The other six passengers raised their voices in a dispirited laugh. They all knew that if they didn't respond, the singer would start crying and fly into a rage.

Cheered by their laughter, the singer went on.

"That frog dancer had marvelous technique," she said with a look of triumph, as though she was building to some climax. "Truly marvelous technique."

"Your politicians weren't looking at technique, they wanted to see how shameless a sixteen-year-old could be," J said. He was sitting between his wife and his sister in the front seat. "That's the one thing that never changes, no matter what kind of dirty act you put on. The spectators don't want a display of technique that makes your embarrassment obvious. Shamelessness is what they want to see. They want to see it in the flesh!"

The eighteen-year-old jazz singer gave up. Her mood turned black and she started to sob. Everybody, including J's wife, knew that J and the singer were having an affair.