by Jamie Begley
Bouncing on the balls of his feet, he pointed at a middle-aged woman at the back of the room.
Zoey winced for the woman after only singing the first few notes.
“She’s terrible. I’m going to need another drink if the entertainment doesn’t get any better,” Vida complained, finishing her second drink.
“I think she’s doing a good job considering—”
“That she’s tone deaf,” Sawyer cut Zoey off. “Even the DJ quit hopping.”
“I can sing better than that, and I’m tone deaf.” Gianna took another chip, popping it into her mouth.
“You’re all being too critical.” Zoey shook her head, giving in to temptation by reaching for the nachos.
“We’re being nice.” Penni stood up when the woman finished and stepped down from the stage. “Watch this. I’ll show her how it’s done.”
The DJ didn’t even have enough time to ask who was next before Penni was on stage.
Zoey and the women around their table cracked up at Penni’s attempt at singing.
“She’s even worse!” Sawyer howled.
“You girls are being hypercritical because you listen to Mouth2Mouth during rehearsals and concerts.” Zoey tried to hush their laughter, seeing as they were becoming loud enough that Penni could hear them over the music she was trying to sing to.
“I don’t. She’s just plain bad,” Gianna said, wiping her tears of laughter away with a napkin. “I don’t have any musical talent, and I can sing better than that.”
“Prove it.”
Gianna’s laughter faded away as Penni came up behind her.
“You’re already done?”
“The DJ took the microphone away from me. Put your tonsils to work where your mouth is.”
“You’re not making any sense. No more drinks for you.” Zoey moved Penni’s drink away from her grasping hand.
“Gianna knows what I mean.”
“You think I won’t?”
“I know you won’t,” Penni taunted.
“Watch me.” Gianna stood up, throwing Penni a challenging look.
“I won’t have to. I can hear you from here.”
Zoey buried her face in her hands. The wisecracks going back and forth between the women were why she enjoyed spending time with her friends. The easy affection between them all made her feel like a part of their circle.
It had only taken minutes in Penni’s and Grace’s company to feel like she had always belonged. The friendships that had grown with the others were an added bonus that showed she made the right decision to make Queen City her home. The first few years in the city she had been just surviving until she had turned eighteen and saved enough money to enroll in a nursing aide course. Using the money she earned from the temporary jobs, she was able to find a better place to live, which was when she had met Penni. Living there for four years, she had formed a few casual aquaintances, but meeting her during a yoga class, they had started sharing a smoothie afterwards and now, three years afterward, the women seated around the table had become friends she could count on to liven up her days.
“She’s good,” Zoey complimented Gianna.
Gianna had the right to be confident. Her voice was the best one yet.
“She’s okay.” Penni held her hand out. “Can I have my drink back if I act like she is?”
“No, you’ve had enough.”
“I thought you hated to use the no word.”
“I do, but I don’t mind it when it’s appropriate.”
Penni turned her attention to the woman next to her. “Sawyer, you should get Kaden to start going to Zoey. I need a raise, and all he keeps telling me is no.”
Sawyer appeared embarrassed. “I tried to get him to see Zoey, but he says he doesn’t have the time to spare.”
Penni snorted. “She’s being polite. He says the same thing Jackal says—that it’s baloney.”
“Penni!”
Zoey added, “It’s okay, Sawyer. A lot of people say that.”
“Not many. How many followers do you have now?” Sawyer asked, glaring at Penni.
“I’m at fifty-five thousand.”
“That’s fantastic!” Ginny’s enthusiastic approval had Zoey liking her even more.
She was the quietest in the group, never really giving anything away about her life before coming to Queen City, despite being open where anything else was concerned. Her warm eyes always made a person feel as if she was glad to see them, and from what Zoey had witnessed, she had never met a stranger she didn’t give the same consideration to as a friend.
“Who’s next?” The DJ shouted out across the crowded room.
Gianna nudged Ginny. “You go.”
“No way.” Ginny paled at the suggestion.
“Come on… you love to sing,” Gianna tried to coax her again. “Hell, you do it when you clean the apartment. You don’t have any problem singing in front of me.”
“That’s different. It’s just me and you.”
“You sing when you cook,” Penni joined in, trying to convince her.
“I do?”
“Yep. Go ahead. Queen City is so big you’re never going to see these people again anyway.”
“She sings in church, too.” Gianna nudged her again. “You can’t have stage fright with the way you sing every Sunday.”
“That doesn’t involve a stage, and you’re standing next to me in the pew, singing the same song.”
“If I go up there with you, will you do it?” Gianna didn’t give her time to answer, standing up and grabbing Ginny’s hand, tugging her toward the stage.
Zoey watched the woman try to return to her seat, but Gianna wouldn’t let her. Unable to watch Ginny panic in her attempt to get off the stage, she stood, hurrying to the front.
“Gianna, she doesn’t want to.” Managing to get her away from Gianna’s grasp, Ginny looked startled when the DJ handed her the microphone.
Zoey felt bad for her, seeing she had a massive case of stage fright, her hand shaking as she held the microphone.
The rowdy crowd started yelling at her to sing.
