There were hundreds of people rushing about backstage on the day of the show. Performers were trying to find their costumes, the fake snow was being tested. Vincent, the MC, was walking slowly through it all with a gin and tonic in his hand, a slice of lemon on the glass. Ruth looked up and her eyes met those of a stage hand. They smiled at each other, and when she was walking past him later he said to her, "I saw you rehearsing earlier. You were very good."
   "Thanks... Do y' know the way I was eating crisps all the time?"
   "Yeah."
   "I'm supposed to do that."
   "I know. You did it very well."
   "Thanks."
   "Do you want to go for a drink after the show?"
   "I'd love to."
   People continued to rush about all around them, as they smiled at each other. The fake snow stopped for a while, then it all came down at once.
   In the evening, Vincent walked onto the stage to the applause of the audience. He took a quick look at his card and said, "And now it's time for Mrs. Frank Sinatra."
   He looked down at the card again. The words 'Mrs. Frank Sinatra' had been added in with a blue pen, the old name crossed out. Billy and Tom had told him at least twenty times during the day that they were going to write 'Mrs. Frank Sinatra' on his card. Billy had poked him in the shoulder while saying, "We're going to write 'Mrs. Frank Sinatra' on your card."
   Vincent didn't feel like laughing then, when he was standing on the stage. He'd been staring at the card in silence for over thirty seconds, and he thought it would look odd if he started laughing then.