.

Lou-Ann had managed to get a seat on the train halfway home and picked up a freebie evening paper someone had discarded. She turned to the job pages and desperately searched through the ads.

No. No good. Oh god, this is hopeless, she muttered to herself.

She lifted her head up out of the rag and took a glance round the carriage, wondering who else’s life was in the drink. There were people on their mobiles chatting to their loved ones, letting them know what time be picked up from their stops or what time they would be home for dinner. Others were just arranging their social life, and still others were just nodding their heads to their iPods in time to a beat that no one else could hear.

When a city gent opposite smiled at her, she popped her head back into the newspaper and turned the page. In a quiet corner of the page, an advert jumped out at her.

Belly Dancers Wanted

Must have a valid passport.

Immediate travel.

Expenses paid. Short-term contract.

Open auditions Saturday 15 June from 9.30 to 12.

The Royal Hotel, Knightsbridge.

First come, first seen.

Crazy thoughts raced around her brain. It was utter madness but she had to go for it.

What did she have to lose apart from another few weeks of springs in her back on the lovely Jane’s sofa? The prospect of free travel and what sounded like a job abroad seemed not a bad option and one she should explore. Hopefully a change for the better.

A wave of excitement washed over her. She had to get this gig. She could do this. Did she have enough confidence to pass herself off as a professional, oriental belly dancer? Zak Hopkins had not only broken her heart; he had shattered her confidence into a million pieces.

I can do this. A glimmer of hope made her mouth curve up at the corners.

Part of her college course was to study the art of oriental belly dance. Her tutor had said that she would never make a career out of it, but she came out with a pass. Nevertheless, Zak gave her a rare compliment when she had danced for him and said she was quite erotic. But he would say that. The liar. Was anything he said true? Could she really fool these people that she really knew what she was doing? Probably not, but she had to try anyway.

The word rusty swirled around her head as the train pulled into her stop.

The kettle was boiling, and a value spaghetti meal in her microwave, the only thing she had taken from her marital home, was set for seven minutes. The realization of what she was going to do hit her. Today was Thursday, and that gave her a short time to rehearse.

I can’t believe I am actually contemplating this. escaped from her lips.

Jane was due to come around to her apartment the next evening, but she would have to put her off.

After the kettle clicked off, Lou-Ann went to make a coffee, but she spotted three quarters of a bottle of cheap Merlot. She decided this would be a better idea than the coffee. With a bit of Dutch courage, she poured herself a healthy-sized glass of the ruby-coloured liquid and took a large gulp.

Then she went to her small but neatly arranged bedroom. In the back of her closet was an old, battered, navy suitcase filled with her college dance costumes and memorabilia. She opened the case.

On the top of everything were some DVDs, including one marked, End of Year Show. Perfect," she said to herself.

She took the shiny disc out of its case and marched back to the lounge, where she turned on the television and DVD player and pressed play. The microwave pinged, indicating that her meal was cooked.

After taking another slurp, she topped her glass up with the Merlot and took her meal and wine to the sofa, where she got comfy and watched the concert.

The good old days, she thought.

There were all sorts of acts. Singers, Russian dancers, a group of lads trying to do the Greek Zorba dance. One of the dancers leaped in the air and fell on his backside, which in turn started the cast giggling. It was so bad it was funny.

A group of the finest ballet dancers recreated a scene from Swan Lake. She knew her oriental showcase was coming up soon so she ran to the kitchen to put the plastic container in the bin and the cutlery in the sink. And to drink yet another gulp of wine. The effect of the alcohol was now spreading through her, giving her a warm, fuzzy feeling and a little bravado. It felt good to reminisce.

When she heard the intro, she ran back and paused the concert. Feeling even braver, she went back to the battered suitcase in her bedroom and rummaged through until she found her old costume. It consisted of a push up bra covered in red chiffon and hundreds of hand sown sequins bought cheap from the local market and a pair of black oversized harem pants and a red coin belt.

Before she knew it, her office clothes were strewn on the floor as she wondered if it would still fit her slender body

I must have a screw loose if I think I can pull this off. She said as if she was talking to someone in the room with her. She knew what Jane would say. You need your head testing girly. Jane would support her any way. She pulled on the outfit and smiled as it fitted her perfectly formed body and checked herself out in the mirror. Not bad, not bad at all. She smiled again please with herself. She had been trying to keep herself fit with a Zumba DVD as her gym membership was now far too costly.

