Scarlet called Talia the following morning, jostling her and Juan Paulo awake. Digging through the blankets Talia left for him on the floor where he spent the night, he searched for his phone. Its illuminated screen showed a text Javier sent to him moments earlier.
“Hey Scarlet, is everything all right?” She looked over at the clock and it was just after 6 a.m., the time she’d typically call the others if something suddenly came up.
“Yeah, yeah, everything’s fine. Amazing, actually. Javi showed me a wonderful time last night.” She giggled. A male voice and the sound of slow kisses were barely audible on the other line. “Anyway, would it be all right if I sit out tonight? We kinda have other plans.”
“No, no problem at all,” Talia combed a few loose locks of hair behind her ear, “enjoy yourself. You deserve it.”
“That means a lot, thank you. Listen, I gotta go. We have to get to rehearsal so we’ll be ready for tonight. I’ll let you know how it goes, bye...” Just like that, the call ended.
Juan Paulo clarified, “Yeah, he’d been encouraging her to do this for some time and based off the text he just sent me, she’s finally ready. Guess that means I should be going too. I’ll see you after the show tonight.” He gathered his belongings and gave her a quick peck on the cheek before rushing out.
Still in her lingerie, Vanessa leaned against Talia’s doorway and let out a big yawn. “So he stayed the night? This is a first.”
Talia rolled her eyes at the insinuation, but her spirits remained high. “It isn’t what you think. Javier asked Juan Paulo to make himself scarce so he could have time alone with Scarlet. And we’ll be without her services tonight.”
“So, what’s the game plan? Is Emilia going to take her place like you’ve been training her all week?”
“If it were any day but a Wednesday, yes. It’s the hottest ticket of the week so you and Ruby will be handling everything tonight. I’ll let her know that she can take a well-deserved day off.” As she searched her wardrobe for daytime attire, she redirected, “Has all this time with Amber paid off? Will she be ready to present in two days?”
“It’s been an interesting several days to say the least. And yes, she’ll be ready.”
Beyond this blanket statement, Vanessa gave nothing else away before her own departure. She’d helped Amber narrow her setlist down to three potential songs for each siren and three possible group numbers. But she didn’t want to admit all of this was contingent on Emilia’s participation. After playing referee for so long, she decided she’d had enough. This was something the three parties involved were going to have to work out on their own.
When Vanessa met Ruby at Calypso, it was clear from her enthusiastic smile that she was up to speed... for the most part. “So my sister had another engagement for tonight. I’m so happy for her, I could explode.”
“Yeah, me too. Talia says it’s going to be just us tonight so we’d better get started.”
Ruby’s cheeks finally got a chance to relax from all the smiling when confusion contorted her lips. “Speaking of Talia, where is she?”
“Huh,” Vanessa spun around, finding no one, “that’s strange. I thought she was right behind me.”
“Hey ladies,” Alejandro called over from behind the bar waving his phone, “Talia texted me to say she’s sitting out tonight as well.”
“Another Wednesday?” Ruby stammered, “What’s going on? Talia doesn’t give this night up for anything unless she isn’t feeling well, but even that’s almost never.”
“Yeah, weird. She’s sworn up and down that she isn’t super serious with JP yet. But something tells me this has something to do with him...”
* * *
It was impossible to pinpoint the exact moment Talia resolved to shirk responsibility for the day. But once she arrived at that conclusion, it felt like the best decision she’d made in a long time.
She rarely took time for herself to simply walk around the city and soak in the atmosphere. Despite the fact she’d taken the cobblestoned paths thousands of times from one destination to the next, they felt different under her feet today. Each individual stone she touched radiated a comforting warmth beneath her new sandals: a purchase from the first shop she ran into. The streets were quiet at first, but soon bustled with all kinds of activity from locals and tourists alike. It was usually easy to differentiate between the two based on wardrobe choices and mannerisms. Tourists wore a lot of graphic tees, shorts, flip-flops and cheap sunglasses (often sold at stands three pairs for a dollar). For locals, there was far more variety and style and they always dressed appropriately for the weather with minimal effort.
To Talia’s amazement, she witnessed several people from both sides intermingling at the plethora of shops and outdoor cafes. Most were laughing and enjoying each other’s company like they’d been friends their entire lives. Tourism was the island’s most important industry, so it only made sense to be complimentary to them, especially when it came to the local cuisine and finding the best souvenirs to suit their personal tastes. Strange as it seemed at first, she also considered the possibility it’d always been this way and she just never noticed it before. She worked so much; she missed a lot of things other people considered common knowledge.
Throughout the morning and afternoon, Talia procured numerous purchases for herself and others. Their wardrobe, for on and off the dance floor, had been in need of an update for quite some time. Around noon, she stopped by food truck central where she received a warm reception from the head chefs for her business over the years. They tried to offer her free samples as thanks. Knowing the impeding lunch rush was mere moments away, she had another idea. For today only, all of them would put up free samples of their signature dishes for everyone to try and Calypso would cover the food costs. Her only request was that her contribution remained anonymous. As she watched from the sidelines, she beamed at the scores of tips that accumulated. Most of the truck owners came to the island with nothing and spent many years building their businesses from the ground up, so every cent helped.
Occasionally, young adults in their 20’s and early 30’s came up to her, asking for autographs and photos. She graciously agreed to every respect. Many were awestruck and some remarked how they never expected to find her out in the open. Talia offered nothing in response to theirs queries except a shrug or an overcompensating smile, but they gave her something to think about on the way back home. It hadn’t occurred to her how much time she’d spent on her own or with her closest friends, all of the experiences she’d missed out on by putting her work above everything else. Maybe in the future, she could have more days like this where she isn’t just performing for people, but spending time really getting to know them.
Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a new sign in the window of Eclipse. It was for the annual End-Of-Summer karaoke contest. With a smirk, she went inside and signed herself up. Taking a quick look around brought her back to the night she met Juan Paulo. A lot had changed since then, and she was reviewing those memories with new eyes. Upon further reflection, she opted to put his name down as well. Whether their next appearance here would be together or separate acts, she couldn’t be sure, but she was already looking forward to the possibilities.
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