Two weeks had passed by since Nova's session with the Impractical Jokers and Nova was as busy as ever. Between working two jobs and trying to find time to edit all the pictures she took from their shoot, along with maintaining her social life, she was swamped. She barely had time to think about Q.
That night was the last time Q tried to reach her. She ended up leaving it at that and not texting him back, but from time to time when she was editing his pictures, staring at his beautiful smile, she still couldn't help but wonder what could have been. To be honest, she had a deep feeling of regret for writing him off but after that eye opening conversation with her friends, she knew it was for the best. At least she thought she knew.
It was now Friday, the end of her work week at the Outlet and she was just finishing up on her last furniture set, working with her assistant Juan. Juan was there to help her move furniture around and to give her an extra set of eyes and opinions when she needed it, though to Nova, he was so much more than just her assistant. He was the gay best friend that every girl wished they had and she loved him dearly.
They met when he applied for a job at the Outlet magazine she worked at. Nova's boss was complaining that she wasn't meeting her dead lines and because of that they were spending a few hundred dollars on extensions. Nova's argument was that if she had help moving all this heavy stuff, she would have an easier time meeting expectations, so they told her to hire whoever she wanted.
After about five or six interviews, Nova found Juan and they had never missed a deadline since. He was a hard worker and had a good eye for detail. Plus he was an over-all blast to work with and very entertaining. He was one of the main reasons why she loved her job so much.
"Hey, me and some friends are gonna head up to Jersey tonight to a new club that opened, wanna be my wing woman?" He asked her, as he moved the last bit of furniture in place.
"I can't, I'm sorry. I'm singing at The Star tonight, otherwise I would love to" Nova replied, adjusting her lights. "Aww bummer...You and I need to really hang out more girl, you need some more Latin spice in your life, you be hanging out with those Gringa's too much, this 9 to 5 shit just ain't cutting it" Juan joked.
"I know I know...You know I love you Juan Juan but I'm just so busy! I'm finally handing over my images that I took from the Impractical Jokers session this week so after that my schedule should free up. They are paying me so much money for those photos, I feel bad that I've had them for this long" Nova complained.
Nova really wanted to get those images back to the network ASAP but what she didn't realize was just how many pictures she shot of them. She was putting her all into every photo and between that and trying to juggle work, she didn't realize exactly how long it was going to take her.
Granted, about five-hundred of the shots were just fun ones she took of the guys and the crew that more than likely wouldn't be used for anything, but they were still images she was proud of and wanted them to have anyway.
"Ohh don't get your panties in a twist, I know girlfriend, but still! We gotta make time. Your work husband is starting to feel neglected" Juan continued.
"Well, you can tell my work husband that I can make some time for him next weekend, if he helps me finish this set in the next hour" Nova sassed back. Juan laughed and continued to push and pull furniture where she needed it and together they walked around, taking close up's and distance shots of all the inventory. They ended up finishing early.
"Great! This will leave me more time to get ready for my first number" Nova cheered as she began to turn all the lights off in the studio and close up. "Pfft, when you gonna get out of that dingy old granny club and go sing somewhere fresh" Juan teased as he took apart the camera.
"When The Haunted Star shuts it's doors and I'm forced to join the public" Nova shot back.
Granted, she didn't love having to sing to make enough money to pay her bills, but she preferred The Haunted Star out of anywhere else. It was easier getting up and singing in front of a semi crowded restaurant full of harmless elderly people who claimed that she reminded them of their grand daughter, than a place that the New York Times would claim is the hottest club in Manhattan.
She was comfortable at The Haunted Star and liked that she was free to perform her two songs a night how ever she wished. She also enjoyed the style of music the place was themed to and that the owner, Mr. Bobby Lucas, was the sweetest man she could ever hope to work for. He was the kind of man that greeted you with a kiss on both cheeks and always seemed to have a cigar attached to his hand.
And she really loved dressing up. The Haunted Star had a dressing room in the back that was full of professional wigs, props, and clothes to help her look like she was part of 50's era. Her favorite part of the whole gig was digging through and creating an outfit.
After saying good bye to Juan, Nova locked the doors of the studio and headed straight to the club. When she arrived, she first made her way over to Mr. Lucas and greeted him with a hug. "There's my little Marilyn" He would always say as he put his cigar down and wrapped his arms around her. "Hey Mr. Lucas, how have you been? I didn't see you last time I was here" Nova said warmly.
"Yeah, I had to be with Carmella, she had hip surgery last week and I couldn't leave her alone, Roberto said that he would take care of things for me" He informed.
"Ohh that's too bad, tell her I hope she feels better, send her my love OK?" Nova said in genuine concern. "Thanks, I will, I will" He said, talking with his hands. "She will appreciate that, you're her favorite performer, she loves you" Bobby boasted proudly.
"Aww she's so sweet, I hope to see her soon when she feels up to it, I'll sing Don't Fence Me in for her the next time she comes in."
"She would love that! You know that's her favorite song you do, she always talks about it" Bobby praised. Nova inch by inch made her way to her dressing room to get ready, pinning Bobby off on one of the other girls that had just arrived. She loved the man dearly, but he sure knew how to talk someone's ear off.
She put her stuff down and dug her make-up bag out of her purse. She then sat down and began the long process of applying her make-up just right. She always caked it on when she worked these things because it helped her become the character she was trying to mimic. Granted it was tasteful but it was still way more make up then she would wear on an average day.
