CHAPTER 3

“Mr. Karlsen, we’re already at the ‘Fosse Theater’,” Yanis said after the partition lowered again.

“Great… That’s fucking great,” Magnus mumbled absently as he straightened his jacket and tie while Yanis walked around to let him out. “Thank you so much, Yanis. You may leave for the duration of the play if you wish, or you can stay and suffer alongside me. I have an extra ticket and the places are great.”

          Magnus pulled it from his pocket and waved it in front of Yanis. His driver, an older man with gray hair, chuckled.

“Thank you so much, sir, you are most kind, but I was never a theater fan. I always preferred going to see a good movie. My wife is more open to the idea. But don’t worry, I will be here when the play is over, Mr. Karlsen. You won’t have to stay a second more.”

          Magnus sighed and tucked the ticket away.

“You are a good man, Yanis. Thank you again,” he replied and walked with the rest of the forming crowd up the stone steps outside the old theater and through the gilded doors.

          Theaters stretched up and down this section of street, making up the small district that had been around for decades. It was in need of a desperate face-lift, architecturally as well as technologically.

          The buildings were in need of attention to bring them into the new age. No more strange colors and weird little statues. Nope! Magnus and his team of designers had something much more modern in mind while keeping to a true art form.

          Quincy Lloyd, the person in charge of the theater, and all the others belonging to the theater district wished for the artful modernization. It was the same man waiting for Magnus right inside the lobby.

“Ah, Mr. Karlsen, welcome to our theater! It is so wonderful to see you here. I’m so glad you accepted my humble invitation.”

          Quincy beamed, his bald head gleaming and his gut tucked into a tux. Magnus gritted his teeth but grinned as he shook his hand.

“‘Mr. Karlsen’ is usually the way people address my father. ‘Magnus’ is perfectly fine, Quincy,” he insisted. “Wow… Quite the turnout tonight...”

“Yes, ‘Cabaret’ is one of the finest musicals in theater’s history. And even if this is our last show before the temporary closure, is another sold-out show. Our new leading lady has been amazing. She used to be the understudy. But since Michelle Stone, our star, left for Hollywood, Miss Makkena jumped in and gave some wonderful performances.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear that. Uhm, Quincy… Just to be sure about our new adventure… I trust everyone is still on board with the renovations starting next week?”

          Quincy motioned for them to move inwards as he nodded.

“Yes, Magnus, of course. We are clearing out the rest of the theaters this weekend. No problems so far.”

“Wonderful! Do you need my help in any way, Quincy? I run ‘Alpha Architecture’ but I like getting my hands dirty. Maybe I could be of some use to you?” Magnus asked, hoping he didn’t sound too desperate, but Quincy laughed and patted him on the back.

“No need, Magnus, but I appreciate you asking. Just enjoy the show tonight… It’s a very good one and it’s on the house,” Quincy replied. “You have one of the private boxes. I thought you might like the privacy more than being crammed onto the main floor.”

          Magnus smiled appreciatively. Yet, another reason these old theaters needed to be redone. They were so tightly packed with seats, that people couldn’t watch the show in peace without feeling as if they were sitting on their neighbor’s lap.

          He followed Quincy’s directions up several flights of stairs and finally to his private box for the evening.

“I’ll see you after the show, Magnus,” Quincy added and left him alone.

          A waiter stood outside and told Magnus if he needed anything at all to simply push the button beside his chair. Magnus wasn’t in the mood for anything, though, and considered sleeping off his whisky while the players performed.

“What the hell am I doing here tonight?” he asked quietly as he sat down.

          Magnus stared at the program on his seat.

“Okay, let’s see what is this all about.”

          He took it and started reading.

“Set in 1930, in Berlin, during the twilight of the Jazz age as the Nazis rise to power, the musical focuses on the hedonistic nightlife at the seedy ‘Kit Kat Klub’ and revolves around the American writer Clifford Bradshaw's relations with the cabaret performer Sally Bowles, a self-indulgent upper-middle-class British tourist who could escape Berlin whenever she chose. By day, Sally is an aspiring film actress hoping to work in movies and become the greatest movie star ever. By night, she is a mediocre chanteuse at an underground jazz club. She aims to be a serious actress or, as an alternative, to ensnare a wealthy man to keep her as his mistress.”

          He scrunched his face, settled into his chair, and did his best to not hate being there.

