Chapter 13
ROSALIE
Ordinarily, Rosalie would have grumbled about the trek to Williamsburg for brunch – which was admittedly more like a short drive – but it was a working day, which meant the other ladies were stationed there and, more importantly, she had made a brunch reservation at Meadow Sweet.
She would take a cab any distance for their Venetian Spritz and ricotta toast. Plus, the girls hadn’t been together since the night of Presley John’s memorial concert, which was almost four weeks ago.
Regardless, the restaurant played to her bent for interior design, love of delicious cocktails and scrumptious food.
Plus, she would have to stop with such treats if she got pregnant – there were more foods on the list of things expectant mothers shouldn’t eat than those they should, and all her favourites: shellfish, nuts, carpaccio, ceviche, soft cheese (occasionally).
And if she had her way, her pregnancy would happen soon…
just as soon as the Swans agency matched her to the right male counterpart, whose sperm would greet her egg with the respect it deserved and produce the idyllic offspring – long dark ringlets, brown eyes and a fine set of teeth (optional but preferred).
She sipped her drink as she waited for Hannah and Andrea to join her. In general, it was good to be fashionably late, but these were her working friends who couldn’t spare an extra fifteen minutes if she made them wait and, in any event, with these ladies, Rosalie didn’t need the pretence.
Rosalie stood when they arrived and pulled out the shopping bags she had tucked under the table.
‘You’re here. Hey! These are for you, Hannah,’ she said, handing over two bags that were bursting at the seams with faux fur, metallic pink, pink suede, very tightly curled shaggy wool and sequined cushions.
‘I thought they would look incredible on that old grey love seat in your lounge. They’ll totally brighten the space and the grey-pink combo is very in this season.
‘Andi, this is for you… You can open it later but it’s a little silk something for you to enjoy with your secret.
’ She finished with a wink that made Andrea frown with confusion, but Rosalie had heard many things, the latest of which was that her friend was currently enjoying a fling with an old flame.
Once all three of them were seated – Hannah on the black leather cushioned seat with Rosalie; Andrea in a chair opposite – Rosalie waved over the staff, who brought her pre-ordered bottle of champagne (from the Champagne region of France, naturellement ) .
‘Fizz?’ Hannah asked with one raised eyebrow.
Rosalie slipped a hand onto Hannah’s leg and said, ‘My treat. It’s been four weeks since we were all together at Madison Square Gardens already and we have so much to celebrate.’
‘We do?’ Hannah and Andrea asked in unison.
Rosalie would tease out the reason for their misère soon enough but for now, she said, ‘Yes, we do! Seth Young is taking the world by storm, thanks to my little moment of ingenuity at the Presley John concert. I’ve heard that song he played at least three times on the radio.
Calvin Richards really did me a good turn.
All of this means that when I go to Sanfia Records today, Sofia is bound to agree to continuing to teach me the ropes. ’
‘He certainly has the right connections and backstory for a winning formula,’ Andrea said.
‘I mean, an ex-serviceman always tugs on the heartstrings – especially some of those YouTube videos I’ve seen of him in barracks with his troop.
But the fact he’s also Randy Jonson’s brother.
Sheesh, he’s just a goldmine waiting to be extracted. ’
‘You’re not thinking of poaching him for XM now, Andi, are you?’ Rosalie teased.
Straight-faced, Andrea told her, ‘I know you think I have an iron heart but I wouldn’t do that to my sister.
You and I both know that his success is great, but the big labels will be swooping in if he continues to hit the billboard charts.
They’re likely already looking into the guy who made his debut appearance on stage with Randy Jonson at Presley John’s remembrance concert.
Sanfia Records doesn’t have the clout or money to keep someone like that. ’
‘Okay, well, nice attempt to kill the merriment there. Back to celebrations. Andi, a little dickie-bird tells me Tommy Dawson is rocking your world again? That gift I gave you might make a little more sense now.’ She finished with a mischievous giggle.
‘Hey! How did?—’
Rosalie waved off the objections. Sometimes Andrea could be such a prude. They could talk about her bed being a-rockin’ once the champagne had limbered her up. ‘Hannah’s turn now,’ she continued, cutting Andrea off. ‘Hasn’t Rod started a new job?’
‘Huh, well, yes, but?—’
‘Uh-uh. I’m not finished just yet. And I have started my baby-daddy dates.’ She clapped her hands quickly three times. ‘So, raise your glasses, ladies. To three thirty-odd-year-old women winning at life.’
With less enthusiasm than her own, Hannah raised her glass first and said, ‘Meh, take your wins where you can get ’em, I suppose.’
