time does Jazz get in?” she asked.
“Jazz?”
“Yeah. My friend. Your apprentice, remember? I tried her cel, but it’s apparently been disconnected.”
“Didn’t she tel you?”
“I haven’t spoken to her since I’ve been back. I’ve been meaning to come down to see her, but I was afraid if I came down I wouldn’t want to go back up. Nuts, right? But where is she?
What’s going on?”
“I had to fire her.”
Trina was stunned. “Fire her? But why, Lee?”
“She slept with a patron.”
Trina frowned. “What do you mean?”
“She slept with one of my customers who happened to be staying here at the PaLargio. He was here on a business trip. She slept with the guy upstairs, in one of our hotel rooms.”
Trina could hardly believe Jazz could be that dumb. “Are you sure?”
“Positive. One of the housekeeping staff saw them go into the room.”
“While she was on duty?”
“Yup. And even if she was on break it would stil have been against the rules, Trina. I mean, a maid saw her going into some room with some dude. How tacky is that? She recognized Jazz as
one of our employees, so she reported it. I had no choice, Trina. Reno doesn’t play that.”
Trina nodded. She understood why she was fired. What she couldn’t understand, however, was why Jazz would jeopardize so much, why she would throw away the best chance she was ever
likely to get for a quickie with some stranger passing through. It was so unlike Jazz and unfortunately, Trina thought as she excused herself and left the Taffeta, exactly like Jazz.
***
She knew Reno wouldn’t approve, and she knew she’d be late for her first night back at work herself, but she got into her Honda Civic and drove across town to Jazz’s place. When there was no
response, she drove even further north to Jazz’s old man Nathan’s place. Nobody was there either. So she drove over to Boyzie’s.
It was stil early for Boyzie’s, as only a handful of customers were in the place, with most of them drinking at the bar. Trina remembered wel her days as a waitress there, and spoke to the few
staff on duty, taking in stride their jokes about how she made it out of the gutter, as she made her way to Jazz.
Jazz was seated at a back booth laughing with Wilie, one of the waiters, when Trina walked up. Jazz looked at Trina’s chiffon dress first, and then at her big, Gucci handbag, at that diamond ring
on her finger, and roled her eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked her old friend.
on her finger, and roled her eyes. “What are you doing here?” she asked her old friend.
Trina was surprised by her venom, what had she done to her? But she decided to ignore it, decided to chuck it up to the fact that nobody was in a good mood after getting fired. “Hey, Wil,
what’s up?” Trina said.
“You apparently,” Wilie said, standing. “Everybody ain’t able to be working at no PaLargio, no they ain’t.”
“Depends on who you sleep with, Wil,” Jazz said as she sipped from her glass of beer. “I slept with a regular old businessman and got dumped. Trina sleeps with the owner, and gets free nights
in the penthouse.”
“Don’t mind her, Tree,” Wilie said as he began to leave, “she’s just a bitter old maid.”
“Who you caling old?” Jazz yeled as he left. Only she did look older, Trina thought as she slid onto the booth bench across from her.
“I don’t recal giving you permission to sit down,” Jazz said.
Trina stared at her friend, her hazel eyes narrowing as she studied her. “What’s the matter with you?” she asked her.
“What you think, Tree? They fired me and you didn’t do a damn thing about it.”
“ Me ?”
“Yeah you!”
“I was in the hospital, Jazz,” Trina said, amazed. “I was nearly kiled! I’m sorry if you and your apprenticeship wasn’t something that I was thinking about at the time.”
Jazz closed her eyes, leaned back. Exhaled. “I’m sorry, girl, I hear ya’. I’m just bitter
Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni