Attack And Receive

In a small town on the northern coast of France, two street performers lean on a rail of clothes two minutes before the start of their show. He takes a bright red dress and holds the hanger in front of his face but his eyes say 'this would look good on you'. She stretches out her index finger and moves it from side to side, and frowns theatrically. He takes a tiny pan and brush and scours the roped performance area for small pebbles and grit, fragments of daily life. She purses her lips and tilts her head because she finds this funny. He's not impressed. He takes a plate of peanuts and hands them out to the waiting audience, reaching as far over the rope as he can without falling. She mimes pushing him into the second row. She taps him on the shoulder and passes him a maroon tie, the sort he might have worn at school, which he knots roughly in a practised manner. She smiles then mouths 'no', loosens and removes the tie, then replaces it on the rack. He picks up a mirror to check his face. She places her hand on the back of his shoulder and pulls her green ballet shoes over her heels, running her finger around the edge of each shoe to ensure a perfect fit. He ducks but she catches herself. She walks over to the record player and puts on an old jive tune. She smiles. He smiles. They go behind opposite ends of the clothes rail and when they emerge they are perfectly in time, mirror images of each other's movements.