Chapter Twenty-Five
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
Ivy owned the flat on Michigan Avenue. For a while, she rented out the spare bedrooms for extra income, which was how first Quinn then Amanda ended up living and working with her. Although the location was perfect, the building was old and the narrow windows didn’t let in much light. The rooftop terrace more than made up for it. It was their spot for late nights and lazy Sunday afternoons. They’d gather at one of the umbrella-topped tables with snacks, or what passed for charcuterie, to complain about work or recap a bad date. Those days, there hadn’t been much to celebrate. Ivy was looking for love. Her dating life was chaotic, and she’d never had a steady boyfriend in her life. Amanda was looking to escape her fate. An alternative life was waiting for her back home. Her dad had found her a job, and her mum was busy planning her wedding to Brian. Amanda’s future had been set in stone. As for Quinn, she was looking to make her mark. Success in the UK didn’t easily translate in the US; she had to work for it.
After Ivy’s first date with Victor, she called an emergency rooftop meeting the following day.
‘Tell us everything,’ Amanda said. ‘Where did you go? What did you do?’
They hadn’t gone anywhere. They’d spent the night in, watching movies and eating wings. Already, Ivy thought he was ‘the one’.
‘The one what?’ Amanda asked bluntly.
‘The one for me,’ Ivy explained.
Amanda’s raised eyebrows nearly touched her hairline. ‘Are you for real?’
‘I’m no expert,’ Quinn said. ‘But doesn’t finding “the one” require a little more legwork?’
‘She means in bed, love,’ Amanda said.
Ivy spat out her white wine.
‘That’s not what I meant!’ Quinn cried.
‘What then?’ Amanda asked.
‘They could go on a few more dates,’ Quinn suggested. ‘Get to know each other better.’
Ivy didn’t want to hear it. She was smitten. It was the last night they’d seen her so happy.
They’d gathered at the roof to celebrate Quinn’s first set at Nikki Beach, the one that made her a fixture on the South Beach scene. She’d started at the club as a waitress. After that first set, she’d never waited a table again. By Ivy’s account, she’d single-handedly orchestrated the whole thing. One afternoon, their manager, Oscar, had approached her in a panic. Their scheduled DJ had cancelled due to food poisoning. They needed a replacement, fast.
‘Quinn can do it.’
‘Who’s that?’ he asked.
‘The new girl.’
‘With the curly hair and the accent?’
‘That’s the one.’
Oscar scoffed. ‘This isn’t amateur hour.’
‘She’s no amateur,’ Ivy said. ‘Quinn plays at Harry’s on Fridays. Any day now they’ll poach her.’
At the mention of the trendy wine bar, Oscar paid attention. ‘Harry’s, huh?’
‘Among other spots,’ Ivy said. ‘Give her a try. You won’t be sorry.’
‘Send her to my office.’
‘Yes, sir.’
Ivy cornered Quinn. ‘Oscar wants to see you.’
Quinn recalled freezing. Under any other circumstances, that line was the kiss of death. Oscar seldom pulled a staffer off the floor to hand out employee of the month medals. She passed her orders to the next available waiter and followed Ivy to the back office.
‘Is this about the guy who grabbed my bum last night?’ she asked.
‘No, he had it coming.’
‘What then?’
‘Patience,’ Ivy said. ‘If this works out you owe me big time.’
‘Okay.’
‘Fluff your hair. He only knows you as the girl with the curls.’
Quinn slowed to a stop. ‘I don’t like the sound of this.’
‘You will,’ Ivy said. ‘He’s going to ask you to play Tyler’s set.’
‘Where’s Tyler?’
‘At the ER.’
‘Is he okay?’
‘He’ll live, but never mind him,’ Ivy said. ‘You play his set. I flood our social media channels with clips. We go from there. Are you ready?’
‘Of course I’m ready.’
Ivy pointed at the closed door. ‘Good. Now go convince Oscar that you can do it.’
Quinn shook out her curls and marched up to the door. The rest was history.
Tonight, Ivy wiped a table still wet from the morning’s downpour and set out colourful bowls. The snacks were the same ones they’d stocked up on back in the day, except the crisps were ‘premium’. The jar of salsa was their favourite grocery store brand, and so was the bargain white wine.
‘Like old times!’ Amanda said with a sigh. ‘You don’t know how much I needed this.’
