*
The crowd was cheering, and I was beaming when a dark-skinned girl in jean cutoffs and a neon shirt jumped up and started singing with me. The crowd cheered louder. I felt as though I could fly.
The Puerto Rican girl called herself “Nadia.” We fused into a band by the time the night was over. By Sunday I earned my rent in the tip jar, and Nadia earned her car payment. She came down to my apartment to celebrate. I must have been distracted while she circled a classified ad for cruise ship entertainers, but I agreed to audition nonetheless. Once the cruise liner agreed to hire us, it seemed silly to refuse