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Sitting at the bar, she had helped herself to a glass of wine for one the rare times she does indulge in that. After last night, it was too soon to be drinking hard liquor….her head is still reminding her what doesn't mix. But there's a saying by famous singer: The only way to stop a hangover is to keep drinking. Chuckling, she was sipping upon one of the stools and leaning against the bar wearing….a fitted pencil dress and heels, her handbag on the counter next to her. Sighing softly she would close her eeys as she just relaxed finallly.
Its fair to say that Kwabena Odame has a new favorite haunt. Well, it's another one in a long list of favorite haunts, ranging from Sister Margaret's to Bills Pub out in Queens, but. He's spent a fair bit of time working uptown today, and happens to be coming in off shift. Of course, his usual odor follows him; gasoline, cigarettes, and the general unpleasantness of a New York taxi cab which has seen a day filled with executives, bums and tourists.
Its starting to cool into autumn, so his usual boring summer attire (the same black tank top and trousers) is seeing the addition of a denim jacket. Once through the door, he makes a beeline for the bar.
Yawning she would hear the door but somewhat stiffened up. After her last bar visit there was an incident but she was sure they weren't dumb enought to come back. Sighing, she would take a deep breath and slowly turned around on her seat to see…..Kwabena? Blinking she would stare at him for a moment but just raised that glass with a smile. "Hi there!" Waving at him she'd move her handbag over and just played dumb as she went back to her drink.
He's about to put in his order, when someone is calling in his direction. It's not like Kwabena to miss sight of a lovely lady, but his mind has been full. He's distracted, and does a near double take when he recognizes her. "… holy shit."
After passing Gidget a wave, he turns back to place his order. Whiskey, something cheap, and something neat. He orders two; the first one is guzzled with a single gulp, the second is for the sipping.
The Ghanaian then steps down toward Gidget. "Evening," he tells her. "Did not know you drink here. Just found out about it myself."
She would chuckle a bit as she heard him and turned to face him with a smile. "Well the city isn't /that/ big…." Giving him a playful wink she would nod then leaned her elbow on the bar and propped her head up with her hand. Taking a sip of her wine she would chuckle. "Well I just started coming here recently myself to be honest. I met the owner and he's pretty cool." Nodding she would chuckle a bit. "Plus I like to not be surrounded by obnoxious people all of the time."
"Luke?" he confirms, forming a grin. "Good pahson, yes. Dere is a girl who works de bah here as well. Irish. Stunning."
With that said, he reaches into his jacket to produce a pack of smokes. He may have purchased it this morning, but it appears to have been through the war or something. The zippo he lights it with is charred, as if it had been the focal point of an explosion.
"Yeah! Luke! I got lost in Hell's Kitchen and he happened to be around so he got me a cab so I didn't have to walk all the way back through there alone." She'd smile as she looked around then shrugged. "I haven't seen a girl here." That's when a smirk tugged at her lips now. "Stunning huh? I need to start looking at some of these chicks and figure out where I'm going wrong. Then again….." She'd frown as she tapped her chin. "…I have been anti-social for six freaking years….." Shrugging then she'd sip at her wine then looked at the cigarettes and stuff but just chuckled. "….so how was work?"
"Dangahrous place, Hell's Kitchen," Kwabena confirms. "Peopah like to say, Brooklyn is unsafe, or Harlem. Harlem is only unsafe if you ah disrespectful. Hell's Kitchen, dat is whole oddah story."
As for good looking women? Kwabena shakes his head. "You ah fashion designah. Trust me, Gidge, you have not gone wrong." He passes a wink her way, before taking another sip from his whiskey.
As for work, his expression sours. "Stinky. Does not mattah how hard I try, is always some prick who stinks up taxi somehow. Taxi may he piece of shit, but is my piece of shit and pays my rent."
"So I've been told….." Chuckling she would sigh a bit then tilted her head. "I'm not trying to go down there but hell…..life is weird." Smiling she would then tilt her head as she nodded "Yeah….after years of hard work and kissing ass. I'm not model….there's a reason I'm behind the scenes." Laughing she would then nod as she tilt her head. "Well then….maybe kick them out if they're being assholes. I mean…why put up with it?" Gidget said it so matter of fact as if it wasn't that big of a deal.
