The crowd was applauding andstomping and cheering as the song ended, and Cee Cee was helped tothe floor. Suddenly, the dancers lifted her onto their shoulders and twirledaround. 'All right,' she hollered, 'could I get you to fall for thirty-nine?'Everyone laughed, applauded, and cheered again.Toot, toot tootsie don't cry Someone, maybe it was one of the writers,whistled one of those whistles that people whistle for taxis in New York,and Cee Cee cracked a smile. Somebody even cheeredbravo, and now Cee Cee whirled around the room looking just asskilled as the boy dancers. The crew and the guest stars andthe director and the guy from the network. So applaud, for chrissake.'Įveryone laughed and applauded.

'These bozos aretwenty-two years old and I'm thirty-six. 'Hey!' Cee Cee yelled as she came out of a turn. She hadn't tapped in years and it was hard, butshe'd been knocking herself out for the last few weeks working on it,trying to get it back. Now the music went into the up tempo, and the boy dancers beganto tap-dance and Cee Cee was tapping, too, keeping up with them. Hey, Cee Cee Bloom was singing.As far as he was concerned the whole world could hold on.The choo choo train that takes me,

The stage managershrugged, told her to hold on, and then put the receiver down onthe long table next to some scripts. The caller was a woman and she wouldn't take no. The stage manager grabbed the receiver, put it up to his left earand put his finger in his right ear so he could hear above the din of themusic. The little red light on the phone had been lighting up for a longtime.

Then the dancers turnedfront, and Cee Cee slithered down their shoulders and their backs untilshe stood on the floor with the four handsome boys swaying behind her. With the slow soulful rhythm of a torch song. Then Hal played the arpeggioand Cee Cee sang,Toot, toot, tootsie good-bye! The dancers were laughing so hard theymade Cee Cee bounce up and down. 'Andnow,' she said, 'as I lie in the arms of four promiscuoushomosexuals from West Hollywood, my tits pointed towardsthe heavens like an offering to the gods, I slowly turn my head, look outat America and ask the musical question. The dancers were holding Cee Cee above their heads. A Novel Chapter One Los Angeles, California 1983

Iris rainer dart books