Jenny - Character Study (17 Apr 2020)
Illustration by Maria Wright
https://instagram.com/sugar.paper
Jenny
She was a little taller than I. Tall, slim and jokey and wore a light cotton dress with a tiny floral print. We were all workmates, not daters, so the atmosphere was light and informal. We had never danced together but, that night, danced as if we always had. We amazed ourselves, laughed, had fun – dodging between the other dancers, waltzing like we could read each other's minds. We were incapable of mistakes. Later, I realised the lead had passed between us every few seconds, one or the other taking it up or relinquishing it - instinctively, as the situation and the movement of the company changed. Later, we laughed about it, each expressing our amazement and surprise, Jenny saying afterwards “I've never danced with anyone like that in my life!” I agreed I hadn't either.
Jenny once said I reminded her of her ex-boyfriend, Luke. I never met him. But once, when we had been talking about jobs and joking around, I admitted to her that I had done a lot of jobs in my life. I joked that I couldn't present my real CV as no-one would believe it and so had to cut out a lot in order to appear 'normal'. Later, still joking, I wrote out a list of all the things I had done, gave it to her and said 'This is my real CV'. We laughed, as did a few others who were present, then she said “God, you remind me of my ex-boyfriend, Luke. He's had so many jobs – he's like you, a total dreamer. He's a really nice guy and I love him to bits, but I couldn't be with him. He's a born loser.
Jenny married a banker.
