The Good Inn by Black Francis

Author:Black Francis
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: HarperCollins

Félix was becoming the stuff of modern French folklore and was spoken of lovingly by his friends as some sort of cultural terrorist. He had even begun a well-organized underground campaign to tear down every poster in Paris, and he would have continued to, if he didn’t have other problems. At the moment, Fénéon was wanted in connection with an explosion in a nearby café, of which he may or may not have been the architect. It was in protest of the political state and how it had suffocated his preferred artistic movement—one of the many things that disappointed Fénéon about mankind and what it had done to his Paris.

Nickie loved all of these men in her way and never took sides. She stayed neutral and found that by doing so, she was always the person they could turn to for a favor. Favors were her currency. Tonight she was surrounded by all her most brilliant friends. Beside her, Chéret and Bonnard argued passionately about Fénéon’s artistic and political turn. Fénéon was noticeably absent after his recent remarks about their dear Nickie. On the other side of the grand table sat celebrated musician Erik-Alfred-Leslie Satie with Claude Debussy, who was quietly comforting his friend about a drubbing he’d recently received from a critic who’d referred to him as a “clumsy but subtle technician.” Debussy was suggesting that Satie define the terms of his own brilliance. “You should call yourself a ‘phonometrician’!”

But politics and art bored Nickie. For her, it was all about the skin, the bones, where you put your hands, and how little you needed to wear your clothes.

Nickie failed to mention, however, that her hypnotizing gyrations were, in the end, only half of what had gotten her this coveted spot in the biggest show in town. Colette, who had up until that night been the star of the show, had kissed another woman onstage. Not just any woman, her mentor, Mathilde de Morny, the Marquise de Belbeuf—whom she had become romantically involved with. The two had performed a new pantomime entitled Rêve d’Égypte. A small riot broke out, which the police had been called in to suppress. Her scandalous act and its fallout had set in motion Nickie’s rise to fame.

And on this night, George would get the role he desired at an important theater in town. It would be his first big break on the road to many.

Nickie would dance at the Moulin Rouge in place of Colette and be an overnight success. From that night on, every man of importance who came to see her show would request her company for a late dinner. Gifts would always be given. Her risqué dance routine would become the talk of the town. Her act would even inspire a filmmaker named Méliès to film her performance so it could be seen all over the world.

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