Rosalie held her glass against Hannah’s, and they waited for Andrea to join them. Andrea bore holes in Hannah with her eyes but eventually raised her glass too.
They quickly ordered food, to make sure the others could eat and get back to work. Andrea also ordered a ginger-based mocktail.
‘Don’t you like the champagne, Andi?’ Rosalie asked. ‘I could choose another?’
Andrea shook her head. ‘It’s great, Ros, and a nice thought. I’ve just been struggling with terrible indigestion these last few days. It’s like fire in my chest. It wasn’t helped by Hannah buying me chipotle for lunch yesterday, though.’
‘Hey!’ Hannah said. ‘I got you lunch, didn’t I? Nothing like being grateful, huh?’
Rosalie was used to seeing Andrea and Hannah bicker. They were the oldest friends of them all – closer even than Andrea and Sofia’s sisterly bond – but there was a snappy tone about them both today.
‘It is part of your job to get me lunch. That is, when you’re in the office,’ Andrea jibed.
Ouch.
‘My kid has been sick.’
‘There’s always one of your kids sick.’
Wow, okay, that was vicious.
Hannah’s head snapped back as if Andrea had slapped her. ‘That’s a low blow, Andi. Don’t have a go at me when you’re actually just pissed that… Forget it.’
Thinking quickly of something to say to break the arctic air, Rosalie said, ‘Andi, actually, I have a little favour to ask of you. You know how Sofia has been helping me to get some experience in the music industry, like, more production-y type stuff? Well, I was thinking I could come to XM and see how you do things some time, too. I mean, I know you won’t have the time to show me all the digeridoos and what not but if I got that from the indie side, like you trained, then you showed me the more exec side, then I’d be… ’
‘What? You come to XM?’ Andrea snapped. ‘Ros, I don’t have time to have you playing around in my office. I have a job to do.’
Rosalie gasped, unintentionally theatrically. ‘ An- drea. I need all the experience I can get to prove to Daddy that I can run my new label. And he always talks about you, so I figured if I?—’
‘What label?’
‘The recording label. That Daddy is giving to me at XM. We’re going to be music label sisters.’ She beamed as she clapped in her seat.
‘Is this a joke? Hunter is going to gift you a label? He can’t do that. There’s an exec. A board. And besides the obvious governance issues… you don’t have the first clue about running a music label.’
Stunned, Rosalie could only stare at her so-called friend.
‘Andi,’ Hannah admonished quietly.
‘No, Hannah. It is ridiculous. You can see that. It’s… farcical.’
Rosalie pressed her hand to her pounding heart in her chest. ‘I knew it. You do think I’m ridiculous.
All the… All the things I do for you and I ask you for one small thing, just one time.
’ With her napkin, she dabbed at the wetness that had formed in the corners of her eyes. Andrea could be so cruel.
Then she felt Andrea’s cold palm on top of hers on the table. ‘I’m sorry. When you have your label, of course we can swap tips. Okay? I didn’t mean to upset you.’
‘You’re just saying that because you think I’m causing a scene.’
‘No. No, I’m not, Ros. I mean it. It’s just this damned heartburn has got me in a foul mood. Promise.’
‘Come on then, Ros,’ Hannah said. ‘Tell us about your baby-daddies.’
‘Oh, yes.’ She bounced on her seat. ‘Well, I had my first daddy date last week.’
‘I thought the idea was that you were looking for fancy sperm, not romance,’ Hannah said.
‘Oh, it’s not really dating in the romantic sense but describing it as a meet-up to interrogate a potential sperm giver doesn’t quite have the same ring to it now, does it?’
Hannah chuckled, her bicker-fest with Andrea seemingly forgotten. ‘It’s like Tinder for sperm. It’s Spinder.’
‘Which is scarily close to spinster.’ Andrea laughed good-naturedly.
Rosalie protested but she could admit it was quite funny, and at least her friends were back in good spirits. ‘Well, it’s quite possible I’ll die a spinster because my first date was with a gay daddy.’
Silence descended on the table just in time for their food to be set down. Rosalie inhaled the smells – truffle, garlic, lemongrass – from around the table. Whilst she drifted to a culinary heaven, she noticed Andrea’s face screw at either the sight or scent of her lunch portion of pappardelle.
‘Is it okay, Andi?’ Rosalie asked.
‘Mmm hmm.’ She nodded. ‘Just this indigestion knocking me sick.’
Whilst Andrea played with her food, Hannah continued to quiz Rosalie on her gay daddy date.
‘But, like, when it came to the baby-making part?’ Hannah asked.
‘Yes, well, in his case, there wouldn’t be conventional vaginal conception,’ Rosalie said. ‘I mean, unless he… Well, no, I guess it wouldn’t work.’