Part Five
Putting all thoughts of her former friends out of her head, Maria jumped into her car and drove down the street to her house. While it may seem that quitting her job was a reckless action, particularly by someone that needed a job, it wasn't totally without a backup plan. Maria had two options, the first was infinitely more desirable and as for the second - if the first failed, Maria could always waitress some place else. She was a good waitress and getting a job like that was not too difficult.
But first, she had an audition to attend. It was one of the reasons she was looking for Liz this morning, to tell her about it. Maria phoned "The Enterprise," Roswell's premier restaurant the day before. They were looking for a new singer to sing at the restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights. The job was perfect. It paid more that the CD did and offered tips. Today was Maria's audition.
Maria ran into the empty house to her room. On her bed lay the three dresses she had taken out for her audition. She was going to call and ask Isabel, Liz, and Tess's opinion on which dress they thought would make the best impression but that was before. Pushing down the pain she felt when she remembered, Maria decisively picked up the first dress. It was one of her favourite, in spite of its simplicity. The dress was black, long and skin tight with a slit to mid thigh. It was elegant but without any trappings, using no decoration and in that lay its appeal. The cleavage shown was limited, low enough to glimpse but too high to see anything before the dress tied around her neck. There was no back to it. Maria bought the dress the second she saw it. For once price was irrelevant but fortunately for her the dress was relatively inexpensive. It could only be worn by someone with the right figure and Maria had that.
So far no one had seen the dress. Maria slipped the dress on. It was a night dress but since the audition was for a singer at night in a restaurant it was appropriate. Bending down she tied the strappy sandals to her feet. A few minutes in front of the mirror had her hair combed back except for two curls which hung down the side. The look made her appear older and slightly more mature. Foregoing her usual lip gloss, Maria took out her red lipstick. She rarely wore red but circumstance sometimes called for it. She did her eyes last. Those she emphasised heavily with dark shades and green. The result left her green eyes slightly slanted with a feline appearance.
Maria didn't waste time studying her look. She picked up her bag, her music and without looking back, her new motto in life strode out the house. She arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early but instead of waiting in the car walked into the restaurant. Maria had never been there before. It was too expensive and required reservations at least a month in advance. When she arrived she looked around curiously. The place was beautiful. Immediately Maria's attention went to the far corner of the room where a piano lay and a small stage. Because it was afternoon the restaurant was empty. It was between the lunch and dinner rushes.
Maria didn't haven't to search for anyone. Her appearance garnered immediate attention and it took only a few seconds before someone appeared at her side. Even Maria had to agree that the audition went well. The piano player knew the songs she had chosen and she sung beautifully. Maria placed all the emotions she had been denying into the song and the result was a song that both amazing and had the ability to bring one to tears.
"You're hired. It will be on probation for this weekend. Only a formality but after…"
"Thank you," Maria's tone was devoid of emotion again. It was one she adopted from Isabel.
"This dress is perfect for today. Do you have one for Saturday?"
"Yes I do. Will I need a lot of them for every weekend?"
"Yes, you will but the job comes with a dress allowance. Here's your schedule. You work every Friday and Saturday night from 7 to 11pm. You can have 10 minute break every hour and a 20 minute one at 9pm. Tips between you and the piano player are shared 60/40. They get divided every night. All clear."
Maria nodded and exchanged a small smile with the guy sitting at the piano. He had already introduced himself as Marc.
"Are you free now?"
"Yes. I am. Why?"
"You can have your first rehearsal now for tonight's performance."
"Alright. Do you have a list of songs you would like me to learn."
"Its all there. Marc will show them to you. Sometimes we also allow requests if the song is known, ok." With that the manger walked away leaving her with Marc.
The rehearsal, like the audition was a success. Marc was a college student making a little extra on the side. The two got along well, and in spite of Maria's new rules of keeping her distance she found herself liking Marc. But the hurt was too fresh for her to let anyone in, and Maria kept it all superficial. The one thing she was glad of was singing kept her sufficiently distracted enough not to think about what happened this morning.
Her rehearsal ended at five. Maria decided against leaving the restaurant when her job started in a couple of hours. Settling into the staff room at the back, she pulled out her homework and for second time that week was up to date, and on a Friday. Her homework completed about fifteen minutes before she was due on stage Maria wondered into the kitchen to meet the rest of the staff. There was a chef and his wife that ran the kitchen. Within seconds of her arrival into the kitchen, Maria found herself surrounded. The chefs were from Spain. And in a mixture of Spanish and English fussed over her.
Maria having spoken Spanish almost before she spoke English conversed back with them in Spanish earning her their undying love and support. She immediately was hugged by the woman and plate of hot food shoved in her face. Her protests had only reclamation's about being too thin tossed at her. Maria not realising how hungry she was, having not eaten all day, to her surprise ate everything. It was delicious as one would expect from a five star restaurant. And with that introduction Maria became their favourite staff member. For Maria just being looked at with trust again, was a welcome change and the relationship between two grandparents who missed their grandchildren and a young girl without grandparents began.
The first day went well. Maria was a complete success. Her tips exceeded what she made during a week at the CD and requests flew in all night long. Every break Maria had, she slipped into the kitchen where her new friends plied her with desserts and stories. They didn't push or ask anything she didn't want to tell , their years of experience recognising the pain in her but instead made her feel safe and welcome.