“I’m here to watch the story of a gold-digger… Next time read the program first, you idiot,” Magnus mumbled again and shook his head. “Okay… It’s just business…”

          Yes, watching the play was business, plain and simple.

          Besides, the two hours and forty-five minutes performance would give him the time to ponder his current predicament: who to bring with him on the cruise for his parents’ fortieth wedding anniversary.

          By the time the curtain went up, he was still at a loss… The Emcee started singing in a mix of German, French, and English.  

‘Willkommen! And Bienvenue! Welcome!

Friend, étranger, stranger (…)

Willkommen! And bienvenue! Welcome!

Im cabaret, au cabaret, to cabaret!’

“Okay…” Magnus said slowly, watching the man on the stage, dressed in a pair of leather shorts only, wearing black eyeliner and black lipstick. “This is… interesting.”

          The leading lady, a fiery redhead, walked onto the stage, and in a second, she caught Magnus’s full attention. She started singing a song called ‘Mein Herr’, about a ‘working girl’ jumping from man to man, looking for a… ‘sugar daddy’.

‘The continent of Europe is so wide, Mein Herr

Not only up and down, but side to side, Mein Herr

I couldn't ever cross it if I tried, Mein Herr

But I do what I can...

Inch by inch... Step by step...

Mile by mile... Man by man.’

          The redheaded’s voice was exceptional, and the way she was moving around the stage with the other dancers, shaking her juicy ass and those generous breasts barely covered by that 30s silky lingerie, left Magnus speechless.

“Absolutely stunning…” he mumbled, watching the leading actress singing and dancing.

‘Bye-Bye, Mein Lieber Herr

Farewell, mein Lieber Herr

It was a fine affair,

But now it's over

And though I used to care,

I need the open air

You're better off without me,

Mein Herr.’

          Her voice was so sensual and the way she was moving on that stage was hypnotic.

“Yes… That’s it…” Magnus said slowly, and a grin appeared on his lips.

          Magnus took the program and looked at the actress’s name again.

“Sunny Makkena…” he whispered. “Approved!”

          Money bought him anything he could ever want in his life.

          Why not a fiancée as well?

                                                         *****

          When the play ended and the curtain fell, Magnus hurried out of his private box in search of Quincy Lloyd. Throughout, he’d watched the leading woman closely, the way she moved, the graceful, lithe body as she did her dancing and singing numbers on the stage…

          She was the perfect woman for his parents to meet, and hell, she was a damn good actress. Having her act like his fiancée all weekend would be a walk in the park for her. The perfect candidate to present his mother and father.

“Ah, Magnus, there you are! You look as if you truly enjoyed the play,” Quincy called out when Magnus reached the lobby. “So? What did you think? About the musical and the actors? About the dancing and singing numbers? About the sets and the costumes”

“I think it was all absolutely great. But I would love to be introduced to your leading lady, if I may,” Magnus replied quickly, hoping he hadn’t missed his chance. “I think she was exceptional in her performance. Exactly what I was expecting to see tonight.”

“Oh, yes… Sunny Makkena… But of course, Magnus. If you’d wait by the stage, I’ll send her out when she’s finished changing,” Quincy said with a glint in his eyes, chuckling as he walked away. “This way you will compliment her yourself.”

          Magnus thought of calling after him that it wasn’t for any other reason than a business proposition but let him walk away.

          Let the old man think what he wanted!

          Magnus had no intention of dating this woman. He just wanted to hire her for a simple job. He would get through the cruise and tell his parents later it hadn’t worked out and he was back to being a bachelor, probably for the rest of his entire existence.

          His life was better that way, less complicated. There was nothing to fear if he were alone, enjoying his one-night trysts with women who were drawn to his money and power. Sex without strings attached.

          ‘Just a quick fuck and go, bro,’ that was what Tanner used to say.

          He needed nothing else in his life to be satisfied, though never necessarily happy.

          When he reached the stage, Magnus paced back and forth, one hand shoved deep in his pocket while the other tugged at his tie. He hated the fucking thing and finally, yanked it off, stuffing it in his pocket.

          The small pendant he wore, a silver penningar coin, a Viking coin, a gift from his mother, rested against his chest. Magnus pulled it out, twisting it nervously between his fingers.

          If this didn’t work, if the woman turned him down, he would have no choice but to tell his parents the truth and, unfortunately, break his mother’s heart.

“Hello.”

          A voice, deeper than the one he’d heard during the play but with the same strong pitch, brought his feet to a halt. Magnus turned and there she was.

“You wanted to meet me?”