"Well, see," Kwabena turns to face her, cigarette perched between two fingers as he draws an imaginary line with both hands. "Dere is a line, and most peopah come close but do not cross it. Plus, every fare I kick out is money I don't make. Is like…" He draws the smoke back and motions toward Gidget. "Model comes in and acts like, how to say, pretentious broad?" The slang just doesn't work coming from him. "Kick her out, don't make money. Is dat simple."
"Well as long as they don't cross the line…." A slight frown was on her face as she licked her lips then nodded. "And I get it. As for models? Naw we choose them. There's always some girl that's ready to be the next Bardot. Now….." She'd grin as she leaned over. "Now it's some rich dude's wife…." Sighing she would shake her head a bit. "Now I've put up with some serious crap from some of those broads. I've only refused service to one person….and that's because the found out I was Jewish and became rather nasty. So I told them to kiss my Jew ass and get out then." There was a scrunch of her nose as she seemed to be thinking but shook her head. "Anyway…I understand…."
As the tale progresses, Kwabena turns his head and leans forward, curious to hear how it turns out. When it does turn out, he begins spurring laughter, choking a bit when some of that cigarette smoke ends up billowing out of his nose.
Through his laughter, he smacks his knee. "You see? Now you know where de line is. Most of de chump I kick out of cab have eidah thrown up in back seat, or I catch dem pulling out needah. Look, you want to shoot up on couch, fine, but back seat is not couch." He leans forward again. "But de moment someone claims I do not know how to drive, or where to drive because I am negro?" He leans back. "Den I kick dere white ass out of taxi faster dan a hooker runs to a well-paying John."
She'd stare at him then pointed at that cigarette. "I don't know how those are healthy…..my father smokes them as if they're a life line…." A chuckle as she shook her head then smile. "Well…that's a colorful description….that's for sure." Gidget would smirk then as she finished off her wine and set that glass down. She'd push herself up and then leaned over the bar, tapping some bottles before she pulled up a bottle of white wine. Grinning, she'd refill that glass then put it back to where it was before pulling herself off of that counter. Looking over to Kwabena she laughed. "He owes me….besides…..I'm going to put some money in his til for it…."
Kwabena waves a dismissive gesture. "Most of dem ah okay, but dere ah still peopah who assume dahk skin means idiot. Mostly… politicians. Cops. But not all cops."
As for the smokes? Kwabena eyes It and shrugs. "Easily de most addictive. I read dey ah dangahrous. Which is funny; when I was a kid, doctahs would say on de television dat it was good for you."
Interestingly, it would have been incredibly unlikely that a black family in that decade would own a television.
A light smirk is given at Gidget's antics. "I trust you," he says. "But I wouldn't want to cross him."
She'd nod a bit as she sighed. "Yeah….I don't like this whole race crap. It's dumb….and stupid." She'd let it go then as she shook her head then smiled. "Yeah….I can see they're addictve. My father smokes like…..a couple of packs a day. I'm glad I don't live there anymore….the smell was making me sick." Smirking she would nod then yawned a bit. "Yeah….he seems like the wrong type of guy to piss off. But what's he gonna do? Spank me?" Gidget would snort then as she chuckled. "I wish someone would threaten me with a good time…"
Its incredibly possible that Kwabena doesn't realize just what the life of a cab driver makes him smell like. It isn't repulsive, but he usually showers and has a change of clothes after a shift. Not this time.
He sips again at the whiskey before setting the glass down. "What is a good time?" he asks. "Wait. I mean to say, what is good time for Gidget?" That whole second language thing can be a pain sometimes.
She would blink as she looked over at him and then laughed. "I was….." Now she was blushing slightly as she ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "I was trying to make a dirty joke." Gidge would laughing now as she sipped at her wine before settling herself back on that stool. "I mean I enjoy a lot of things. Dancing….drinking….music…..reading…..definitely sewing…." A tilt of her head then as she stretched and chuckled. "And it seems as of late…..being late for work."
Kwabena blinks then when he finally deciphers the meaning through his language barrier. "Oh! Oh." His eyes were wide, but now they've narrowed into a playful expression. "Dat kind of good time." He shakes his head and looks away. "I'm a gentahman, Gidget. I wouldn't spank anyone in public."
He casually takes another drink, failing to visibly acknowledge the pointed way in which he used the words 'in public'. "Dose ah all nice things," he admits. "Dancing and music, kind of not to separate, yes? And de drinking helps. But I find if I drink and read I just doze off. No, a bit of de reefer is much bettah for reading."
