Still in a huff
over the previous evening, Talia arrived at Calypso on little to no sleep. She
received a text from the eldest brother saying Juan Paulo’s band received high
praise with their audition and the new owner was very pleased with the overall
showcase. Although she echoed his enthusiasm, she regretted all of last night’s
snap decisions. Thanks to them, Juan Paulo had a steady job two streets away.
There would be no avoiding him now. To make matters worse, sitting on the edge
of the stage was the one of the last people she wanted to see.
Amber’s talent as a siren earned her
two nights a week to headline with Ruby. Her reputation among the clients,
second only to Talia’s, derived from her inclination towards S&M and role-playing.
She also had the notoriety of being difficult to work with and she was almost
always late to rehearsal. On the rare occasions she showed up early, she was
never in a good mood.
“Yeah,” Amber put her feet back on the ground, “Quit stealing my songs. I don’t have many to begin with and I’d appreciate it if you didn’t use them for your personal shit.” She flipped her dark mahogany hair, the ceiling lights bringing out the shine of its honey-brown highlights. “He’s still raving about it, by the way. Says it inspired him to write the two news songs they performed last night.”
“Look, I am sorry, Amber, but can we not do this now?” Talia’s hand covered her face. “I already have one headache today…”
“I could care less about this Juan Paulo guy. I’m here because I have new material I’m working on and I want Emilia to be a part of it.”
She removed her hand. Her body immediately grew rigid. “Emilia is not ready to be anywhere near your experiments.”
“Oh, relax. I can tone it down so it doesn’t scare away the virgin.”
“This isn’t about her virginity. She is special. She is still learning how we do things here.”
“Admit it. You want to keep her all to yourself so you can have that ace up your sleeve like you always do.”
Talia quickly changed the subject. “You and Ruby have had the same night for many years and you have yet to collaborate once. You gave us one group routine we still use on occasion, but that was five years ago. Why should I let you have Emilia until you work with the other sirens first?”
“Thanks… but how did you know about my stilettos? I must not have worn them in years. There was so much dust, I had to break out the polish, so they’d look halfway decent for a performance.”
Rather than answer the question, Amber lamented, “it’s actually kind of a shame they don’t see the light of day more often,” before leaving to set up the other parameters for rehearsal.
As Vanessa patiently waited for Amber to find her music in the folder of CD’s, she thought back to a time she hadn’t in ages. The boots were among the few possessions she had when she left her boyfriend and moved in with Talia. While she was getting her life back together and making friends that would become her new family, one person stuck out in her memory. They didn’t get to spend a lot of time together before her abrupt departure but Carmen’s compliment on these particular boots reassured her that her flair for fashion was one thing nobody could take away.
“At least she takes your thoughts into account every now and then. Amber’s crazy talented and I want to work with her, but every time, she changes the subject or walks away.”
Amidst putting her jeans and leather jacket back on, Vanessa suggested, “I’ll talk to her. Every once in a while, she does listen to me.”
“Oh, thank you. That would be a big help. I have enough going on right now.” Talia braced her temples, letting loose a groan.
An air of caution colored Vanessa’s tone as she asked, “Did something happen?” Of course, she already knew the answer. She was in the middle of a phone conversation with Scarlet when Talia came home last night, slamming every door shut as she passed through. But she wanted to hear any information she willingly volunteered.
“That idiot American boy from karaoke. He came to the showcase last night with the intention to ask me out. My encore didn’t discourage him. It inspired him. He’s a songwriter. A really good one too. I got a text this morning confirming that his band will be the headliner at La Scala for the summer and the other two will alternate on their off nights.” Scarlet massaged her back, but Talia’s face remained in her hands. “Then he came here this morning looking for me and found Amber instead. He told her all about it, including my final song choice. I should have realized when Alejandro tried to warn me that it was from her playlist. I was in no mood to listen to anyone last night, but I had no excuse for that.”
“Scarlet, if it’s anyone’s fault, it’s mine.” She lifted her head. “I picked him and started this whole thing. The next time he comes here, no more tricks. I have to be honest with him.”
* * *
The
hostess escorted Vanessa to Amber’s table. It was at a cozy outdoor café situated
on the opposite end of the main drag from Calypso. Strings of lights suspended
10 feet in the air bordered all four of its corners. A Cobb salad (minus the hard-boiled
eggs) was in front of her, primed for eating. But Amber waited for Vanessa to
get a drink before exchanging pleasantries.
“This
is a nice surprise. Nobody’s asked to have lunch with me before, at least not for
a while.”
“It
could happen more often if you were a little more accommodating.” The blunt
sarcasm in her voice almost propelled the fork out of Amber’s hand as it came
down unexpectedly.
“Which
one of them sent you? I’ll bet it was Ruby, asking again to be included in my work.
