The Sirens of Calypso- Chapter 3- "Showtime"

 

            Scarlet peeked through the curtains. Just as she suspected, judging from the silence in the main room, the crowds had gone home for the night. A smile broke across her face. “All right, everyone’s gone!” She returned to the others, raising her hands up. “We did it!”  

            As they did after every successful night, the girls spent the next several moments exchanging high fives. Emilia beamed until her cheeks hurt. She used to walk by the club with her friends every afternoon and watch the sirens rehearse. Her visits were so frequent, in fact, that she started absorbing choreography from multiple routines. All of that hard work had finally paid off, more than she imagined in her wildest dreams. Talia hugged her to her side, resting her chin on top of her head. “I’m so proud of you, my Emilia. May this be the start of another successful career here at Calypso.”
            “Thanks, Talia. I can’t tell you how much your support has meant to me. I couldn’t have done this without your guidance.”
            She withdrew her embrace, placing her hands on her shoulders. “I have waited a long time for someone like you to join us. Someone with raw untapped talent, who learns fast. Now, I want you to remember: you were the one responsible for all this, not anyone else.”
            “Hey Talia!” Alejandro announced himself as he returned to the stage, eliciting a groan from her lips. After every show, he swept the premises for stragglers and locked the doors before touching base with the dancers. But when he singled Talia out by name following a performance, it was always over something trivial, so her buoyant mood vanished in an instant.  “Talia, you were fantastic tonight…”
            Talia cut him off, exasperated, “Save your breath, Alejandro! Just because I agreed to let you on stage with us this one time does not mean things have changed. Come on, ladies, let’s go home.” She strutted past him with Emilia, Vanessa and Scarlet in tow.
            But Alejandro insisted on having the last word. “Jesus! That was years ago! You have to forgive me some time!”
            Her heels stopped pounding against the floorboards. She sighed heavily and pinched the bridge of her nose. Vanessa patted her shoulder. “Do you want me to take care of him?”
            “No, I will handle this.” She spun around, charging back to Alejandro. As she drew closer, his smile evaporated when he saw her flaring nostrils up close. She slapped him across the face with almost enough force to knock him off his feet. “Haven’t you moved onto your next girlfriend by now? Forget any idea of having a relationship with me. What you did is unforgivable.”
            He rubbed his cheek. “I’ve been trying to explain that night to you for years. You never listen.”
            “That’s because everything that comes out of your mouth is a lie. You are no different than…” She skidded to that wall before coming to it. Her eyes grew wild and she had to turn away.
            His tone softened immediately. It’d been a while since this subject had come up. “Talia, I am not your stepfather.”
            “All of you men are alike. I cannot afford to bring myself into that hurt. Never again.” Without another word, she stormed off with the other girls. Alejandro had no choice but to hang his head and let her go.
            Talia draped her trench coat over her dress, tying the belt so tight not a single sequin could be seen. Ever curious, Emilia asked, “What happened back there?” Scarlet and Vanessa looked back at her, then at each other. Talia made no gesture to indicate she’d heard the comment at all.
            Scarlet tried to change to a happier subject. “Tomorrow’s Friday. How about we do some late-night karaoke? We haven’t been in ages.”
            “That sounds like fun.” Emilia jumped in. “Come on, Talia. What do you say?”
            She shrugged, but the turn-around was quicker than any of them expected. “Why not? Let’s say, around 10 o’clock right after work?” One by one, everyone happily agreed.
            After reaching their loft, Vanessa stayed back with Emilia. “You two go ahead. I’m going to walk Emilia home.” She aimed a knowing glance to Talia.
            She got her meaning right away. Pausing a moment to swallow the bile in her throat, she conceded what needed to be done, “Thank you, Vanessa. That would be a great help.”
            No sooner had the two of them disappeared around the corner, Talia’s cell phone rang and at this time of night, it only meant one thing. She spared Scarlet an apologetic look before answering, “This better be a good one, Alejandro…”