End Part Five
A/N I just wanted to thank those that took time to fb. Fallen Angel, Coffee Obssessed, linn,faith, Marilyne, and Aussie Tasha (good to hear from you again)
Domino
rc05
Putting all thoughts of her former friends out of her head, Maria jumped into her car and drove down the street to her house. While it may seem that quitting her job was a reckless action, particularly by someone that needed a job, it wasn't totally without a backup plan. Maria had two options, the first was infinitely more desirable and as for the second - if the first failed, Maria could always waitress some place else. She was a good waitress and getting a job like that was not too difficult.
But first, she had an audition to attend. It was one of the reasons she was looking for Liz this morning, to tell her about it. Maria phoned "The Enterprise," Roswell's premier restaurant the day before. They were looking for a new singer to sing at the restaurant on Friday and Saturday nights. The job was perfect. It paid more that the CD did and offered tips. Today was Maria's audition.
Maria ran into the empty house to her room. On her bed lay the three dresses she had taken out for her audition. She was going to call and ask Isabel, Liz, and Tess's opinion on which dress they thought would make the best impression but that was before. Pushing down the pain she felt when she remembered, Maria decisively picked up the first dress. It was one of her favourite, in spite of its simplicity. The dress was black, long and skin tight with a slit to mid thigh. It was elegant but without any trappings, using no decoration and in that lay its appeal. The cleavage shown was limited, low enough to glimpse but too high to see anything before the dress tied around her neck. There was no back to it. Maria bought the dress the second she saw it. For once price was irrelevant but fortunately for her the dress was relatively inexpensive. It could only be worn by someone with the right figure and Maria had that.
So far no one had seen the dress. Maria slipped the dress on. It was a night dress but since the audition was for a singer at night in a restaurant it was appropriate. Bending down she tied the strappy sandals to her feet. A few minutes in front of the mirror had her hair combed back except for two curls which hung down the side. The look made her appear older and slightly more mature. Foregoing her usual lip gloss, Maria took out her red lipstick. She rarely wore red but circumstance sometimes called for it. She did her eyes last. Those she emphasised heavily with dark shades and green. The result left her green eyes slightly slanted with a feline appearance.
Maria didn't waste time studying her look. She picked up her bag, her music and without looking back, her new motto in life strode out the house. She arrived at the restaurant a few minutes early but instead of waiting in the car walked into the restaurant. Maria had never been there before. It was too expensive and required reservations at least a month in advance. When she arrived she looked around curiously. The place was beautiful. Immediately Maria's attention went to the far corner of the room where a piano lay and a small stage. Because it was afternoon the restaurant was empty. It was between the lunch and dinner rushes.
Maria didn't haven't to search for anyone. Her appearance garnered immediate attention and it took only a few seconds before someone appeared at her side. Even Maria had to agree that the audition went well. The piano player knew the songs she had chosen and she sung beautifully. Maria placed all the emotions she had been denying into the song and the result was a song that both amazing and had the ability to bring one to tears.
"You're hired. It will be on probation for this weekend. Only a formality but after…"
"Thank you," Maria's tone was devoid of emotion again. It was one she adopted from Isabel.
"This dress is perfect for today. Do you have one for Saturday?"
"Yes I do. Will I need a lot of them for every weekend?"
"Yes, you will but the job comes with a dress allowance. Here's your schedule. You work every Friday and Saturday night from 7 to 11pm. You can have 10 minute break every hour and a 20 minute one at 9pm. Tips between you and the piano player are shared 60/40. They get divided every night. All clear."
Maria nodded and exchanged a small smile with the guy sitting at the piano. He had already introduced himself as Marc.
"Are you free now?"
"Yes. I am. Why?"
"You can have your first rehearsal now for tonight's performance."
"Alright. Do you have a list of songs you would like me to learn."
"Its all there. Marc will show them to you. Sometimes we also allow requests if the song is known, ok." With that the manger walked away leaving her with Marc.
The rehearsal, like the audition was a success. Marc was a college student making a little extra on the side. The two got along well, and in spite of Maria's new rules of keeping her distance she found herself liking Marc. But the hurt was too fresh for her to let anyone in, and Maria kept it all superficial. The one thing she was glad of was singing kept her sufficiently distracted enough not to think about what happened this morning.
Her rehearsal ended at five. Maria decided against leaving the restaurant when her job started in a couple of hours. Settling into the staff room at the back, she pulled out her homework and for second time that week was up to date, and on a Friday. Her homework completed about fifteen minutes before she was due on stage Maria wondered into the kitchen to meet the rest of the staff. There was a chef and his wife that ran the kitchen. Within seconds of her arrival into the kitchen, Maria found herself surrounded. The chefs were from Spain. And in a mixture of Spanish and English fussed over her.
Maria having spoken Spanish almost before she spoke English conversed back with them in Spanish earning her their undying love and support. She immediately was hugged by the woman and plate of hot food shoved in her face. Her protests had only reclamation's about being too thin tossed at her. Maria not realising how hungry she was, having not eaten all day, to her surprise ate everything. It was delicious as one would expect from a five star restaurant. And with that introduction Maria became their favourite staff member. For Maria just being looked at with trust again, was a welcome change and the relationship between two grandparents who missed their grandchildren and a young girl without grandparents began.
The first day went well. Maria was a complete success. Her tips exceeded what she made during a week at the CD and requests flew in all night long. Every break Maria had, she slipped into the kitchen where her new friends plied her with desserts and stories. They didn't push or ask anything she didn't want to tell , their years of experience recognising the pain in her but instead made her feel safe and welcome.
End Part Five
A/N I just wanted to thank those that took time to fb. Fallen Angel, Coffee Obssessed, linn,faith, Marilyne, and Aussie Tasha (good to hear from you again)
Domino
rc05