Jennie and Gabriel's Big Adventure

[x-velocidad.livejournal.com]

Backdated: After a day of job searching, Jennie and Gabriel hit up a Lower East Side bar and talk about life.

"Okay, so," Jennie craned her neck over the range of bottles behind Gabriel's head. "I am thinking something bourbonish, you know? Or Rye. I'm feeling Rye. Like I wanna take a drink and then punch a baby. But not a real baby."

How Jennie and Gabriel had ended up at this bar was of no real consequence. It may have involved a late night kitchen connection, an out-of-work former bartender, and a girl who had contacts all over the city. A whirlwind of applications dropped off and meet-n-greets, and now it was time for drinkies. This bar was a cozy affair on the Lower East Side, modeled after a Japanese Izakaya. Divy, dim, and full of alcohol and fried food.

"Any thoughts so far?"

Gabriel twisted around, scanning the rows of bottles. "Dunno." He shrugged, looking back at her. "I want a Moscow Mule, but only if they've got decent ginger beer. Otherwise some kind of sake something." He lifted the cocktail menu, scanning it. "Punch a baby," he repeated, an appreciative smile on his face. "I drink a lot. Can't say I've had that impulse."

"Clearly, you don't drink enough," purred Jennie, scanning the cocktail menu on her own."I may just go classy and get a Manhattan. I think that's what I'll do. For this round anyway." She set the menu down and once the bartender came over and took their drink orders, she turned back to Gabriel. "So, anything that looked promising? When you go to school with dancers, you find out there are all sorts of ways to ply a trade in this city."

"Eh," Gabriel shrugged. "I dunno. I guess." He scratched his arm, thinking about the number of people he met today. It took a bit of effort not to make a face. "I don't know that I'm cut out for anything besides bartending," he admitted. "Or construction." He reached for the water in front of him. "Not a lot out there for a high school dropout with no GED."

"Chin up, mopey. The guys at the go-go place seemed like they wanted to hire you on the spot. Unless you're looking for other work. I'm sure you've gotten the 'Xavier's can get you the education you've always wanted!' speech. I mean, they took little ol' miss trailer trash high school drop out me, and then I got me some college edumacation and I own my own business." Jennie raised an eyebrow at him as their drinks came.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah..." Gabriel rolled his eyes after nodding to the bartender in thanks. "Heard all about it. Got the full shpiel. Not sure I could do it, though. It's been too long." Not as long as he let on, but still. "You seriously got 'hire me' vibes from those guys?" He cocked an eyebrow and smirked. "Because I got 'fuck me' vibes. But maybe those are the same thing."

"Jerry and Chris are dolls, if you wanna do either, be my guest," Jennie waved a hand airily. "As for the job aspect, I can probably guarantee you something there, since they owe me one. But again, tis your choice dahling." Jennie took sip of her drink. "Hmmm, not quite baby-punchy, but it'll do." She turned back to Gabriel. "There is also option C. How do you feel about paperwork, small children, adults, and salsa dancing?"

"Nope," Gabriel didn't miss a beat. He took a sip of his drink, shaking his head from side to side as he raised and lowered the glass. "No no no no. I don't want that. You don't want that." He eyed her for a bit. "Salsa dancing?" The corners of his mouth lifted upward a bit. "Really? Ask the Mexican how he feels about salsa?"

"Thought I'd ask, I keep getting requests for a salsa class, and one of these days I should break down and just have one. But I need someone to help teach it," Jennie looked at Gabriel with mock seriousness."If you, or someone you love knows anything about salsa, please get at me. I pay a competitive rate."

"How competitive?" Gabriel cocked an eyebrow. "I'm no expert, but I can stand in front of a class and say a few things in a Spanish accent for money." He raised his drink to his lips. "Lord knows I've done worse."

"I don't need you to be Ricky Martin, I just need you to be competent, I have a reputation to uphold." Also, she was about giving back to the community. Though she wasn't going to tell Gabriel that part. "If you're interested, you should stop by the studio and do a demo with us. Schedule's fixed, probably one or two nights a week, and I don't pay as much as go-go dancing, but it's respectable." Jennie took another drink. "Or so they tell me."