Gianna, seeing the commotion she created, sent her an apologetic look before stepping off the stage.
The DJ started to play “Poker Face,” the lyrics coming up on the screen to the side. However, when Ginny remained unmoving, Zoey asked the DJ to switch the music to “Million Reasons.”
The first sounds coming from Ginny were so low that Zoey couldn’t hear the words, even with the microphone in her hand. It was only when she took Ginny’s hand and started singing with her that she could hear the perfect voice coming out. As the song went on, Ginny’s voice grew louder. She didn’t notice she was now singing alone.
The crowd got quiet as she sang, and when the final note trailed off, the entire audience clapped enthusiastically.
“Play another one!” Penni yelled out.
Zoey gave her a quelling look, but it was too late. The audience started stomping their feet.
Turning her head, she saw Ginny nod.
Seeing the DJ, Zoey then requested another song. She held Ginny’s hand firmly when “Girl on Fire” started playing. Zoey started the song, and after a second, Ginny jumped in. Zoey stopped, letting Ginny’s voice be the shining star on the stage. Everyone in the room was shocked and amazed at the talent they were witnessing.
As she sang, the song took her over. She didn’t pay attention to the rapt audience that couldn’t take their eyes off her. Nor did Ginny realize she was singing alone, weaving a spell that made each of them think she was singing to them personally. She had that magical something that thousands of performers tried to imitate without success, while Ginny did it with just the sound of her voice.
When the song ended, everyone in the bar was standing and clapping.
Zoey felt Ginny slip away from her side. So, left alone on the stage, she moved back to the microphone. “That’s it for the night. I need to rest my vocal cords.”
The crowd laughed at Zoey�
��s attempt at humor, giving her the chance to escape back to the table where her friends were still congratulating Ginny about how well she had done.
“Wow, Ginny, you did great!” Zoey added her own congratulations, sitting back down.
Ginny flushed red in embarrassment, grabbing her drink to hide her face.
“You’re better than Kaden’s opening act! You should try out. Jesse won’t be coming back for the next tour,” Kaden’s wife excitedly yelled from the end of the table.
“Sawyer, I’m not a singer. I like to sing to relax or make time go by faster. I’ve never had any lessons—”
“Kaden could teach you. He gives lessons when he’s not touring.”
“No.”
“Ginny, don’t be negative to possibilities.” Penni’s unreadable expression had Zoey convinced that her friend had a plan brewing behind her hooded eyes. When the woman used the same method that she used with her clients, Zoey knew Penni wasn’t going to give up.
“I’m not being negative. I’m being realistic. I have no desire to live like Kaden and the rest of the band.”
“I thought you like traveling with the band?” Zoey questioned her.
“I do, but that doesn’t mean I want to sing.”
“You would make more money to afford the house you want to buy.”
“I can do that when I save enough money doing a job I like to do, which isn’t singing.”
“That’s true.” Zoey nodded sagely. “You have a lovely voice. It takes a lot of self-confidence and self-esteem for singers to put themselves out there to be open to criticism. Did someone make fun of your singing?”
Ginny’s face closed like a book.
“I see. Would you stop cooking if I didn’t like your cooking?”
“No,” she answered reluctantly.
“Do you get nervous if Gianna doesn’t like the way you clean the apartment you share?”
“No.”
“Because you’re good at it. You have confidence in things you do well. If you took lessons from Kaden, you could discover you do that just as well and enjoy sharing your gift.” Zoey leaned closer to Ginny. “I’m not talking about taking a gigantic step and changing your choice of careers but being comfortable enough that you could join a choir or sing karaoke without someone standing next to you.”
Zoey could tell she was thinking it over.
“I’ll think about it,” she conceded.
Zoey straightened, seeing the women were staring at her in awe.
Penni swiped her glass back, tilting her in a mock salute. “Damn, Zoey, you’re good. You make me want to take singing lessons.”
She grimaced at the memory of her singing. “Please don’t.”
6
Mom,
When are you coming for a visit? Please come. I want to see you. I miss you. Don’t you miss me? If you come, I promise I won’t ask to go with you. We can go to the park or to a movie.
Dad brought me a puppy. I named him Bandit because he looks like a raccoon. Dad doesn’t like it when he jumps on my bed at night and makes him get off, but when he goes to his room, I open my door and let him sneak in to sleep with me. I love him so much. Don’t be mad, but it’s the best present I have ever gotten. I still love the stuffed rabbit, but Bandit loves me back, and I don’t feel so alone when he’s with me.
Did I tell you I got straight A’s on my report card? I’m really smart. I can do a lot of things now that I’m older. I can cook macaroni, clean the apartment, and I am responsible, too. I trained Bandit to go outside to potty, and I take him out so he doesn’t have any accidents. We’re both really, really good and quiet. We don’t make any trouble. You’ll love Bandit.
If you can’t come here, may I come and see you? I promise we’ll be so good you’ll never know we’re there. Please? Write me back soon.
I love you,
xoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxoxo
Zoey
Zoey saw the flowers leaning against her office door as she stepped off the elevator. She loved flowers.
