 |
| (Before Talia arrives) |
 |
| (After Talia runs into one of the offices) |
Alejandro looked up from polishing the bar when the entry door swung closed. “Hey there, Emilia. Nice to see you here bright and early.” He and Vanessa acknowledged each other before she rushed into the dressing room to get ready for the day’s rehearsals.
“You too.” She left her bag on one of the barstools. “Do you think we could talk for a minute? You know, before everyone else gets here?”
Her diminished tone caught him off guard. “Yeah, sure. Is there something wrong?”
She bit her lip while summoning the courage to ask. “Vanessa told me about what happened between you and Talia before. And I wanted to know if maybe there was more to the story.”
His eyes widened. Trying, and ultimately failing, to fend off the urge to resort to sarcasm, he retorted, “Why would you think that? Talia made it clear what I have to say doesn’t matter.”
Emilia crossed her arms over the bar, leaning forward. “Call it a hunch.”
“We’ve been doing this dance for years. I’m tired of all the fighting. It’s even harder to get a date with my face black and blue from the slapping.” At the reminder, he rubbed his cheek. Talia hadn’t left a mark this time, but it still stung. “But things are so busy with work right now, I wouldn’t have the time even if I wanted to.”
“Just answer one question. Did you mean to invite a girl to your place the same night you were going out with Talia?”
He sighed deeply, placing his cleaning rag on the counter. His eyebrows arched upward. “Emilia, when I met Natalia, it was the first time in my life I wanted to be a one-woman man. I paid her compliments. I sent her flowers. All of those mushy romantic gestures I never thought I would do for anyone. Now, why would I throw away all of that effort by doing something so stupid?” She studied him for a moment before giving him a nod and a smile. He exhaled, allowing his stiff posture to finally relax.
Whenever Alejandro came up in conversation, Talia spoke of him with such disdain. As much as she admired her, Emilia found herself taken aback that she’d held a grudge all these years over a misunderstanding. When she came of age to audition, Vanessa and Scarlet were on the verge of giving up, to the point where they didn’t want to see any more dancers. Alejandro was the one who convinced them to give her that shot, for which she would always be grateful. So she took him at his word.
“I had this one girlfriend, Chica. We went out a couple times and had a lot of fun. But she was too clingy. She wanted to spend all her time with me making out, making love. I finally ended it after three crazy months. Then that night, I’m getting ready to go out. She shows up out of nowhere and starts kissing me. Talia walked in and saw us. Had no idea I was trying to break out of her grip.” He sighed, still shaking his head. “To this day, Talia never lets me explain anything.”
“We’re going out for a girls’ night after work tonight. I could try to reason with her.”
He rolled his eyes while maintaining a crisp smile. “Trust me, Emilia, no amount of alcohol can change how Talia feels about me. That love cruise sailed a long time ago. It would be nice for her to at least consider me as a friend. Instead of the co-worker she can’t even tolerate sharing a stage with.”
Not a moment later, Talia materialized. Her heels pounded against the wooden floor, each step as determined as the next. Emilia called to her. “Hey Talia, we were just talking about you.” Ignoring both of them completely, she opened one of the office doors on the right side of the building and shut herself inside. “Shoot,” Emilia gulped, “I shouldn’t have been so obvious. I guess she’s still mad.”
“I don’t think she’s mad.” Alejandro stepped from behind the bar. “She looked upset… like she’d been crying.”
“How can you tell?”
He didn’t meet her eye, fixated on the door. “We’ve known each other many years. I haven’t seen her this way since the day she came here.”
Before he saw her on stage. Alejandro caught his first glimpse of Talia when he was polishing glasses at the bar, something he did at the start of every morning. He could still remember how palpable her sexual energy was from across the room, as if she’d just engaged with a man minutes earlier. She struck up a conversation with Scarlet like they were old friends. The two of them were so absorbed in each other’s company that they didn’t even notice he was there. While he didn’t recall what words were exchanged, the fact she rubbed her eyes every other sentence stayed with him. Then he saw her perform a few days later and that vulnerable image was immediately replaced with a visage of strength and confidence. Seeing that fragility return made him want to rush to her rescue, but he had more than enough experience to know that was the last thing she wanted—or needed—right now.
