Whirlwind by J.V. Speyer

Author:J.V. Speyer [Speyer, J.V.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2018-04-06T04:00:00+00:00

Chapter 5

Jo sat at a small table with Simon and sipped from a drink that’s pink color couldn’t possibly have been found in nature. It was called something preposterous. Jo had seen a lot in her years on the road, and she had a hard time mentioning the name of the drink. By now, she’d forgotten the name anyway. All she could hope was that the bartenders would take pity on her and give her something clear, cold, and undiluted by sugar or mixers the next time she went up to the bar.

One of the other bridesmaids walked up to her. She wore khakis. Who wore khakis to a bachelorette party? Apparently this lady did. Jo struggled to remember her name and finally got it. Elise. “They’ve done an amazing job with this place, haven’t they?” She giggled and snorted. “Who’d know this place was the Ritz?”

Jo couldn’t quite agree that the job had been good, but she could easily agree that the place was unrecognizable. “It’s definitely different.” She glanced up at the stage set up at one end of the room. “Tomorrow, they’re going to have a church youth group meeting in here. And right up there? That’s where the altar will be.”

Elise’s eyes widened. “I hadn’t thought about that. Does that mean we’re desecrating their space or something?”

“I don’t think so. I’m not a theologian, but the Pope said Mass at a stadium the day after we played there once. He didn’t seem to have objected.” Jo shrugged. “I think these folks are Presbyterian, though, so you might want to ask them. They might have different ideas about that kind of thing.”

Elise opened her mouth in a perfectly round “o.” “You’ve really played the same venues as the Pope?”

“Yeah, a few times. That particular booking was in Lisbon. What do you do?”

“Er, I’m in accounting.” She looked down. “Are you really gay?”

“Bisexual, actually.” Jo sipped from her drink.

“Oh. Is that, like, half straight?”

“No.” She considered making a snarky comment and decided she was too sober to forget she was a public figure. It might feel better to lash out, but it wouldn’t do anyone any good. “I’m attracted to more than one gender. I like men, I like women, I like other genders. It’s not a big deal, it’s just part of who I am. No different from being short, or speaking French, or having a preference for gin.”

“Oh.” Elise blinked. “That’s easy enough to understand, I guess.” She sat down near Jo, not right beside her but one chair over. “I heard your interview on the radio the other day.”

Jo laughed. “You know, I’ve been part of Whirlwind since I was sixteen, I’ve been performing since I was younger than that, and I’m never going to get used to hearing things like that.” When Elise looked startled, Jo just grinned and went on. “It just sounds like I’m on another planet, you know? I was talking about that with Valeria, Isabelle’s sister, the other day. An incident from the bridal shower went public and I’m always surprised when that happens.

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