They took their usual seats. Ivy got down to business. ‘You’re a buyer at Harrods. How good is your employee discount?’
Amanda piled salsa onto a chip. ‘Pretty decent.’
‘And you kept that from us?’ Quinn said. She had a cart filled with studded leather harnesses from a British designer, and had yet to pull the trigger.
‘I’ll make it up to you.’
‘You better,’ Ivy said. ‘Now, let’s move on to Quinn. She dropped off the face of the earth this weekend, and I’m not ready to let that go.’
Amanda rose to her defence. ‘She needed some alone time before things got crazy. Isn’t that right, babes?’
Ivy wasn’t buying it. She eyed Quinn. ‘Alone time? Really?’
‘No,’ Quinn admitted. ‘Not really.’
‘When you said you went off-grid, you mean you ran off with someone?’ Amanda asked.
‘You didn’t think I’d take off by myself, did you? I’d go mental.’
Solo retreats did not appeal to Quinn. Too much quiet was unsettling.
‘This makes so much more sense now,’ Amanda said. ‘What’s he like?’
‘ He is a she ,’ Ivy said.
‘Woah!’ Amanda cried. ‘You weren’t going to mention it?’
‘You would’ve heard about it eventually,’ Ivy said. ‘It’s trending on Reddit and some other apps.’
‘Trending?’ Amanda reached for her phone.
‘Please, don’t!’ Quinn pleaded.
‘Sorry, sweetie! I have to find out what the drama’s about, or else I won’t sleep tonight.’
Quinn could simply tell her and save her the trouble. It was about people who couldn’t mind their own business.
Amanda found the post quickly enough. ‘My God,’ she whispered.
Like Ivy had said, the story hadn’t died down. Quite the contrary, it had strengthened and doubled in size, moving from Reddit to Instagram, and the comments were in the thousands.
Amanda ignored the caption and zoomed in on the photo. She let out a silent scream. ‘Quinn! This is so freaking romantic! The way she looks at you! I’m getting chills.’
Quinn would have buried her face in her hands, if her hands weren’t greasy from the crisps she’d consumed.
‘Don’t be embarrassed,’ Ivy said. ‘It’s trending for a reason. All the comments are overwhelmingly positive.’
Amanda shared a few of those comments. It warmed Quinn’s heart that so many of her fans were speaking up for Kya, even though they had no clue who she was.
‘So, what’s she like, then?’ Amanda asked.
‘One of those smart types,’ Ivy said. ‘Into tech.’
Amanda approved. ‘Very cool! I do like them brainy.’
‘Speaking of brains, how’s Brian?’ Ivy asked. ‘Why didn’t he come with you? We would’ve showed him a good time.’
‘Brian’s gone,’ Amanda said flatly.
‘Gone?’ Ivy filled her wine glass. ‘Where’d he go?’
‘Where do broken hearts go? Did anyone figure that one out?’
‘Stop it!’ Ivy cried. ‘You broke off your engagement?’
‘Yep.’
Ivy was stunned. They’d informed her straight away of Amanda’s move from finance to fashion, but hadn’t yet filled her in on the Brian stuff. Quinn could finally relax. Having to sit quietly while her friends analysed the girl she liked was a form of torture. She was ready to move on.
‘I bought a dress that’s perfect for an English country wedding,’ Ivy lamented.
‘That’s presumptuous of you,’ Amanda said. ‘We’d never set a date, plus I’m a Londoner.’
‘We’re from the suburbs,’ Quinn reminded her.
‘Go ahead and sell the dress on Depop,’ Amanda continued. ‘There’s no wedding. I’d rather stay single forever than marry Brian.’
‘What went wrong?’ Quinn asked.
‘When I quit my job, he went absolutely bonkers,’ Amanda said. ‘The timing wasn’t ideal; I’ll give him that. We were saving up for the wedding, and eventually to buy a place. He called me unstable, unreliable. I let him talk. It was clear to me that he didn’t know me or even like me very much.’
Kya’s words floated back to Quinn. I like you a little too much … To be liked for who you were was everything.
‘I had no future at the firm. They were going to fire me sooner or later,’ Amanda continued. ‘They sensed a lack of motivation. I spent my lunch breaks browsing the shops, checking the displays, observing how they moved merchandise. So, after a disastrous performance evaluation, I took the initiative, quit, and decided to use the money I’d saved to try to break into retail, a field I truly love. I didn’t expect Brian to understand, but I didn’t anticipate a scolding, either. Even my parents were more chill about it.’
