New York City
February 1, 2005
“…come and stand beside us; we can find a better way!”
Rose finished the last few steps of the dance and ducked behind the curtain, leaving the lead singer to enjoy the smattering of applause. Few visitors to the nightclub paid much attention to the singers unless the lull between songs was too long, and even then it was the lead singer who got the attention—not the three backup singers.
She reached for a towel to wipe the sweat from her brow. Much as she loved singing and dancing onstage, it would be nice to have a little more appreciation and acknowledgment of her effort. The other two singers felt the same way, but when they had suggested that they be allowed to stay out on stage after a set and receive some of the little praise and acknowledgment, Roland had put his foot down. The lead singer was an up-and-coming star, he was sure, and he would do nothing to jeopardize her status or the potential rewards coming his way.
Rose tossed the towel aside and reached for a bottle of water, taking a long drink. Roland was irritated with Daffodil again—she had launched an advertising campaign for the nightclub that had actually been mildly successful, but without his permission—and his irritation extended to Rose by default. Daffodil had kept her mouth shut about Rose’s part in the advertising campaign—she had participated after much coaxing on Daffodil’s part—but Roland was no fool. He knew that the two of them had worked together—not only did the campaign sound like the effort of both, but a new customer had informed him of the fact that a tall brunette and a musically-inclined redhead had talked him into trying the nightclub. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate the extra customers, but it hadn’t been his idea and his niece had made no effort to inform him of her efforts on the nightclub’s behalf until he had called her into his office and yelled at her.
Rose was putting on her coat, preparing to go out to Roland’s car for the ride home, when Daffodil shoved her way through the curtains, her face mutinous.
“Do you know what he did?!” she thundered before Rose could ask what was wrong.
“Who?”
“Roland!”
“No. What did he do to make you mad this time?”
“He left without us! He said the janitor was locking up and we could find our own way home—after all, it’s only twenty blocks!”
“He left without us!?”
“That’s what I just said! The son of a bitch is getting back at us for trying to get more business for this pathetic place, even though it worked! His problem is that he’s a control freak! He can’t stand anyone but him having ideas!”
The janitor poked his head around the curtain at the sound of Daffodil shouting. She turned to glare at him.
“I suppose you’re going to report on us for not rushing out into the cold and dark right away!”
“I ain’t sayin’ nothin’,” he told her, turning away and going back to his work. “He did want you to leave before it got too late, though.”
“Too late!? It’s two o’clock in the morning. What does he think late is? Sunrise? He’ll probably be sleeping off a hangover by then!”
“Daffodil, calm down.” Rose put a hand on her friend’s arm. “All this yelling isn’t going to help us get home at this hour.”
“It’s only twenty blocks, Rose.” Daffodil’s voice was sarcastic. “I don’t know why we came here in the first place. We should have stayed in Canada. At least then we wouldn’t have to deal with that—“
“Daffodil.” Rose interrupted her calmly. “I know you’re mad. I am, too.”
“You sure aren’t acting like it!”
“That’s because I’m waiting until I see him again. Yelling and screaming back here doesn’t do any good.”
“Well, you know me, Rose. I’m the passive-aggressive sort. I’ll be sweet to your face and then stab you in the back when you aren’t looking.”
“Only with your uncle. The rest of the time, you’re just plain aggressive.”
“I am not!” Daffodil whirled around and started for the door. “Come on. It’s a long walk home.”
“Maybe we can get a cab. A lot of places are still open at this hour.”
“Do you know how much that costs!? And how many drivers won’t go to our neighborhood!?”
“I’m well aware it’s expensive. But there must be some drivers who will take us home.”
Daffodil snorted. “Not many. We’ll get home faster walking.”
“If we’re not robbed, raped, and murdered on the way.”
“There’s two of us, and we’ve been in a lot of bad places.”
“The place we’re living in now is one of the worst. And there being two of us wouldn’t deter a gang.”
“I’ll rip the face off anyone who crosses us!”
“Daffodil…” Rose sighed, trying to think of a way to cool her best friend’s temper. “Why don’t we go sit in one those all-night cafés on this street? I’m hungry anyway.”