Bending down, she picked them up and smelled the floral fragrance of the yellow roses. Then she searched through the flowers wrapped in green paper for a card, frowning when she didn’t find one.
Opening her door, she went inside and laid them on the low table by the couch to search for a vase. Finding one in the bottom drawer of a cabinet that she kept toilet paper and hand soap in, she took it out.
Humming, she filled it with water and was arranging the flowers in the vase when Penni gave a brief knock and poked her head inside.
“You busy?” Grinning, Penni came farther into the room when she saw the flowers. “Who are the flowers from?”
Zoey laughed. “I don’t know. They were in front of my door.”
Penni plopped down on the couch, plucking through the green paper to make sure she hadn’t missed the card.
“Nosey much?” Zoey took the paper away from her to throw it away.
“I can’t help it. It’s a flaw of mine.” She shrugged, unruffled at Zoey calling her out.
“Curiosity isn’t a flaw. It expands knowledge.”
“You’re a really nice person. I like you a lot.”
“I like you, too,” she responded warmly. “I knew we were going to be friends the moment I met you. You give off really good vibes.”
“You do, too.”
Penni was one of the few friends she had that didn’t think she was crazy when she mentioned the emotional energy that she could feel surrounding people she came in contact with. When she was younger and started learning about colors, she would associate different colors with people in her life. It was when she was older that she registered that there was more to it than a child’s imagination and she had been gifted with the ability to see auras.
“Any ideas on who sent you the roses?”
Zoey was used to Penni changing the course of a conversation when her curiosity was aroused.
“No. Yellow roses mean friendship and wisdom. It could be one of my followers or a client whom I helped with a problem and they wanted to thank me.”
“Hmm… maybe. We could call the owner of the building and ask to see the video footage?”
“Don’t do that. Whoever did it wanted to show their feelings anonymously.” Zoey stared at the roses as a thought came to mind. “Do you think it could have been Stump?”
Penni looked bewildered at the mention of Stump. “Why do you think he was the one?”
“For finding Hannibal, or for helping him get his job back.”
“They aren’t from Stump.”
“You can’t be sure.”
“I nearly died having Jackal’s baby and he’s never given me flowers. Grace and Casey haven’t gotten any either. Believe me; flowers, even as a token, would never come from a Predator.”
“Don’t you think you’re being a little harsh?”
“I am being nice.” Penni gave her a pitying look. “You’re too sweet to realize that men like the Predators exist. I try to see the best in everyone, but I’m smart enough to know that certain people can have a dark side. If you’re not careful, someone will take advantage of you.”
Zoey looked away from Penni. “I’m not as naïve as you think I am.” This time she was the one changing the topic. “Did you just come over to chat or was there something you wanted?”
Penni gave her a discerning gaze, but she let her change the subject. “I came over to ask you to help me convince Casey to let me take Cole on vacation with me.”
Zoey leaned back on her couch. “Why is it so important for you to take him?”
Penni’s jaw set stubbornly. “It just is.”
“I’m afraid that isn’t good enough, Penni. I can’t in good conscience try to influence Casey without knowing why.”
“I can’t tell you. I don’t even know if he would or if he is able to do it.”
“Who is he? Do what?” Zoey studied Penni intently. Whatever she wanted to achieve with Cole was serious
enough that Penni didn’t feel able to confide in her.
Penni wouldn’t harm a fly. Grace had once jokingly told her that Penni wasn’t able to use her yard due to a bee infestation. Instead of having them sprayed, she contacted a university to come and get them. She loved all of God’s creatures, but Zoey didn’t think she would go to that extent.
“Even if you don’t feel able to discuss this with me, you should be upfront and honest about why you want Cole to go and let her make the best decision for him to go as his guardian.”
When Penni looked like she would balk at being truthful with Casey, Zoey reached into the vase and took out one of the roses, giving it to her.
“You and Casey are friends, right?”
“Yes.”
“If it’s for a good reason, she’ll trust you with Cole.”
Penni stared down at the rose in her hand. “I’ll try, but it won’t work.”
“What did I tell you about trying?”
“That no attempt ends in complete failure unless you don’t try. Don’t think your attempt will fail. Be confident it will succeed.” Penni repeated the same phrase that she had told her when Penni asked her advice before.
“You’re going to have be more confident than that if you’re going to convince her.”
Penni straightened her shoulders. “I’ll ask her to lunch and talk to her then.” She stood up resolutely. “Thanks, Zoey. I wish you would let me pay you for your advice.”
“I always give my friends advice for free. That way we can stay friends if it doesn’t work.”
“All your clients are friends. How do you make enough to stay in business?”
“I earn enough to meet my needs. I enjoy my life. There aren’t a lot of people who can say that.”
“As much as I complain that I want a raise, I enjoy mine, too. I love working with bands and Grace,” she said, rising from the couch and giving a last curious glance at the flowers as if the card would appear.
“Let me know how lunch with Casey goes.”
“Will do. Thanks, Zoey.”
Zoey had enough time to take a picture of her flowers and post it to Instagram before her first client of the day showed up. Her appointments were booked solid through the rest of the week.