Talia took the lone chair in front of the large desk. Meticulously labeled file cabinets lined the back wall, containing everything from liquor receipts to business contracts. The brothers generally left Alejandro and the girls to their own devices, interceding only on behalf of clients or to conduct the occasional welfare checks. The older handled the former, usually via call or text. He kept so busy that the girls rarely saw him. The younger of the two, by three years, took care of the latter—always in person.
He covered the receiver on his phone. “This will only take a moment.” She nodded, unable to manage a verbal response. He called for this meeting shortly after Carlos’s departure, clearly concerned. The anticipation and her lackluster performance still fresh in her mind made sleep nearly impossible. Once he finished his call, he folded his hands in front of him. “Talk to me, Natalia. Is there something, anything I may be able to help you with?”
Back at the bar, Emilia pointed across the room and brought a newly arrived Scarlet up to speed. “Talia’s in there. Did something happen? Is everything okay?”
“Not exactly.” Vanessa returned, having changed into a tangerine dress with sequins lining the sides and fringe across the middle. She narrowed her eyes at Alejandro. “Was that business call so urgent it couldn’t have waited another day?” He followed how her gaze drifted toward Emilia and he got her meaning.
“As I told Talia, it was a personal matter my uncles wanted handled before one of their top associates went away on vacation.” He shrugged. “Last I heard, the mission was accomplished but it looks like things didn’t go quite as well from her view…”
Vanessa offered him a generous smile and his posture relaxed. She clarified, “She’s been crying most nights anyway, so it’s not entirely your fault.”
“Oh wow…” Emilia had to take a seat. “She always looks so happy to me… when she’s not mad at Alejandro, of course.” He shook his head, aiming a self-deprecating smile at the ground. Emilia may have been a recent addition to the sirens, but she was already well educated about their inside jokes. The most common typically revolved around him being Talia’s favorite scapegoat.
Shaking her head, Vanessa conceded, “She’s an expert at putting on a brave face. After all these years, the cracks might be starting to show.” Her body went slack on the stool next to her, defeated.
Emilia looked at her inquisitively. Before she could form a question, Scarlet interceded, “So what brings you and Vanessa here so early?”
“I wanted to talk to Alejandro about… ‘the night.’ When Talia caught him with another girl. Apparently, she was just a crazy ex and he was trying to get rid of her.”
“Is that true?” Scarlet faced Alejandro.
He looked up at her and shrugged. “Yes… Chica was this ‘crazy ex’ I had. My uncles helped me get a restraining order against her, but the damage was already done.” Without missing a beat, he changed the subject. “I have to go check on the supplies. Want to give me a hand, Emilia?”
“Yeah sure.” She hopped off her stool. Once she disappeared into the storeroom behind the bar with Alejandro, both girls exhaled deeply.
Talia emerged from the office a few moments later. Scarlet and Vanessa rushed up to her, a hundred questions riddled across their faces. She held up a hand to stop them, conceding, “I never should have taken that call. That was very rude of me and I am truly sorry.”
Vanessa rubbed her back, a gesture she accepted with a nod. “You’re forgiven, but what about you?”
“Yeah, is everything okay?” Scarlet asked. “We’re here, you know. If you want to talk about anything.”
“I know. Thank you.” She tentatively traded glances between her friends and the floor. Surprising no one, she said nothing about the moment of weakness they witnessed, but she revealed one notable takeaway from her consultation. “We just made an appointment for me to see a doctor so I will be gone for a couple hours. And hopefully… they tell me this problem is all in my head.”
“Ok.” Vanessa asked, “Do you want us to do anything for you while you’re gone?”
She readjusted her purse strap.
“Don’t tell Emilia.” Her heels clicked out of the building at half the speed they did coming in.
No comments:
Post a Comment