Gidget would laugh now as she leaned back; the look on his face when he finally realized what she meant was priceless. "I never said to do it in public." She was trying her damndest to stifle that laugh as she then shook her head and smiled. "And your keywords there were 'in public'." Grinning, she was a quick one as she sipped at her wine then nodded. "I mean it can be. Going out dancing. Staying at home and listening to records, where you don't have to dance." When he mentioned reefer she would widen her eyes and laughed. "Now I can say that is something I've never done. It's still smoke going in my lungs…..you know?" A shrug as she laughed. "I've had friends from college that did that stuff….they were goofy."
A waggle of the eyebrows is all she's gonna get on that one. It's like Kwabena said, he's a gentleman. Or at least tries to be. "Or dancing at home to de records," he tells her. "Especially aftah smoking some grass." He shakes his head. "Dere isn't a single thing dat relaxes me more," he admits. "Except s-"
He doesn't quite get a chance to finish the thought. He sees something or someone through the window outside, and at once he's snuffing out his cigarette. "Shit."
Pushing back the bar stool, Kwabena stands and puts a hand on Gidget's shoulder in passing. "Stay here. Don't come outside!" he whispers urgently, before moving for the door.
Now how tempting is that?
Letting out a giggle she would shake her head then smirked. "See…you make it sound so enticing. But aren't I supposed to treat my body like a temple?" Laughing she would shake her head but her brow would raise as he came to a halt. Blinking she'd feel that hand before watching him move to the door. Don't go outside? After reacting like that? And she was nosey and impatient as hell. Blinking, she would slowly slip from her stool as she tiptoed behind him….I mean after all the stuff she's seen so far….what could scare her?
Pity he had to rush out, for there was certainly some kind of offhand remark he could have replied to that one.
Not yet aware that he's being followed, Kwabena quickly opens the door and heads toward a slightly older black man who's lingering on the corner. Kwabena grabs the man by his shoulder and walks him around the corner roughly.
"Hey, easy, man, easy!"
Kwabena pushes the man against a brick wall. "What de fuck are you doing here, Sam?" he hisses. "I told you, dis place is off limits."
Catching that door with her foot, she'd wince as she mouthed 'ow' but slipped out to peek her head. A blink as she looked and quietly slipped out, still on her toes before she would stop around from where he dragged this person off to. Staying quiet, she would keep her back against the wall near where they were and put her hand on her mouth. A frown was on her face now as she listened….not sure what to make of the situation.
"Hey, brother," answers Sam, "take it easy, man, take a chill pill!"
"Sam!"
"Look, cuz! I know it's been, what, eight months since you decided to go straight? Now you're showin' up, want'n a piece of the action again? Just don't work that way, negro!" Sam points a finger right into Kwabena's chest. "We gots to keep an eye on your ass. Make sure you ain't workin' with the fuzz man, you hear me?"
Kwabena reaches up and yanks Sam's finger away, before shoving away from the man he has against the wall. "If you don't stop following me," he whispers, "I'll knock your head off. You can go and tell dat to your pal, Ginface. I want to know why I was targeted for dat bank robbery-"
"I already told you, man!"
Gidget's eyes go wide as she tried to stifle a squeak. The hell? That frown on her face was even more as she slowly started to step back from the edge of the alley way. She'd frown a bit as she balled up her fists and turned to head back to the bar but as soon as she turned she didn't see the piece of glass on the ground in front of her. Gasping she would stand still and slowly lift her food as she tried to listen to see if she was heard. Real smooth…..such a clutz.
"You haven't told me," Kwabena hisses in interruption, "who wanted George Stacy dead!"
"The cop??" Sam exclaims. "What the fuck do you give about some cop, Shift? Man you have gone sof-"
"Shh." Kwabena shushes the man, turning at a sound. He looks back to Sam, then reaches out to shove him into the wall again. "OFF. LIMITS. De bar, and me."
Moments later, Kwabena is coming around the alley and turning back toward the bar's front door. He's got his face in his hand, his shoulders hunched.
Gidget had quickly made her way back inside the bar by this time. Panting heavily she would down her drink as she tried to relax. Cops? Stacy? She knows that name. Frowning she would look at the bar counter before quickly gathering her purse and started to dig out cash. Just great…the irony of it all. Sighing she would pull out some cash and leaned over the bar to put it in the till….somewhere. There she was butt up in the air as she looked around for the damn thing.
