He was in his manager attire tonight. For the first time, he was nervous up there. He’d waited for a night where Bev and Avery were both working to announce his retirement from dancing. They knew about it, of course, but Bev insisted on making a big deal. He loved a fuss but had never expected to be nervous. As the applause died down, Ken lifted the mic to his mouth. “I’m sorry and happy to announce that I’m no longer going to be performing here.” The crowd booed. Chuckling, Ken let them have their say. “I’m sorry. I know I’ve still got the moves and the body for it. The truth is, I’ve been doing that job for twenty years, and I finally got a real promotion. From now on, I’ll be managing Big D’s. If you have any complaints, concerns or recommendations…please let me know. I wanted to thank all of you for making me feel like the hottest guy in the world for a long time.” The crowd cheered, and Ken started to head off stage. He stopped when Avery came at him with a bunch of roses.