As she sat down and gracefully painted her face in front of her vanity mirror, a face appeared right above her head. "Hey Nova, what's going on?" it said, and then Nova looked up to see none other than Jimmy Pavo staring back at her.
"Hey Jimmy, what's up" Nova said politely, not pausing as she continued to apply her foundation. "Nothing much, I didn't see you come in" He said as he leaned down to kiss her forehead. Nova had to stop herself from rolling her eyes. "Yeah, sorry, I came in through the back."
Jimmy Pavo was a guy that Nova had known for a few years since she started at the club. He sang with a cover group that performed hits from Frankie Valle and The Four Seasons called the Manhattan Trio.
The first time he had ever met Nova, he was completely smitten with her and Nova agreed to go on a few dates with him. The had slept together and the sex was decent but Jimmy wasn't really her style and she just didn't feel like they fit together as a couple so she politely broke it off. Jimmy wasn't quite ready to let her go so she agreed to maintain friendship and be each others 'Fuck Buddies' for when they both were single and needed a way to get their rocks off.
Their new relationship worked better than their original one and Nova had a visit from Jimmy three times since she decided to leave things alone with Q. The only problem was how clingy he could be.
"So what songs are you doing tonight?" Jimmy asked, pulling up a stool next to her. "I'm gonna do 'Dream a Little Dream' and 'Be My Baby', what about you?" She asked as she moved on to her bronzer.
"I don't know, we agreed on 'Sherry' for our first set, but Johnny and Cliff are arguing over doing 'Oh What a Night' or 'Big Girls Don't Cry', honestly it doesn't make a difference to me so I left it up to them."
"Well those boys better hurry up and decide, you know how the band hates getting last minute music" Nova said in a low voice, turning her face from side to side in the mirror.
"Yeah yeah, I know...So Nova, tell me...When are you and me gonna do a number together, I think we would really have something good going on stage, Mr.Lucas even said so himself" Jimmy said excitedly.
"We will do a number together the moment when I have time to rehearse."
That was the line that Nova always said whenever Jimmy would ask her that question. The truth was, he was better being around with in small doses or when they were doing something that didn't require much talking....
Granted he was her friend, but after a while he just never seemed to shut up and hearing his voice for long periods of time got under her skin. He never quite knew when to take a hint, or maybe he was just lonely and didn't care if one was being implied.
Jimmy then asked if she would watch him perform and she told him that she still had quite a bit to do to get ready so he finally left her alone to finish.
Nova was in the middle of applying her eye liner when Mr. Lucas politely knocked on her door. Even though it was wide open, he was a gentleman and still knocked when entering a ladies dressing room, which Nova thought was adorable.
"Hey honey, we have a birthday in The Big House tonight, seat two, Can you be a doll and do 'The Hot Canary' for me and go over to that table? Roberto is the one who booked them and says we need to pull out all the stops for these guys, even though they only reserved four seats."
"Yeah sure! Just tell the band to replace it with 'Be My Baby' and I'll do that one first instead."
Nova could never say no to this man, especially when he asked her like that.
The Big House was a private section that was reserved for single parties that would pay 200$ more to rent it out. They would receive a free bottle of champagne and be first priority when it came to servicing. It was closer to the stage and up a level, away from the other patrons that dined. The idea was for it to cater to the more elite members of New York City, but usually it sat well-off older men and their very young girlfriends, along with a few parties every now and then.
After thanking her multiple times, Mr. Lucas left and Nova heard the dining area begin to fill up with eager diners, ready to see a good show. She finished her make up and after saying hello to a few of her fellow performers, she decided to try and see if she could get a sneak peek at who was dining in the big house tonight.
Mr. Lucas had asked her to perform 'The Hot Canary' because that was the only number that she did a dance to while she sang. She would dress up in a very flattering, yellow and feathery leotard-like outfit that showed off her legs, and flap and shimmy around the stage while singing. She would then pick a guest out of the crowd and single them out, dancing and strutting provocatively around them. It was a cute number.
Now even though everything was kept tasteful, Nova really liked this number because it was fun and it did make her feel sexy, even if she was dancing for old men in suits. The crowd would get excited and she actually felt more comfortable around them because she would never get that creepy vibe. Everyone who dined at The Haunted Star was very classy and respectful, Mr. Lucas wouldn't tolerate it if they were anything but, he was very old school.
Nova made her way to the curtains to see who she would be dancing for tonight. She peeled back the curtain and squinted her eyes through the dim light, scanning through the crowd until her eyes landed on The Big House. She looked in and she could make out four silhouettes that were just beginning to take their seats.
Her eyes hadn't fully adjusted yet so she squinted a little harder to see. She caught sight of one of the men and her eyes popped open in shock. One of the men sure looked like Sal, from the Impractical Jokers. Oddly enough, the guy sitting next to him looked a lot like Joe.
Nova's heart practically stopped when she realized that these men, weren't just look alikes, they were the real deal!
Nova couldn't believe they were here. It didn't take her long to see that Murry and Q were with them as well. Nova shook her head back and forth, unable to help the laughter that was bubbling up from her luck.
Of course they would be here and of course this number would be for them! Nova felt trapped and quitting right there on the spot and walking out the doors crossed her mind but she couldn't do that to Mr. Lucas and she still really needed this job.
As Nova contemplated her options, she counted the chairs to figure out which one was sitting in seat two...