Jinx’s expression changes shape the minute Lily mentions the youth groups, and a huge grin breaks out across her face. ‘Oh shit, sorry, darling. Huge mouth, absolutely huge. Usually serves a purpose but tonight it’s just got me into trouble.’ Jinx sits down in the chair vacated by Dan and places her hands on the table, innocence and apology writ large upon her face. ‘I’m so sorry. I assumed she was still worried about her Lady’s Tuppence sealing shut so she combined coming out tonight with...oops!’ Jinx flashes a look of pure mischief at Lily who has one eyebrow raised so high it’s almost bouncing off the ceiling, her lips pursed in outrage. I can’t hold it in any longer and a burst of laughter at the awkwardness of it all shoots from my mouth and I clasp my hand across my lips to stop any more coming, I don’t want Lily to feel embarrassed but High Jinx is a character. Talk about from frying pan to fire.
‘I apologise, again, for my wayward tongue.’
I’m not sure I believe her.
She continues, ‘it’s just that this is meant to be Lily’s safe space, this and the lido, so I needed to test your mettle. I did it purely out of love.’ She places her hand upon her chest and flutters her eyes again at Lily, who doesn’t look like she’s buying it, but there’s a twist to her mouth that indicates her crossness, which whilst justified, is good-natured.
‘What do you need to be kept safe from?’ I turn and ask Lily.
‘Herself,’ Jinx and Dan say in unison and Lily shrugs her shoulders and nods her head as Dan goes to the bar.
High Jinx grins and turns her attention back to Lily. ‘Honestly, darling, you’ve never brought colleagues here before, how was I supposed to know? Especially one this delicious, but if he can’t tolerate filth then this may be the wrong venue.’
‘Oh, I don’t mind a bit of filth,’ I say.
However Jinx is paying no attention at all and has turned to the burly men sitting by the entrance and holds her hands up and together as if waiting for cuffs. She bellows across the room, ‘Darlings, I have crossed a line again. I think you’re going to need to throw me out.’
‘I’ll throw you out if you don’t do what you’re paid for!’ the tiny woman that Dan called SyPhyllis calls back, gesturing to the two men sat at her side, who stand up and, grinning, approach the table.
‘Once again, many apologies. Glad to meet you, Jay, and very glad to hear you like a little bit of filth...’ she leans across the table and stage winks at me, her eyelid painted turquoise. The men arrive and pretend to pull her away and she plays along, when with a twinkle in her eye, as sharp as any of her diamantés, she leans back in and asks, ‘But do you like the thought of Lily’s vagina as well?’
‘Jesus Christ,’ Lily says. ‘I really am sorry, Jay. She can’t be trusted anywhere. I’d like to say it’s just Jinxy that behaves that way but unfortunately she’s a nightmare as Kevin too.’
‘This is true,’ says Dan who has returned with a tray of cocktails. ‘But at least as Kevin she has the grace to look a little shamefaced and occasionally acts remorsefully. As Jinx there is no controlling her. Honestly, at this point, we’re not really her friends anymore, we’re more like...um...’
‘Parole officers,’ Lily says drily.
‘Bitches!’ High Jinx shrieks across at us from the front of the stage where the men have dropped her. Then she turns around, grabs the arse of one of them, waggles her tongue suggestively at the other and then climbs majestically up the steps to the stage where she turns on her heel and as if from nowhere has a mic which she genteelly coughs into.
‘I was going to go with carers, but yeah, you’re more accurate,’ Dan says.
The room, which has been noisy up until now, becomes quiet as if High Jinx has some magic powers of calm. Which frankly I find hard to believe.
‘Hello and welcome,’ she says into the mic, her voice all breathy as the crowd begin to whoop and holler at her until she waves them down to quiet. ‘Now as you know, Thursdays are our open mic night, which is basically just an excuse for all of us to clamour –’ she enunciates this word very carefully, somehow making it sensual ‘–clamourfor attention and fight over who is the most talented drag queen in the entire city. Something that we all know the actual answer to, don’t we?’
Lily and Dan whoop and I find myself joining in.
‘And I’m going to prove it to you all now. I’m going to prove it, like for the millionth time, that ... this ... bitch ... can ... sing!’
‘She can, you know,’ Lily says bending her head towards me whilst Dan is up on his feet hollering.
‘You know I need you.’ High Jinx says into the mic, beckoning Dan who races over and lifts up the lid of the piano. They whisper at each other and Dan begins to play as High Jinx fills the room with the sound of Minnie Riperton. Not an easy song to cover, but she does, and, most impressively, she does it wonderfully. Every ‘la’ beautifully hit. She is transformed.
Somehow up on stage in her bright blue, she looks born to be surrounded by lights and adoration and in the short space of one song she has won herself another fan. Her vocal range is astounding. My hands are clapping with as much power as they can when I feel my phone vibrate in my pocket. I pull it out and see immediately it’s a message from Cassie.
Hey, I know you know but it’s my birthday on Saturday. Jas says we can go out. It seems like forever since I’ve been anywhere. Any ideas and wanna join?
Jas may be happy for them to go out but that’ll change when she realises my sister has invited me.
Nothing could keep me away... I stop typing and look up. High Jinx is speaking into the mic and commanding the attention of all in the room.
‘Now in the interests of equal opportunities we do have to open the stage to everyone. This is open mic after all. If you want to just see me, and who wouldn’t, then it’ll be my drag cabaret Saturday night, finishing up with me spinning you some sweet tunes on the decks. But for now we have to let the others play too. So, it’s my pleasure –’ she faux gags ‘– to introduce Vivicious. I’m sure she’ll be ... well ... she’llbe.’
‘Everything okay?’ Lily asks, my hand still paused mid-air over my phone.
‘Yes, it’s just Cass. It’s her birthday next weekend and I think she’d love it here,’ I answer. She would. She has the filthiest sense of humour and I can see her and High Jinx getting on like a house on fire. Jasmine maybe not so much. Jasmine is trying to make my sister more ladylike. The very word makes me want to be sick. Sensible brogues, afternoon tea and an interest in chamber music. All of which are perfectly acceptable things, they’re just not well suited to my sister, who is in her early twenties and more of a cocktails and dance on a table kinda gal. Or at least she was.
‘Jinx and Dan will be here on Saturday. Why don’t you invite her to come and join them?’ Lily says, and her offer seems genuine.