She took another gulp of the more you drink the better it tastes red liquid.

Standing back in front of the television, she depressed the pause button and restarted the concert. The intoxicating sound of Arabic music washed over her like sensual wave. It took her by surprise. She wondered how much of the routine she would remember. Her hips started to sway trying to mirror the image on the screen. 30 seconds later and six beats behind Lou-Ann yelled at herself

I’m hopeless. Who am I trying to kid? Rusty is not the word for it. Come on hips don’t let me down, get it together. Another swig of this should help. She drew in a big breath. Relax girly, let the music do its thing.

This time with another bigger deeper breath she started to move with the backbeat of the drums gently undulating her hips into figures of eights followed by hip drops and Arabs. Much better! she breathed out a sigh of relief. Let’s rewind and start again. Practice makes perfect. She started to repeat the process over again. Her muscle memory kicked in and she began to relaxed more and more with each step. Each time she repeated the dance her movements became smoother and began to increase speed and added some turns. The music begun to crescendo, indicting the piece was coming to an end. A few final twirls around the tiny floor she collided with the shabby two setter and collapsed laughing out loud.

Oh, what will they think on Saturday? Feeling a bit giddy with a heady mix of cheap wine and twirling around let’s do this thing, at least I can laugh at myself. She picked up her wine glass for last sip but her head was still spinning, she decided to she would have an early night ready for her last day at work and her last chance to practice in the evening. Lou-Ann laid her costume over the chair and put the suitcase in the corner, drew the curtains and climbed on her bed pulling on her favourite night shirt then lay down. Sleep came fast and left her dreaming of hope and a better future.

CHAPTER 3

The sun crept around the corner of the curtain sneaking in a small ray of hope as she opened her eyes. There’s that word again. Hope.

Hoping she could bluff her way her way into the job. Hoping that she would be able to cope with the audition without messing up and freaking out. Hoping things could only get better. She at least deserved that much. This situation was that bastard’s fault and not of her doing.

Oh, my head she mumbled as she rolled out of her bed. Last day kiddo. Let’s go to it. Two pain killers and twenty-five minutes later she was at the station heading into work for last time. She was going to have to put Jane off this evening. The only trouble was she hated not telling her why as Jane always had a way of dragging the truth out of her. A short text later she had developed a migraine would only be a small fib. After all she had woken up with a headache in the morning.

Lou-Ann and Jane had been friends for ever with hardly a cross word said between then. They were joined at the hip all through school only falling out over a boy, who later turned out not even to like girls. They still often laughed over it now.

She would tell her friend after the audition so they could laugh about that too.

The day dragged by slowly and Lou-Anne crept out of the office a little before five with no fuss just clutched a small bunch of flowers from the 2 ladies she has sat next to. She went home and practice as much as she could and hoped that would suffice. She put her old iPod shuffle on charge as it had some Arabic tracks on it. She hoped on her journey the next day the music would inspire her.

Having tapped her oyster card she found herself on the underground heading towards Knights Bridge carrying a pretty tote bag over her arm that contained her costume. Nerves were creeping up on her making her stomach churn. Be calm, stay calm, I am calm was the mantra she repeated to herself. She still couldn’t quite believe that she was going through with this hair brained scheme.

It was a warm sunny morning when she excited the tube station. She crossed the road and head towards the hotel. It was 8.50am. She was hoping that there weren’t going to be too many people in front of her. Now she was at the venue all she wanted to get it over and done with. The sooner the better.

She was directed to the first-floor conference rooms and shown were to change. When she was ready Lou-Ann waited in an adjoining room. There were several beautiful girls there already including a blonde leggy Russian who had already changed into an ornate bejewelled costume. Must her cost her a pretty penny she thought. Obviously a professional. Her nerves bubbled to the surface. She hoped her face would not give her away. She just needed to stay calm for just a little while longer and let fate deal it’s hand.

It seemed nobody knew what it was exactly what the audition was for but it had been an opportunity not to be missed. Everyone was given a short questionnaire. She decided that she would use her maiden name, Masters. After all that was what was on her passport. Three other girls had arrived after her. She was told she would be number four by a silvery grey-haired man who was dressed in a smart suit. 9.30 arrived and the first act was called. Twin sisters, a novelty double act. They were so alike she wondered if they ever played tricks on people. They seemed to take forever. Eventually they exited the room looking miserable. She guessed they hadn’t got the job. They leggy blonde in her