Fame

Olga was excited. She would finally get to see Kirk on stage. She had come to Vegas hoping to forget her past. She met Kirk, quite by accident, and was hoping she was onto something good, at last. He had his own show! She couldn't wait for it to start.

Kirk had made sure she got a good seat. She had thought about bringing a few friends, just to show off, but a niggling feeling had told her not to. Not yet, anyway.

The show started, with a dance/ acrobatic performance by four dancers. And then Kirk came onstage. She couldn't wipe her smile off her face. She wondered why the auditorium seemed less full than the other shows she had been to, but she shrugged it off.

He began with a joke. She wasn't sure where she had heard it before, but she was pretty sure she had, somewhere.

And then the show began. First up was the trademark magic trick, of cutting an assistant to pieces and bringing her back to life. She had never seen it in person, from such a vantage point, and quite enjoyed it.

Next, Kirk made a tiger appear on stage. And then it was a leopard, a white tiger..until she got tired of seeing various beasts make an appearance. Kirk tried hard to drum up interest in the acts, but he lacked the charisma showmen need, and his acts, like his jokes, were stale. Her smile began to fade.

Olga felt guilty for thinking those thoughts, but she saw that the rest of the audience was as unenthusiastic about his performance as she. So much so that Kirk had to get the audience to laugh politely, even if unwillingly, at his jokes by a cue of his hands.

She realized that she was paying more attention to his assistants than to him. No wonder his show was in the afternoon, she thought, surprised at the touch of venom in her thoughts that had not been there before.

In the end, she was only filled with sadness for the man, to have come so far, yet to have not reached success. She knew she couldn't be with him anymore. Not when she could not look up to him with respect.

He was seated outside, with his assistants, trying to sell measly bits of promotion material. Stop being mean, she told herself, as she walked out. She debated feigning fake admiration, but she simply didn't have the energy.

'Kirk, it was lovely to meet you' she said simply.

And walked away before she could see the look of dawning comprehension in his eyes.