“How about a bar? I need a drink.”
“No, you don’t. Then you’ll be mad and drunk…and knowing you, you’ll pick a fight with someone and get us both in trouble. And I don’t think your uncle will bail us out.”
Daffodil sighed, clenching her fists and trying to control her temper.
“Fine…we’ll do it your way. But no one had better mess with us!”
“I doubt anyone will. Messing with you is about as attractive a prospect as hugging a cactus when you get like this.”
*****
Twenty minutes later, the two women were sitting at a table in a small café, perusing the menu and trying to warm up after walking in the cold, dark streets. As Rose had predicted, no one had bothered them, but Daffodil was still cranky and spoiling for a fight—or something laden with fat and sugar, whichever presented itself first.
“Damn, but it’s cold out there,” Daffodil complained irritably, rubbing her bare hands together—she’d left her gloves at home when they had left for the nightclub in the afternoon.
“It’s a winter night in New York…what do you expect?” Rose was getting tired of listening to Daffodil complain.
“You could show a little sympathy. I think I have frostbite.”
“You don’t have frostbite. You haven’t let your hands stay still long enough for anything to bite them, let alone frost.”
“Where’s that waitress? I need some coffee.”
“I think she’s on the phone with her boyfriend. She left the pot sitting right there, though—maybe you could help yourself.”
“No. It’s her job to serve me, and I’m going to let her do her job.”
Rose sighed. “Suit yourself.”
Daffodil was quiet for a few minutes, staring at the menu and leaving Rose in peace. When she’d decided what she wanted to eat, though, she looked up and started talking again.
“Do you ever think about leaving?”
“What?” Rose wasn’t paying attention.
“Leaving. You know—the nightclub, Roland, New York…”
“Not right now. Not in the dead of winter. We have a place to live and steady jobs. Ask me again in the spring.”
“I’m sick of Roland and his stupid nightclub.”
“I noticed.”
“And the cold.”
“Daffodil, it’s winter. Winter is cold.”
“It’s colder in some places than others.”
“I know. It’s undoubtedly much colder where we were living in Canada.”
“It’s cold here, too. But farther south—“
“Daffodil, this is the first steady work we’ve had in a long time. I’m not just going to up and leave because you’re feeling chilly.”
“I’ve been thinking about this since the new year.”
“Where would we go, anyway? Do you have any other long-lost relatives or friends?”
“My parents live in New Mexico, but that’s not what I had in mind.”
“Then what is?”
“The southern states are pretty nice this time of year.”
“Which one in particular?”
“Any that are warm.”
“Most of them are warmer than here.”
“Come on, Rose. It’ll be an adventure. We have enough money for bus tickets now, so we won’t have to hitchhike. We can move around and find work and do something other than work in Roland’s crappy nightclub.”
“Last week, we were trying to convince people that the nightclub was the place they wanted to be.”
“That was different. We were advertising. You don’t expect advertising to be honest, do you?”
“Whether someone finds that nightclub the place to be or not is up to them.”
“Well, I don’t find it the place to be.”
“That’s because you’re working there.”
“No, it’s because Roland owns it.” She looked at Rose slyly. “You wouldn’t happen to be interested in a hostile takeover, would you?”
“I think we’ve gotten in enough trouble already.”
“It might get us fired,” Daffodil conceded. “Of course, then we’d have a reason to move on…”
“Daffodil!”
“Come on, Rose. At least promise me you’ll think about it.”
“A hostile takeover?”
“No! Leaving New York!” Her face took on a pleading look. “Please? I thought you were my friend.”
“Don’t push it.”
“Just think about it. You don’t like the cold anymore than I do.”
“Daffodil…”
Daffodil gave her a puppy-eyed look.
“All right! Fine! I’ll think about it. But don’t push me. The fastest way to get me to say no is to nag me about something—as my mother could tell you.”
Daffodil grinned. “Great! You won’t regret it.”
“Daffodil, I only said I would think about it…”
“I know. But once you start thinking about something—“
“—things happen.” Rose groaned, putting her head down on the table.