*           *           * 

Emilia huddled close to Vanessa as they walked down the cobblestones on an off shoot from the main road. The area was all but deserted, so the echo from their heels on the stones carried far. “Is it really that hard for Talia to talk about?”
            “Her past is a constant burden, no matter how hard she tries to hide it.”
            “So, what’s her history with Alejandro? Why does she hate him so much?”
            Their pace immediately slowed to a stroll. Vanessa collected her thoughts. “A long time ago, Talia was betrayed by someone she was very close with.”
            “Her stepfather...”
            “Yeah. That’s a story she’d probably rather tell you herself.” Vanessa pressed on. “As long as I’ve been here, Alejandro has been interested in Talia. She never had any intention of trusting herself to be in a relationship after her complicated history with her stepfather. On a whim, she finally said yes. I remember how excited she was that night. She dressed in her best and was as giddy as a schoolgirl.” Her entire face glowed with reminiscence, but it didn’t last long. “Talia got to Alejandro’s, only to find him all over another girl.”
            “Oh my gosh…” Emilia’s hand grasped her heart. “No wonder she’s furious with him all the time.”
            “She didn’t speak to him for months, a difficult feat when his family owns the club and our dance troupe was Talia’s responsibility. So I acted as the go-between. Not always easy, but I owed it to her for giving me the courage to leave my controlling ex. That time feels so far away now. As it should be.”
            “Oh wow.” Emilia clenched her teeth. “It seems like everyone’s had it rough.”
            “Some more than others, but it’s up to each of us to decide how much we want to share. It’s a great rule, although sometimes I think Talia came up with it to protect herself more than the rest of us.”
            “What makes you say that?”
            “Did you notice how Alejandro tried to explain himself but Talia wouldn’t listen? A couple of times, I’ve thought about asking for his side of the story. Maybe I’m just afraid Talia might actually be right about him when he’d been so great to the rest of us.”
            Things got quiet for a few minutes while Emilia mulled everything over. Erring on the side of caution, she offered, “I could ask if you really want to know. Then you can decide whether or not to tell Talia.”
            “It couldn’t hurt, but no matter what he says, I doubt she’ll ever forgive him. That’s just who Talia is and we have to accept that.” The moon came into view as they turned the corner. Vanessa had to pause to admire it. With all the hustle and bustle that comes with the job, these moments of reflection were rare. “It’s been some time since I’ve looked at the moon like this.”
            “It’s so gorgeous when it’s this full.” Emilia concurred, but couldn’t help asking the final question pressing on her mind. “So you don’t think there’s a chance she’ll ever let another man into her life?”
            Vanessa could only shrug. “It would have to be the right guy at the right time. As much as I hate to say it, I don’t see that happening anytime soon.”

*           *           *

She still had her reservations, but Vanessa found Emilia’s optimism oddly refreshing. It also reminded her how she’d looked forward to this night for a while. For the first time in what felt like ages, it’d only be the three of them at the apartment. Scarlet was spending the night because her twin sister, Ruby, was entertaining a few “guests” at their flat.
            In addition to being dancers, the sirens made extra money closing deals for their bosses by means of sexual favors. Although the ladies meet potential clients at the club on the nights it’s closed to the public, the brothers primarily left Calypso’s affairs to Alejandro and the dancers. Their drug enterprise, the largest in the region, kept them busy so they only checked in when they need a favor. From there, Talia made the necessary arrangements. This side of the business was kept so secret, only those with direct involvement were aware of its existence.
             As much as she enjoyed dancing, Scarlet never found the strength to embrace this aspect of being a siren. Every sexual experience she’d had was at the hands of her abusive father. After a particularly harrowing episode, Ruby snuck Scarlet out of the house; she found her own escape route a few years later. Understandably, both had their misgivings about exchanging sex for money. Because she’d built up the constitution over the years, Ruby agreed to take on the load for both of them. 
            Vanessa participated early in her employment to repay Talia for helping her leave her possessive boyfriend, Richie. Then as the years went by, her heart reopened to love so unless money was tight and she happened to be single, she considered herself retired.
            What impressed Talia most about Emilia’s audition wasn’t her knowledge of the choreography, but the sense of freedom in her dancing. Before even speaking to her, she knew no man had broken her heart or taken advantage of her. She treasured that purity so much, she vowed to do everything in her power to keep it that way. For this reason alone, Emilia was the only siren who knew nothing about Calypso’s “extracurricular activities”.
            Vanessa doubted Talia could maintain this charade forever, but she respected her wishes nonetheless. As her oldest friend and confidant, she shouldered the responsibility of explaining sensitive information about her past to Emilia, but only did so on a need-to-know basis. She also suspected Talia had other secrets she wasn’t privy to, but she knew better than to press her for the details.
            Immediately upon her return, Vanessa knew something had gone awry in her short absence. Scarlet was sitting outside the steps leading to the apartment on the second floor. She hugged her knees and stared at the ground. Because of her history, Scarlet still found it difficult to be in earshot of people having sex. Nights like tonight when her sister was with a client, she slept over at a friend’s house so she wouldn’t have to deal with it. Unfortunately, Talia’s last-minute rendezvous left her between a rock and a hard place.
            “Don’t tell me…” Vanessa stuttered. “Oh Scarlet, I’m so sorry…”
            Scarlet nodded, not meeting her eye. Her voice strained, unable to speak above a whisper. “It’s ok, really… she swore this one was a personal favor from one of her regulars.”
            “Which one?” Vanessa asked, tentatively.
            She smiled to offer her reassurance. “Carlos.”
            “Ok, that’s good. He’s certainly one of the more courteous ones.” Vanessa took a seat next to her and patted her shoulder. “Things didn’t exactly go well with that other one yesterday…”
            The recognition made Scarlet clench her jaw and turn toward the closed door. “They’ve been in there for a while… now I’m really worried.”
            “Yeah,” Vanessa admitted with a quiet resignation, “that makes two of us.”
**                                                                                                                               ***

