Author's Chapter Notes:
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“Now take all the time you need to think about it. I know that I probably put you between a rock and a hard place with my proposal. This is a great place to work and get your start. Ms. Gibson is very talented herself and has found great talent, but I think you have the most out of all of them and that’s why I want you to join me. So do think about it, but not too long. If your gonna say no, I need to know at least by the first week of the new year. Any questions, just call me”Leon Errol said to Gabriel as he gave him his card, “Are you performing anymore tonight?”
“I have one more. I'm like the intermission”Gabriel said. Leon nodded
“I’ll be watching you then”Leon said with a smile,”Please think about it”
“Oh I will”Gabriel said as he shook Leon’s hand and then Leon left.”Believe me I will”
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“Here's the whiskey. There's more boxes in the back here if you need more”Salomi said to one of the bartenders and then went to help someone. She served them their drink of choice and he gave her a huge tip and winked at her.”Hmm ring a ding ding”she said in a sing song voice to herself as she put the tip in her bra
Ruth saw this and walked up to her,”You have a lot of makeup on”
“Hello Ruth how are you today?”Salomi said to her, ignoring her comment
“I'm not trying to be rude Lomi. I just want you to know that you are a naturally beautiful girl and all that makeup isn’t necessary”Ruth said,”I do like the cut though. But aren't you going to miss that long hair of yours?”
“Nope”Salomi said simply,”This is exactly what I needed. I needed a change. To look totally different from the old Lomi”
“Why are you trying to change?”Ruth asked her
“Because the new year is in two days. I wanted to start it new and fresh, that’s all”
Ruth sighed,it was just as she predicted. She read about it from her new boyfriends psychology books. “Salomi, cutting your hair and putting on pounds of makeup and finding new friends is not going to help. Don’t use that to run away from your problems. You can't simply change your look overnight and expect that your whole life will change along with it. It was God’s will Lomi, and I know that’s hard to understand but all you have to do is accept it-“
“I don’t know what the hell you are talking about”Salomi interrupted her quickly. Then a few men came up to the bar,”Why don’t you serve them while I look after the performers?”she asked her and rushed off. She rolled her eyes. God! Why did Ruth always think that she knew everything about everything? Like she knew what was best for her? She walked backstage and gave 5, 10 and 15 minute warnings to the appropriate acts and then stopped by Gabriel’s dressing room. He was sitting at his desk looking at some card. She took a penny out of her bra and cleared her throat. He looked up at her and smiled and she tossed the penny toward him,”Penny for your thoughts?” she asked as she walked in and sat on his lap
“Mr. Errol gave me quite a proposition….but that means a lot of change that I don’t know if I'm ready for…”Gabriel said
“What kind of proposition?”Salomi asked and then gasped,”He's not asking you to fight in the war or something is he?”
“Oh no no no”Gabriel said with a smile,”It's not that serious”
“Oh well what is it then?”
“Leon was in charge of a vaudeville group back in Australia. Now he has moved here and has made quite a name for himself. His old partner was Bert Williams. Can you believe that? And he also works with the Ziegfeld Follies! I mean those are two great names as far as onstage entertainment. He wants me to join him, to take him under his wing and perform with him”
“Well do it!”Salomi said excitedly. Gabriel mentioned from time to time about what Bert Williams was doing and how talented he was. She also heard he and Dorothy sing the Follies praises. This could make him the star that he always wanted to be.”What is there to think about?”
“Well…Dorothy”Gabriel said,”She has done so much for me. She hired me here when I had not even a penny to my name. She's taken care of the both of us and lets us stay in her fancy apartment. She even lets me be in charge. She has total faith and trust in me and I feel that if I do this. I feel like I'm leaving her behind..like I've been taking advantage..”
“So you’ve been taking advantage of Dorothy all this time?”
“No I haven’t!-“
“Then don’t feel like that then. It's not true. Don’t feel like you owe something to Dorothy. She would want you to do this. I mean you can't be here forever, she knows that. And if it means that much to you, not leaving her I mean, then maybe you can help us out here and perform with Mr. Errol. Best of both worlds. But baby don’t pass this up. This is the exact change that you need”
“I didn’t know that I needed a change”
“Don’t we all? The new year is in 2 days. We all need to start anew”she said as the audience applauded. “Oh I'm now giving you your 15 minute warning”she said to him
“Thanks baby”he said as he gave her a kiss,”So if I do decide to do this…will you support me?”
“100% I mean that’s what fiancé's do right?”she asked and then kissed him again
“I love you Lomi”
“I love you too”she said to him
“Where's Darla? This is the first time all night that I haven’t seen her by your side”Gabriel asked
“You know what? I don’t know. I mean she's probably out in the audience cheering as loud as she possibly can”Salomi said as they both walked out the dressing room. As they did, someone spilled a whole glass of wine and it got all over the floor. “Shit”she said,”No drinking backstage!”she shouted at the culprit and then went to the nearest closet to find a mop. She opened the nearest closet door and found Leon Errol making out with Darla in the closet!
