“Sorry,” I said. “We were celebrating.”
“I can see that,” Kirk said flatly. “Please, keep your boyfriend quiet. Some of us are trying to sleep.”
“He’s not—“
Kirk shut his door before I could finish the sentence. Before the door shut, I caught a glimmer of emotion on Kirk’s face, but I wasn’t sure what it was. Annoyance? Regret?
“Uh-oh,” Asher said. “I think your hottie neighbor is mad. He doesn’t like me.”
“I can’t imagine why,” I responded as I dragged Asher down the hall into my apartment and dropped him on the couch. He was heavier than he looked.
I changed and got into bed. Bootsy, the little traitor, slept on top of Asher rather than with me. I didn’t have long to complain because I was asleep before I hit the pillow.
I awoke with a splitting headache. I apparently had drunk more than I had intended to. There was snoring coming from the living room. I poked my head out the door and was surprised to find Asher sawing logs on my couch. I didn’t remember bringing him home last night. For a split second, I was afraid something may have happened between Asher and me, but the memories of the previous evening came back to me.
I grabbed my phone off the charger next to the couch. I had one message from a number I didn’t recognize, so I pushed play.
“Hey Erika, Eugene Moses here. I’mThe Naughty List‘s composer, in case you’ve forgotten my name. Anyway, I know this is your day off, but I had an idea for a new eleven o’clock number for the show. I wanted to see if you could come by my apartment today and help me iron it out. If all things go smoothly, and San Nicolás likes it, we may put it in the show as soon as tomorrow night. Anyway, call me back when you get this.”
Eugene lived in an apartment above a bakery in Chelsea. I walked up the four flights and knocked on his door. “Coming!” a muffled voice called from inside. A second later, a young woman opened the door.
“You must be Erika. I’m Jackie.” She opened the door wide, and I walked into the apartment. “Eugene stepped out for a minute. He promised he’d be right back.” I looked down. Jackie was quite obviously pregnant. “I’m having a craving for Mountain Dew and Funyuns.”
“Together?” I said without thinking.
“I know. Tell me about it. Normally, I don’t like either, but I’ve been craving them today. Eugene has been a godsend during all this.”
“So, he’s not—“
“No. He was my high school sweetheart. But that was eons ago. No, the baby’s father is in the military and currently overseas on deployment. Eugene has known both of us for years, so he opened his home for me and the little one,” Jackie said, pointing to her belly.
“When’s the baby due?”
“She was supposed to be here three days ago. If she doesn’t hurry up and come out on her own, the doctors will induce labor this week. I was hoping to have her out and in the world before your show opens, but she isn’t cooperating.”
“I’m home,” Eugene yelled as he opened the door. He saw me and said, “Oh hey, Erika. Glad you found the place.” He then glanced between Jackie and me and asked, “I take it you have introduced yourselves?”
“All three of us have been introduced,” Jackie joked. “Anyway, you two have fun. I’m going to go lay down.”
Eugene handed her the bag from the corner bodega. He pulled out a couple of bottles of water and handed me one. “I figured you’d want water.”
“It’s nice that you’re taking care of Jackie and her unborn daughter.”
“Jackie and I were high school sweethearts a long time ago.”
“That’s what she told me,” I said.
“And with Brian overseas, I knew she needed someone close to lean on.” There was a wistful look in Eugene’s eyes as he looked in the direction she walked. Part of me wondered if he still had feelings for her. I guess adolescent love doesn’t always die. “Well, let me play the new song.”
“You said it’s a new eleven o’clock number?”
“That’s the goal. Right now, we have the long speech from Madam Tanya. Honestly, it’s an old holdout from the source material. I don’t think it works in the show. Instead, there’s the moment when Billy James is shot and Madam Tanya asks for the elves to save him. I don’t know what magical Christmas power elves have over life and death. But apparently, audiences don’t care.”
“Tell me about it. That part of the show was always awkward, but then a lot of the producer’s changes have been strange to me.”
“Don’t even get me started on Eldridge. You see what she changes. You can only imagine the crazy stuff coming out of her that the artistic team has put their feet down about.”
“Really?” I asked. I had assumed the artistic team had caved to Eldridge’s every whim.
