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Today, he had a more than full schedule, delivering singing grams to over twenty-seven people. He hated that two of them were break-up grams, but that was all part of the job. He did have a birthday gram that he was looking forward to delivering, to break up the Valentine’s Day love fest. He’d have to deliver the birthday gram dressed as cupid, but that was the part he was playing today. He wouldn’t have time to change, since he was supposed to be at Cotton Row at half past noon to deliver the gram, and then would need to take the bus over to the other side of town, to break up with some poor woman for an asshole who thought he was being clever doing it on Valentine’s Day. He hated break-up grams. They were the absolute worst, but his boss insisted that they be done along with all the sappy-loving ones. He said that love and heartbreak went hand in hand, so why not? Daryl could give his boss a million reasons why not—starting with the way the poor woman looked after she realized that her once-loving boyfriend had sent a complete stranger to break up with her. The second reason quickly followed—she’d usually get so angry that she took it out on him since he was the bearer of the bad news. Yeah—there were many reasons why break-up grams were just a really bad idea.
* * *
By noon, he was sure that his day couldn’t get any worse. He had been kicked in the shin by one very angry woman, told to get lost numerous times when trying to deliver a singing gram to women who didn’t want to hear how much their significant others loved them from a man dressed like cupid, and one woman even threatened to call the cops on him if he didn’t leave. Yeah—he was having an awful Valentine’s Day, and by the time he walked through the doors of Cotton Row, and all eyes were on him in his loincloth dressed as cupid, he knew that it was time to call it a day.
He cleared his throat to get the host’s attention when he tried to ignore him standing directly in front of him. “I’m sorry, sir,” the guy said. “We have a very strict dress code and I’m afraid that you don’t meet it. You’ll have to at least be wearing pants and a shirt,” he insisted.
“Listen, pal,” Daryl said. “I’m getting paid to do a singing gram for a woman’s thirtieth birthday and I plan on delivering. She’s having lunch here now. Her name is Katie Amor and her friend, Bea Styles was the one who hired me. Just point me in the right direction, let me sing my song, and I’ll be out of your hair.” He looked around the restaurant as if he’d be able to spot the birthday girl, but no such luck.
The host sighed, “Fine,” he spat. “But make it fast. I really don’t need a scene today. This is one of our busiest days of the year.”
The place was packed, “So I see,” Daryl said. “I’ll make it quick.” He was going to give a quick performance and high-tail it out of there if he had anything to say about it. Cotton Row was packed and hopefully, none of the guys from Savage Hell were there having lunch with their wives or a girlfriend—who was he to judge? Daryl didn’t care as long as he did his job and got his paycheck at the end of the day.
The host ran his finger down the room’s seating chart and stopped at table number twenty-four. “She’s this way,” he said. “Please, follow me, and mind your bow.” Daryl tucked his bow under his arm and followed the guy to the back corner. Crap—he was hoping not to be so front and center, but he’d have to make do.
“This gentleman claims to have business here,” the host said, nodding to the two women. The blond looked absolutely thrilled to see him and he had a feeling that she was not the birthday girl. The brunette next to her looked downright pissed and Daryl was sure that he’d leave Cotton Row with another bruise on his shin.
“Um, which one of you is the birthday girl?” he asked.
“She is,” the blond said, practically shoving her poor friend at him.
“Bea would like for me to wish you a happy birthday,” he said.
“Great—done, now be on your way, please,” the brunette loudly whispered at him. “I thought that we weren’t doing this today.”
“Well, you agreed to that, but I agreed to lunch, and Cupid here is part of our birthday lunch celebration.”
“I didn’t agree to you thoroughly embarrassing me with a grown man dressed as a baby,” the brunette insisted.
“Technically, I’m a cherub,” Daryl protested. “And if you just let me sing my song, I can be on my way.”
“Fine,” the birthday girl spat. “Let’s get this over with.”
“With pleasure,” Daryl said. Maybe she was disgruntled about turning thirty or maybe, she was just having a crappy birthday. Either way, he wasn’t sure if his rendition of, “Happy Birthday” was going to make that much of a difference in her day. But none of that really mattered.
Daryl sang his heart out, really hoping that no one he knew was in the restaurant, and when he finished, mediocre applause rang out around them. Daryl decided to take a bow, playing to the crowd. But on his way back up from his exaggerated stage bow, he hit his head on the table so hard, he saw stars, stumbling down to the floor.
“Oh my goodness,” the brunette said. “Are you all right, Cupid?” she asked.
“Cupid?” he questioned.
She looked him over, “Well, I’m not sure what else to call you. I mean, you are dressed as cupid. Let me help you.” She gave him a hand up from the floor and when the room started spinning, she helped him down into the empty chair that sat between her and her blond friend.
“Thank you,” he said. “I’m so sorry to ruin your lunch and special day.”
She waved him off, “It’s not a big deal,” she promised. “I really didn’t want to celebrate my birthday anyway.”
“Is it because it falls on Valentine’s Day?” he asked. “That must suck. I mean, not as much as people who have a Christmas birthday, but I get it.”
“How’s your head?” the brunette asked.
“I’m a little woozy, but I think I can manage. Listen, I’d love to make this fiasco up to you.”
She held up her hand. “No need, really,” she insisted.
“I’d really like to try. Please let me take you out to dinner tonight,” he asked.
“Um, I already have plans for tonight,” she said. Her friend barked out her laugh, letting him know that the brunette was totally lying.
