Chapter 9 The comedy connection
For the very first time in her career, Leah packed up and left the office early. At 4:30 she was already out the door into the dusk that came so very early those days. She’d be lying if she said she didn’t feel any guilt about leaving early. But who cared? She would be out of a job anyway by the way things looked. She was pretty sure she was the only reporter to turn in any copy that day anyway.
“How do you feel about Broadway?” Shira said to Leah on the phone. Leah called her to check in after her sister had sent her updates about her vomiting throughout the day.
“I love it, but it’s so expensive,” Leah responded. She loved musicals. Rent, Wicked, Kinky Boots. Her mother took Leah and Shira to plays in the city a few times, but since Leah had been living in Manhattan, she’d only seen one: Matilda. Gabe had bought tickets for their first anniversary and Leah had been overjoyed but also afraid to know what they had cost him. That night they dressed up as though they were attending a red carpet premiere and drank champagne at happy hour before the show. Leah loved it. The music, the acting, the dancing, it was magical.
“NYU students get a discount!” Shira exclaimed.
“Neither of us go to NYU,” Leah responded. She had heard there were ways to get cheap tickets. Like going to theaters at the last minute before a show started and hoping for some availability. She had been meaning to try that for Hamilton, but it seemed like such a gamble.
“I do! Well, Robin Sutton does, and today, I was her,” Shira said. “I went for a walk today, someone said that’s supposed to help with the nausea, it did, a little, but when I was walking, I found an ID on the ground and I remember hearing that NYU students get cheap tickets. So I used the ID at the Broadway Ticket Center and we’re seeing Elf tonight.”
“You need to give the ID back,” Leah said, feeling like she was the older sister.
“I will!” Shira responded. “I found the girl on Instagram. But I haven’t contacted her yet. I want to see what other discounts there are in the city. I didn’t realize how much I missed Manhattan since moving to LA. Meet me in Times Square! We can get appetizers before the show if I can stomach it.”
Leah agreed and hung up. She generally avoided Times Square. Not only was it on the west side of the island, but it was also the biggest tourist trap in the world. Not one person in the very crowded streets was a New Yorker. Well, that evening, there would be one.
Leah hopped on the subway uptown. When she emerged, the lights were so bright that no one would know that the sun had already set over New Jersey. The sky was lit up with lights and screens advertising everything from makeup, toys, candy, clothing, and millions of other things that tourists wasted money on while on vacation.
She walked from the subway, unsure of which direction to go. Someone bumped her shoulder. “Where are you?” She asked Shira when she answered the phone.
“Carmine’s!” Shira responded. “Remember when we came here as kids?”
“Shira, we can’t eat at Carmine’s!” Leah said.
“Why not? I am craving their garlic bread!”
“Because there are only two of us! It’s family style! We’ll have to order a ton of food!” Leah reasoned. As kids, they ate at Carmine’s a few times when coming to the city with big groups. They’d done mother-daughter outings with their b’nai mitzvah class and a few trips with their temple’s havurah .
“So we’ll just eat garlic bread! I’m already at a table.”
Leah hung up and navigated through the crowd to the Italian eatery.
“Leah?!” she suddenly heard her name when she was standing outside the restaurant. She turned her head. Alex.
“What are you doing here?” she asked when he approached her.
“The real question is what are you doing here,” he responded. “I’ve never seen you so far west. And in a tourist location! You pretend to be a naturalized New Yorker!”
She rolled her eyes and chuckled. “I was dragged by a tourist,” she joked. “Your turn. You’re also a New Yorker.”
“Yes, but I make money from tourists,” he responded. “I’m performing tonight at the Comedy Village.” He pointed his finger down the block to a neon sign.
The next moment, Shira was outside next to Leah. “Who is your friend?” she asked, eyeing Leah suspiciously.