Following a long sigh, Kwabena pushes the door open again and makes for the bar again. He's momentarily alarmed when he doesn't see Gidget, until… well, he recognizes a part of her.
"Hey." He sounds frazzled, as if the experience outside has his anxiety jacked to unhealthy levels. "What ah you… Gidget? What's wrong?"
She'd hear the door and almost fell over as she dropped the cash. Oh screw it, he'll see it. She'd pull herself down from the bar and turned around to face him with a smile. Adjusting that handbag on her shoulder she would slip down from the stool and adjusted that dress with a slight smile. "Y-yeah I'm fine. I just….you know…need to head out I think…" She'd seem a little uneasy as she started towards him but stopped as she looked at him then the door. "It's getting late and I need to walk down to the subway so….."
Moments ago, she was trying to make lewd jokes and sipping on wine. Kwabena's no fool. His eyes widen, and then he shakes his head and closes them, sighing deeply. "You followed me."
Opening his eyes, he steps away from Gidget, leaning up against the bar. He folds his arms and stays there, his expression somehow falling between disappointed and worried. "Subway isn't de safest bet. Den again, I suppose you can't trust me to give you a propah lift now."
She'd stare at him and then frowned a bit as she looked at him. "….you ran out of here. How was I supposed to know if I need to….drop another sewing maching on something…." Gidget was trying to make light of the situation as she stared at him, arms folded. "….but I need to know…who I'm….." She'd stop herself there as she looked at him and sighed a bit. "….look I'm sorry okay but…this probably….not the place to talk about this….." Looking around she'd stare at her feet then as she continued. "If you're not….what I think….I can't let that happen….."
This is the last place Kwabena would prefer to have this conversation as well. He looks around for a moment, deducing that no one has yet started to give them the hairy eyeball.
He pushes away from the bar then, leaning forward until his face is alongside of hers. "Captain George Stacy," he whispers, "was my friend." He pauses, casting another look around the bar. For all the patrons know, he's whispering sweet nothings.
"I saw a bullet cut his skull, and I want to know why. Plus, I… promised somone I would try to find who killed him."
Knowing it may not explain everything, Kwabena steps back and looks to Gidget's eyes, sad that she had to witness all of that. "I am trying to do dat."
When she got close to her she'd stare up at him and just took a deep breath as he face was against hers. She'd swallow hard as she heard him then, her eyes going wide then. "….Stacy….." She'd whisper back but said nothing else. "I….I get it……" Gidget was frozen to that spot then as she heard him but just looked back at him when he stepped back. Biting her lower lips she would just…nod then. "….okay." Ever so trusting for the most part, she could tell he was sincere. She'd clear her throat as he was still there close her and then smiled up at him. "….but if you're jerking me around….I won't be happy."
"Gidget." Kwabena smiles then, but it's an empty smile for his eyes are still sad, conflicted. "Dere's a reason I told you to stay inside, and it wasn't to protect my own ass."
He turns back to the bar, motioning for the tender to bring him another whiskey. "Sam was right, you know. I did go straight, but was sevahn months ago, not eight. I do not enjoy driving taxi, but is more enjoyable dan busting jaws for dickless wondah like Sam Burton."
She'd frown slightly as she looked down at the floor, clearing her throat as she shook her head. "Well….like I said…." She'd clear her throat as she looked up at him and nodded. "…..this isn't the place to talk about it…..right?" Forcing a smile on her face, she'd beam as she tried to push down the questions she had. "….if you want to talk….let's do it but….not here?" A shrug as she turned and started for the door, waving her hand. "I have free booze at my place remember?"
"Right." Kwabena turns back around and motions the drink back to the bartender. "Dis one's for you," he offers, and pays for the drinks before moving for the door. Outside, he takes care to make sure that Sam Burton truly has skedaddled, before making for his taxi.
Gidge would then blink as she looked at the time and cursed. "Oh shit!" She'd looked ot him and smiled. "Just……stay right here. I'll be back!" Leaning in she'd give Kwabena a quick hug and ran out the door as she looked at her watch. "….shit I'm late!" And with that, that tall French woman ran out into the night as she had to meet up with someone…she forgot about because she was distracted all day.