Or maybe Scarlet because she thought I hurt her sister’s feelings…”
Vanessa
calmly raised a hand to cut Amber’s rant short. “Actually, I came on my own.
For what it’s worth, I think Talia’s right. Team building never hurts. Besides,
how can you share the spotlight with Emilia if you don’t know how with the rest
of us?”
Amber
scoffed but ultimately conceded, “When you say it like that, it makes perfect
sense. I just hate feeling like the odd girl out. I want Emilia to help expand
my brand rather than having just another version of Talia or Ruby to contend
with.”
“Everything’s
always a competition with you. Why? We’re all playing for the same team.”
“Not
from where I’m sitting.”
Vanessa
mulled things over as Amber went through her salad and she ordered herself a panini.
Once the plates were cleared, she tried again. “Why me?”
“What
are you talking about?” Amber rolled her eyes as she reapplied her lip gloss in
her compact mirror.
“Why
did you automatically think of me when you had to pick someone to dance with
today?”
“We
have similar body types with all the curves, so I thought we’d look good together.
And you have a quieter sexuality that I wanted to see you bring out. It reminds
me of my first audition. It was good enough for Alejandro, but not quite enough
for Talia. Yet Ruby comes out of nowhere and gets the spot that should’ve been
mine because she’s Scarlet’s sister…”
“Wait,
hang on a moment…” Vanessa massaged her temples and took a few deep breaths. Amber’s
recollection of her audition was nothing like the firecracker circus act that earned
her a spot as a siren five years ago. Yet she saw it clearly in her mind as if it’d
happened yesterday. Then her mention of Alejandro threw her for another loop. Amber
never talked about him in any of their previous conversations, which typically
focused on work or her latest gripe with Talia or Ruby. Nor had she referred to
anyone, except perhaps Scarlet, with that degree of warmth. All of the puzzle pieces
finally came together as she watched Amber, mirror still in hand, trying to
find the perfect position for her bangs without any luck. Having seen Amber do this
for year, Vanessa wrote it off as a personality quirk at first. But as she
looked closer, she noticed small isolated patches of jet-black hair buried beneath
the highlights.
Again,
Vanessa asked, “Amber, how did you know about my boots? For someone who always
claiming to be an outsider, that’s an oddly specific thing to remember about
another person.” Amber froze. Her eyes widened as if she’d witnessed something
horrific. She slowly put the compact mirror face down on the table and turned
away. “There was someone I knew years ago. She said how she admired anyone who
could walk in boots like mine and make it look effortless. And maybe one day
she’d be able to pull that off herself.” She leaned forward to study her more closely.
Amber averted her eyes to avoid meeting Vanessa’s, but no avail. Vanessa
reached to push her bangs out of the way. She gasped, “Carmen?”
Amber
pursued her lips. Seeing no other choice, she relented. “Yeah, it’s Carmen.”
Vanessa and Amber stared at each
other for several moments. Neither knew how to put this revelation in words.
Amber couldn’t control her blushing or manage any degree of eye contact.
Meanwhile, Vanessa’s mind drifted off to the last time she saw Amber as
Carmen.
But in truth, she had returned. The person whose audition fell short of Ruby’s and the person who now thrilled with her role-playing theatrics were as different as night and day, but they were one in the same. All of sudden, Amber’s standoffish behavior over the years made perfect sense.
Amber blew her bangs out of her face. “I still haven’t gotten used to these.”
“They look great. I always thought those highlights were really pretty.”
Amber managed a smile. “Thanks. They’re permanent.”
“Permanent?”
“The product of a hair-coloring gone haywire. You know how it is.” She gestured toward Vanessa’s locks and she conceded the point.
“Yeah, I thought it could be the fresh start I needed after leaving Richie but I got a little carried away and my follicles never recovered... So, how are your friends? Michel and Misha, right? Or do you not talk to them anymore?”
She shrugged, as if too exhausted to put up the bravado anymore. “We do, just not as often as I’d like. They’re busy giving dance lessons and saving up for their own venue. I give what I can to help them with that, but I don’t earn nearly as much as I would like.”
“I could help you with that. Routines featuring more than one siren have a bigger payout.”
“Thanks, but really, you don’t have to just because you feel sorry for me.” Vanessa merely inhaled when Amber added, “Don’t tell me that you don’t. I know it’d be a lie.”
“So, why did you come back? And why the disguise?”
The check came for them at that moment. The rising noise level indicated the next lunch rush was imminent. Amber took it in hand and searched her bag for her wallet. “That’s a lunch break all its own, but there is one huge reason why I came back.”
“And what’s that?”
Amber put the check and $30 under the saltshaker. “Alejandro.”
Music: "Lace & Leather" by Britney Spears
Dance: The closest thing to this might be "All that Jazz" from Chicago. I'm not super knowledgable about Bob Fosse, but his influence does come up a coupl more times
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