“Ohmygod!”Darla laughed, embarrassed that they were caught for a second but then didn’t care. Leon blushed a little or was it just Darla’s lipstick that was all over his face?
“Uh…I just need a mop and bucket”Salomi said as she picked it up,”Sorry”she said and closed the door. Wow.
“What's wrong? Looks like you just saw a ghost?”Gabriel asked her
“I didn’t see a ghost”Salomi said as she started mopping up the mess. She had to do it fast, the performers were rushing on and offstage and if anyone fell, that would be more money coming out of their pockets. She looked around and then whispered,”I found Darla and she was making out with Mr. Errol in the closet!”
Gabriel laughed out loud,”Are you serious?”he asked her and she shushed him and he lowered his voice,”I mean I could tell he was taken by her but I didn’t know that he would act on it so fast!”
“Oh he's taking something alright”Salomi commented and they both laughed. She finished mopping and then said,”Let me put this in another closet so as to not disturb the closet lovers”
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“We did pretty good tonight”Salomi said as she calculated the numbers and started putting the money away,”But will it make up for not being open on New Years Eve? Are you sure you want to do that?”she asked Dorothy
Dorothy shrugged,”It seems I have to. The performers are tired. They do this every night. They were all upset that they had to work Christmas Eve and Day. So I promised them that they would have New Years Eve off. I empathize. There were many holidays when I had to perform for people who were enjoying the holiday by watching me. It's like a slap in the face of sorts. Anyhow, that gives you more time to spend with Gabriel. You can both ring in the New Year like normal engaged couples do. Unless you bring that loud Darla along with you everywhere”
Salomi rolled her eyes playfully,”She's not just loud Dorothy. She's just…very full of life. She's fun. Spontaneous. I like her”
Dorothy smiled,”Where is she?”she asked her
“I don’t know. Probably waiting out there for me. I need to get her home”Salomi said as she got up and helped Dorothy put everything away. She got on her coat and kissed Dorothy on the cheek,”I’ll see you at home, I won't wait up”
“I hope not”Dorothy said and smiled. She had a weird feeling about this Darla girl but she was going to try her best not to worry about it
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“Maybe she was tired and left early?”Gabriel said to Salomi as they waited outside the club. They looked all over for Darla and she was nowhere to be found.
“Well she would have told me. I'm worried, I mean what if she got hurt or something? I don’t want to be responsible for anyone getting hurt again. What if she got lost?”
“Maybe we should check the closet again? Maybe she's out with Leon. I mean I hope their romance didn’t start and end in a janitors closet”Gabriel said with a smile. However, Salomi didn’t find it funny. She was worried about her new ‘twin’.”Let's just go. Maybe she's waiting back at our place?”
“You are saying maybe a little too much”Salomi said as they headed home. They got to the apartment and Doroty wasn’t home either and Darla wasn’t waiting for them there. She sighed.
“She's young too. Her mother and father probably set a curfew and she had to rush back. Let's just get some sleep ok?”Gabriel said to her. Salomi accepted defeat and nodded, it took her a long time to go to sleep.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
Salomi did the grocery shopping for Dorothy the next day since she had another important meeting with Jules. She picked up the bags and headed back to the apartment when there was a loud honking noise, she turned and saw a car heading right toward her! She screamed and dropped one of the bags as the car came to a stop right in front of her, almost running her over. She then heard a familiar laugh and saw that the driver was Darla. “What the hell is the matter with you!?”she shouted at her,”You could have killed me!”
“Oh boo hoo”Darla said in a baby voice as she stuck her head out the window. “I wasn’t going to kill you Lomi, you know I love you”
“Well now I dropped half my groceries because of you”Salomi said to her as she looked at all the fruits and vegetables that now laid on the sidewalk
“Ok well let's just go back and get some more. I’ll buy. I'm sorry. I just wanted to surprise you”Darla said as she unlocked the passenger door. “Get in. I’ll take you back to the market”
Salomi sighed and then got in. She couldn’t be mad at Darla. She was trying to make up for it. She got in and noticed that she was wearing the dress from last night, “Where were you last night? You had me worried. I couldn’t find you anywhere”
“Oh that’s sweet”Darla said as she sped down the street back towards the market,”I was with Leon. He's my new snugglepup. This is his car you know. He had some meeting with an important client so he let me have the car for a day!”
“I didn’t know that you knew how to drive”Salomi said to her. So fast too.
“Oh an old snugglepup of mine taught me”Darla said with a smile,”I can teach you if you wanna”she said to her but then smiled,”Oh, I think he loves me. I think I love him too”
“Already?”Salomi asked her with wide eyes
“Well maybe not love…but lust. It was great. And we didn’t even get too intimate just enough to satisfy the both of us”Darla said with a huge smile. Salomi didn’t know quite what it meant but she smiled
“Well I'm happy for you two. If things go according to plan, Gabriel and Leon may be partners”
“Oh that would be so Jake! Our snugglepups will be best pals and so will we. We can go on doubles every night!”Darla said,”What are you doing for New Years? Is the club open?”
