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I can’t believe this was the second time he'd seen me with the kids. And even though he knows now I’m not their mom, I still feel like a bad aunt. I shouldn't have taken them with me. I made a huge mistake. In my desperation to make money, I ignored the practicality of being a good caretaker. I’m ashamed of myself. I made a big mistake.
I get out of bed, stretch, and head toward the kitchen. I’m grateful that the kids are still in bed. They’re most probably exhausted from the previous evening. They'd been good sports though. They were really well-behaved last night. I open the fridge and stand there, almost in a comatose state. When I hear the front door open, I look, hopeful that Elise is back. But it's Lila.
"Hey," she says, with a huge yawn. Her eyes are red, and she looks downtrodden. It’s been over twenty-four hours since I’ve seen her and she looks beat.
"Oh no," I say, worry filling me again. "What's wrong?" I close the fridge door and walk over to her.
"It wasn't good. It really wasn't good." Her lips tremble.
"What happened? What wasn't good?" Though I already know what she's going to say.
"The review. The guy from the New York Times thought the play was trash and that the actors were worse than the words. He said that Hank was laughable and that he couldn't believe that anyone was stupid enough to put money toward a production that was dull and boring." Her eyes blink furiously, fighting the tears threatening to fall. "They're going to cancel the show. Ticket sales are nonexistent; they said that they've only made…" She pauses as I take a deep breath.
"How much have you made?"
"They've only made a hundred and ten dollars so far."
"What?" I’m surprised. "That doesn't sound right."
"I mean, on opening night, it was packed. But I guess after they paid everyone and paid for the venue, they only made a hundred and ten dollars. The producers say it's not worth it. They say it costs them more money to put on the play than they're making. And after the review comes out on Sunday, no one's going to come,” she wails. “Hank and I couldn’t get the reviewer to not print the review.” She rubs her eyes. “I thought this was going to be my big break, Zara. I thought I was finally going to make it."
"Oh, darling," I say and wrap my arms around her. I grab her face and look into her eyes. "You are an amazing actress, Lila. This just wasn't the role for you."
"The play sucked, didn't it? You can be honest. It wasn't just Hank that sucks. It was the entire thing."
I take a deep breath. "Okay, I'm not going to lie to you. It wasn't the best play I've ever seen, but you were good. You're talented."
She sighs. "I guess talent doesn't pay the bills though. How are you? How was last night? What did you and the kids do?" I shake my head and let out a loud groan. "Zara, what happened?"
"Let's just say I nearly made ten grand for selling my panties."
"You what?" Her jaw drops. "What? Did you get an indecent proposal from someone? Who was it? Not Frankie. Frankie does not have ten grand. Neither does Lennie," she says, talking about the guy who works in the bodega and has made no secret of his crush on me.
"No, it was at this club I went to." I shudder.
"What club?"
"It was called The Titanium Club. I saw a flier, and I called, and they said, 'Come in.' And I should've known it was too good to be true, but they said I would make fifteen hundred dollars. So I went, and I took the kids and…"
"You took the kids to a club?" Lila's eyes widen. "What?"
"I know. I really fucked up."
"Damn! Things are that bad for us, huh?"
"What do you mean?"
"You would never take the kids to a club unless you were not in your right mind. Why didn't you tell me it was that bad?"
It's my turn to nearly cry. "I didn't want to upset you. I wanted to take care of it."
She takes a deep breath. "You have me. We have to figure something out, don't we?"
"I guess so."
"I have an idea," she says slowly.
"What?"