Talia saw dozens of men through her bosses. Carlos was one of many who’d gotten to know her over the years. Sometimes, the reason she contacted them was for her own pleasure rather than business as usual. When she needed a morale boost or her sexual appetite proved insatiable, she liked to call for impromptu sessions. Her recipients happily obliged. They enjoyed her company. There were also times when they needed a boost of their own—particularly when they had issues with performance.
            Carlos replaced his pants and belt and straightened himself in the mirror over the dresser. Still catching her breath, Talia sat on the bed. The color finally returned to her knuckles, but her legs felt heavy and her heart was hard in her chest. He took a seat beside her. “I’m sorry about tonight, Natalia. Is it all right for me to go?”
            “It’s fine, Carlos.” She exhaled, drained of energy. “I am just a big mess right now. It’s been like this for weeks and I have no idea why."
            Cautiously, he patted her shoulder. “Maybe you need some time away from all this.” He rose, taking his coat. “It’s only a suggestion.” Upon opening the front door, Vanessa and Scarlet lifted their heads and jumped to their feet. Carlos made the effort to make eye contact with both of them individually. He nodded his head. “Ladies…”
            “Carlos,” they recited back to him. Their smiles were pleasant, yet they acknowledged the gravity of the situation. His departure did nothing to ease the tension.
            With the door wide open, both girls saw Talia clearly. She’d curled into a ball on top of the tussled sheets, her left hand covering her face. Tears streamed down her cheeks. Her body convulsed as she struggled to muffle her cries. A faint melody crossed her lips, but with the cacophony of sorrow surrounding her, its true nature was indecipherable.
***
Song: "Showtime" by Nelly Furtado (alhough it's one of those chapter names I might change in the future, to something that's a better fit for what exactly happens in it)

Around the time I was brainstorming for the story, I'd play this song and imagine three of the girls in lacy dresses delicately dancing over cobblestones on an abandoned street. A very feminine and gorgeous image, yet a polar opposite of what most of this story is like. 
I'm also pretty sure that it's one of those songs where the music gives off an innocent vibe but the lyrics are about something slightly different. I can almost imagine the instrumental playing in the background during the flashback where Talia is putting on makeup in the mirror and she runs away in horror as it ends. But somehow I doubt it would work. 

And in case anyone's wondering, I will be getting away from this one artist and album in the upcoming chapters. But Loose was such a huge spark of inspiration for all this, it will definitely make a few more appearances as things go on.

(an early glimpse of Vanessa-
Scarlet and Talia would've been in it too if this scene ever came together)