"Ricky Martin is Puerto Rican," Gabriel pointed out, "but either way, think I should probably pass. Not really a teacher type." He fiddled with the straw in his drink, stirring it around a bit before removing it and placing it on a cocktail napkin. "And anyway," he looked up at her, "I'm not all that hard-up. I mean, you know, I'm like — I mean, I'm part-time at Snow Valley. I don't know if people know that."

Jennie took another drink, taking care not to finish it in one gulp. "I know, darling. I was just hoping to keep you tied into this world. I am many things, dancer, raconteur, but can this former operative give you a piece of advice?"

"If you keep speaking like we're in To Wong Foo, sure."

"Make sure you understand what you're getting yourself into. Once you get into this life, it gets under your skin. Gives you a bit of a hero complex," Jennie looked at Gabriel, playfulness gone. "You ready for that?"

"Ugh." Gabriel didn't mean to roll his eyes, he honestly didn't, but it happened anyway. "Come on." He gave her an incredulous look after he'd downed about half his drink in one sip. "Really?"

If Gabriel had looked he would have seen, for the briefest of seconds, a flash of terrible, aching sadness. Oh another person, another time, another place. Who laughed the same way. But it was gone as soon as it came.

"Oh, sweet summer child," said Jennie, with a glint in her eye. It was like she was a different person. A dangerous one. "You think you've seen some shit? You ain't seen nothing yet. But hold onto that bravado kiddo, you'll need it." Her eyes were intense, like a summer storm. Then she turned to the bartender, all flirt again. "Hey, sweetpea! Can I get another Manhattan!"

"Wow, okay," Gabriel stared at her. "What the flying fuck?" He sat, silently, as the bartender approached them and began grabbing the bottles for Jennie's drink. Gabriel grabbed the straw off the napkin, sticking it back in the glass and using it to down a good half of his drink in a single long sip.

"All I fucking meant," he said once the barkeep's attention was diverted, "was that we spent all fucking day looking for jobs, so I'm obviously not all fucking in. And if I wanted to be fucking patronized to or at or whatever the word is, I'd have gotten drinks with Laurie or Jean." He reached into his pocket for his wallet.

"All right, I'm not good at this shit. I can't be both. I've been in your position, you know. Grizzled veteran talking to my green ass, telling me about the job. And I'd been there and done that, seen all there was to it. So I could handle everything. But hilariously, there were things that I just wasn't prepared for. I've seen and done some crap, and it haunts me. Literally in some cases." She downed her entire drink in one gulp. "So yeah, be aware, is what I'm saying. That's why I'm trying to encourage a life outside of this. Because I wish that a part of me had run screaming when a dude in a suit offered me a job."

Gabriel watched her drink, his jaw set as she spoke. After a few seconds, he sighed, shifting on his stool. "Fine." He flagged down the bartender for two more drinks. "How do, like..." He made a noise. "I don't get how people—" he made a bunch of vague hand gestures here. "And not let it bother them. That's not, like, I mean, that's how you know you're human."

"It's different when the people you love start to get hurt. Especially when you're put in charge of them. I never understood it myself until It was my turn. You close your eyes and you see their faces at night, and you ask yourself why you fucked everything up."Jennie pressed the glass to her forehead. "This world is fucked, there's no avoiding that. You know that better than anybody. And I'm not telling you to turn yourself off or to not have feelings, because that's no way to live. I'm just saying as bad as this world has hurt you it's only getting started, so either learn how to dodge, or learn how to punch it first."

"And most importantly,you live your life, and you work to live, not the other way around. Because if it all goes to shit on you, one way or the other, at least there's something to fall back on."

Gabriel just nodded. "Yeah, well. I put in a job application at Señor Frog's. So obviously I'm committed to fall-back plans."

Jennie snorted into her glass. "Good, take advantage off all discounts while you can."

"Five dollar margaritas during game days." The bartender dropped two fresh drinks in front of them. "Hoo rah."