‘Screw Brian!’ Quinn said.
‘I’ve never met him, but screw him,’ Ivy chimed.
‘In conclusion,’ Amanda said. ‘I’m single for the first time in a long time. I have a career I love for the first time ever. I’m in a good place, but like everything it’s scary.’
Quinn took in her friends’ worried faces. If life had brought them together, it was likely because they needed each other. They’d pulled themselves out of tough times back in the day, and now, reunited, they could do it again.
Amanda turned to Ivy and said, ‘What about you, love bug? How are you getting on?’
‘I’m not,’ Ivy admitted. ‘I’m in this strange on-and-off thing with Victor, and I’m in a career that sounds cool, but isn’t. Sorry, Quinn, but I need to get out of PR. It’s not working out.’
‘Don’t apologize to me,’ Quinn said. ‘Do what you love. I’m less interested in managing my reputation and just putting good work out there.’
If Ivy dropped her as a client, Quinn wouldn’t bother finding another publicist. People either loved her or they didn’t. End of story.
‘I might join my father’s company. He’s going to retire soon and will need someone to carry it on.’
Ivy’s father owned a real estate agency, which explained why Ivy owned her apartment.
‘That sounds reasonable enough,’ Quinn said.
‘Right? I’ve only been rebelling against it my whole life.’
‘Sometimes what we’re searching for is under our noses the whole time,’ Amanda said, bursting with newfound wisdom.
‘Maybe,’ Ivy said.
‘Could you give me some real estate advice?’ Quinn asked.
‘What do you want to know?’ Ivy replied. ‘I’m not licensed but don’t let that stop you.’
‘Should I sell the flat?’
‘Why? Do you regret buying it?’ Amanda asked.
‘Sort of.’
Quinn might’ve jumped the gun when it came to buying property. Investing, rather than renting, had seemed smart at the time. With Kya leaving, she wondered if she’d traded in her freedom. The old Quinn would’ve hopped on a plane and picked up a few gigs in LA. New Quinn had a mortgage.
‘Buying property is never a mistake,’ Ivy said. ‘How do you think my family made all their money, so at twenty-five I can waste time reinventing myself yet again?’
‘You’re not wasting time,’ Amanda assured her. ‘Can we normalize a little chaos. Not everyone has to be a boss babe at twenty-one.’
‘Start over as many times as you like,’ Quinn said. ‘No one is keeping score.’
Ivy groaned. ‘My mother is.’
‘That can’t be helped.’
‘Guys, I’m starving. Crisps and salsa are not going to cut it. Can we go out to eat? We could go to that dive bar on Fourteenth Street? I loved their burgers.’
‘That bar is closed,’ Ivy said. ‘You weren’t here long enough to keep them in business.’
‘Oh, no! How about that other place? We used to hang out and play pool. They had a jukebox and pictures of Madonna on the wall. Is that still open?’
‘I don’t remember that place,’ Ivy said. ‘Where’s it located?’
‘On Washington,’ Quinn replied. She knew exactly the place. She and Kya had played the jukebox, but never got around to playing pool. ‘Across from Smoke.’
‘What’s Smoke?’ Amanda asked.
‘A pop-up club,’ Ivy said. ‘It’s already shut down.’
‘Was Miami always like this?’ Amanda wondered aloud.
‘Always,’ Ivy said, checking her phone. ‘And the pool hall is closed on Monday nights.’
‘Damn it!’ Amanda started eating straight from the bag of crisps. ‘We have to hang out tonight, guys. I don’t care where we go. Quinn, maybe your girlfriend could join us. I want to meet her.’
‘First, she’s not my girlfriend. She leaves for California at the end of the week. Second, you’ll meet her tomorrow. Tonight, she’s with her family, and I’m with my friends.’
Amanda stared at her in awe. ‘Is this what healthy boundaries look like?’
‘Pretty much.’
‘I know where we can go,’ Ivy said. ‘Come with me.’
They ended up in Ivy’s kitchen. She cooked spaghetti olio. Quinn ran through the playlist of their summer parties, and Amanda danced barefoot on the tiled floor.