"I'm back, everyone!"
Ceres had her arms open in a welcoming gesture, holding a glass of wine in each hand. Her hair was disheveled from sleeping and her clothes were wrinkled, but she was otherwise just as beautiful then as back when I saw her on the stage.
"About time," Zoe reprehended her. "You left your guest waiting, you know."
She was talking about me. It was embarrassing to be referred to as Ceres' guest.
"Hey," said one of the musicians. "I'd like to propose a toast, if you will." He held up a glass of wine. "Here's to the greatest dancer of all time."
"Cheers!" said everyone in the room.
"Thank you, thank you!" said Ceres. "I know I'm awesome and everyone loves me."
"What do you mean?" said the musician. "Obviously I meant Sophie."
There was laughter and clapping, then casual chatter. Sophie herself was sleeping soundly in Zoe's arms and didn't notice a thing. When the conversation had shifted to a different topic, Ceres sat down by my side and handed me one of the wine glasses.
"I'm glad you came," she whispered in my ear. I nodded. I was glad too, it was being really fun. Ceres sipped her wine. "Well," she asked me, "how do you like us so far?"
I looked around at the people in the room and pondered about that for a moment. Recap: there were three women of different ages all wearing colorful stage clothes, a bald guy playing Beethoven on a plastic flute, a skinny guy with Pokémon tattoos all over his body... and me. Plus, there was the bearded guy with the weird hat, the one who had just left the room.
"You're a queer bunch," I told Ceres. "I like it."
And I meant that. My first impression of them, and of the people back at the party, was that they were all very interesting. It made me want to know more about each of them. You see, usually, when you're walking through the city, all the people are alike: similar clothes, similar hairstyles, makeup, jobs, ideas. Those were people that could be there or not and nobody would have noticed if they weren't. It's as if the people of the city were in grayscale, part of the urban background. And in contrast, the people at that party were an explosion of color. Colorful hairs, different clothes, interesting personalities. I wondered: where were all those people at during daytime?
"Have you been to a place like this before, Janis?"
"Can't say I have." It still amazed me that Ceres knew my name. I was fairly sure I hadn't mentioned it to her when we first met. "I mean, I didn't even know places like this one existed. I've been to my friends' parties before, but it was... different. Dull. Not much different from school, or work, or any other place I'd been to before. Not here, though. This place is amazing. Say, have you been frequenting places like this your whole life?"
I didn't notice that at the time, but I was being unusually talkative just then. It couldn't have been the alcohol, right? I only drank a little bit of white wine. Looking back at it, it was probably that I felt more at ease talking to Ceres than I usually did around other people. Talking to her was... fun and easy. I felt really good just then.
"I've performed in all sorts of places," she told me. "I've been a dancer for as long as I can remember. Actual theaters can be a little daunting at first, so I do prefer when it's just me, the girls, and our friends at a party."
"Do you feel scared?" I asked. "When you're performing to a large audience?"
"Yes, I do," she laughed. "But only for a moment, before the whole thing starts. Once the music comes in and my feet begin to move, I sort of zone out, you know. The whole world is just me and the music."
"I'd like to try that," I surprised myself saying. I don't know why I said that, or why I even felt that way. That was exactly the sort of experience I had never imagined myself having. It was something that would happen to other people, not me. "Oh, no!" I exclaimed, as I saw Ceres' eyes glitter in anticipation. I knew exactly what she was going to suggest. "No, no, no way, not me. I mean, I don't have any talents or skills or stuff. I can't play an instrument and my singing is just terrible."
"Come on!" she said, as I stared at her glittering puppy-like eyes. "It can't be that bad!"
"It is! I sound like a dying groundhog!"
She laughed. And so did the people around me, to my surprise. I hadn't noticed I was speaking so loudly. It made me a little embarrassed.
"I have an idea!" said Ceres, enthusiastically. And, turning towards the others, she said: "Would you people forgive me if I took Janis somewhere else for the night?"
"You're excused," said the guy with all the Pokémon tattoos.
"I was about to take Sophie home, as well," said Zoe. "The poor girl needs to rest."
The Pokémon guy offered to drive them home, which Zoe gladly accepted it. The bald one stood up and kissed Zoe's hand in a very courteous manner, something that made me think of those English lords of the past.
"Thanks for coming, tonight," Zoe told him.
"It has been my pleasure, ma'am," he replied. And then he turned to Ceres: "Glad t'see ya again, kiddo. Gimme five!" The contrast between the way he addressed each of those women made me chuckle.
"Have fun," Zoe told Ceres, as she held my hand to guide me outside. "Oh, and Cherry..."
I couldn't hear what Zoe told Ceres just then — she spoke softly, making sure only Ceres could listen. I had a feeling Zoe was talking about me, though.
"Don't worry, sis!" said Ceres, nonchalantly. "I'm responsible."
"I sure hope so," said Zoe. Then she turned to me: "It was very nice to meet you, Janis. I hope you come back to see us perform together, once Sophie gets better. Oh, and please keep an eye on Cherry for me."
I laughed. Ceres faked outrage, which was just as comical as the fact that I was being put in charge of her.
"Sure," I told Zoe.
"Cereeees! Where are you taking me?"
"Shush, girl! You'll find out once we get there."
"I don't like surprises."
One glance at my cellphone screen told me it was already way past nine. The city center was a lot more deserted by then. All the stores had closed for the night, save for just one or two bars here and there. The people who walked the streets around us were mostly on their way home from working after hours. Soon they'd be gone and we'd be the only ones roaming the streets of the center at night.
The center of Rio isn't exactly the place you go to have fun at night. That's because all the fun was being had at other neighborhoods, like Lapa and Botafogo. Having lived here most of my life, I knew that the center at night was simply plain dangerous. Had I been alone, I might have have feared for my life.
Fortunately, I wasn't. As Ceres led me through the empty streets, I realized I was feeling completely fine. Walking through the streets at night often made me to feel like a lost kid in the darkness. That night, it didn't. I felt as if the night belonged to us, that nothing could hurt me, not as long as Ceres held my hand.
I knew that was a foolish feeling, but I allowed myself indulge in it, even if just for a while.
It was a short walk. Five minutes after we'd left the zine fair, Ceres led me under a gate of stone and then around a corner into a street I'd never noticed before. And, contrary to all my expectations, it was quite lively there. The narrow lane was full of bars and restaurants, all open and bustling with people. The atmosphere was flooded with light, music, chatting, and the mix of smells from all the food on the tables. I didn't hide my surprise. To think I'd come and gone around this area countless times and I never actually knew about that place... I was baffled.
Ceres took me down the lane, zigzagging around the tables and avoiding bumping into drunk people. She never let go of my hand. A moment later, we stopped in front of a Mexican-themed restaurant and pub.
"This is the place. Come here!" she told me. I wasn't sure what to make of that. The old "me" might have refused, arguing that I was never fond of spicy food, or that it was late and I had to go home already. But the "me" that was holding Ceres' hand couldn't do that. I would have agreed to pretty much anything, that night, just as long as she stayed there with me.
Ceres walked to the counter and talked to the well-dressed employee on the other side of it.
"We'd like a room, please, for two hours."
The employee nodded, took Ceres' ID from her hand, typed something in the computer, then returned it to her, along with a key.
"Room five, upstairs."
"Thanks," she said.
"Ceres, what is this place?" I asked her, as we climbed up a flight of wooden stairs. "And what is that about a room? Two hours for what?"
"Two hours of fun."
She opened the door and pulled me into the room. It immediately dawned on me what that place was and why Ceres had brought me there. §
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