Brian walked into the Cyber Cafe as quietly as possible. A baseball cap rode low over his blue eyes. Despite the cloudy New York City weather, never mind the smoke, sunglasses assisted the cap. A Kentucky Wildcats jersey hid his all too noticeable tattoo. His jeans were old and paint-strained, and his hands, stripped of their usual attire of gold rings, where shoved in the ample pockets. Thoroughly convinced that his outfit would keep possible fans away, Brian slid in front of one of the several seats in the coffee shop. There was one fan, however, who knew the pop star in an instant.
“Morning, Shark. You’re here early.” the only waitress there that shift greeted him.
“Yeah, well, is Josie in, yet?” he muttered, not looking up from the computer screen.
She just rolled her eyes. “Why do you come here, any ways? You could afford your own laptop, you know. Yet you pay New York prices just to see Josie. I’ll never understand it.” She shook her head, turning away.
Brian finally looked up. “Wait. If you aren’t going to tell me where Josie is, at least get me a double Latte, and cut off the foam this time.” The sturdy redhead turned around with a raised eyebrow. “Please, Stephie?”
“All right, all right. For Josie’s man, I can whip up something.” she said, turning away again. She paused for a moment, throwing over her shoulder one last comment. “Josie will be in later, somewhere around ten or eleven.”
He smiled. “Thanks, Steph.”
“Whatever.” Brian shook his head and returned to his e-mail. Sixty-two messages, minus the junk mail. Twenty-three messages from record executives and promoters and other useless junk that he would have to read eventually. Two from his mother, one from Harold, twenty from various other friends and family. Wrapping up the group where sixteen from fans who had somehow managed to find out his address. Three lattes and twenty-nine messages read and replied too, Josie walked through the door.
She was gorgeous, as usual. A deep blue sleeveless dress wrapped tightly around her midsection. The bottom section allowed her all the freedom Josie could ever wish for, the silk so fine that it rippled with every step she took. She ignored her dating partner (somehow Josie just didn’t seem like the type who would have a ‘boyfriend’) for a moment, sitting down in front of a laptop several seats down from Brian. “Hey Stephie.”
“Hey, yourself. Usual?”
“Well, actually, could you put a cherry on top?”
“Depends, you workin’ today?”
“Why’s that matter?”
“Doesn’t. We just miss you up north is all. You’re turning into a southern belle on us. How can I tell Charlie that you left him for an Orrie?”
“Aw, come on, Charlie knows I love him. Besides, is it his fault that his mama was obsessed with John Jakes?”
“It had to be Orrie didn’t it?” “Just be happy she didn’t name her daughter Brett. Or worse still, Virgilia.” she shuttered at the possibility. Stephie just laughed. “Yeah, it’s all fun and games ‘till you’re named Ashton or Constance.”
“Hey, I happen to like Constance.”
“Cute kid, but come on, that’s an Irish name. Better to get yourself a good Creole name like Evita.”
“I happen to be Irish, Miss New Orleans. What are you doing up in NYC, any ways? You get your Spanish ass back to Louisiana.”
“I though I wasn’t allowed down south.”
“You, oh, you.........I hate you, you know that?”
“But I love you, Stephie, baby.”
“Do you want your blasted soda, or don’t you?”
“Yes, please. And it’s pop, not soda.”
“God, I hate you.”
Josie, shaking her head and laughing quietly, finally noticed her special friend sitting just a few feet from her. Brian had watched with an amused stare through all of this. Their eyes met for a moment, both thinking the same thing.
“Schedules?”
“Schedules.”
In one well practiced maneuver, the duo had whipped out a pair of thick planners. Brian glided over to sit next to Josie, pushing the laptop aside so that the planners sat side by side.
“What about next week? Do you have anything free?”
“I’m pretty much, booked. Wait a minute, Friday, from 3:35 to 4:20 PM. I’ll be at the Marriot, can’t leave, though, if I miss the 4:30 interview with that YM editor Kevin will kill me.”
“What city?”
“Montreal.”
“You expect me to go to Canada for a little under an hour?”
“Either that or say goodbye for the next three weeks. We’ll be up there for the rest of the month.”
“Fuck.”
“Yeah.”
“Wait, don’t you have some photo shoot in Buffalo?”
“Yeah, two weeks from now. You’re willing to go to Buffalo, but not Montreal? It’s a three hour difference.”
“At least Buffalo’s in the US. And it’s a four hour difference.”
“Whatever.”
“When’s the photo shout?”
“Thursday, from six to around ten. You could at least hang out.”
“That might work. I have classes up at Houghton the Thursday after next, and I should be out by seven. It’ll take me a little over an hour to get there, so I can visit for about two hours.”
“It’s a date, then.”
“Good, I have to go.”
“So soon?”
“Yeah, those idiots down at MTV keep messing up my graphics. I have to go straighten them out again before TRL.”
“Okay, I have to head out, too. Some stupid meeting they’re making us sit through.”
“Have fun.”
“I will.” Brian nodded, gathered his things, left the money for his drinks and net time, and left. Josie stirred the ice cream around in her root beer float, which had showed up while the pair were talking, and watched him leave. She was still staring out the door when Stephie came back.
“You guys set something up?” she asked, looking down on her friend.
“We always do.” Josie said softly.
Stephie kneeled down to look her in the eye. “Something up, Boo?”
Josie shook her head. “Nothing. Just miss him is all.”
“He was just here.”
“I know, but we never spend enough time together. Sometimes......”
“What?”
“Sometimes I wish that I didn’t have a job, didn’t have a life. I wish that I could just spend time with the man I love for awhile.” she sighed. “Any ways, it doesn’t matter. I do have work, do have a life. I better go before they try and do it themselves. See ya, Stephie.” she stood up and walked out the door without waiting for a reply.
“Goodbye, Boo.” Stephie said softly.
“Hey! Am I gonna get some service over here or what?” an over-weight suit shouted.
“Yeah, yeah, I’m coming.” the waitress shouted, and turned to serve him.
Josie wasn't the only one with work to do.