Stage 8—the leg shop—was housed in a low-set, spacious building, a long, narrow place with a partially sunken sandy floor. Inside, your eyes were at ground level, and narrow glass windows were the only source of illumination. Suspended from the ceiling were movable rails from which hung dozens of elephant legs. If you squinted up at them, it looked as if a huge herd of elephants was winging down from the sky.

The whole shop had no more than thirty workers altogether, both men and women. Everybody had on hats and masks and goggles, so in the gloom it was impossible to tell which one was the new girl. I recognized one guy I used to work with and asked him where I could find her.

“She’s the girl at Bench Fifteen attaching toenails,” he said. “But if you’re planning to put the make on her, forget it. She’s hard as nails. You haven’t got a chance.”

“Thanks for the advice,” I said.

The girl at Bench 15 was a slim little thing. She looked like a boy in a medieval painting.

“Excuse me,” I said. She looked at me, at my uniform, at my shoes, and then up again. Then she took her hat off, and her goggles. She was incredibly beautiful. Her hair was long and curly; her eyes were as deep as the ocean.

“Yes?”

“I was wondering if you’d like to go out dancing with me tomorrow night. Saturday. If you’re free.”

“Well, I am free tomorrow night, and I am going to go dancing, but not with you.”

“Have you got a date with someone else?”

“Not at all,” she said. Then she put her goggles and hat back on, picked up an elephant toenail from her bench, and held it against a foot, checking the fit. The nail was just a little too wide, so she filed it down with a few quick strokes.

“C’mon,” I said. “If you haven’t got a date, go with me. It’s more fun than going alone. And I know a good restaurant we could go to.”

“That’s all right. I want to dance by myself. If you want to dance, too, there’s nothing stopping you from coming.”

“I will,” I said.

“It’s up to you,” she said.

Ignoring me, she continued to work. Now she pressed the filed nail into the hollow at the front of the foot. This time, it fit perfectly.

“Pretty good for a beginner,” I said.

She didn’t answer me.