Page 23 Winter 1994 - 95
Frozen
for a moment, Nico started his dive to retrieve it
"You're
giving me a souvenir?" he asked, his thumb running over the cube as
if he knew just what made it different.
The
last thing Nico could do was wrest the cube from
With
blank face, as if he might have been mentally as well as physically
impaired by his wounds, Nico pointed to
Nico
nearly despaired when Rolf looked at him without a
shred of understanding. Doggedly he went through the pantomime
again, but had no better luck. Rolf simply grinned at him like a skull.
"He
has to go on soon," the third officer prompted.
Nico
wanted to pat him on the back, but shaming Rolf
"Your
father would be so proud of you," Rolf said caustically. With a
sneer he tossed the cube into the air. It arced over
Nico's head, on its way into the crowd behind him. Springing
as high as he could, Nico reached into the blue haze and grasped the
wayward cube. He
Expression
wiped from his face, Nico nodded once more
The
door above him opened, and the stage manager burst through it. "Nico,
there you are! Ingrid is sick. You'll have to go on in her
place."
Nico
ran his hands through his hair in frustration. Was he going to be on
stage when his only chance came?
As
he passed the backstage clock, Nico saw that it was getting late. The
crowd would soon dwindle, especially without Ingrid's throaty voice and
black garters. Damn the timing!
From
behind the curtain Nico watched his cousin as the MC announced his set.
Rolf stood and snapped his fingers for the check.
Instantly
Nico did an about face. He ran to the door and down the steps into the
cabaret, already juggling when he reached the first table. Desperate
now, he got anyone who looked sober into the act, throwing them a cube
and working it into the pattern as they threw it back. This was a risk,
but one he had to take.
By
the time he reached Rolf's group, the spotlight had found him, and he
started to sweat. Changing his rhythm, he began to throw cubes over his
head, catching them behind his back.
Rolf
paused directly in front of him, whether just to throw him off, or to
give him a punch, Nico didn't know. But Rolf was too close.
Nico
stepped back enough to look like retreat, while he kept his hands
moving. Just then Rolf turned sharply away, and the third officer
followed, walking behind Nico. From the corner of his eye, Nico could
see the gray hat with its Nazi insignia, turned upside down in the
officer's hand. Nico grabbed the important cube from the basket on his
belt and threw it over his head. He reached behind him, but the cube was
not there to catch.
The
third officer put on his hat, adjusted it on his head, and walked on.
Uncle Seigfried, Nico thought as he moved |