Alex introduced himself, holding out his hand to take Shira’s. When she reached for his, he grabbed her hand and kissed it gently. “Pleasure to meet you,” he said with all of his charm and a smile that showed his crooked front teeth. There was something sexy about those teeth, something that only worked for Alex.
“Wow, I should have visited sooner,” Shira said and blushed. “You two work together?”
“Worked,” Alex corrected. “I was fired a little while ago. But it turned out to be a good thing. Now I’m focused on my comedy career. Leah can attest, I am pretty funny.”
“Hilarious,” Leah confirmed not at all sarcastically because Alex really was funny. She couldn’t remember his jokes, but every lunch they’d had together when he was working at Club Business had been full of so much laughter that her cheeks would hurt. “Maybe I should get into comedy now too.”
“You?” Alex said. “That was almost a funny joke! But sorry Rosenberg, you’re not cut out for comedy. You’re all Club Business.”
Leah told him about the news at work.
“Why don’t we move this conversation inside?” Shira said, standing quietly while Leah and Alex went back and forth. “I ordered enough garlic bread for everyone.”
“I love garlic bread,” Alex confirmed and followed the girls to a table. They sat down and a waiter swiftly brought a platter of garlic bread. As they ate, Shira and Alex bantered back and forth. Alex made funny comments, gave her compliments, and asked her all the right questions. Leah almost felt like she was intruding on a first date. But she wasn’t. In fact, all she could think about was when she and Alex had kissed in the elevator at work those years ago. It was so long ago, at the annual holiday party right after she had started working for Club Business. But she could still remember the way his lips felt and the excitement she felt when he touched her. The thoughts made her feel warm and guilty at the same time. How could she be sitting there with Alex when Gabe, her fiancé, was deciding their future?
They’d made a respectable dent in the garlic bread platter and had even ordered a side of pasta before Leah looked at her phone. “If we’re going to make the show, we better leave soon,” she said. Shira looked disappointed and smiled at Alex.
“When’s your show? Could we come see it after Elf?” she asked.
“I go on at midnight,” Alex said.
“So we have plenty of time!” Shira shrieked with excitement and looked at Leah for approval. Leah nodded. They paid the bill and turned their separate ways.
“Shira, you can’t be interested in Alex!” Leah said while they were walking to the theater.
“Why not? He’s cute! And he’s so sweet, such a gentleman! And so funny! And he’s your friend, so we know he’s not a serial killer,” Shira reasoned.
“Yes, but you’re pregnant!” Leah pointedly whispered. “And he’s Alex.”
“So what? To either one? I haven’t decided what I am doing yet with the baby. And maybe he wouldn’t care,” Shira responded. “Besides, why would it bother you so much? He’s your friend and you’re engaged! Oh my god, something happened between you two!”
Leah blushed. “Nothing happened,” she lied, but she didn’t sound convincing. Shira raised her eyebrows and looked up.
“Here we are,” she said as they stood in front of the theater where giant images of an elf splattered the windows. She flashed their tickets as they went inside and found their seats. Leah tried to enjoy the show, but her mind was elsewhere. She was thinking about Gabe and whether he might change his mind about marrying her. And there was the matter at work, that she was probably out of a job and wouldn’t be able to afford rent in Manhattan if she missed a month’s salary, especially if she needed to find her own place. And seeing Alex just jumbled everything up even more. She didn’t know what she felt about him.
When the show ended, she let Shira drag her to the Comedy Village. They ordered virgin cocktails and Leah focused on keeping her eyes open for the midnight show. She was tired. It had been a stream of late nights, but what did it matter? Did she need to be sharp at work the next day?
When Alex performed, Leah loosened up a little. She laughed. She watched Shira’s eyes dazzle at every joke and it bothered her. She didn’t know exactly why, if she felt territorial about Alex or if she didn’t want her sister to start dating a goy too. His set finished in the early morning hours and the girls decided to take a cab back to Leah’s apartment. In the cab, Leah opened her text conversation with Gabe. She wanted to tell him something, but she knew she wasn’t supposed to.