“No actually we have the night off”
“Good you can bring Cheese and we can go to the Rainbow Room. Leon invited me, there's going to be a big party. It's going to be the cat's pajamas”Darla said to her
“The Rainbow Room? Really? I have nothing to wear to the Rainbow Room”Salomi said. It was a very classy and upscale club. Film stars and the rich debutantes frequented there all the time. Who knew who they would run into!
“Well then that means we would have to go to Axelle’s wont we?”Darla said as they arrived at the market. “But after we get your precious fruits and vegetables”
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
After another “meeting” with Jules, he and Dorothy stopped by the apartment and she ran into Gabriel. He said that he needed to speak with her about something very important. They both sat down and he told her all about the proposition that Leon Errol approached Gabriel with.”If you really need me at Maisy’s, then I won't do it. But I just thought that I would tell you what he offered”
Dorothy smiled,”Now you know I couldn’t ask you to do that. Especially since you obviously want to do it so badly. Don’t feel like you have to owe me anything. This would be good for you and Lomi. Once you start working with Leon, that means more money and you can move yourself and Lomi into that apartment that you were looking at. Now don’t think that I expected you two to stick around forever. You are grown now and should do whatever you please. I think this is a good opportunity. Working with the Follies would be great for you, it can take you to even better places”
Gabriel nodded. By the end of their conversation, he decided to do it and offered to at least help out at Maisy’s whenever he had time off. He immediately got on the phone with Leon and he was pleased.”Well that settles it then, on Monday we will sign the contracts and start rehearsing. I won't let you down Gabriel and I know you won't let me down. I'm taking you and your gal to celebrate at the Rainbow Room tomorrow night for New Years Eve to celebrate. How does that sound?”Leon asked him
Gabriel smiled and nodded,”Sounds great. Looking forward to it”he said. They soon hung up and he smiled widely. The new year looked very promising already.
*~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~*
“If you can afford it, then why wont you get it!? Please Lomi, stop being so cheap!”Darla said to her as Salomi tried on a blue sparkly dress with fringe, it also came with a matching feather boa, gloves and sparkly band with a blue feather. It was the last one and it fit Salomi perfectly which Darla said was a sign, but it was really expensive. The only way she could pay for it was to use the money that Uncle Vernon gave her from his will. She hasn’t touched the money yet and said she was only going to use it for emergencies.
“Well it's savings. I'm saving it for an emergency”
“This is an emergency! You have a closet full of clothes but none are suitable for the Room! Lomi you can't possibly show up in a dress you wore last week to the market! We can be twins again and wow the crowd like we did last night. You know you loved the attention”Darla said to her. Darla picked out the same outfit but in red. She loved red. “Please? I cant believe Im begging because I hate begging but I feel like I have to. Please?”
Salomi sighed and smiled,”Ok. Fine, I’ll get the dresses for us”she said to Darla and she squealed with delight and she laughed. Yes the dresses were expensive but she could afford it. Abby had told her that she could do whatever she wanted with it, it was her money after all and Vernon had no special terms on it. Buying two dresses wouldn’t hurt.
Upstairs in the men's department, Gabriel and Leon were doing the exact same thing. Looking for appropriate “penguin costumes” for the party. Leon laughed,”I cant believe that you want an all white tuxedo. No one wears those”
“The salesman did say that it’s the hottest thing in Paris right now. It hasn’t made its way here yet but I’ll make sure that process speeds up a little bit”Gabriel said as he twirled around in the mirror. The all white tuxedo also came with a white hat and cane. He did a little dance and Leon laughed. He had a regular black tuxedo with a black hat and cane. He started to do his comic trademark, which was an unsteady, wobbly walk. Gabriel laughed. “See? These are so fun, we have to get them. Besides you know our dates are going to look just alike as they always do. We might as well too”he said as Leon stood next to him. Leon was lanky and taller than Gabriel.
“Fine”Leon said with a laugh,”Let's get them”he said and then proceeded to hit Gabriel on the ass with the cane. “If you make me look like an ass in the Room I will be beating your ass with this cane, you hear me?”he said as they went to the register and bought the outfits
“Believe me, we wont look like asses”Gabriel said as Darla and Salomi came upstairs to meet them,”Oh done already? I thought we would have to order lunch”
“No we found the perfect outfits and they were hand selected by the Countess herself”Darla said. The Countess was a woman from Russia who was related to the late Romanov family dynasty. She had great fashion sense and was the top seller in the store. All the women asked for her advice since she knew what was in.
“I cant wait for you to see us”Salomi said,”We are gonna look stunning!”she said to Gabriel
“Alright enough excitement”Leon said as he and Gabriel got their bags,”Let's eat”
*____________________________*